Research Papers

ASSESSMENT BRIEF
Assessment Project Statement
Individua
Length 1500 words (+/- 10%)
Learning Outcomes The Subject Learning Outcomes demonstrated by successful completion of the task below include:
a) Demonstrate information literacy and problem-solving skills to locate, gather and organise, credible and relevant resources.
b) Evaluate the quality and relevance of secondary sources related to your chosen field through critical reading.
c) Critically appraise, annotate, and synthesise
literature to develop a project statement for
scholarly research in your chosen field.
d) Identify and distinguish between practice and theory based on literature in your chosen field.
e) Formulate and write a well-structured
comprehensive literature review related to a chosen topic.
Total Marks 100 marks

Assessment Task

Develop a Project Statement for scholarly research in your chosen field.

Instructions

A Project Statement is expected to introduce the topic, articulate the problem that is sought
to be resolved, present the purpose of the research and specify the research questions that
will be answered and the hypotheses/propositions will be tested. Often, the project
the statement will include a brief research review (which you have already completed as
Assessment 2) and a tentative outline of the research design (Qualitative)

Address each of the following sections in your submission:

A. Introduction Section – Introduce the topic of enquiry.
While in Assessment 2, you may have taken an approach of introducing the topic within the
broader context of the literature, herein the introduction should be written in a manner as
to lead the audience to the problem being investigated. You must conclude this section by
listing the remaining sections to follow.

B. Problem statement – Identify the need for the research
Something must be broken that needs to be fixed, and this may also include opportunities
that are yet to be realised. Address the following aspects in your problem statement:

1. Clarify what it is that is broken. Be sure not to propose a solution or your tentative
thoughts of what a solution might look like – if you already know the solution, there
isn’t any need for any research. Remember a problem cannot be your opinion or
hearsay. It has to emanate from the literature.

2. Support the problem statement with references to recent literature. A rule of thumb
is that your literature should be dated to the last 5 years, or seminal. This problem
needs to have a basis in the literature gap that you identified in Assessment 2.

3. Indicate the magnitude and severity of the problem. What are the consequences of
the problem remaining unsolved? Articulate any attempts to resolve the problem documented in the literature thus far, and the outcomes of such research. This will
enable you to distinguish your own inquiry from others. This will form the
foundation of your research. This will contribute to your articulation of the
significance of the problem and the need for advanced investigation.

C. Purpose statement – State what you are setting out to achieve
Address the following aspects in your purpose statement:

1. State what your research will encompass and what it will not, so that the audience is
clear on what your claims are. It is against this statement that the deliverables of
your research will be eventually evaluated.

2. State in a paragraph, the tentative research design. It is acknowledged that your
knowledge of research design is not yet complete, and the purpose statement will be
evaluated on that basis. As an indication, you can state whether the proposed
research design is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method. (Per Doc A. attached- proposed Research Design is Qualitative)

3. Present a rationale for the appropriateness of the research design. Why did you
choose this design over other alternatives? Why do you believe that this design best
aligns with the purpose and research questions? This section, in this form, enables
your mentor, and learning facilitator, to understand your point of view and advise
you on the design and suggest learning resources.

D. Research Questions and Hypotheses/Propositions – State the question(s) that you will ask and the hypotheses or proposition you will test
(Doc A. attached has some research questions- this can be built on) (please find those probing research question/s that will become the focus of research design, data collections)

unambiguously state the questions you will ask of the data you will collect in your research process.

You can have more than one research question but having more
than four may make the research unwieldy. Each question will be associated with a testable
hypothesis or proposition statement. This hypothesis will be presented as the null
hypothesis, and its alternative should also be stated. A proposition used in qualitative
research will be presented as a statement.
Use the framework below to present these.
If Quantitative:
RQ1:
Null Hypothesis 1:
Alternative Hypothesis 1:

If Qualitative:
RQ1:
Proposition:

E. Brief Literature Review – Contextualise the Project Statement
Refine the direction of your assessment 1 to flow on to the Problem Statement, Purpose
Statement and Research Questions. This section will help your audience understand the
context in which your Project Statement is situated.

F. Conclusion – Recap the Problem Statement, Purpose and path to finding a solution
In the conclusion section, recap the problem statement, state the purpose and indicate how
answering your listed research questions will lead to a solution to the identified problem.
State how your research is distinguished from other works in the literature.
Please refer to the Assessment Rubric for details on how your submission will be assessed.

Assessment Rubric
Assessment Rubric
Assessment Attributes Fail
(Yet to achieve minimum standard) Pass (Functional) Credit (Proficient) Distinction (Advanced) High Distinction (Exceptional)
Articulation of the problem.
Marks for this criterion: 40 There is no problem statement. Even symptoms of the problem are not clearly reported.
The severity and magnitude of the problem is not identified or communicated.
There are no or irrelevant references to the literature.
The statement does not identify the potential outcomes of the research inquiry. There is no distinction between symptoms and causes, and as a consequence, the statement is unable to articulate what is broken that needs a solution.
The severity and magnitude of the problem is not identified or communicated clearly.
There are limited references to the literature and the problem statement is not contextualized appropriately to the existing body of knowledge.
The statement fails to clearly express the potential outcomes of the research inquiry. The statement articulates, although not with clarity, what is broken that needs a solution. Symptoms and causes are often confused.
The severity and magnitude of the problem is identified but not communicated clearly.
There are adequate references to the The statement reasonably articulates what is broken that needs a solution. Causes and symptoms are delineated.
The severity and magnitude of the problem is identified and communicated.
The problem statement is contextualized to the existing body of knowledge. The statement precisely articulates what is broken that needs a solution. Causes and symptoms are clearly delineated.
The severity and magnitude of the problem is clearly identified and communicated.
The problem statement is comprehensively contextualized to the existing body
problem statement is not contextualized appropriately to the existing body of knowledge.
The statement fails to clearly express the potential outcomes of the research inquiry. The statement makes an attempt to distinguish the research inquiry from other works in the literature. of knowledge.
The statement clearly distinguishes the research inquiry from other works in the literature.

Formulation of the Purpose.
Marks for this criterion: 20 The project statement does not specify a clear purpose.
The scope of the research: inclusions, exclusions and The statement is unable to communicate the research purpose.
The scope of the research: inclusions, exclusions and The statement states what purpose the research will achieve, but this is not aligned with the rest of the project statement. The statement articulates what purpose the research will achieve.
The scope of the research: inclusions, The statement precisely articulates what purpose the research will achieve.
The scope of the research:
limitations are not clarified.
The research design is either missing or not sensible.
There is no rationale for the chosen research design. limitations are not identified.
The research design is vague and ambiguous.
The rationale for the research design is neither defended nor presented clearly. The scope of the research: inclusions, exclusions and limitations are not accurately identified.
The research design is not clearly articulated.
The rationale for the research design is not defended or presented to a good standard. exclusions and limitations are specified.
The research design is articulated.
The rationale for the research design is defended and presented. inclusions, exclusions and limitations are unambiguously specified.
The research design is clearly articulated.
The rationale for the research design is well defended and presented clearly.
Development of research questions and associated hypotheses.
Marks for this criterion: 20 The research questions are not specified or are data collection questions.
The research questions do not align with the identified problem and are not coupled with associated hypotheses. The research questions are not consistent with the research design indicated in the purpose statement. The research questions are specified but are conflated with data collection questions.
The research questions do not align well with the identified problem and are not coupled with associated hypotheses, which are presented in a testable form. These are not consistent with the research design indicated in the purpose statement. The research questions are specified and are not conflated with data collection questions.
The research questions align with the identified problem and are coupled with associated hypotheses, which are presented in a testable form. These are not always consistent with the research design indicated in the purpose statement. The research questions are specified and are not conflated with data collection questions.
The research questions align well with the identified problem and are coupled with associated hypotheses, which are presented in a testable form. These are consistent with the research design indicated in the purpose statement. The research questions are unambiguously specified and are not conflated with data collection questions.
The research questions align seamlessly with the identified problem and are coupled with associated hypotheses, which are presented in a testable form. These are consistent with the research design indicated in the purpose statement.
Structure and Organization of the Project Statement
Marks for this criterion: 10 The paper is not well organized and structured, and various sections of the project statement (including the introduction, brief The paper is not consistently well organized and structured, and various sections of the project statement (including the introduction, brief The paper is generally well organized and structured, but various sections of the project statement (including the introduction, The paper is well organized and structured, but various sections of the project statement (including the introduction, brief literature The paper is well organized and structured, with various sections of the project statement (including the introduction, brief literature
literature review and conclusion) are inconsistent and unaligned with each other.
Does not engage and sustain audience’s interest in the topic. Does not demonstrate insight and analytical skills. literature review and conclusion) do not fit in seamlessly and are often inconsistent.
Does not consistently engages and sustain audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates only evolving insight and analytical skills. brief literature review and conclusion) do not fit in seamlessly and are sometimes inconsistent.
Somewhat engages and sustains audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates reasonable insight and analytical skills. review and conclusion) do not fit in seamlessly.
Engages and sustains audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates good insight and analytical skills. review and conclusion) fitting in seamlessly.
Engages and sustains audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates high levels of insight and analytical skills
Appropriate use of academic and linguistic conventions
Marks for this criterion: 10 Demonstrates inconsistent use of academic and linguistic conventions, including language grammar, citations, formatting of in- text citations and references management. Substantial errors in the application of good writing and referencing practices.
Demonstrates basic use of academic and linguistic conventions, including language grammar, citations, formatting of in-text citations and references management. Significant errors in the application of good writing and referencing
Demonstrates good use of academic and linguistic conventions, including language grammar, citations, formatting of in-text citations and references management. Some errors in the application of good writing and referencing practices.
Demonstrates very good use of academic and linguistic conventions, including language grammar, citations, formatting of in-text citations and references management. Minor errors in writing and referencing observed.
Demonstrates excellent use of academic and linguistic conventions, including language grammar, citations, formatting of in-text citations and references management.