Assignment
Problem finding, identification and definition
Assignment 1 is worth 10% of your total grade and should be 500 words long, +/- 50 words (only your answers, without the questions). The aim of this assignment is to find a suitable research question that hopefully will be used for your second and third assignments. Since this assignment is the basis for your other assignments, it is very important to define a clear and focussed research question.
1. Some important tips
1.1. START EARLY! Although, this assignment is short, you do not have much time for it. Thus you need to start thinking about your research question as soon as possible. You need to find the research question yourself.
1.2. Make sure your research question is clear, readable and logical.
1.3. Obviously, your research question should be in a question form.
1.4. Keep your research question simple. Some students are far too ambitious and pose unrealistic research objectives. Focus your research question as much as possible. You should be able to solve the research problem in a short amount of time with limited resources.
1.5. Again, limit your research question as much as possible.
1.6. Expand the acronyms when you use them for the first time.
1.7. Use separate paragraphs when the focus of the discussion changes.
For your first assignment, choose a research question and answer the following questions:
1. Describe the general background/context and importance of the research question (Some background information that familiarises the reader with your research question and helps him/her to understand the importance of your topic).
2. Write a clear and focused research question.
3. Look at your research question and answer the following:
a. How have you focused your research question to make sure you can undertake this research with a reasonable expenditure of time, money and effort?
b. Will the process of solving this problem be more than a simple exercise in reviewing some existing information or will it involve some investigation? (To answer this, you need to explain very briefly how you are going to answer your research question/solve the research problem and show that this is more than just reviewing some existing information.)