FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

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HPEF 7053
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
MAY SEMESTER 2016

ASSIGNMENT 2
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INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

1. Your assignment should be typed using 12 point Times New Roman font and 1.5 line
spacing.

2. You are to submit assignment only in MS-WORD format unless specified otherwise.
Please refrain from converting text/phrases into picture format such as .gif / .jpeg / print
screen / etc.

3. Submission Method:

a. Face-to-face student:
You MUST submit a softcopy of your assignment online through myINSPIRE and a
hardcopy to your facilitator.

b. Online student:
You MUST submit a softcopy of your assignment via myINSPIRE and another
softcopy to the e-facilitator via e-mail.

You can submit your assignment ONCE only in a SINGLE file in myINSPIRE. You are
advised to keep a copy of your submitted assignment and the RECEIPT as evidence of
online submission.

4. Your assignment must be submitted on 22nd 24th July 2016 (5th Seminar).

5. Your assignment should be prepared individually. You should not copy another persons
assignment. You should also not plagiarise another persons work as your own.
 HPEF7053/ASSIGNMENT2/MAY2016

EVALUATION

This assignment accounts for 50% of the total marks for the course.

PLAGIARISM: MARKS DEDUCTION

Warning: The submitted assignment will automatically undergo a similarity check. If

plagiarism is detected, marks would be deducted as follows:

No. Similarity Percentage Marks Deduction (%)

1. 0 30 0
2. 30.01 50 5
3. 50.01 70 10
4. 70.01 - 100 100

If you are not sure what is meant by plagiarism, refer to the various websites which discuss
this matter, e.g. owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts.

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ASSIGNMENT 2 (50%)

OBJECTIVE: Planning and Conducting a Mini Qualitative Research (50 Marks)

Assignment 2 will expose you to the practical applications of the principles and strategies of
doing qualitative research in the natural setting.

This assignment will require you to conduct an original research based on an area you wish
to investigate, using at least one of the three primary research tools in qualitative research:
the observation, the interview, and either document or photographic analysis.

You have to submit a report which should consist of the following sections:

Part 1: Introduction and Purpose

Statement of problem
Research objective(s)
Exploratory or research question(s)

Part 2: Review of Related Literature

An overview of the literature related to your topic

An explanation of how your study moves beyond what is already
known (Identify the gap)

Part 3: Methods

Describe your overall research design, giving a rationale for each

method used
Data analysis and integrity of the data

Part 4: Findings, Discussion and Conclusion

Present your findings in a coherent manner and discuss

Part 5: Selected bibliography

State references in the APA format

You can start your task by reading as much as you can about the area of interest you have
chosen. Remember that your discussion must relate to the previous literature. As for the
research methodology, be as specific and detailed in your description as possible.

INSTRUCTIONS: Assignment 2 Format:

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a. Use Times New Roman 12 point font and 1.5 spacing.

b. Assignment 2 should be about 20 25 pages
c. Provide references. References should use the American Psychological Association
(APA) format.
d. References should be from year 2000 till 2014.

For Assignment 2, the documents that need to be submitted are:

(i) The final research report;

(ii) Example of interview, observation protocols
(iii) Example of original verbatim transcripts, observation field notes etc.;
(iv) Example of the coding process during analysis;
(i) Analysis matrices;
(ii) Exhibit your audit trail of the research

QUESTION 2: Mini Research (50 marks)

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Planning and Conducting a Mini Qualitative Research

Marks Descriptor
41-50 The problem statement is clearly stated with supporting citations; the research
objectives and questions are in line with the statement of the problem; the
literature review is comprehensive and provides a clear background to the
problem investigated; the conceptual framework has positioned the study; the
research design is clearly described to answer the research questions; with an
appropriate selection of the sample; the analysis is described in detail and
coding and matrices are clearly shown; the audit trail is clearly indicated; the
findings are presented clearly and the conclusion is coherent; and the
bibliography is complete .
The whole report is in the correct APA format.
31-40 The problem statement is clearly stated with supporting citations; the research
objectives and questions are in line with the statement of the problem; the
literature review is comprehensive and provides a clear background to the
problem investigated; the conceptual framework has positioned the study; the
research design is clearly described to answer the research questions; with an
appropriate selection of the sample; the analysis is described in detail and
coding and matrices are clearly shown; However, the audit trail is not clearly
indicated; the findings are presented moderately clearly and the conclusion is
somewhat coherent; and the bibliography is about 90 % complete. About 90% of
the report is in the correct APA format.
21-30 The problem statement is somewhat clearly stated with supporting citations; the
research objectives and questions are in line with the statement of the problem;
the literature review is comprehensive and provides a moderate background to
the problem investigated; the conceptual framework has positioned the study;
the research design is moderately described to answer the research questions;
the selection of the sample is not clearly explained; the analysis is moderately
described and coding and matrices are moderately shown; the audit trail is not
provided; the findings are not clearly presented and the conclusion is vague;
and the bibliography is about 60 % complete. About 60% of the report is in the
correct APA format.
11-20 The problem statement is not clearly stated with little supporting citations; the
research objectives and questions are vague in relation to the statement of the
problem; the literature review is sparse and provides a vague background to the
problem investigated; the conceptual framework is not clearly described; the
research design is not clearly described to answer the research questions; the
selection of the sample is not explained; the analysis is weakly described and
coding and matrices are not clearly shown; the audit trail is not provided; the
findings are not clearly presented and the conclusion is vague; and the
bibliography is about 40 % complete. About 40% of the report is in the correct
APA format.
1-10 The problem statement is vaguely stated with no supporting citations; the
research objectives and questions are vague in relation to the statement of the
problem; the literature review is sparse and does not provide a background to
the problem investigated; the conceptual framework is not described; the
research design is not described to answer the research questions; the selection
of the sample is not explained; the analysis is not described and coding and
matrices are not shown; the audit trail is not provided; the findings are not
clearly presented and the conclusion is vague; and the bibliography is about 20
% complete. About 20% of the report is in the correct APA format.

[TOTAL: 50 MARKS]