Assignment Remit

Programme Title	Economics suite of programmes
Module Title	PASDE A
Module Code	33969
Assignment Title	Literature review: writing skills
Level	LC
Weighting	100%
Hand Out Date	21st of October 2024
Deadline Date & Time	3rd of December 2024		12pm
Feedback Post Date	13/01/25
Assignment Format	Other
Assignment Length	1500 words (max)
Submission Format	Online	Individual

Module Learning Outcomes:

This assignment is designed to assess the following module learning outcomes. Your submission will be marked using the Grading Criteria given in the section below.

LO 1. Demonstrate engagement with own personal, academic and professional development activities and planning.

LO2. Apply reflective practice to their own personal, academic and professional development. LO 3. Define critical thinking and demonstrate basic practice of critique of the academic work of others and themselves.

LO 4. Undertake independent academic study and writing to produce a basic literature review on an Economic issue.

Assignment:

This  assessment  consists  of  three  parts,  each  requiring  a  maximum  of  500  words.  The objective is to engage with both GenAI tools and traditional research methods to produce a comprehensive literature review and reflection.

Please see detailed guidance on a separate page below.

Grading Criteria / Marking Rubric

Your submission will be graded according to the following criteria:

1.   Identification of Knowledge Gap and Research Question

2.   Reflection and Evaluation of Research Methods, including a critical comparison of GenAI and traditional methods.

3.   Critical and Thematic Integration of Sources

See the marking rubric at the end of the remit for more information on how your work will be marked and graded.

Ethical Use of Generative AI (GenAI)

You are required to use GenAI to support your submission for this assessment. You may use it for the following activities:

•    Researching and refining your ideas

•    Information retrieval or background research

•    Drafting an outline to organise or summarise your thoughts

•    Refining research questions

•   Checking spelling and grammar

Applying GenAI tools should be done with human oversight and control. You should

carefully review and use the results carefully as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, uncritical, or biased.

You may not submit any work generated by an AI tool as your own. Where you include any    material generated by an AI tool, it should be properly declared just like any other reference material. Alongside your assignment you should also provide a commentary in the Cover

Sheet detailing how GenAI has been used to develop your final submission. If you have not used GenAI tools, you should clearly state so.

Plagiarism, including that which results from using GenAI, is a form. of academic misconduct that will be dealt with under the University’s Code of Practice on Academic Integrity.

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/registry/policy/conduct/plagiarism/index.aspx

University guidance on ethical use of GenAI can be found here:

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/asc/student-guidance-gai.aspx

Further Guidance:

Feedback to Students:

Both Summative and Formative feedback is given to encourage students to reflect on their

learning that feed forward into following assessment tasks. The preparation for all assessment tasks will be supported by formative feedback within the tutorials/seminars. Written feedback is provided as appropriate.  Please be aware to use a web browser and not the Canvas App as  you may not be able to view all comments.

Plagiarism:

It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. You are

expected to use appropriate references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your

information sources, including any material downloaded from the Internet. It is your

responsibility to ensure that you are not vulnerable to any alleged breaches of the

assessment regulations. More information is available at University’s Code of Practice on Academic Integrity

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/registry/policy/conduct/plagiarism/index.aspx .

Wellbeing, Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances:

The processes for extensions and extenuating circumstances (ECs) are to support students who have experienced unforeseen issues that have impacted their ability to engage with their studies and/or complete assessments. Students should notify Wellbeing of any extenuating circumstances as soon as possible via the online form, following the guidance provided.

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/social-sciences/college-services/wellbeing/index.aspx

Writing a literature review in 2024.

Part 1: Literature Review Using Copilot

For the first part, select one of the provided topics and utilise Copilot as your primary research tool and assistant. Narrow down your chosen topic with the assistance of Copilot and compose a literature review. Your review should identify a gap in the existing body of knowledge and conclude with a clear research question. Ensure that you integrate sources thematically and critically rather than merely summarising them.

Provide areference list for this Part with at least 5 references.

Part 2: Literature Review Using Specialist Tools and Google Scholar

In the second part, build upon the literature review from Part 1. Write additional 500 words (maximum) literature review on the same topic. Employ specialist literature review tools and Google Scholar to gather additional information, refining and narrowing down your topic further. You are expected to read at least the introduction and conclusion of five original articles. Your literature review should once again identify a gap in the existing knowledge and conclude  with  a  refined  research  question.  Remember  to  adopt  a  critical  and  analytical approach.

Provide areference list for this Part with at least 7 references.

Part 3: Reflection

This part of the assessment requires you to reflect on your work in Parts 1 and 2.  Firstly, compare and critically evaluate both  parts  (Part  1 and  Part  2) according to the following criteria:

-     Relevance and appropriateness of integration of sources;

-     Identification of research gaps and appropriate formulation of the research question;

-     Literature review provides a critical and in-depth analysis, with some originality.

Secondly, taking into account your evaluation of Part 1 and Part 2, provide a reflection on the process  of writing these  two  parts.  In  your  reflection,  consider  the  following  themes  (i) Usefulness of GenAI Tools (e.g. How useful were GenAI tools in researching the original topic? Did they help you narrow down your topic effectively?); (ii) Comparison of Research Methods (e.g. How does reading original articles compare with using summaries from GenAI tools? Which method provided more depth and clarity?); (iii) Accuracy and Clarity of GenAI Tools (e.g. Were GenAI tools incorrect, vague, or providing unsubstantiated statements? Did this lead you to write a weaker literature review?).

Note: you do not need to provide any additional references for Part 3, unless you want to give one or two examples of key articles missing from Parts 1 & 2.

List of Topics:

1.   The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Economic Growth

2.   Microfinance and Economic Development

3.   The Economics of Entertainment

4.   Economic Impact of Tourism

5.   Income Inequality and Economic Mobility