ASSESSMENT TASK ADVICE SHEET
Overview
Academic English 700056/900021 Term 1 2021
Research Report
Academic research reports at university are based on either experimental or survey research. For practical reasons, only ‘survey research’ can be carried out in Academic English. The range of possible research topics is limited and, therefore, students may not be able to choose from within their own general subject area.
The research report is worth 35% of the overall marks for the unit. Parts of the report will be completed individually and parts completed collaboratively within a group, however each group member is required to produce and submit a research report of 1,200 words in the prescribed format. The general topic area will be provided (see below), however each group will identify their own research focus.
The Research Report is to be submitted through Turnitin by 11:50pm on Friday 14th May 2021 – the end of week 10.
Assessment description
This task assesses the learning outcomes 1 (critically read, analyse and make meaning from academic texts), 2 (identify and summarise the main points of arguments), 3 (locate and cite arguments and evidence using the conventions of academic research), 4 (produce a well-structured, logical, coherent and cohesive response to writing tasks using appropriate academic language structures), and 5 (work effectively in a small group learning environment).
Guidelines
The general topic area of research is listening to background music while studying.
You will work in groups of 4 to 6.
- Each group will work collaboratively to:
- Define its own research question and hypothesis
- Design its own questionnaire of between 10 and 15 questions
- Administer the questionnaire by surveying a minimum of 30 participants from within The College using Microsoft Forms (response rate can be below this)
- Analyse the data and write the Results section of the report
- Complete the Methodology section
Individually, each group member will complete the Abstract, Introduction, and Discussion sections of the report. Note – it is expected that Methodology and Results sections of the report, as well as the questionnaire, will be the same as other group members; however, the Abstract, Introduction and Discussion sections of the report and the Reference List are to be written individually.
It is a requirement that your report contains a minimum of 2 in-text citations from a minimum of 1 source. You can use the source provided or locate your own.
Style and formatting
As identified above, each student will submit their own separate report, and the following must be provided:
- A title page
- A table of contents page complete with page numbers
- All sections of the report
- A reference list using the WSU Harvard referencing style (APA if you are a Health Science student)
- An appendix with a clean copy of the questionnaire
Use Times New Roman, 12-point font with double line spacing, standard margins and black ink only.
The reference list must be on a separate page using single line spacing and with a blank line between each entry.
The title page should show:
- Your name
- Your student number
- The names of the other students in your group
- Your teacher’s name
- The focus of your report
- The word count (number of words you wrote, excluding title page, Reference List and Appendix)
- The referencing style you are using. Note – if no style is chosen, the Harvard style will be assumed
Penalties
A penalty of 10% per calendar day applies for submissions made after the due date and time.
A penalty of 10% will be deducted from your final mark for texts which are outside the range of plus or minus 10% of the stipulated word length. The word length does not include the title page, the reference list and the Appendix.
Additional Notes
This task requires that you to have access to Microsoft Forms. It is your responsibility to contact IT if you cannot access Microsoft Forms.
This is partly a group task and you are therefore encouraged to take active steps to regularly communicate with your group members. You are encouraged to approach your teacher for guidance should any difficulties arise within your group, however you should first attempt to resolve issues yourself.
It is highly recommended that you submit your report through Turnitin and check for matchings at least once before the final submission date, as penalties for plagiarism and poor paraphrasing are severe.
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