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REM502 Research Methodologies - Torrens University

Assessment 1: Annotated Bibliography Report

Learning Outcome 1: Build appropriate research design suitable to the context
Learning Outcome 2: Select and critically analyse published resources

Task Summary
This assessment is designed to enhance your skills in creating and formulating appropriate research design. To do this, you need to set clearly defined boundaries around what is being researched.

Setting the boundaries of a research project is an essential step in Software Engineering research. Therefore, you need to develop a focused approach to the research, starting with existing literature. Developing abstract, initial research questions, and aims and objectives help focus your literature search. Focusing the research direction helps the researcher in choosing the literature needed for the annotated bibliography.

This assessment is to write an Annotated Bibliography Report, which will lead towards defining your Research Proposal (Assessment 3). This assessment is the beginning step of the literature search and will help you to conduct a literature review.

The Annotated Bibliography Report is an individual assessment and covers 30% of your overall grade. Your report should be of 1500 words (+/- 10%) include the following key elements:
• A title
• A brief abstract (200-250 words)
• Research questions
• Aims and Objectives
• Annotated bibliography (1000+ words)
It is important to include the University ethos "Here for Good" into your ideas for your proposed research.

Context
Research is an iterative process. The abstract, research question(s), and aims and objectives may well change depending on what you discover in your literature search, what methodologies you choose and what specific methods you propose. Feedback from your Learning Facilitator will also help you refine these elements.

This assessment, an Annotated Bibliography Report is formative in nature and is the starting point working towards your final Research Proposal (Assessment 3). Each assessment in this subject is designed to build competency in research methodologies and are not stand-alone assessments. The Annotated Bibliography Report is designed to focus your research direction and to start you on your research journey.

This assessment prepares students in Software Engineering research methods and develops skills in defining the research direction and scope, secondary research, analysis, and forms the basis for the next stage of the research process. The Annotated Bibliography should be considered as a first draft of the abstract, research question(s), and aims and objectives. The Annotated Bibliography is designed to help you search relevant research papers, peer-reviewed books and conference proceedings to inform your research.

Task Instructions
Write an Annotated Bibliography Report. Your report should include the following key elements:
• Title
The title of a research project is usually a single concise sentence that accurately reflects the proposed research.

• Abstract
An abstract is a 200-250 summary of the research project. Abstracts do not generally contain references. Abstracts are often rewritten - at this stage; it should guide and focus on the direction of the research. Consider this abstract a first draft; it will and should change depending on where the research leads. Abstracts sit at the very beginning of the Research Proposal and sit just below the title.
• Research Question(s)
The Research question(s) should be included in this submission: What is the key question(s) that the research is going to answer? For a small research project, one or two research questions should suffice.

• Aims and Objectives
o Aims: What is the overall goal of the research: what is the aim? What are you trying to find out or establish? The aims will be related to the research question(s). Usually, only one or two sentences.
o Objectives: Covers the steps that will be taken to get to the final result. The objectives are an explanation of how the research question will be answered. Objectives are a general overview of the research approach. Usually, only two to four sentences.

The research question(s) and aims and objectives will later form part of the introduction of your final Research Proposal (Assessment 3). These may change depending on what is found in the literature search, and as the methodology is established.

• Annotated Bibliography (1000+ words)
- An annotated bibliography, which reflects the academic papers, books and other peer- reviewed literature could be arranged chronologically or alphabetically according to author name.
- The APA referencing style should be used.
- Include a short paragraph summarising each research document that you have reviewed. DO NOT JUST CUT AND PASTE THE ABSTRACT. The paragraph for each piece of research is your summary of the findings in relation to your research question and aims.

In other words, each entry in the annotated bibliography should take the structure:

1. Reference in APA Style
2. One paragraph summary

Referencing
It is essential that you use appropriate APA style.

Assessment 2: Comparative Analysis of Research Methodologies

Comparative Analysis

Learning Outcome 1: Build appropriate research design suitable to the context
Learning Outcome 2: Present and evaluate academic arguments including writing and presenting a research proposal
Learning Outcome 3: Select and critically analyse published resources
Learning Outcome 4: Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research methods
Learning Outcome 5: Synthesise and integrate ethical principles related to research

Task Summary
This assessment (Comparative Analysis Report) is designed to help determine the particular research methodology and subsequently the research methods, after the literature analysis that you have done in assessment 1. Comparative analysis will lead you in preparing your final Research Proposal (Assessment 3).

The Comparative Analysis Report is an individual assessment and covers 30% of your overall grade. Your report should be of 1500 words (+/-10%) include the following key elements:

A written report that includes:
• The title of your research
• Research questions (2nd draft)
• Aims and objectives (2nd draft)
• Comparative Analysis of research methodologies
• Proposed methodology and research methods
• References
• Appendices (if applicable)

It is important to include the University ethos "Here for Good" into your ideas for your proposed research.
Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

Context
This assessment, a Comparative Analysis report is formative in nature and is the second stage working towards your final Research Proposal (Assessment 3). Each assessment in this subject is designed to build competency in research methodologies and are not stand-alone assessments. The Comparative Analysis report is designed to help you decide on the particular research methodologies that are appropriate for you to propose your research. From this, you will need to develop the particular methods that the project will use.

This assessment requires you, as a Software Engineering student, to research and prepare a comparative analysis of the different research methodologies available. From this the methodologies, such as qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods research should be analysed to determine the best approach for your Research Proposal.

Once you have determined the methodological approach, the specific approach, or method, using tools/research instruments will be developed. Research instruments (or tools) may include surveys or questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, quantitative statistical analysis etc.

For example: If you intend on using a survey, you need to write the specific questions you intend to ask and describe your method of data analysis. Please include the questions in the Appendix.

Task Instructions
Write a Comparative Analysis of Research Methodologies Report. Your report should include the following key elements:
• Title: The title of a research project is usually a single concise sentence that accurately reflects the proposed research.
• Research question(s): Consider this a second draft of the research questions, continuing from the Annotated Bibliography.
• Aims and Objectives: Consider this a second draft of your aims and objectives, improved or revised from your Annotated Bibliography

• Comparative Analysis of Research Methodologies
By considering an analytical approach, evaluate qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research methodologies. Outline the strengths and weaknesses of each approach in relation to your proposed research project. What methods does each approach utilize? What are the limitations associated with each approach?
• Methodologies are a systematic examination of the methods applied to any research field. It may be comprised of a system of methods designed to achieve the research outcome.
• Methods are the particular tools/research instruments that are intended for being used. (e.g. qualitative interviews, or quantitative statistical analysis)
• Ethics are an important issue when developing specific research tools, particularly with human research.

• Proposed Methodology and Methods
Deriving from the comparative analysis, determine which research methodology (e.g. qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods) is appropriate for your research project. Discuss the reasons behind your choice of a methodology. From this determine which particular methods you intend on using and explain why. Outline the software design, relate the methodologies and methods to the research question(s) - what methods are being used to address the research question(s)? What tools/research instruments are you planning on using? How do you plan on triangulating your data? What ethical issues need to be taken into consideration? How has ethics influenced the development of your research tools?

Referencing
It is essential that you use appropriate APA style for citing and referencing research.

Assessment 3: Research Proposal

Research Proposal

Learning Outcome 1: Build appropriate research design suitable to the context

Learning Outcome 2: Present and evaluate academic arguments including writing and presenting a research proposal

Learning Outcome 3: Select and critically analyse published resources

Learning Outcome 4: Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research methods

Learning Outcome 5: Synthesise and integrate ethical principles related to research

Task Summary

This assessment, the Research Proposal Report and Presentation is an individual assessment and covers 40% of your overall grade. It is designed to provide the direction of your future research project.

Your Research Proposal report should be 2500 words (+/- 10%) and it should include the following:
• The title of your research
• Introduction which includes:
o Background and context of the research
o Research questions
o Aims and objectives
• Literature Review
• Methodology and Methods (rewritten from Assessment 2)
• Proposed Timeline (assume 12 weeks duration)
• Conclusion linking your research questions, aims and objectives with the proposed methodology
• References (APA style)
• Appendices which will contain any tools/research instruments you intend on using

Your Presentation should be between 5-7 minutes and it should include the following:
• The title of your research
• Introduction which includes:
o Background and context of the research
o Research questions
o Aims and objectives
• Literature Review (with a focus on visual elements)
• Methodology and Methods (use diagrams and examples)
• Proposed Timeline (assume 12 weeks duration)
• Conclusion - a one paragraph summary of your proposal linking your research questions, aims and objectives with the proposed methodology
• References (APA style)

Context
This assessment, a Research Proposal and Presentation is the final assessment for this subject. This assessment requires Software Engineering students to prepare a report and presentation that outlines their proposed research project.

The Research Proposal and Presentation should provide students with a clear specification of the what, when, where, why and how of their research project. The abstract should be updated to reflect the changes in the methodology and research direction, guided by the literature review.

The aims should be clear and the objectives should map with the proposed methodology.

It should include a fully referenced literature review. The literature review may include comparisons with existing technologies as well as visual research, code snippets or patterns. It should include peer-reviewed research. Gaps in the research should be identified which should drive the direction of the research project.

The methodology should outline clearly how the research question(s) will be addressed by the particular approach you have taken. Individual research instruments/tools should be fully developed and included in the Appendix of the report. The methodology section should include discussion of any ethical issues that might arise and how these issues may be resolved.

Both the report and the presentation should include a timeline which assumes a 12-week production cycle and a breakdown of the tasks involved and when they should be complete. A Gantt chart would be appropriate.

Finally, a tentative conclusion should be written linking the research questions, aims and objectives, research gaps identified in the literature review and proposed methodology and methods. It should be clear how the research questions are being addressed by the methodology.

Task Instructions

Research Proposal Presentation

Create and present a 5-7 minute presentation in either PowerPoint or as a PDF containing:

• Title slide
o Include your name and student number
• Introduction
o Background to the problem and how it addresses the University ethos "Here for Good". Use pictures over words.
o Research questions
o Aims and objectives
• Positioning the work in the field (Literature review)
o Use pictures over words
o Bullet points
• Proposed Methodology
o Use diagrams and examples of data visualisation to show your approach
• Methods
o Show examples of your research instrument/tools (e.g. a sample of the survey questions)
o Outline any ethical issues and how you plan to overcome them
• Tentative Conclusion
o Show how your proposed methodology will answer the research questions
• Timeline
• References (no need to talk about the references, just show the slide)

Research Proposal Report
Write a Research Proposal Report. The report that forms this assessment should contain:
• Title: The title of a research project is usually a single concise sentence that accurately reflects the proposed research.

• Introduction provides a background and context for the proposed research. It includes the:
o Research Question(s)
o Aims and Objectives
o Hypothesis
The introduction should address how the research project addresses the University ethos "Here for Good". An introduction is 1-2 paragraphs in length.

• Literature Review using the resources you identified in Assessment 1 - Annotated Bibliography, write a literature review that situates your research project in the existing field. Outline the larger context for the research. Determine what research gap your project fills. Feel free to include:
• Conceptual diagrams
• Flow charts
• Interface research
• Code snippets or patterns

Ensure you use APA style in-text referencing throughout your report. Your literature review should be 1000 -1500 words.

• Methodology and Methods
Outline which research methodology (e.g. qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods) will be used for your research project. Describe which methods you intend on using. Outline the software design. Relate the methodologies and methods to the research question(s) - which methods are being used to address the research question(s)? What tools/research instruments are you planning on using?
How do you plan on triangulating your data? What ethical issues need to be taken into consideration? How has ethics influenced the development of your research tools?

For this section you will need to REWRITE and edit the work you submitted for the previous assessment. DO NOT SELF-PLAGIARISE.

• Conclusion
A one paragraph summary of the research proposal linking research questions with proposed methodology.
• Proposed Timeline (assume 12 weeks duration) outlining major deliverables
• Referencing

Attachment:- Research Methodologies.rar