ALM202 QUANTIFIED MEDIA-Online Data Analysis and Critical Insight Project 2000 words report
THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR ESSAY
It is important that you structure your essay carefully. The following offers a clear
guideline for the best way to structure a research essay.
1. Introduction (your opening paragraph)ALM202 QUANTIFIED MEDIA: PREPARING YOUR ASSIGNMENT 3
Þ Detailing what you will be doing in the body of the essay;
Þ Introductions are not just restating what the essay question/topic is –
this should be an explanation that broadly overviews the significance of
your chosen topic, why is it interesting or important (why you are going
to so much effort to bring your topic into the light and write about it?);
Þ Make sure your introduction is pragmatic, ending with a sentence like:
“This essay will argue…” – we don’t need contextualising details at the
start of the introduction; get straight to the point.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Þ Use a subheading – this section overviews your topic and your key ideas that
are supported by the important literature on the topic;
Þ Ensure you have logically Interlinking Paragraphs.
3. METHOD
In this section you outline the methods that you used to collect your primary data
from one or more databases. The method explains to the reader what you did
and how you did it (it is like a recipe and should have all the information that
another researcher might need to follow the steps you took. It should include:
Þ Where you collected your data from (i.e., which database e.g., Tweet Archivist,
Twitter etc);
Þ How you collected your data;
Þ Your rationale for choosing these methods;
Þ This section should generally be written in the past tense.
4. RESULTS (with supporting tables/graphics)
Þ How many people comprised your sample (e.g., 100 Tweets on 18/08/2020);
Þ How much data did you get (e.g., 1M followers of Celebrity X);
Þ What was found (e.g., what was the content of the Tweets; how has internet
connectivity risen in the last 5 years);
Þ Include a Table or Figure to visually represent the findings.
5. DISCUSSION
Þ This is a discussion of the data that you found and what it means to the topic
that you have chosen.
Þ Don’t simply insert a table or state the number of users (by way of example) –
state what the data means in relation to your argument.
Þ Don’t leave interpretation of the findings to the reader– you need to do this,
unpack the implications of what they are looking at for them (you don’t want
readers to misconstrue your data and come to a completely different
conclusion from what you are arguing.
6. CONCLUSION AND ANY FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS
Þ Restate what you outlined you’d be examining and how in the introduction
here:
3ALM202 QUANTIFIED MEDIA: PREPARING YOUR ASSIGNMENT 3
e.g., This paper set out to explore ABC using the framework critically
presented by MNOP (2020). In line with the theory of XYZ, the data here
indicates that … We can see that … and come to understand that … Future
studies might incorporate …. and included/look to …
7. REFERENCE LIST
On referencing:
Þ The reference list must be in alphabetical order by author’s surname;
Þ Always cite when not using your own ideas – if you are unsure whether you
need a citation, put one in. It’s better to cite too much than not enough;
Þ Page numbers – you need them for direct quotes and for when you are
discussing a specific idea from a text;
Þ You cannot cite the lectures or tutorials;
Þ Do not use dictionary definitions – use material that is relevant to your
discipline;
Þ Please use Harvard referencing.
8. APPENDICES (where appropriate).
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