social media and mental health

Assessment 1: Literature Review

Length: Maximum of 3000 words

Choose a research area of interest, conduct a thorough search of recently published academic
articles, and write a literature review encapsulating the important developments in this area of
research.
 Be intentional and specific in the area you wish to explore/investigate to conduct a
focussed and refined literature search.
 Include only articles in academic journals – search for them using online academic
databases and the reference lists of relevant articles.
 Read the articles carefully, several times if necessary, to make sure you understand each
study.
A literature review typically includes:
a. Introduction, which describes the context in which your topic is situated and explains its
importance;
b. Synthesis, which summarizes key aspects of prior studies;
c. Evaluation, which analyzes and appraises prior studies in terms of their theoretical
underpinnings, methodologies, results, interpretations, and conclusions;
d. Justification, which identifies major themes or knowledge gaps in prior studies and
provides a rationale for your intended work or guidelines for future work on the topic; and
Bachelor of Applied Social Science
The South African College of Applied Psychology (Pty) Ltd
Applied Research Methodology
Page 12
e. Conclusion, which recaps the main findings from the literature review and explains how
these findings inform policy, research, and practice or how your work will address the
knowledge gaps.
Related key learning outcomes:
This assignment will allow students to:
 Practice the key skill of searching for academic research papers on a chosen topic;
 Engage in a structured way with the literature they have selected, orienting them to
existing work on the topic. This lays a foundation for the literature review component of
the Research Proposal assignment;
 Develop their academic reading and synthesis skills;
 Reflect on the realities of conducting research (i.e. the limitations imposed on research);
and
 Reflect on what makes “good” research