Preliminary research

Focus question and literature review

In this task you need to complete the sheet and write 300 - 500 words the areas you need to consider are below.

Poster Criteria

Topic:

Relevant areas of physics from the course including all relationships that might be used:

Other relevant physics (if applicable):

Focus question(s):

Independent variables:

Dependent variable:

The above does not contribute to the literature review word count

Write your literature review (300-500 words)

Reflection on research of at least two sources other than the text. This work will contribute to your logbook and will be assessed by the following rubric.

12-11 Advanced 10-8 Competent 7-6 Progressing 5-0 Developing

Writing a literature review for your Practical Investigation

A literature review refers to a collection of materials on a specific topic. The review evaluates and reports on the main ideas of a particular subject area using synthesis. Synthesising information is not summarising each article, but rather organising the information by the main points of the larger topic.

Your task is to select 3 to 4 sources relating to your practical investigation. You will then synthesise the sources creating a 300 - 500 word literature review. You should try to follow the following structure:

1. Introduction:

A concise definition of the topic under consideration (this may be a descriptive or argumentative), as well as the scope of the related literature being investigated. (Example: If the topic under consideration is ‘What affects the spin of a yoyo’, the scope of the review may be limited to published works from scientific journals, works online, works from a particular location, time period, or conflict, etc.)

The introduction should also note intentional exclusions. (Example: “This review will not explore yoyos made from metal.”)

2. Main Body:

There are a number of ways to organise the evaluation of the sources. Chronological and thematic approaches are each useful example.

Each work should be critically summarised and evaluated for its premise and conclusion. It is as important to address inconsistencies and differences between sources as well as when sources support the same idea. Use logical connections and transitions to connect sources.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion summarises the key findings of the review in general terms. Notable commonalities between works, whether favourable or not, may be included here.

This section is the reviewer’s opportunity to justify a research proposal. Therefore, the idea should be clearly re-stated and supported according to the findings of the review.

4. References

As well as accurate in-text citations, a literature review must contain complete and correct citations for every source using Harvard referencing.