Study Skills Assignment

Table of Contents Task 11 1. Introduction:2 2. Research strategy:2 3. Data collection methods:3 3. 1Primary data collection method:3 3. 2Secondary data collection method:3 4. Resources/Data Access:4 5. How and Why:4 Task 25 1. Project Plan:5 Work break down structure (WBS)6 2. Understanding the instructions:6 3. Managing Time Effectively As a Post Graduate Learner:7 4. Gant chart:7 5. Collection of information:8 6. Write a more detailed plan:9 7. Getting Started, Editing the work, proofreading the draft and the final edit9 Task 310 Critical Reflection Report:10References:13 PLANNING & REFLECTING AT POSTGRADUATE LEVEL Task 1 Develop a research strategy explaining EXACTLY how you will find relevant academic material to help you with THIS SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT, i. e. specific search ‘strategies’ & ‘search terms’, which databases & journals you will query, how & why, etc. 1. Introduction: An assignment is a task that is given to testify a student’s knowledg e regarding a particular subject or topic which he/she is asked to produce as a part of his/her academic course and this assignment is usually assessed.However, there are different kinds of assignments given during the course such as theoretical assignments, practical assignments containing theory and some practical approach by conducting primary research for example, development of business plan (Bell, 2002). The student/researcher when given an assignment should first develop an understanding of the contents of the assignment and then should develop a research strategy according to which he/she can start and complete the given assignment.Apart from developing a research strategy for the assignment another important which needs to be considered is the mode of data collection and the sources from where the data for the particular assignment could be gathered. Further the writer needs to keep in mind the length/word count of the assignment, the kind of report required whether an essa y is asked to write or a report that might be containing headings, diagrams, charts and graphs (Bell and Chan, 2005). 2. Research strategy: A research strategy is a plan of action that gives direction to your efforts, enabling you to conduct research systematically rather than haphazardly† (Bain, 2000). The following research strategy will be employed to conduct the current assignment: * Thorough study of the topic and related subjects prior to starting the assignment. * Understanding the requirements of the assignment * Thinking of such ideas that can make the assignment different from others. * Inquiring yourself as what do I want to do in the assignment? * Collecting data through browsing different sources. Locating a specific piece of information * Retrieving all the related material on the given subject Further, for the current assignment the research strategy adopted by the writer would be based on the requirements of the assignment. As the assignment requires the develo pment of such a strategy which will help the writer to find the academic material for the current assignment. However the following ways will be utilized to collect data. 3. Data collection methods: The most widely used data collection methods are: * Primary data collection method * Secondary data collection method 4. Primary data collection method: Primary data is usually present in raw form or in the original form which the researcher collects by employing different methods such as questionnaire, observations, and focus groups, personal and telephonic interviews. This kind of data is not used previously in any research or by anyone. However for the current study this kind of data collection method would not be required as the current assignment does not require any such data that requires the development of questionnaire, conducting interviews or observations (Kumar and Ranjit, 2005). 4. 2 Secondary data collection method:This kind of data already exists in published and non publi shed form, however secondary data is mainly comprised of compiled statistical reports, financial reports, news, articles and journals which could be accessed through different research engines such as Google and through various sources such EMARLD, Mintel, EBSCO, Jstor, Lexis, Key Note, Willey Interscience and Nexis and also through books and web pages. However for completing the current assignment secondary data collection method will be employed and data will be collected through different resources (Dawson, 2002). 4. Resources/Data Access:The information gathered for the current assignment were from different resources such as Journal of Educational Administration, International Studies in Educational Administration, further few books were also employed to gather information such as Developing and applying study skills. London: Chartered Institute of personnel and development, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, edition. 9th Canada: Jo hn Wiley & Sons, The 7 habits of highly effective people. United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster UK ltd and Research Methods for Business Students. 5th ed.England: Pearson Education Limited (Saunders et al. , 2003). 5. How and Why: The journal of educational administration was found by using EMARLD, which is an authenticated academic resource and students have access to it through the respective university/college library. Further the international studies in educational administration were also found through EMARLD. The different articles and journal were found by entering the key words of the subject in the search bar and the search engine will find relevant articles. However the different books were accessed through Wiley Interscience such as Developing and applying study skills.London: Chartered Institute of personnel and development, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, edition. 9th Canada: John Wiley & Sons, however few web pages were also accessed through Google Scholar (http://scholar. google. com). These resources were employed due their academic authenticity as well as they are properly published resources bearing proper author name and the year they were published (Saunders et al. , 2003). Task 2 1. Project Plan: The project plan for the current assignment is simple and is presented as follows: * Understanding the instructions What is the question actually asking for? * Have a quick plan before starting * Collection of information * Use of other authors’ work * Write a more detailed plan * Getting started * Editing the work * Proofreading the draft * The final edit The project plan for starting and completing this assignment is also given in the following form (work break down structure). Work break down structure (WBS) 2. Understanding the instructions: The first and foremost step after getting any kind of assignment is to read it carefully and understand its instructions and for instance if there is ny ambiguity it could be cleared at the beginning so that the assignment could be completed with clear instructions. In case of the current assignment the writer read the instructions and discussed it with the tutor to have a more understanding of the requirements. Moreover, the question/query being asked was fully understood and a quick plan as how to start the assignment was made which included work break down structure and Gantt chart. This further enabled the writer to estimate the time required for the current assignment (Kerzner, 2006) 3. Managing Time Effectively As a Post Graduate Learner: Time management refers to the development of processes and tools that increase efficiency and productivity† (Ward, 2012). Further it allows a person to mange time effectively and allocates right time to right activity. Managing time effectively allows the individual to prioritize activities according to their importance and allot specific time slot to that activity. Like wise in order t o mange time effectively and after having a complete understanding of the instructions the writer was capable of allotting the time required for the current assignment.As time management is critical and important factor in completion of the assignment (Mancini, 2003). 4. Gant chart: The Gantt charts are rigorously used as a project planning tool that could be utilized in order to present the timings of activities that are required to be done in a project. However, Gantt charts are very simple and easy to make and they are widely used by project managers for all type of projects (Durfee, 2008). The following Gantt chart is base on the work break down structure given above. The following graph shows the work load distribution over the week days.It is evident from the graph that more time was given to the assignment on the weekends that is 25 percent on Saturday and 28 percent on Sunday; however the distribution of work is done as per the following percentages on each day. 5. Collectio n of information: This is the most important activity in making an assignment as the assignment is produced using information gathered from different sources. However, for the current assignment different sources were utilized in order to get good quality academic article, journals, books and web pages.These sources include Journal of Educational Administration; International Studies in Educational Administration, further few books were also employed to gather information such as Developing and applying study skills. London: Chartered Institute of personnel and development, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, edition. 9th Canada: John Wiley & Sons, The 7 habits of highly effective people. United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster UK ltd and Research Methods for Business Students. 5th ed. England: Pearson Education Limited.An important point while gathering information was to consult the core books and such sources that have been recommended by the tutor, apart from these additional information was also gathered. In case if the writer can not get good articles, the best way is to look at the reference list of any one article and the writer can search for the articles and books used by the author of that article. Another important point to be considered is that while collecting information the writer must be sure the material being collected is relevant to the topic he is searching for, otherwise this can distract the writer from the main topic (Covey, 2004). . Write a more detailed plan: In this stage, after collecting the information the writer needs to select the information which is to be included in the assignment and also the order in which it will come. At this stage the writer has to plan how to organize the information and his thoughts for this he may have to write a list, draw flow diagram, and make charts and tables in order to arrange the information in a symmetrical and presentable form. This practice helps the wr iter to save time and the assignment will have a flow rather than jumping between different topics.Thus making a detailed plan/structure of the assignment will helps the writer to have a more balanced assignment. 7. Getting Started, Editing the work, proofreading the draft and the final edit After making the structure and flow of the assignment, it is easier for the writer to start the assignment; however, the assignment is usually started with an introduction which is a brief explanation of the topic and this portion gives an insight of the assignment; what is it all about.An important thing which must be remembered that every time the writer makes some notes from a source he/she should keep the reference of the source and it will prevent the assignment from plagiarism and will save time at the end as well. Similarly the writer should make necessary edition in the assignment where necessary, moreover after completing the assignments the writer should proof read the whole draft and make necessary corrections where required and also should check for the grammatical mistakes if any.The writer should follow proper reference style as prescribed by the tutor. Following the above mentioned plan can help the writer make a quality assignment (Currie, 2005). Task 3 Write a 1000 word REFLECTIVE piece (with relevant academic references) that critically analyses the following FOR THIS SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT: Critical Reflection Report: To begin with, the module study skills for postgraduate learning has been helpful in so many ways as it helped me develop my skills for the post graduate study level.During the course I learnt many things which enabled me to improve my study performance and enhance my skills both at studies and inter personal skills. Further devising a project plan strategy has helped me a lot in enhancing my skills as how a research is done, what are the necessary steps that should be considered, what the different ways through which data could be are collect ed and how data could be collected. However there were certain problems which were encountered during the research report such as data collection.It was not easy to gather a comprehensive and to the point data from the various resources, therefore the writer has to be very precise and accurate about selection of data as wrong data could lead to ambiguous statements and can distract the writer from main topic. Therefore from the current module I have learnt how to search for a particular topic and how to extract the relevant material from it. However, this practice will remain helpful through my academic career as I will need to search for other subjects as well in order to prepare the assignments (Kolb, 1999).Another aspect which has helped me during this module is the time management. Time management is an effective tool through which one can mange different activities on time and can give proper time for completing the task as well. During the current assignment, in order to compl ete and submit the assignment on time, I made a proper work break down structure through which I divided each task in small chunks and allotted time as per its priority and this helped me in managing the task in time. Moreover, the division of work according to an allotted time helped me expedite my activities and complete them on time.This particular aspect of time management will be greatly helpful for me in my future life as this practice will allow me to do the tasks in future in the same way. This will further help me to complete my tasks on time also making a break down structure and allotting time will reduce my work burden and I will be able to do the same the work in a more professional and proper manner rather than haphazardly (Allwood, 1980). The process of searching has enabled me to skim through the documents and take the relevant ones out rather studying each and every document and wasting my time.This is an important quality the researcher must posses as in case of sh ort time and where quick action is required, this quality enables the reader to quickly skim through the important notes and respond accordingly (Lillian, 2005) During the course of this assignment as many articles and journals were gathered in order to retrieve useful information for the assignment, by going through this practice, my reading habit has enhanced a lot and reading more has also enhanced my knowledge about particular topic and in future same practice will increase my knowledge about different topics.Another important learning through this assignment is that the more I read different articles and books it enhances my vocabulary. Prior to getting into the reading habit, my vocabulary was week but now if I find I am not aware about any topic or I lack in any information then I search for the particular topic and learn about that topic. The reading habit has made books my friend and through this I enhance my knowledge about different subjects and topics.This habit can help me in future as well as whatever is learnt in present or past does help the individual in future as well and this can save the time of the individual in future from relearning (Martin and Harrell, 2004). Talking specifically of the SSPL assignment, it was a great learning over all. As the assignment itself was focusing primarily on the ways students gathers information in order to make an assignment. For a student it’s a great learning throughout his education career as this enables the student to learn the proper way of making the assignment.This in turn helps the student score good grades. From the current assignment, I came to know that the first thing after getting any assignment or project is to understand its instructions well before starting and after understanding the instructions, an initial plan or structure should be drafted that comprises of the writers ideas, and then information should be gathered accordingly. This drafted structure helped me to have symmetry i n my work.However, during the collection of information I came up with better ideas and the information collected gave me new ideas to think in different perspectives about the same topic. Through this assignment I came to learn about making connection of the previous paragraph to the link, rather than jumping from one topic to another (Kim, 2001). Another important learning through this assignment which will benefit me in the future as well is the proper referencing of the information I took from other sources.This prevents me from plagiarism. As plagiarism is copying someone else work or ideas without giving any credit or reference (Burney, 2012). I learnt through this assignment that copy pasting any authors work is unethical, however, if one reproduce any idea in his/her own words by properly referencing it, then it is not plagiarism. However, through this practice I came to know about different styles of referencing such as APA style Harvard style of referencing.To put it in a nutshell, it was a great learning experience through this assignment and it will help me in future to draft quality assignments and score good grades. And it is accurately said by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. that: â€Å"To be master of any branch of knowledge, you must master those which lie next to it; and thus to know anything you must know all†. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. References: Allwood, J. (1976), Linguistic Communication as Action and Cooperation, Monographs in Linguistics 2, Dept of Linguistics, Goteborg University. Allwood, J. 1980), â€Å"Power and Communication† in Allwood, J & Ljung, M (red): Alvar – A festshrift to Alvar Ellegard, SPELL 1, Dept of English, Stockholm University. Bain, A. (2000), â€Å"The school design model: strategy for design of 21st century schools†, in Dimmock, C. and Walker, A. (Eds), Future School Administration: Western and Asian Perspectives, Chinese University Press, Hong Kong, pp. 131-66. Bell, L. (2002), â€Å" Strategic planning and school management: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? † Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 0 No. 5, pp. 407-24. Bell, L. and Chan, D. W. K. (2005), â€Å"Principals’ leadership and strategic planning in primary schools in Hong Kong and England: a comparison†, International Studies in Educational Administration, Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 2-21. Burney, A. (2012), Plagiarism, [online], available at: http://www. uok. edu. pk/news/docs/PlagPres. pdf, accessed on 06/05/2012. Lillian. 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(2004), Intercultural re-entry of students and professionals: Theory and practice. In D. Landis, J. M. Bennett, & M. J. Bennett (Eds. ), Handbook of intercultural training, 3rd ed. 309–336. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Saunders M. , Lewis P. and Thornhill A. , (2003) Research Methods for Business Students. 5th ed. England: Pearson Education Limited.