Research Skills and Using Information Assessment

As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit an Individual Presentation and an Individual Written Report for the Research Skills and Using Information assessment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submittingassignments.

After completing the module you should be able to:

1. Describe and present information from given data sets

2. Explain how organisations can use data to improve quality.

3. Collate, structure and present and use information from given data sets

4. Write a report in fluent, accurate English observing the conventions of grammar, punctuation and spelling and referencing.

Maximum Word Count – Part A: 1,000 words

Maximum Word Count – Part B: 2,000 words

Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a reduction in grade by the same percentage that the word count is exceeded.

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should NOT be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.

Assignment Task Part A: Power Point Presentation – Max: 1000 words (40 marks)

For this assignment, you are required to

• Choose ONE of the topics given below.

• Produce a PowerPoint presentation of your chosen topic (with a maximum of 10 slides), together with speaker notes. Your presentation should include a summary of 3 to 5 literature sources (including a data source) used in researching your topic.

Choose ONE of the following topics:

The use of social media by higher education (HE) students – which platforms and for what purposes.

The popularity of electric vehicles in the UK.

The effect of budget cuts on social services and communities in the UK.

The impact of immigration on the UK economy.

Diet and dieting among higher education students in the UK.

The suggested structure of the Individual Presentation is as follows:

1) Introduction to the Research Topic (1 slide recommended) – 4 marks

2) Background to the Problem (1 slide recommended) – 4 marks

3) Summary of the literature (3-5 slides recommended) – 20 marks

4) Evaluation of the relevance and reliability of the literature sources (1-2 slides recommended) – 8 marks

5) References/Bibliography (1 slide) - 4 marks

Assignment Task Part B – Individual Written Report – Max: 2000 words (60 marks)

Building upon the chosen topic used in the presentation slides in Part A, you are required to produce a written report (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5).

You are required to write a report which includes a description of the most current literature sources and data relevant to your chosen topic for the United Kingdom.

The source of this data must be from material you summarized in your PowerPoint presentation.

The report should include an introduction to the topic, the process used to select the materials, a summary of the materials, an evaluation of the relevance/appropriateness of the literature sources, and reflections on your own learning during the research.

Suggested structure of the Written Report is as follows:

1. Introduction to the topic (including a background) (approx. 200 words) – 6 marks

2. Description of the literature and data (approx. 400 words) – 12 marks

3. Process used to select the literature and data including a discussion on how to ensure references are reputable and reliable. (approx. 400 words) – 12 marks
4. Summary of the literature and data. Summarise the literature and explain why the data is important to the readers of the report or your sector. (approx. 600 words) – 18 marks

5. Evaluation of the relevance and reliability of the literature sources (approx. 200 words) – 6 marks

6. Reflections on your own learning during the research (approx. 200 words) – 6 marks