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Assessment
1 Term Paper
30%
2 Final Exam 60%
4 Tutorial & Class Participation 10%

Term Paper Assignment
 | Select the topic from the list of topics posted
on the course website |
 | Create an outline for the term paper before you start the actual writing (This outline can be modified later depending on the directions and the
literature review)
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 | Conduct a literature survey of the topic
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 | Write a summary or abstract outlining the problem(s) and the
objectives or significance of this paper
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 | Provide a general introduction to the topic
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 | Review the relevant literature highlighting the findings and the
recommendations made by these studies
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 | Provide a concise discussion of critical issues that reflect the
current situation (state of the art) and future developments in this area
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 | Provide a conclusion and lessons learned if any
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 | provide a bibliography and supporting appendices if any
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Submission Formats
Submit in MS Word Format by Email to assuliman@ntu.edu.sg

Review of the Literature
The literature review is a major part of your research and
deserves serious attention. Initially, the literature review will help you to select and
focus on a topic, and will show you what has been published on that topic so that you do
not duplicate someone elses work. Conduct a thorough literature search before
designing your methodology and collecting your data.
The literature review should provide context and clarify the relationship
between your topic and previous work in that area. When writing the literature review,
present major themes, theories, and ideas that have been published in the area, and the
findings of related studies. A thematic approach under section headings will help to focus
the review and provide structure to this chapter. Conclude the review of the literature
with a short section that describes your topic, highlighting why it is important to
address the problem you have investigated.
Important Note
The Literature Review does not need to be a
section on its own. But rather reviewed Literature and References can be encapsulated
within the text of the paper. Follow the example below:
Computers and Attitudes
The majority of the research literature in this area suggested students
computer experiences to be positively correlated with computer attitude (Martin, 1991;
Askar, Yavuz, Koksal, 1992). However, Todman and Dick (1993) found that a substantial
portion of the variability in childrens attitudes toward computers was predicted by
the attitudes of their teachers. Teachers with low attitude had influenced students to
have low attitude in their study. However, their study did not answer the question of
What is it about different classes, schools, or teachers that affects students
attitudes towards computers? In particular it did not discuss the impact of gender.
Computers in Education
When computers came into use in the 1950s, business, industry, military
trainers, as well as educators recognised their potential as instructional tools. Many of
these trainers and educators predicted that computer technology would quickly transform
education. But as Roblyer (1992) pointed out, the intense interest in computer use for
instruction from 1960 to 1975 sprang in large part from the belief that computers could
revolutionise classrooms in the same way that they were changing business offices.
In the early days when resources were available only through centrally
controlled mainframe computer systems, some foresaw technology eventually replacing the
teacher as the primary instructional delivery system (Norris, 1977). However, the advent
of standalone microcomputers placed the power of technology in the hands of teachers, and
the image of technology shifted from replacing teachers to supplementing and enhancing
teacher-based instruction.
Style
You are required to select a documentation style and
apply it consistently and carefully throughout your dissertation. A good
style manual will give advice on practical matters such as punctuation, numbering, layout
and table design, as well as how to document sources in the text and in the bibliography.
Pay attention to style and form right from the beginning of your research process. It is
much easier to get into the habit of writing and referencing correctly than to go back and
revise the format at a later time. Style manuals can be examined in the LB2369 section of
Library 2. Recommended manuals include :
American Psychological Association. Publication
Manual. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: APA, 1994.
Modern Language Association. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
4th ed. New York: MLA, 1995.
Turabian, Kate. A Manual For Writers Of Term Papers, Theses And
Dissertations. 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
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