QuestionRIT4801 – Assignment 1 2015Literature Review Instructions

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
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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%.

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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

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