Assignment: Literature Review (Fall 2022)

Assignment: Literature Review (Fall 2022)

Weight: 35% (SOCS 30065)

Due: Week 6 (October 10, 2022)

Associated Learning Outcomes:

#1. Synthesize literature resources related to a discipline-specific research or project to inform your research or project.

#2. Create a literature review based on collected research-based resources.

# 8. Self-reflect on ones own learning, achievement of goals, and contributions to the learning community.

Description:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide students with an opportunity to complete an advanced examination of the literature on their chosen topic. A literature review means to synthesize and evaluate (critically analyze) relevant literature as it relates to your research problem. The purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established. It is not an annotated bibliography; it is not appropriate to describe or summarize each individual article. Rather, it should demonstrate a strong reflection about the content of the body of work as a whole and your ability to interrelate the themes from various sources.

This assignment has a page limit (six pages max + title page and reference page) which you must stick to. The focus of this literature review is to give you the opportunity to write concisely and succinctly so that your literature review is the appropriate length for the Research Ethics Board (REB) Application.

INTRODUCTION (1 PAGE MAX). Should include:

Research purpose and relation to the literature: What is your topic? What is your research problem? What is the purpose of conducting research into the problem? Consider the statement of the problem: what is the need or reason for you to conduct this study; the justification (evidence and relevance) of the literature to support your research problem? Is there a gap in the existing literature; are you investigating or developing a new idea; will you include participants whose voices may be lacking in the existing literature? How could an exploration of this research problem be worthwhile? How will your research add insights to what is already known on the topic? What new insights might be gained? Who could benefit or be impacted?

How will the literature review be organized? Provide 1-2 sentences telling readers how the following paragraphs will be organized. e.g., This is a theme-based literature review; each heading represents a theme that has emerged through an analysis of the literature on this topic.)

Research questions. List your overarching research question (and sub-questions).

Note: The questions above are to guide your thinking and structure of the paper. If you try to answer each question separately, it will be more than 1 page. Distil (condense) your responses into one or two paragraphs.

RESEARCH AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE (2-4 PAGES MAX).

Research and review the literature (credible and refereed sources) surrounding your research problem.

Review at least 6-8 articles from scholarly journals (empirical and theoretical peer-reviewed articles). You may use the articles from your Gap Analysis if you would like.

Review at least 2-4 articles from other scholarly sources (e.g., government literature, documents, reports, etc.).

Write a literature review to support the research problem. The focus of this literature review is to identify and discuss the broader themes that relate to your research question.

Remember to:

Describe how the literature fits with (relates to) your research topic.

Identify primary themes (no more than three) and what the literature reflects.

For each primary theme, discuss the literature and sub-theme(s) that may relate to that theme. How do the studies relate to your research problem and these themes?

CONCLUSION (1/2 TO 1 PAGE MAX).

Write a concluding statement which clearly establishes the connection between the research literature you have reviewed and your study/research focus. It should include:

A restatement of the research problem

A restatement of the overarching research question.

A brief concluding statement of the purpose of the study. (Why is your study important and what will it achieve?)

Format

Title Page

Introduction (1 page)

Literature Review (2-4 pages)

Conclusion (1 page)

References (APA)

RUBRIC

LITERATURE REVIEW (35%)

Criteria Mark

Introduction Any of research topic, research problem, research purpose, statement of the problem, rationale and research question(s) are missing or unclearly outlined, unprofessionally written, inarticulate, unreasonable, and/or incoherent.

Demonstrates weak or superficial knowledge and understanding of the topic and/or does not make a connection between research problem and the literature.

Articles unrelated to, or inappropriate for, this study. Research topic, research problem, research purpose, statement of the problem, rationale and research question(s) are fairly well outlined, professionally written, articulate, reasonable, and succinct.

Demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the topic by making a connection between the research problem and the literature.

Establishes some relevance for this study (most articles fairly well- related to topic)

Research topic, research problem, research purpose, statement of the problem, rationale and research question(s) are very clearly outlined, professionally written, articulate, reasonable, and succinct.

Demonstrates superior knowledge and understanding of the topic by making a strong connection between the research problem and the literature.

Clearly establishes the relevance of this study (all articles strongly related to topic) 0-5 5-8 8-10 /10

Research and Review of the Literature Has included fewer than 6 articles/scholarly journals AND/OR less than 2 articles/other scholarly sources.

Research demonstrates questionable quality and/or credibility.

Few sources are related to research topic.

Use of unrelated, inferior or inappropriate references.

Weak or superficial synthesis of literature which is NOT analyzed and/or evaluated thoughtfully. Not presented in a consistent, organized or professional manner.

Demonstrates weak or superficial understanding, and does not interrelate the themes from various studies to help support the rationale for the present study Research and review of between 6-8 articles/ scholarly journals AND 2-4 articles/other scholarly sources that demonstrate good quality and credible sources.

All (or most) sources are related to research topic and demonstrate some research and an integration of relevant references.

Clear and somewhat insightful synthesis of literature which is analyzed and evaluated fairly well and presented in a somewhat consistent, organized and professional manner.

Demonstrates fairly good understanding by interrelating the themes from various studies (relate) which support the rationale for the present study. Research and review of more than 8 articles/ scholarly journals AND more than 4 articles/ other scholarly sources that demonstrate high quality and credible sources.

ALL sources are strongly related to research topic which demonstrates in-depth research and an integration of relevant and high-quality references.

Clear and insightful synthesis of literature which is analyzed and evaluated thoughtfully and presented in a concise, consistent, organized and professional manner.

Demonstrates insightful and superior understanding by interrelating the themes from various studies which support the rationale for the present study. 0-10 10-16 16-20 /20

Conclusion Conclusion is unclear or incomplete. Conclusion includes research problem, purpose statement, research question, and importance of the study.

Strong and insightful conclusion which includes research problem, purpose statement, research question, and importance of the study. 0-2 2-4 4-5 /5

Expectations for Writing, Professionalism, References, and APA style: Marks will be deducted if the list below is not adhered to.

Well written and well organized.

Few or no stylistic, spelling, or grammatical errors. Has been carefully proofread

Language is concise, precise, and easily understood

Professionalism is consistent throughout (e.g., objective, unbiased language)

Follows APA format consistently and correctly

Includes proper in-text citations and reference is APA style

Page limit is respected

Deductions (up to 5 marks): (-5)

Comments: TOTAL /35