Your task is to write a critical literature review of theories and research on how socio-cultural elements shape expectations of university study, and the role of these in university success and completion. You will be provided with 3 references to get you started, and you will need to source an additional 7 academic journal articles relevant to the topic. To complete this task you will need to be able to summarise and reflect on the sources, specify a number of research questions, and effectively outline how you will seek answers to your research questions. The minimum word limit is 1,500 words (maximum 1,800 words), not including the abstract, or reference list.

Assessment is based on the incorporation of the sources, level of critical discussion of the literature, the contextualisation of the research question, the clarity of writing and organisation of material, and the correct citation and referencing of the sources used.

Please see the marking matrix in Moodle for more details.

Data analysis cannot occur unless you have data! Interview data must be easily accessible and in a format that will allow clear differentiation between the interviewees, and between the interviewees and interviewer. The focus groups and interviews you conducted during the residential school will be audio recorded and each student will transcribe their interview and part of their focus group.To complete this task you will need to:

1. Using a transcription template, listen to the audio and accurately transcribe from the audio;

2. Clearly differentiate between the speakers;

3. Pay special attention to their vernacular and making it clear when they are paraphrasing others;

4. Include a summarising paragraph for each transcript (200-250 words);

5. Conduct field observations based on the topic of the interview and focus group. Write an ethnographic account which includes descriptive, reflexive notes of context, what you notice (and what you do not observe), and any preliminary connections that can be made between this piece of ethnography and the information garnered from the transcripts (2000-2500 words).

6. Lastly, write a critical reflection of your approach to both the one-on-one interview and the focus group, including: a) how you designed and delivered the interview and focus group guides; and b) a reflection on what you felt worked well, and what you would do differently next time for both the interview and focus group, including a comparison of the two formats (450-500 words).

Assessment is based on:

1) The layout of the transcription, its quality and organisation of sequences;

2) Written expression, ethnographic writing, and preliminary fieldwork analysis;

3) The interviewing reflection summary description and justification of effective interviewing and focus group techniques that were used, as well as critical description of limitations in the process, and suggestions of how these may be overcome in future interviews and focus groups.

Please see the marking matrix in Moodle for more details.

Your task is to write a research report based on field research, which you will conduct during the residential school. To complete this task you will need to:

1) Clearly articulate your research topic, present a brief critical discussion of the literature (based on Assessment 1) to show how your research topic is grounded in previous research, specify a research question and outline the research methodology.

2) Analyse two of the three forms of transcribed data elicited at Residential School--your ethnographic, interview and focus group data (see Assessment 2)--and incorporate it into a research report.

The research report must include an Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Process of Data Analysis, Findings, and a Discussion. Your interview and observation notes and data sets must be included in the appendix. The minimum word count is 2,500 words (maximum 3,000), not including the abstract, reference list, or appendices

Assessment is based on the:

1) Quality of the research idea;

2) Review of the literature;

3) Level of critical discussion of the literature;

4) Quality of the specific research questions;

5) Quality of data analysis; and

6) Level of critical discussion of the findings.

Please see the marking matrix in Moodle for more details.