Critically analyzing the literature and writing a review which synthesizes the major themes in the literature.

Literature review

FIELD OF STUDY: MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK
Weight: 40%
Task Description:

Word Limit: 1500

MY TOPIC- What are the two impacts of pre- migration experiences on Australian Refugees

Practitioners 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 –

(What are the two impacts of pre- migration experiences on Australian Refugees)

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 analyzing the literature and writing a review which synthesizes 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 APA guidelines).

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 group work or counseling).
Scope and method of literature search (ie. search methods)
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

Criteria & Marking:

The literature review will be marked against the following criteria

Demonstrated ability to define and provide a rationale for a relevant topic (10 marks)
Location of a range of relevant literature (10 marks)
Capacity for critical review and analysis of the literature, which highlights the relevance of the selected to literature to practice (10 marks)
Academic standards of writing and referencing (10 marks)

Papers will be marked individually and electronically. Feedback will also be provided to the group as a whole on the course site.