Designing Research Literature Review

Assignment 1: Literature Review 30%

Description

This assignment comprises:

project title + abstract/summary (~100 words) + annotated bibliography (minimum 7 works) + precedent/primary source analysis (3 x ~50 words or graphic equivalent OR 3 further scholarly texts) + preliminary literature review (500-600 words)

Aim

To develop skills to systematically survey and read into a particular area or topic of research interest relevant to your professional discipline. The specific objective of this assignment is to make a critical assessment of the state of the existing knowledge about a topic, and to identify a particular ‘gap’, or unanswered question, that could indicate where further research is needed.

Tasks

1. Refine your project title and abstract summarising the anticipated focus, aims, approach and outcomes of a research project that you could (hypothetically) undertake and complete in one semester – or in 10 to 12 weeks. (NOTE: students who will be undertaking an actual research Dissertation could use this opportunity to develop your preliminary research proposal.)
2. Make a methodical and thorough survey of literature and (as appropriate to your discipline) design precedents(which could be designed, planned/documented or built works) relevant to your chosen research topic. Be sure to explore a range of possible different literatures (books, book chapters, journal articles, etc) pertinent to the research focus as well as relevant research methods.
3. Prepare a list or annotated bibliographyof at least 7 key text-based publications (e.g. journal articles, book chapters, government publications, research reports) of significance for your research topic. These must be scholarly sources carefully selected for their critical substance and quality – review THESE SLIDES to understand what counts as a scholarly resource.
   1. Choose a referencing systemto organise the list of texts and be consistent
   2. List the texts alphabetically
   3. Your annotation for each text can be a brief sentence or two explaining why the piece is important to your topic. Perhaps it is the most well-known or most recent or most controversial. Perhaps it is very focused or a good overview. Why did you select it? What view does it have?
4. Identify and critically analyse at least 3 design precedents, historical or contemporary, which are clearly relevant to your research topic, typology or approach. (NOTE: MArch, MLArch and MPlanning/Urban Design studentsare welcome and expected to employ graphic analyses as well as text in their ‘discussion’ of these design precedents. The Elements of Modern Architecture: Understanding Contemporary Buildings (Thames and Hudson, 2014), by SABE-based researchers Emeritus Professor Anthony Radford, Selen Morkoc, and Amit Srivastava, offers examples of critical graphic analyses of contemporary architectural precedents that your analyses may be modelled upon).

NOTE: You may substitute further written references – particularly case studies – for these design precedents/examples. Design students are urged to find projects as these will be persuasive for your research proposal. So you need a total10 items/references in your annotated biblio.

5. Review your annotated bibliography and design precedents. Compose a short preliminary literature review of around 500 words as a statement of what these references say about the status of your topic. Consider how they describe or represent recent trends of argument and/or debate in the field of research about your topic. Is there a dominant opinion – what do most believe or discuss? Are any views unique or radical? Do they reveal or confirm the specific ‘gap’ in knowledge that your research project will try to fill? (i.e. These references talk about X, Y, and Z but they have neglected or missed the importance of A and B!)

Submission

• Upload a written document to MyUni by 23:59 (Tuesday) 04-04-23
• You can submit a Word doc OR pdf – Your tutors may specify a preference.

Assessment criteria

• Project title is clear and precise in focus and scope and the research could be undertaken in 10 weeks.
• Abstract/summary outlines effectively the research aims/objectives, significance, approach and expected outcomes of a small conventional or studio-based research project feasible to undertake in the timeframe of 6 months
• Literature in the annotated bibliography consists of an adequate range of sources relevant to the research topic and of academic quality and critical relevance
• Precedent projects are of demonstrated relevance through graphic analysis and/or textual explanation
• Preliminary review provides a critically synthesised assessment of the literature and projects surveyed. Main arguments of the references are outlined concisely, with critical and/or practical relevance of the sources made clear and a ‘gap’ identified.
• Bibliography consistently follows a conventional bibliographical style in all references and citations (See links to guidelinesfor the ‘Harvard’, ‘Chicago’ and other conventional reference and consider using expert bibliographic software tools, such as ‘Endnote’, to prepare and manage references efficiently and consistently)
• Written expression is clear, concise and logically structured, and meets word lengths