ICT90003 Applied Research Methods
Assessment Task 1A: Literature Review
Important Details
This task is worth 15% of your final mark. It is to be done individually.
Your report should be between 1200-2000 words.
Introduction
The aim of this task is to demonstrate your ability to find useful resources regarding current
research in an area of professional interest to you, as well as your ability to convey
information in a written form about those resources and structure a short report, including
referencing.
The learning outcomes covered by this task include:
• Research the literature, and compare viewpoints and arguments and identify gaps in
knowledge.
• Interpret and critically evaluate previously published material in a formal literature
review.
The Task
For this task you will need to investigate current research trends in an area of interest to you.
This could be a broad or narrow area; the area will need to be defined. Try to identify themes
or ideas that you come across, for example, are there particular topics that are popular, or is
there a key problem that has many different possible solutions? Your report needs to be
structured so that someone not familiar with your area of interest can follow it.
Assessment
A detailed rubric will be made available in week 2 on Blackboard.
Any sections deemed beyond the word count will not be marked. Appendices will also not be
marked. References are not included in the word count.
Formatting and Referencing Style
The report should follow these guidelines:
• A cover page and table of contents should not be included.
• IEEE format can be used. In that case, the report should use the IEEE template and
references should be in IEEE style. Your student name and number must be clearly
noted at the top of the report. A word count should be included at the end of the
report (before references).
• Otherwise, the report should be presented using 12pt font with 1.15 or 1.5 line
spacing. The report should have a heading in a larger font size, followed by your
name and student number in 12pt font. If not using the IEEE format, then Harvard
referencing is expected. A word count should be included at
ICT90003 Sem 2 2017 Assignment 1A: Literature Review Page 2
the end of the report (before references). Each page should have a footer with your
student number, name and a page number.
Submission
The report should be submitted to TurnItin via the appropriate link in Blackboard. Note that
Blackboard and TurnItIn sometimes have outages beyond our control, so it is wise not to
leave submission to the last minute – you can overwrite previous submissions.
Note content from assessed tasks in other units (even your own tasks) cannot be reused.
However, you can reference papers and sources you included in previous tasks.
Extensions and Late Submission
Students are referred to the Unit Outline for more details.
Academic Honesty
The work submitted is to be the work of the individual only, and references must be made to
the work of others. Students are referred to the Unit Outline for more details.