Overview This document gives an overview of what is expected
Question # 00115504
Posted By:
Updated on: 10/09/2015 09:45 PM Due on: 11/08/2015
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
Literature Review Instructions
1 Overview
This document gives an overview of what is expected of you in terms of the format for the literature
review in the first assignment. Follow this as a guide to help you structure your thoughts and
arguments.
2 Literature Review Structure
Remember that your audience does not necessarily have your expertise on the topic. Write in a
formal academic communication style but try and keep your sentences short and to the point. If
English is not your native language then it is highly advisable that you ask someone to read your
paper before you submit it for evaluation. Make use of the Harvard style to format your references
and citations (please make use of RefWorks (http://www.refworks.com/) to manage your
references).
2.1 Introduction
Introduce your research topic in this section of the paper. Do not exceed half a page of the total
document.
2.2 Overview of research topic
In this section you can give more detail about the topic that you intent to research. This is to provide
your reader with an overview of what the topic is all about and should not be very long.
2.3 Discussion of Main Concepts and Issues
This section is the most important section of the document and will take up most of the “paper”
space. Here you must discuss the concepts that you found in the literature as well is their relation to
other concepts. The style of writing is much the same as telling the “story” of your research from the
perspective of what is written in the literature.
2.4 Research Problem
This is a focussed section where you will indicate what the specific problem is that you’ve identified
from the literature. What is needed is evidence in support of the “realness” of your problem. Be very
aware of the difference between a problem and a solution, do not state any kind of solution here
only the problem. What would be very helpful is ending section with the phrase: “the research
problem identified in this paper is….”. Never allow the reader to guess or interpret what you think
the problem is, be explicit and specific
2.5 Research questions and objectives
This section follows from the previous section by showing the questions that will determine the
scope of your research project. Be careful to ask a research question. Do not list survey style
questions or any question that is designed to gather data. You must also show how the research
questions link to the problem and in what way the answers to your questions will address the
research problem. To give more clarity you can also show the research objectives and how they
1
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
relate to your questions. Keep in in mid that you are proposing a research project that must be
completed in the space of 10 months.
2.6 Conclusion
In this section you conclude your document. No more than half a page.
2.7 Terms and definitions
List and give brief definition of your terminology.
2.8 References
List only the papers that you have cited in the document. You will always read more that you cite. Do
not put anything here that has not been cited in the document. Remember to use the Harvard
system for formatting your references. (see here for an explanation:
http://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/bibharvard.htm)
3 Plagiarism and Content Similarity
Your technical report will be submitted for a plagiarism and similarity check on the TurnItIn
(http://www.turnitin.com) originality checking service. The purpose of this step is to ensure that you
present your thoughts as your thoughts as they develop throughout the academic year. Although it
is difficult to directly measure any form of plagiarism, it is generally accepted that work copied
directly from a source is regarded as a form of plagiarism. To avoid this problem in your writing you
need to adhere to at least two important principles:
1. Always state your understanding in your own words, avoid direct copying from a source at
all costs, even if you provide a citation
2. Avoid any form of direct quoting from a source
In the event that the TurnItIn service indicates a high similarity score, you will be penalized by the
subtracting of marks on a sliding scale as follows:
Similarity range
25% - 35%
36% - 49%
50% - 75%
Penalty
20% will be deducted from your final mark
35% will be deducted from your final mark
The value of your similarity score will be
deducted from your total mark
Disciplinary steps will be taken
Above 75%
To facilitate transparency your similarity report will be attached to your evaluated assignment. In
cases where your similarity score exceeds your assigned marks you will be awarded a final mark of
5%.
2
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
4 Checklist
Follow the following checklist to ensure that you are on track with your literature review:
Aspect
Introduction
Overview of research topic
Concept discussion
Research problem
Research questions and
objectives
Citation and Reference
Language
Argument and flow
Plagiarism and Similarity
Description
Did you introduce your research topic in such a way that a nonexpert can understand?
Is the introduction more than half a page?
Did you clearly identify your research topic?
Did you follow a structured literature review method?
Are you clear on what the concepts are and how they relate to the
research topic?
Did you give detailed discussion on the meaning of each concept
and it relevance to your research topic?
Is your research problem stated concisely and in an unambiguous
manner?
Did you provide evidence in support of your problem?
Did you list at least 1 research question?
Did you show how the research question/s will address the
research problem?
Did you use Harvard referencing style correctly in both your in-text
citations as well as your reference list?
Did you make any spelling errors?
Did you make any grammar errors?
Is your paper written in clear simple English?
Does your argument flow from one point to another?
Did you present ideas of other authors as your own?
Did you copy and paste form your cited sources?
3
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
5 Evaluation
You are evaluated both in terms of content and structure. The content of the assignment relates to
the specific aspects of your chosen topic whilst the structure relates to how the document is
structured and how well it reads. We will be using the following rubric in this evaluation:
Title, topic and structure
The author identifies the research topic in unambiguous terms
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author identifies the key concepts of the research topic
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author provides a list of formal definitions for technical terms related to the research
topic
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author wrote the assignment in an academic style
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
Literature review
The author bases the LR on an identifiable LR method, for example author based, concept
based etc. structure
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author discusses the key concepts of the research topic in an unambiguous manner
Unacceptable (1-5)
Below Expectations (6-10)
Meet Expectations (11-15)
Above Expectations (16 – 20)
20
Research Problem and question
The author states a topical research problem in an unambiguous manner
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author provides supportive evidence for the topical research problem
Unacceptable (1)
Meet Expectations (3)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
Below Expectations (2)
3
The author lists specific research questions
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
References and citations
The author provided a reference list off all cited references in the Harvard citation style
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author correctly used the Harvard citations style for in-text citations
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
Total
50
Plagiarism and similarity penalty
25% - 35% (-20%)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
36% - 49% (-35%)
Final Mark
4
50% - 75% (value of your score)
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
6 Appendix A – guidelines
Make use of the following guidelines to write your literature review. A copy of the assignment frontpage will be loaded under the additional resources section of myunisa.
6.1 Style guide:
Aspect
Notes
Use supplied front page
Include up to level 3 of the style you use
A4
Times New Roman (or other machine readable
font)
Follow the build in NORMAL style for headings
and subheadings.
Do not make paragraph font sizes more than 10
points
1.5
Use only where needed and makes sense
Do not use decorative styles
Save and submit as PDF
Front page
Table of contents
Page size
Font
Font size
Line space
Diagrams
Tables
File format
Please do not “decorate” your report by adding unnecessary images and colour as it makes the
document too large to load onto the system. Also do not submit more than one file for evaluation
since the onscreen marking system can only manage one file at a time. Please submit your
assignment in Microsoft Word format and make sure that it is not password protected or a scanned
copy of your assignment.
6.2 Proposed structure:
Front matter
Use front page as supplied, include a table of
contents
No more than half a page
Brief and concise, no more than half a page
This is the longest part of the assignment; try not
to exceed 5000 words. Structure this section to
facilitate the flow of your argument
Brief and concise, no more than a paragraph,
ideally start your problem statement with the
phrase “the research problem identified for this
study is….”
Brief and concise, no more than a paragraph
No more than half a page
List and give the technical definitions of your
terms
At end of document in Harvard style
Introduction
Overview of your research topic
Discussion of Main Concepts and Issues
Research problem
Research questions and objectives
Conclusion
Terms and Definitions
Reference List
5
Literature Review Instructions
1 Overview
This document gives an overview of what is expected of you in terms of the format for the literature
review in the first assignment. Follow this as a guide to help you structure your thoughts and
arguments.
2 Literature Review Structure
Remember that your audience does not necessarily have your expertise on the topic. Write in a
formal academic communication style but try and keep your sentences short and to the point. If
English is not your native language then it is highly advisable that you ask someone to read your
paper before you submit it for evaluation. Make use of the Harvard style to format your references
and citations (please make use of RefWorks (http://www.refworks.com/) to manage your
references).
2.1 Introduction
Introduce your research topic in this section of the paper. Do not exceed half a page of the total
document.
2.2 Overview of research topic
In this section you can give more detail about the topic that you intent to research. This is to provide
your reader with an overview of what the topic is all about and should not be very long.
2.3 Discussion of Main Concepts and Issues
This section is the most important section of the document and will take up most of the “paper”
space. Here you must discuss the concepts that you found in the literature as well is their relation to
other concepts. The style of writing is much the same as telling the “story” of your research from the
perspective of what is written in the literature.
2.4 Research Problem
This is a focussed section where you will indicate what the specific problem is that you’ve identified
from the literature. What is needed is evidence in support of the “realness” of your problem. Be very
aware of the difference between a problem and a solution, do not state any kind of solution here
only the problem. What would be very helpful is ending section with the phrase: “the research
problem identified in this paper is….”. Never allow the reader to guess or interpret what you think
the problem is, be explicit and specific
2.5 Research questions and objectives
This section follows from the previous section by showing the questions that will determine the
scope of your research project. Be careful to ask a research question. Do not list survey style
questions or any question that is designed to gather data. You must also show how the research
questions link to the problem and in what way the answers to your questions will address the
research problem. To give more clarity you can also show the research objectives and how they
1
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
relate to your questions. Keep in in mid that you are proposing a research project that must be
completed in the space of 10 months.
2.6 Conclusion
In this section you conclude your document. No more than half a page.
2.7 Terms and definitions
List and give brief definition of your terminology.
2.8 References
List only the papers that you have cited in the document. You will always read more that you cite. Do
not put anything here that has not been cited in the document. Remember to use the Harvard
system for formatting your references. (see here for an explanation:
http://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/infolit/bibharvard.htm)
3 Plagiarism and Content Similarity
Your technical report will be submitted for a plagiarism and similarity check on the TurnItIn
(http://www.turnitin.com) originality checking service. The purpose of this step is to ensure that you
present your thoughts as your thoughts as they develop throughout the academic year. Although it
is difficult to directly measure any form of plagiarism, it is generally accepted that work copied
directly from a source is regarded as a form of plagiarism. To avoid this problem in your writing you
need to adhere to at least two important principles:
1. Always state your understanding in your own words, avoid direct copying from a source at
all costs, even if you provide a citation
2. Avoid any form of direct quoting from a source
In the event that the TurnItIn service indicates a high similarity score, you will be penalized by the
subtracting of marks on a sliding scale as follows:
Similarity range
25% - 35%
36% - 49%
50% - 75%
Penalty
20% will be deducted from your final mark
35% will be deducted from your final mark
The value of your similarity score will be
deducted from your total mark
Disciplinary steps will be taken
Above 75%
To facilitate transparency your similarity report will be attached to your evaluated assignment. In
cases where your similarity score exceeds your assigned marks you will be awarded a final mark of
5%.
2
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
4 Checklist
Follow the following checklist to ensure that you are on track with your literature review:
Aspect
Introduction
Overview of research topic
Concept discussion
Research problem
Research questions and
objectives
Citation and Reference
Language
Argument and flow
Plagiarism and Similarity
Description
Did you introduce your research topic in such a way that a nonexpert can understand?
Is the introduction more than half a page?
Did you clearly identify your research topic?
Did you follow a structured literature review method?
Are you clear on what the concepts are and how they relate to the
research topic?
Did you give detailed discussion on the meaning of each concept
and it relevance to your research topic?
Is your research problem stated concisely and in an unambiguous
manner?
Did you provide evidence in support of your problem?
Did you list at least 1 research question?
Did you show how the research question/s will address the
research problem?
Did you use Harvard referencing style correctly in both your in-text
citations as well as your reference list?
Did you make any spelling errors?
Did you make any grammar errors?
Is your paper written in clear simple English?
Does your argument flow from one point to another?
Did you present ideas of other authors as your own?
Did you copy and paste form your cited sources?
3
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
5 Evaluation
You are evaluated both in terms of content and structure. The content of the assignment relates to
the specific aspects of your chosen topic whilst the structure relates to how the document is
structured and how well it reads. We will be using the following rubric in this evaluation:
Title, topic and structure
The author identifies the research topic in unambiguous terms
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author identifies the key concepts of the research topic
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author provides a list of formal definitions for technical terms related to the research
topic
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author wrote the assignment in an academic style
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
Literature review
The author bases the LR on an identifiable LR method, for example author based, concept
based etc. structure
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author discusses the key concepts of the research topic in an unambiguous manner
Unacceptable (1-5)
Below Expectations (6-10)
Meet Expectations (11-15)
Above Expectations (16 – 20)
20
Research Problem and question
The author states a topical research problem in an unambiguous manner
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author provides supportive evidence for the topical research problem
Unacceptable (1)
Meet Expectations (3)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
Below Expectations (2)
3
The author lists specific research questions
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
References and citations
The author provided a reference list off all cited references in the Harvard citation style
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
The author correctly used the Harvard citations style for in-text citations
Unacceptable (1)
Below Expectations (2)
Total
50
Plagiarism and similarity penalty
25% - 35% (-20%)
3
Meet Expectations (3)
36% - 49% (-35%)
Final Mark
4
50% - 75% (value of your score)
RIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015
6 Appendix A – guidelines
Make use of the following guidelines to write your literature review. A copy of the assignment frontpage will be loaded under the additional resources section of myunisa.
6.1 Style guide:
Aspect
Notes
Use supplied front page
Include up to level 3 of the style you use
A4
Times New Roman (or other machine readable
font)
Follow the build in NORMAL style for headings
and subheadings.
Do not make paragraph font sizes more than 10
points
1.5
Use only where needed and makes sense
Do not use decorative styles
Save and submit as PDF
Front page
Table of contents
Page size
Font
Font size
Line space
Diagrams
Tables
File format
Please do not “decorate” your report by adding unnecessary images and colour as it makes the
document too large to load onto the system. Also do not submit more than one file for evaluation
since the onscreen marking system can only manage one file at a time. Please submit your
assignment in Microsoft Word format and make sure that it is not password protected or a scanned
copy of your assignment.
6.2 Proposed structure:
Front matter
Use front page as supplied, include a table of
contents
No more than half a page
Brief and concise, no more than half a page
This is the longest part of the assignment; try not
to exceed 5000 words. Structure this section to
facilitate the flow of your argument
Brief and concise, no more than a paragraph,
ideally start your problem statement with the
phrase “the research problem identified for this
study is….”
Brief and concise, no more than a paragraph
No more than half a page
List and give the technical definitions of your
terms
At end of document in Harvard style
Introduction
Overview of your research topic
Discussion of Main Concepts and Issues
Research problem
Research questions and objectives
Conclusion
Terms and Definitions
Reference List
5
-
Rating:
/5
Solution: Overview This document gives an overview of what is expected