ICT90003 | Applied Research Methods | Research

Introduction

The aim of this task is to demonstrate your ability to find useful resources regarding current research in an area of professional interest to you, as well as your ability to convey information in a written form about those resources and structure a short report, including referencing.

The learning outcomes covered by this task include:

• Research the literature, and compare viewpoints and arguments and identify gaps in knowledge.
• Interpret and critically evaluate previously published material in a formal literature review.

The Task

For this task you will need to investigate current research trends in an area of interest to you. This could be a broad or narrow area; the area will need to be defined. Try to identify themes or ideas that you come across, for example, are there particular topics that are popular, or is there a key problem that has many different possible solutions? Your report needs to be structured so that someone not familiar with your area of interest can follow it.

Assessment

A detailed rubric is available on Blackboard.

Try and keep within the word range. Any section deemed beyond the word count will not be marked. Appendices will also not be marked. References are not included in the word count.

                                                                                                                                   

Formatting and Referencing Style

The report should follow these guidelines:

• A cover page and table of contents should not be included.
• Any standard referencing style can be used, including IEEE format, Harvard or APA styles. Your student name and number must be clearly noted at the top of the report. A word count should be included at the end of the report (before references).
• The report should be presented using 12pt font with 1.15 or 1.5 line spacing. The report should have a heading in a larger font size, followed by your name and student number in 12pt font.

Submission

The report should be submitted to TurnItin via the appropriate link in Blackboard. Note that Blackboard and TurnItIn sometimes have outages beyond our control, so it is wise not to leave submission to the last minute – you can overwrite previous submissions.

Note content from assessed tasks in other units (even your own tasks) cannot be reused.

However, you can reference papers and sources you included in previous tasks.

Extensions and Late Submission

Students are referred to the Unit Outline for more details.

Academic Honesty

The work submitted is to be the work of the individual only, and references must be made to the work of others. Students are referred to the Unit Outline for more details.\