Research Methods and Academic Literacy

This assignment focuses on developing research methods and academic literacy in students. It emphasizes the importance of overcoming weaknesses through personal development plans and achieving research goals. The assignment provides a list of references from various books, journals, and online sources to support research collaboration, information literacy instruction, and physical activity research. Students are expected to develop knowledge, skills, and attributes for academic reference librarians, and understand research methods for law. A summary paragraph is also provided to summarize the key points of the assignment.

Academic and
Research Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................1
(A) Assess the strength and weakness ........................................................................................1
(B) Set targets for self improvements and set SMART objectives..............................................2
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................3
Note taking skill and how it is important ....................................................................................3
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................5
Academic Research project which involves research plan, sources of information and
objectives.....................................................................................................................................5
TASK 5 .........................................................................................................................................10
Personal development plan .......................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Academic and research skills are important while preparing academic report related to a
specific topic. To successfully conduct the research it is important to have appropriate skills and
knowledge and it helps to accomplish the objectives of research project. Personal and
interpersonal skills help the researcher to conduct research in a successful manner and reach a
final outcome. With the help of effective education research skills can be developed in a person.
The aim of this report to improve academic and research skills as a result targets can be fulfil in
effective way. There are following topics are covered in this report such as : personal skills,
academic skills, strength and weakness, prepare SMART objectives for progress and self
improvement, requirement of note taking skills, paraphrased and summarised information and an
academic research project which includes research plan, aims and sources of information. Apart
from this it also discuss about finding from personal development plan and further actions
required for improvement.
TASK 1
(A) Assess the strength and weakness
Personal skills : Personal skills can be defined as a personality and behaviour traits that
determine how a person act in a workplace context including how they manage themselves,
perform their work. It involves leadership and analytical skills (O'Sullivan and Dallas, 2017).
Strength : In a person there are various strengths can be seen which makes him able to
perform its task and duties more effectively as a result an individual can achieve its targets. I
have various strengths such as : research, I possess research skills which help to conduct it in
successful manner and achieve the research objectives and aims. Leadership is my strength
because I know how to motivative persons and encourage them to perform tasks in effectively
and efficiently. I am able to communicate relevant information to other persons so that they can
understand what information I want to communicate and it is my strength as a result coordination
can also be enhanced. I see summarising as my strength because it is important skill in academic
writing which enables me to extract the most valuable points from a text and rewrite them in my
own words in a shortened form.
So these are some strength which helps me a lot in my academics and it also helps me to
conduct my research work effectively and efficiently.
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Weakness : In an individual there are many weaknesses can be seen which
restrict it to perform a task in effective manner. I have also many weaknesses such as : academic
English skills, as a result I can not score good marks in exams. Note taking is the practice of
writing down pieces of information in a systemic way and it is my weakness because I do not
take notes in a lecture or discussion as a result I can not memorise the things for a long time.
Paraphrasing means write the text in own language by using other words and it is my weakness
because I do not read text carefully as a result I am not able to understand to information which
is mentioned in the text. I do not have much knowledge of technology as a result I can not find
relevant material while conducting the academic research because I do not know how to work on
laptop.
So these are my main weakness which can influence my performance in academics and
but I always try to overcome from my weaknesses so that my skills and abilities can be
developed. As a result I will able to perform task in effective manner and research skills can also
be enhanced.
(B) Set targets for self improvements and set SMART objectives
SMART objectives helps me to analysing the findings of the assessment in more precise
way. These objectives has been set on the basis of weakness so that my weakness can be
converted into my strength.
Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timed
To improve note
taking skills
By getting
feedback from
teacher and
friends
Yes, To listen
lecture carefully
and try to
understand
important points
It is essential in
personal as
professional
career.
With in 4 months
To improve
English
By keeping track
of my stock of
words through
article
Yes, By talking
and reading
journals and news
papers.
It is required for
both verbal and
written
communication.
Within 1.5 Year
To enhance
paraphrasing
By keeping a
record of daily
Yes, By regular To understand the
valuable points in
With in 6 months
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skills performance. practice text
To gain the
knowledge about
technology
IT head By training from
technology
specialist
It is important to
become
professionally
successful as well
as socially sound
Approx 1 year
Short term targets : As per SMART Objectives my shorts term targets are : to improve note
taking skills as a result I will able to produce better quality of academic research. I need 4
months to achieve this target. My another short term target is to enhance paraphrasing skills as a
result I can understand the text and write it in my own words. I need 6 months to achieve this
target. Short term targets provides help to enhance my skills so that mu knowledge and abilities
can be improve.
Long term targets : As per SMART Objectives my long term targets are : to improve English
so that my verbal and written communication skill can be enhanced. I need 1.5 years to achieve
this target. My another long term target is to gain the knowledge about technology so that I can
accomplish the task in effective manner with the use of electronic devices. I need 1 year to
achieve this target. It help me in my academic research project so that I can achieve the
objectives of research project. In my professional career is also help as a result I can perform my
roles and duties as per the need of organisation.
TASK 2
Note taking skill and how it is important
To take notes is essential so that relevant and valuable points from lecture or discussion
can be note down in effective manner. It refers to the practice of writing down key information
in a systemic way (Segal and Glaser, 2014). Note- taking is an essential part of the research
process and it is a skill of a person to make notes from a discussion or lecture. For a student it is
important to write necessary information and topics to gain better understanding of a subject. It
is my weakness because I am not attentive and does not listen the whole discussions carefully as
a result I can not make effective notes. There are various source of information such as article,
journal, newspaper and online source. I will try to listen carefully so that I can understand the
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subject matter of topic and will able to write down relevant and important points. With the help
of effective reading strategies I can find out essential points and note it down for assessment. It is
essential to make notes in short form with clear meaning so that relevant information can be
communicate (Neuman, 2016).
Paraphrasing
Healthy Eating: The Beginner’s Guide on How to Eat Healthy and Stick to It
Everyone knows that it is beneficial to eat healthy but no one wants to eat healthy foods.
The main aim of this article is to share practical strategies for how to eat healthy and break down
the science of why persons generally fail to do. To develop healthy eating habits it is essential to
make perfect diet plan so that a person can be fit.
Every nutritionist and diet guru suggest that what a person should eat and what are
benefits of good nutrition diet. There are various advantages of healthy diet such as : it helps us
to stay fit and healthy, minimise the risk of cancer and heart problems. Persons like crave junk
food because it is tasty, salty and umami. Food companies has spend millions of dollars to find
out the most satisfactory level of crunch in fast foods. Food manufacturing organisation are
finding a better combination of sugar, salt, carbohydrate and fat so that it excites the brain of
consumers and they come back to take this food. Food manufacturing companies and scientists
always try to make food more addictive with the help of various factors such as : dynamic
contrast which means a combination of distinct sensations in the same food product. Salivary
response which attract the consumers to take food because of its salivate causes. Fast food melt
in the mouth and give signals to brain that a person is not eating as much as it should actually eat
(Healthy Eating. 2018).
Persons does not like to eat almost same type of food in their house so they go outside
and take different variety of food because it gives more satisfaction and pleasure to people and it
known as sensory specific response. Junk food has very minimum amount of nutrition but they
are designed to convince our brain that it is getting nutrition but actually they are not giving
nutritions to human body.
It is essential to make healthy eating habits and develop perfect diet plan and benefits of
nutrition food motivates the person to eat healthy food and stay fit. If a person lives in a
environment where all people like to take healthy food in that case a person can develop healthy
eating habits without changing its willpower. There are various factors which can emphasis to
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eat healthy without noticing such as : use smaller plates, use tall, slender glass instead of short,
fat ones, display healthy foods in a prominent place, keep healthy foods in larger packages and
containers and unhealthy foods in smaller ones. People should eat more greens and variety of
nutrition food so that they can stay healthy and fit.
There is a simple way to eat healthy food such as : use the “Outer Ring” strategy. There
are various things which assist the person that how to stick to a healthy eating food which is to
find out the root problem of unhealthy eating. A person should control its emotions and
motivates it self that fast food is not food for health and he will not eat because it affect the
health. Mindset can be develop in that manner which restrict a person to take unhealthy food.
TASK 3
Academic Research project which involves research plan, sources of information and objectives
To conduct the research project effectively it is required to possess academic research
skills so that better out come can be generated.
Topic: To analyse the impact of digital technology upon small business organisation
Introduction :
Companies are putting their maximum efforts to capture more market share and for that
it is essential to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers by providing quality products and
services (McConville, 2017). Organisation is using digital technology in its business so that
efficiency and productivity can be enhanced. In digital technology, data is transmitted and stored
as strings of zeros and ones, each of which are referred to as bits. It is always been a pre-
dominant factor towards the embodiment of change, such as devices, culture and people. With
the help of digital technology organisation can easily promote and advertisement its products
and services so that more number of persons can attract towards the corporation. As a result
market share and profitability can be enhanced.
Research background :
The main aim of corporation is to maximize its sales so that it can earn more profits.
Marketing department of organisation helps the company to promotes its business with the help
of social media as a result more number of persons can aware about the products and services of
business. Marketing manager develops the marketing strategies and techniques so that
corporation can capture more market share. Social media involves Facebook, Snapchat,
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Instagram, Twitter etc. It is a promotional and online advertisement tools can be used which
helps to promote business and help to increase the sales and achieve goals and objectives of
organisation (Krueger, 2014).
Research rationale :
Now a days persons depend on technology because its various advantages. Innovation in
technology is increasing continuously and people find innovative ideas so that work can be make
easy and fast. With the help of digital technology reach of social media has enhanced because it
can communicate the information about the corporation to a large group of persons across the
nations (Haddow, 2012). It is time saving and cost affective promotional tool which is used by
Tesco in online advertisement. Social media marketing is a form of Internet marketing that
involves creating and sharing content on social media networks in order to accomplish marketing
and branding goals. It includes posting text and image updates, videos and other content that
drives audience engagement. People used social media on regular basis so it is easy to
communicates the information about products and services of company to the maximum number
of consumers. It helps the corporation to increase its market reach and boost its sales so that
more profits can be generated.
Research aim: “To analyse the impact of social media in promoting business products
and services in front of target customers. A case study on Tesco.”
Research objectives :
 To analyse the impact of social media in context to develop brand awareness.
 To analyse the contribution of social media in advertisement.
 To evaluate that it is cost effective promotional tool used by Tesco.
Research questions
 Do you use social media on regular basis ?
 Do you think organisation can maximize its reach through social media platform ?
 How online marketing on social media can make impact on the mind of potential
consumers ?
Review of literature
To aware the consumers about the products and services of organisation marketing plays
a vital role and use of digital technology is increasing in advertisement and promotional activities
(Castelli and et. al., 2014). With the help of digital technology reach of social media is increasing
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because almost all persons have spend their time on social media on regular basis. So it is easy
for the corporation to aware persons about the product and services of business. So that more
number of consumers can attract towards Tesco as a result its sales can be maximize which help
to increase the profits. Company can target the audience easily with the help advertisement on
social media and it is a very important tool for the growth and success of a business. Through the
internet connectivity reach of online advertisement has enhanced which help in promotion of
products and services and it is very popular now a days to promotes the business. Now a days
almost all corporations are using digital technology to promotes its business so that market reach
can be increase and people aware about the products of organisation.
Research method
Qualitative: This research method is defined as a market research method that emphasize
on obtaining data through open ended and conversational communication (Calhoun, 2014). This
method is not only about “what” people think but also “why” they think so. It is used by me to
gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions and motivations and help to develops
insights into the problem. Some common methods involves individual interview, group
discussion and observation.
Quantitative : This research method is used to quantify the problem by way of
generating numerical data which can be transformed into usable statistics. It includes various
form of surveys such as: mobile & online survey, telephonic interview, website interceptors etc.
This method is useful to measure the incidence of various views and opinions in a sample.
Quantitative research method is used in the research report so that researcher can know
the views and ideas of respondents in context to analyse the impact of social media in promoting
business products and services of Tesco.
Primary research : It is most effective method which is used by the organisation to
knows the views and ideas of respondents directly. I uses this method to develop my weakness
through the taking guidance of others. It involves : telephone or face to face interview, online
survey, observation etc. It produce more reliable data because information and data because
research is conducted through the direct source. In this research questionnaire approach is used
by me so that views and preferences of respondents can be know. There are 10 respondents are
taken to successfully conduct this research and random sampling method has been used.
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Secondary research : It is that type of research in which researcher collect the
information through secondary sources such as: news papers, articles, journals, online source etc.
(Bozeman and Slade, 2013). This method is helpful in getting the information at less time
duration. It is the ability of researcher that how it use the information in its own research work so
that aims and objectives can be fulfilled. It is used by me so that I can overcome from my own
weaknesses which involves : technical skills, research and presentation skills.
Questionnaire
Q 1. Are you aware about social media ?
A) Yes
B) No
Q 2 Do you think it helps Tesco to Promotes its business ?
A) Agree
B) Strongly agree
C) Disagree
D) Strongly disagree
Q 3. According to you which social media tool is more effective for business growth ?
A ) Facebook
B ) Snapchat
C) Instagram
D ) Twitter
Q 4. Do you think it helps Tesco in advertisement and brand awareness to a large group of
persons ?
A ) Yes
B ) No
Data analysis :
Q 1. Are you aware about social media ?
A) Yes 9
B) No 1
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Interpretation : As per the views of 9 respondents they aware about social media where as 1
respondent is not aware about social media. So 9 respondents are in favour and 1 respondent is
against of it.
Q 2 Do you think it helps Tesco to Promotes
its business ?
A) Agree 3
B) Strongly agree 5
C) Disagree 1
D) Strongly disagree 1
Interpretation : Social media is useful for Tesco to promotes its business and 3 respondents are
agree on it, 5 respondents are strongly agree, 1 respondents is disagree and 1 respondent is
strongly disagree on it.
Q 3. According to you which social media tool
is more effective for business growth ?
A ) Facebook 4
B ) Snapchat 1
C) Instagram 2
D ) Twitter 3
Interpretation : As per the views of 4 respondents Facebook is more effective social media tool
for business growth. As per the views of 1 respondent Snapchat is more effective social media
tool for business growth. As per the views of 2 respondents Instagram is more effective social
media tool for business growth. As per the views of 3 respondents Twitter is more effective
social media tool for business growth. So most of the respondents thinks that Facebook is more
effective for business growth of Tesco.
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Q 4. Do you think it helps Tesco in
advertisement and brand awareness to a large
group of persons ?
A) Yes 8
B) No 2
Interpretation : As per the views of 8 respondents they think social media helps Tesco in
advertisement and brand awareness to a large group of persons and 2 respondents think social
media helps Tesco in advertisement and brand awareness to a large group of persons. So 8
respondents are in favour and 2 respondents are against of it.
Conclusion : As from academic research project, it has been concluded that social media
is helpful in promoting business products and services in front of target customers. In the
research project there are 10 respondents has been selected. Most of the respondents thinks that it
provides help Tesco to aware consumers about its products and services of organisation. It is a
effective marketing strategy which help the corporation to promotes its business so that more
number of consumers can attract towards the company and it can capture more market share. As
a result profitability can also be enhanced (Borich, 2016).
TASK 5
Personal development plan
Personal development plan is the process of creating an action plan based on awareness,
values, reflection, goal- setting and planning for personal development within the context of a
career, education and self- improvement. It helps me to overcomes from my weaknesses so that
my skills can be enhanced. It is important for me perform better so that I can get success and
growth in life.
My
personal
developmen
t
Short or
long term
target?
How will I
achieve my
targets?
What
Date of
review
Progress
made
towards
target
Further
action
required
Actual date
of
achieving
target
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targets? activities do
I need to
undertake
to achieve
my
objectives?
What
support do
I need?
To improve
note taking
skills
Short term
target
To listen
lecture
carefully
and try to
understand
important
points. I
need
support of
my teacher
01/02/2019 Around 30
% progress
made
towards
target
Yes, and I
will regular
practice to
make notes
in
appropriate
manner
01/04/2019
To improve
English
long term
target?
By talking
and reading
journals and
news
papers. I
need
support of
my tutor.
15/07/2019 Around 25
% progress
made
towards
target
Yes, By
regular
conversation
and reading
01/07/2020
To enhance
paraphrasin
g skills
Short term
target
By regular
practice and
I need
09/03/2019 Around 60
% progress
made
Yes, By
paraphrasin
g article and
01/07/2019
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support of
my teacher.
towards
target
journal.
To gain the
knowledge
about
technology
long term
target
By training
from
technology
specialist
and I need
support of
IT head.
20/05/2019 Around 50
% progress
made
towards
target
Yes, so that
I can
improve my
technical
skill and
knowledge
01/01/2020
Further action required : There are further action required so that my skills and
knowledge can be enhanced and I will able to perform in effective manner. I should also possess
negotiation skill so that I can negotiate with persons and reach towards final result from the
situation of conflicts. Coordination skill is also necessary so that I will able to communicate
relevant information and data and it helps to enhance efficiency and productivity. Decision
making skill is also necessary so that I can able to decide what is right for me and how can I
build my career successfully so that my personal targets can be achieve. Environment conditions
are dynamic so it is necessary for an individual to enhances its abilities and knowledge so that it
can achieve growth and success in the life. If a person is multitasking than value of that person
will increase.
CONCLUSION
From the above research report, it has been concluded that it is essential to assess
strengths and weakness so that academic and research skills can be enhanced. SMART
objectives can be set so weaknesses of an individual can be improve and performance has been
improved. For self improvement short term and long term targets can be set so that person can
improve its skills and knowledge which provides help in personal and professional career. Note
taking is an important skill which is required in while conducting the research. Paraphrasing is
important to understand the valuable points from text so that a person write text in its own
language. Academic research project has been made in that manner so that objectives can
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achieve as per research plan. Personal development plan is necessary to overcome from
weaknesses.
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