Choose a topic, ideally one which might be of interest for your dissertation. Your topic should be in the form of a title or question which is related to the field of
education and related to your specific programme of study (either MA International Education or MA Educational Leadership). Write a thematic literature review on this topic.
You should:
●Synthesise, compare, and contrast the findings about this topic from previous research (i.e. do NOT just summarise the publications)
●Critically evaluate the body of research throughout your comparison (NOT just in the conclusion)
●Come to a final conclusion about the strengths and weaknesses of current research on the topic
●Outline if there are any research gaps on this topic (i.e. areas that have been under-researched and are in need of more attention in future research
Introduction: explain the topic and context, why the topic is important (using evidence), and give any necessary definitions (150-200 words)
●Approach: explain how many sources were used, how you found your sources, what databases were used, what keywords were used, and what selection or exclusion criteria you applied and why (150-200 words)
●Main body: organise your paragraphs according to themes or issues which appear in the research. Choose themes that appear in several sources to let you compare. Critically evaluate throughout. You could divide this into 2-3 sections with subheadings. (1400-1600 words)
●Conclusion: reach an overall evaluation of what is known, the strengths and weaknesses of current research in the area, and what research gap(s) exist (i.e. what future research still needs to find out) (150-200 words)
Format: Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12, line spacing 1.5. Use subheadings in bold to organise your essay. Secondary subheadings should be in italics.
Do not use: Wikipedia; commercial websites (.com); research methods texts from different disciplines (e.g. medicine) unless related to the topic of the article. You should not cite lecture notes. Focus on referencing published peer-reviewed articles or books.
Do not use: Wikipedia; commercial websites (.com); research methods texts from different disciplines (e.g. medicine) unless related to the topic of the article. You should not cite lecture notes. Focus on referencing published peer-reviewed articles or books.
●Do not just summarise the literature. You must synthesise it.
●Do not focus only on the work of a single researcher or author.
●Do not use too few references. You need to select enough references to support your claims and engage critically with the existing literature.
●Do not use websites, Wikipedia, or other non-academic sources as citations/references.
●Do not save your critiques only for your conclusion. Be sure to engage critically with the literature throughout your writing of the assignment.
（In particular, write about the protection and encouragement of female (underage) education.）