Leadership Studies

RESM610: Research Methods
Individual Assignment 2 (20%)
Spring Term 2019
Assignment Guidelines
Description
 This is an individual assignment to be completed by each student.
 It is worth 20% of the overall course grade.
Instructions
 Submit a Literature review on your selected topic.
 Submit 1 document to the ‘Assignment Submission Link’ in the VLE in week 7 by the deadline.
 Document format: MS WORD
 Document font type: Times Roman 12 OR Ariel 11
 Document line spacing: 1.5 line spacing
 Document length: 2,000-2,500 = 4-5 pages of 1.5 line spacing excluding the cover page, exhibits and references. ** (see points 1-5 below)
Submission Deadline
 Monday, 4 March by 11.30 pm
Guidelines for Written Assignments **
1. All assignments should include a cover page with a title and the student’s name on it, followed by the literature review, and additional pages of exhibits and references at the end.
2. Assignments must be free from formatting/grammar/spelling/punctuation/typo errors and should use the Harvard System of Referencing. All sources of information must be cited and a list of references included when they are used for sources such as the textbook, any articles read, websites used, and so on.
3. Assignments should use appropriate formatting with headings, 1.5 line-spacing, single-column documents with 1″ margins using 12-point type Times New Roman or 11-point type Arial font.
4. Any exhibits (e.g., pictures, figures, graphs, tables, charts, calculations, and spreadsheets) must be created using a computer (no credit will be given for written or hand drawn exhibits).
5. Assignments will be evaluated for plagiarism using Turnitin.
Guidelines for writing a Literature Review What is it? An evaluation of previous research on your topic What is its purpose?  Provides background information needed to understand your study.  Highlights what has already been done, what is generally accepted, what is emerging and what is the current state of thinking on the topic  Assures your readers that you are familiar with the important research that has been carried out in your area  Identifies gaps What do I need to include?  A review of 10-12 well-established research articles in the field;  At least one article should be most recent relevant research. Information sources?  Refer to pp.54-57 of the textbook. How do I organize the information?  Organized around key themes / debates / theories related to your topic. What is the structure of the Literature Review? Cover page Introduction should:  define your topic and provide an appropriate context for reviewing the literature;  establish your reasons – i.e. point of view – for reviewing the literature;  explain the organization – i.e. sequence – of the review;  state the scope of the review – i.e. what is included and what isn’t included. For example, if you were reviewing the literature on obesity in children you might say something like: There are a large number of studies of obesity trends in the general population. However, since the focus of this research is on obesity in children, these will not be reviewed in detail and will only be referred to as appropriate. Main body should:  summarize and evaluate the current state of knowledge in the field;  note major themes, the most important trends, and any findings about which researchers agree or disagree;  be organized according to common themes under different headings;  provide insight into the relation between your chosen topic and the wider subject area e.g. between obesity in children and obesity in general;  move from a general, wider view of the literature being reviewed to the specific focus of your research. Conclusion should:  summarize the important aspects of the existing body of literature;  identify significant flaws or gaps in existing knowledge;  suggest any practical applications of the research as well as the implications and possibilities for future research. References What referencing system should I use? There are several reference systems (see p.58 of the textbook). You can use any one of these, but make sure you use ONE system and stick to it throughout the document. Marks will be deducted if a mix of reference systems are used. How long should it be? See guidelines above on page 1 What am I supposed to DO in my literature review? You’re expected to demonstrate that:  you can recognize the relevant and important research in your field;  you can understand this research, by organizing and evaluating it;  you can see where there is a gap in the research. (Note: you can later use this gap to build your research proposal