CSG1132 Communicating in an IT Environment

CSG1132 Communicating in an IT Environment

Assignment 2 – Research Paper

Related objectives from the Unit Outline

1.Demonstrate skills in the location and selection of ICT-related information and information sources.

2.Demonstrate skills in the written, visual and oral presentation of information for academic and business purposes.

Student Learning Outcomes

•Demonstrate skills in the written, visual and oral presentation of information for academic and business purposes.

•Apply scientific method to an ICT research task.

•Analyse, interpret and present data.

Assessment Value: 30% of total mark

Paper Length: 2300 words (+/- 10% is fine)

Assignment 2, Research Paper:

Continuance Intention in the personal use of Social Networking Services (SNS)

In Assignment 1A you scoped and researched a problem domain (CI in the personal use of SNS). In Assignment 1B, you wrote a literature review, developed around a CI theme with SNS selected from:

a.SNS use (logins, hours)

b.Demographics such as gender and age

c.Role of psychology (introversion, extroversion, anxiety, self-esteem, narcissism)

d.Social networking (sociability, propensity for SNS friends and close friends)

e.Technology acceptance (attitude to risk, HCI and SNS satisfaction)

In Assignment 2, the work you have done with 1A and 1B will be used to create a research paper that investigates some user data and reports findings from this investigation. Specifically, your paper will:

•Introduce the Social Networking Service (SNS) of your choice

•Provide an overview of topics you found in peer-reviewed research about SNS CI research (Assignments 1A and 1B)

•Introduce a theme/ topic area selected from the above list and describe trends in research on this theme (Assignment 1B)

oThe three points above should be extracted from your earlier work on Assignments 1A and 1B. You can include your entire Literature Review again in this Research Paper, but you must attend to any suggestions made in feedback from your tutor—this means you should make changes at both the sentence level and structural level where problems were indicated. Other parts of your text may change as well as your understanding of the research develops. NOTE: Errors repeated from earlier work will lead to significant marks reduction in this assessment.

•Develop a thesis statement based on literature reviewed which explains CI in light of the user dataset provided (download from our Blackboard site).

•Describe results from investigation and analysis of this statement with reference to the dataset (treat the dataset as though the figures relate to your chosen SNS).

•Report the results of this investigation using visualisation (charts) and statistics.

•Report evidence-driven conclusions derived from analysis of the data and the literature that you have consulted.

For Assignment 2, you will need to submit:

•A research paper complete with abstract and APA-formatted reference list (follow the template provided).

Problem-solving

For the topic/theme area that you have selected, you will develop a thesis statement for testing using the dataset provided. To develop a thesis statement:

•Review the lecture and workshop on thesis statement development (there are three kinds: argumentative, analytic and expository).

•Download the dataset from Blackboard.

•Review the explanation of variables (e.g. hours, logins, SNS friends, Close friends) in the Explanations worksheet.

•Formulate a question that provides the basis for development of a thesis statement that can be tested with the data provided.

•Brainstorm thesis statement development. Remember, you are using the dataset to test your thesis statement, so the statement needs to be testable with the variable data found in the spreadsheet.

The following examples illustrate how to 1) define research questions (RQ) and thesis statements and 2) work with the dataset. You should write a thesis statement about Continuance Intention (CI) that explicitly addresses data in the dataset.

Examples:

Theme 1 – Demographics (CI)

RQ. Is SNS CI related to gender?

Proposed early draft of thesis statement: SNS CI is related to gender.

Problem solving: Your work with the dataset will focus on the relationship between SNS CI and gender. Options include descriptives for both variables, histograms and an independent samples test. Review the stats workshops and additional resources described under Resources. Inference testing is required to answer this question.

Theme 2 – Social anxiety

RQ. Do users demonstrating social phobia on the Liebowitz scale use SNS more than other users?

Proposed early draft of thesis statement: SNS hours are related to social phobia.

Problem solving: Your work with the dataset will focus on the relationship between SNS hours and social phobia. Options include descriptives for both variables, histograms, scatter plots and results of association testing. Review the stats workshops and additional resources described under Resources.

Theme 3 – Network size and CI

RQ. Is there a relationship between social network size (# of SNS connections) and SNS CI?

Proposed early draft of thesis statement: The number of user SNS connections is related to CI.

Problem solving: Your work with the dataset will focus on the relationship between SNS connections and CI. Options include descriptives for both variables, histograms, scatter plots and results of samples testing. Review the stats workshops and additional resources described under Resources.

Theme 4 – Introversion/Extraversion and network size

RQ. Is there a relationship between the number of SNS user connections and whether a person is an introvert or extravert?

Proposed early draft of thesis statement: SNS connections are related to score on the introversion/extraversion scale.

Problem solving: Your work with the dataset will focus on introversion/extroversion scores and SNS connections. Options include descriptives for both variables, histograms. Do the stats workshops and review the additional resources described under Resources.

Themes and statements above provide an introduction only to the investigative possibilities of the dataset and should not be used verbatim within the content of your research paper.

NOTE: If using one of these statements, aim to develop it with more specificity (write a more detailed description of the relationship in your final draft).

Resources

1. Lectures & Workshops on:

-Thesis statement development

-Academic writing and the literature review

-Statistics

2. Statistical literacy:

-Cohen, B., Welkowitz, J., Brooke, L. (2012) Introductory statistics for the behavioral sciences. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. [E-book]

- Schmuller, J. (2013). Statistical analysis with Excel for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. [E-book]

-Youtube lectures and videos on statistics and statistics in Excel (e.g. creating a frequency histogram in Excel, correlation testing in Excel, t-tests in Excel). These are described in the Statistical literacy workshops.

3. Writing a research paper:

The basic organisation, structure and components of a research paper are described in the ECU Academic Tip on writing a Research Paper.

The components of your research paper will be:

•ECU coversheet

•Abstract

•Introduction

•Literature review

-Your revised and improved literature review (Assignment 1B—edited according to feedback)

•Discussion

-Research Question and Thesis Statement

-Report of findings from thesis statement testing

•Conclusion

•Reference list

Ensure that your introduction provides the reader with a good grasp of the importance of the SNS you are investigating, and an overview of research in your topic area. Use charts and visualisation to report findings from investigation of the user dataset. In writing the conclusion, place the results of testing within the broader literature of the selected topic area.

Format and Submission

•Your assignment should be submitted with an ECU coversheet shown in the provided assessment assignment template.

•Your assignment should be submitted electronically via Blackboard. The file name should be in the following form: CSG1132_yoursurname_A2.doc

•Your assignment should reflect current workplace standards and is a working document designed to help you refine both technical report writing skills and evaluative/analytical skills. It should be:

oWord-processed, using Times New Roman in size 12 font.

oPage layout should follow the margins set in the template provided or APA guidelines.

oHeader information containing the unit code and title (in template).

oFooter information containing student name, number and page number (in template).

oAll headings should be formatted according to APA style.

•Since this assessment is designed to reflect workplace and academic best practice, marks will be awarded for English language proficiency, presentation and the use of references.

Marking Key

This paper will be marked according to the elements below. Refer to these often while constructing your assignment.

Abstract

•Clearly outlines content and intent of the paper10%

Literature Review

•Edited thoughtfully according to feedback from previous submission (provides well-organised description of trends in relevant scholarship)10%

Discussion

•Demonstrates understanding of the nature and organisation of a research paper

•Develops an argument, beginning from a well-articulated thesis statement

•Written with academic structure, including topic sentences of paragraphs and transitions/flow30%

Data Analysis

•Well-presented analysis and visualization of data10%

Conclusion

•Clear recap of thesis idea and overview of evidence presented10%

Presentation and academic writing

•Written expression (including word choice, form, omission/redundancy, verb tense/agreement, spelling and apostrophes)

•Sentence structure (including sentence completeness and length, phrase order, word order, and punctuation)

•Referencing (APA 6th ed. in-text & end-text)30%

English Language Proficiency (ELP)

ECU is implementing a raft of procedures and supports to assist all students to develop and demonstrate appropriate standards of English language proficiency. As part of the process, ECU is seeking to ensure that each student receives feedback on ELP on all written assessments showing performance against ECU ELP standards.

The ECU ELP Measure shows your written ELP against the ECU standards. The ECU minimum standard for written ELP which all students should demonstrate by graduation is moderate proficiency (at least) in both the areas of Sentence Structure and Word Use. Undergraduate students in their second year are expected to be able demonstrate moderate proficiency in at least one of these areas. The feedback you will receive will indicate your demonstrated level of written ELP in any assessment. You will also receive information describing the various supports and resources you can access should you need to further develop your ELP.

Low proficiencyDeveloping proficiencyModerate ProficiencyHigh Proficiency

Sentence StructureX

Word UseX

ECU Standard for English Language Proficiency on graduation

Plagiarism

Please ensure that you have read and understood the information on plagiarism provided on the Overview page of this course.

Every university assignment must demonstrate 2 essential criteria to be awarded a pass:

1.You must demonstrate the depth and breadth of your research by using in-text and an end of text reference list; and

2.You must demonstrate your understandings by using your own words.