Written Assignment

Word limit: 1500 words.

Task Description:

Practitioners in health related fields are required to be familiar with current literature in their chosen field of practice to ensure service delivery is based on the best available evidence. At times, this will involve searching for literature and compiling this in the form of a literature review. In order to develop your skills in conducting a review, this assessment requires you to write a literature review by:

Choosing a specific topic area of relevance to your field of study/practice

Establishing the importance of this research topic to the field

Conducting a search for relevant scholarly literature published on this topic within the past 5 - 10 years (or earlier if they are seminal works)
Critically analysing the literature and writing a review which synthesises the major themes in the literature

Identifying areas of controversy and gaps in literature and formulating questions that need further research

You should aim to focus on at least 15 scholarly sources of literature and ensure your review is written in a clear and scholarly manner, including spelling, grammar, structure, tone, and accurate referencing in accordance with the latest APA guidelines (APA 6th). Material will be provided in your study guide, book of readings, and on Learning@Griffith, which will assist you in conducting your review. The following sections are suggested to assist you to structure your review:

A brief discussion about your topic, a rationale for its choice and how the selected literature is relevant to it (so for example, you may provide a rationale for including or excluding overseas literature; or you might give a rationale for narrowing your topic to a particular intervention, such as groupwork or counselling).

Scope and method of literature search

Results of your review of the literature - a summary of what is and is not known ie. identification of the themes in the literature

Areas of controversy or debate in the literature

Areas that are not addressed in the literature and therefore need further research

Students are also encouraged to refer to the marking rubric on Learning@Griffith for detailed information on how the review will be assessed. It will also be extremely beneficial to talk with student colleagues, online at Learning@Griffith, to develop and refine your topic.