ITECH 5500 Professional Research and Communication

Literature Synthesis

Overview

The purpose of this assessment is to enable students to demonstrate a critical awareness of previous research in an IT context within a chosen topic area through a basic understanding of research theory and techniques.

Overall goals of this assignment are to help you to:

• Become more knowledgeable about finding and using varied research sources in your chosen area in IT.
• Further develop your critical thinking skills and back up your points with evidence.
• Become more adept at synthesizing information and developing informed views.
• Discipline yourself to follow a scholarly research format to document in-text sources and a references page (bibliography).

You must work on this report individually

Learning Outcomes Assessed

The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:

Knowledge:

K1. Determine the role IT research plays in contributing to organisational innovation, and success. K2 Identify appropriate research philosophies for IT projects, which match organisational approaches.

Skills:

Application of knowledge and skills:

Assessment Details

Background

The report requires a critical analysis of literature relevant to a proposal. The purpose of the task is to help students identify and analyse relevant literature to assist in determining an appropriate topic for the research proposal.

Requirements

You are required to submit:

• An interim research proposal (50-200 words) to provide context for your choice of literature.
• A synthesis matrix (as described in class). This should discuss at least 6 articles, and at least 5 or 6 main ideas discussed in those articles. Choose your articles carefully – these should be relevant to the core ideas of your chosen topic, and as far as possible published in reputable, peer-reviewed sources. If you have concerns about the quality of an article, discuss this with your tutor during lab classes.
• A list of references named in the synthesis matrix. These should be in APA referencing style.

You have already done quite a bit of work for this research in tutorials: you should have a tentative research issue, strategies and evidence to persuade your readers about the significance of the problem you’re researching, as well as the validity of your research issues. You also should consider opposing views or good counter-arguments that you can address in order to help establish your credibility and enhance the relevance of your paper.

Interim Research Proposal

The submission must contain the following sections, submitted in the order as listed below-

• Title – proposal title (10 words maximum)
• Proposal - summarization of the significant concepts in the proposed study focusing on key aspects (200 words max)

Synthesis Matrix