Reference no: EM132355275 , Length: word count:2000

Assignment -

While not necessary in all real-world research write-ups, a formal 'literature review' is often required as part of background sections in official research reports and also in documents such as research proposals. A literature review is certainly a requirement in academic research projects, where it will often appear as a standalone chapter within a thesis. Conducting and writing a literature review is not easy - you need to "negotiate multiple purposes, work towards logical structure with appropriate content, and make convincing arguments" (O'Leary, 2005, p. 45). More often than not, you will also be working across two or more bodies of literature or theme areas. In the example provided in the Topic 3 study guide, the research project required reading across literature and data sources related to policing practices, mental illness and media framing (to name three) - as well as a need to articulate the connections and intersections (and gaps) across and between these bodies of literature.

The purpose of a literature review is therefore more than simply to review the literature. It is an opportunity for you to:

• Inform your reader(s) of developments in the field;
• Establish your researcher credibility and credentials (by being able to demonstrate your understanding of key issues and outline the relationship of your research to the rest of the field); and
• Argue the need for and relevance/value of your proposed project and its research agenda or objectives.

In this respect, you need to be able to move from summarising and synthesising the reading to using your reading to make an argument in relation to your own research focus and its importance. The above bullet points reflect some of the competencies we will be looking for you to demonstrate when we assess your submissions for the first assessment task in this unit.

Tips for Assessment Task 1 -

This first assessment task offers you the opportunity to commence your preliminary reading for your proposed research project. The reading and evaluation you conduct for the assessment task should inform the refinement of your project ideas as you progress towards the development of your research proposal and project plan.

As such, 'the literature' you include in this assessment task may include sources of information relevant to the professional practice (e.g. management of crisis communications) that you intend to undertake in the delivery of your project in the following trimester of study. At the very least, it should cover two or more 'theme areas' or bodies of literature relevant to your proposed research topic, issue or problem.

You should cluster the literature around these theme areas or threads of ideas when planning the structure of your literature review. Structure your writing thematically, and not author-by-author. Note the way this is done in the sample literature reviews, which have been included in the unit's reading list.

This proposed structure, adapted from Jesson et al. (2011, p. 93) should also serve as a general guide for your own planning:

It is important to remember that your reading will not - and should not - stop once you have completed this assessment task; it should continue throughout the trimester and even into the development and delivery stages of your project, where necessary. For this assessment task, however, we would expect you to have consulted a minimum of 15 relevant and credible information sources for the literature review.

Your literature review should be written as a self-standing review: that is, similar to an academic essay, with an introduction, body and conclusion.

It will be broadly assessed on the selection - including relevance, credibility, depth and breadth - of the literature; your analysis and discussion of these materials; and your organisation and development of the content within the literature review, so it is important to keep these things in mind when drafting your submission.

A good literature review will demonstrate a critical understanding of existing work. This includes its strengths and weaknesses; any gaps in the body of literature and data sources available; an identification of the prominent researchers, theorists and commentators in the field; and whether there are conclusive or inconclusive results from previous studies. Don't be afraid to include opposing or conflicting views; these should be accounted for, rather than ignored.

In some cases, the more controversial or contested and debatable a research topic, issue or problem, the better! This affords plenty of opportunities for you to make sense of the topic, issue or problem yourself, which can make the proposed project much more interesting as it leaves room for exploration and discussion.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell whether an author or commentator agrees, disagrees or partly agrees with your own position and the position of others on a research topic. This may not be because the author or commentator is unclear on their position, but because you have not developed a clear enough research idea for your own proposed project. In helping to decide whether the literature you are reading is useful to you, consider the following activity. First, write your proposed research topic, issue or problem on the top of a piece of paper, then divide the page into six columns headed as follows:

'Yes' indicates that the author or commentator completely agrees with the positions of you and others on the research topic or problem. 'Yes, but' indicates that they mainly agree, but have minor points of disagreement. 'Yes, BUT' indicates that the author or commentator mainly agrees, but deviates in a significant way on some points of argument. 'No, but' indicates that they mainly disagree, but also show some minor points of agreement, and so on. Write where the authors agree or disagree under the columns, giving full citation information and page numbers, so that you don't forget these later!

Find what is out there about the topic, issue or problem and help your reader make sense of the wide variety of perspectives. Don't hide behind the literature - it is up to you to interpret it and clarify what the reader is to take away from this body of research. Find your voice and make sure you resolve the 'so what?' question.

The analysis and interpretation you conduct needs to be integrated into the literature review. It cannot be just your opinion; it must be supported by the literature.

The following examples of written expression offer a sample of suggested approaches as to how you might clearly demonstrate (and word) your critical analysis of the literature within your literature review:

• Bloggs (2011) comprehensively reviewed the literature, finding...
• Newman (2014) extended this study by specifically...
• The strength/limitation of this work is that...
• However, the report does not account for...
• Johnson et al (2013) also found evidence to suggest...
• Freeman's (2018) much cited work demonstrates that...
• Young (2006a; 2006b; 2008; 2016) is well published in the area of...
• Responses to X are highly contested...
• The Senate Select Committee's inquiry (2017) represents the most comprehensive attempt to...

The literature review should exhibit the same care in its production as we expect will go into the actual delivery of your proposed research project. In other words, remember to leave enough time before submission for final reflection and proofreading. Don't leave yourself short and submit something that looks more like a first draft than a well-considered and complete piece of work! All the best for completing your literature review!

References -

Jesson, J. K., Matheson, L., & Lacey, F. M. (2011). Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques. London: SAGE Publications.

O'Leary, Z. (2005). Researching Real-World Problems: A Guide to Methods of Inquiry. London: SAGE Publications.

RMIT University Learning Lab. (n.d). Writing a Literature Review.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar