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Assignment support

Understand your task

Begin by clarifying the assessment requirements. Read the assignment instructions and marking criteria supplied on your course site. The video below explains more about writing assignments at university.

Video length: 2 min 45 sec.

  • Doing an assignment isn't a linear process.
  • Start by reading the task in detail, so you know what you need to do.
  • The assignment instructions and feedback sheet will explain the structure of your assignment.
  • You can find out more about different assignment types on the Study Help website.
  • You might need to revise your assignment plan as you go - this might happen a few times before you write your final draft!
  • As you read more, your argument should evolve to incorporate new information.
  • Make sure you use reliable resources to support your argument.
  • To interpret your task you will need to identify the content words and phrases - these show what you have to focus on.
  • The instruction words tell you how to approach the content, for example, describing something is different to comparing.
  • Identify the limits of your assignment by looking at keywords, word limits and other instructions.
  • Start the process early to get ahead.

Your search strategy

Planning your search will save you time and is the key to getting the most out of your search results. See the Plan your search page of this guide for detailed information.

See the Find information page of this guide for an overview of where to search and how to search in the Library Collection and Google Scholar. The page also contains guidance on finding key databases and journals in the subject area, as well as other relevant resources. 

You can find further introductory information about searching in the Library research skills guide:

Market research

WARC is an in-depth marketing and advertising resource with research, reports, case studies, and insights into brands and consumers. 

Tip: Try a general search first. For example, for Cadbury Dairy Milk try searching for chocolate. You can then filter your search with the options on the right side to a specific Location and Date Range.

How to explore consumer insights for an industry:

  1. Select More > Browse by interest > Topics.  
  2. Under the Consumer & audiences heading, select Show more.
  3. Select your consumer demographic.
  4. Select More filters (next to the results list).
  5. Type your industry in the Search within box.

Passport is a global market research database providing company and industry information, sales trends, marketing developments, and market strategies.

Below is an example of a search for a country report on alcoholic drinks in Australia. This type of report can provide a good analysis on the industry, as well as providing information on key competitors in the market.

Screenshot of Industries section of Passport GMID database.

Business Source Ultimate helps you locate scholarly and industry information covering all business topics.

Below is an example of an Advanced Search in Business Source Ultimate.

Screenshot of advanced search in Business Source ultimate, with search: wine AND market* AND australia.

You can limit your search by publication date range or source type (e.g., Market Research Reports, Industry Profiles, etc.) from the box on the left hand side of the results screen.

IBISWorld contains company reports on the top 2000 Australian companies, with industry reports, as well as reports from selected US and Chinese industries. It also includes Australian Industry Risk Rating reports with forecasted risks the industry will face over the next 18 months.

To find company and industry information:

1. Type your chosen industry (e.g., beer manufacturing) into the search bar and hit Enter to search.

Screenshot of IBISWorld search bar.

2. Select the industry report that is relevant, or filter your results according to Country, or the type of Report you need.

Screenshot of filters in IBISWorld (Country and Report).

D&B Hoovers includes access to industry and market research reports, Australian and global. The database also includes SWOT Analysis reports for the top 5000 global companies.

To search for company information:

1. Enter your search terms into the search box. 

Screenshot of search tool in D&B Hoovers.

2. Select the magnifying glass icon to search.

3. Select your company from the results page.

4. If needed, you can modify your search from the left menu (for example, adding Australia as the location). Once you have selected your parameters, click View Results.

To search for industry information:

1. Type the name of an industry into the search box (e.g., beverage manufacturing).

2. Change the drop down menu to Industries.

Screenshot of search tool toggle in D&B Hoovers, showing the options to filter the search and highlighting Industries.

3. Select the link to the industry code from the search results.

Statista provides information on market data, market research, and market studies. it also includes company and brand reports and industry reports.

You can search for company information by selecting the Companies & Products reports heading from the Reports tab and then searching for your chosen company.

Companies & Products tab in the Statista database header menu

To look for industry information:

  • Type industry keywords into the global search box, e.g. wine

  • You can refine further by using the Location Focus, e.g. Australia above the results page. 

You can also search for industry information by selecting Reports > Industry Reports and then searching for your chosen industry.

Screenshot of Reports tab of Statista database

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) operates the ACNC charity register. This searchable register contains information about charities, their financial information, annual reports, and the people involved. 

Use the Search for a charity feature to search by name, or location, or use the More filters option to adjust your search.

Screenshot of search bar on ACNC website.

Public versus private companies

Before you start searching on your company, establish:

  • Is the company publicly listed or private?
  • Is the company Australian or international?
  • What industry does the company belong to?
  • What information do you need about the company or industry? Annual reports, financial data, industry profiles, market research, or news media?

Public versus private companies:

Public companies are listed and traded on a stock exchange whereas private companies are not listed. Public companies must also provide annual reports to the public which makes them easier to research.

Not sure if it is public or private? 

Do a web search for the company's website. They often provide information under a section such as 'About us'. You can also try searching for the company on the Australian stock exchange, or another stock exchange, to see if it is listed.

Analyses

A SWOT analysis is a model that analyses an organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to create the foundation of a marketing strategy.

Have a look at these sites for help with conducting a SWOT analysis:

A PESTLE (or PEST) analysis examines factors affecting the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological, Legal, and Environmental landscape around your industry or company.

Use PESTLE when analysing the external environment, particularly the macro-environment. Look for trends in the macro-environment specifically to expose potential opportunities and threats.

Try these sites for more information on conducting PESTLE analysis:

The Porter's Five Forces model helps marketers to look at the ‘balance of power’ in a market between different types of organisations, and to analyse the attractiveness and potential profitability of an industry sector. It helps to review the strengths of a market position, based on five key forces.

For more help with Porter's Five Forces, have a look at these sites:

SMART

SMART is an acronym for the 5 steps of setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based goals.

For help with understanding how to create SMART objectives, have a look at these examples:

Reading and note-taking

Once you have found suitable references for your assignment, you can start reading and taking notes. There are different reading strategies you may apply at different stages of the essay writing process. For instance, you might skim a source first to identify if it is relevant, scan the source to understand its structure, and then critically read specific sections which are relevant to the assignment task. 

While reading your sources, it is important that you take meaningful notes which can help you think about your argument and paraphrase more effectively.

The following resources on the Study Help Homepage can help you with your note-taking skills:

Writing your assignment

Now that you have your information, it's time to get started writing your assignment. Please visit your Course Outline for details, for example, if specific templates are provided for you to use. This section will help you build your skills in writing reflectively, report writing, preparing oral presentations and discussions, essay writing, and working in teams.

This video on report writing (2 min 53 sec) will help you learn how to write a report:

An executive summary is often one of the most read parts of a report.

  • It is a brief summary of the overall report.
  • It appears at the start of the report; however, it should be written last, once the report has been finished.
  • It needs to be concise, providing a commentary on the main points of the report.

Watch LinkedIn Learning videos for tips on writing an executive summary. 

Note: You will need to login using your UniSA credentials to view videos on LinkedIn.

The resources below can assist with understanding reflective writing practice. 

The following videos from LinkedIn Learning provide tips for presentations (requires UniSA login): 

The below resources may also be of use: 

Watch the below video and have a look at this Study Help guide (PDF, 302 KB) on writing an essay. 

Video length: 2 min 27 sec

For more help on writing essays, see the resources available in the UniSA Study Help Hub:

Artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to machines or computer systems capable of performing tasks that require human intelligence. AI underpins many tools, with examples including web search engines, predictive text, recommendation systems such as those used by Netflix or Spotify, and navigation apps such as Google Maps.

AI tools are constantly evolving. Please refer to the Course Outline or contact your course coordinator for information about the use of AI in assessments and Academic Integrity.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) uses algorithms to generate content (e.g. text or images) in response to a prompt. GenAI tools and apps may help you brainstorm, understand key concepts, or help to improve the clarity of your writing but, before you use them, it is important to understand their risks and limitations. 

This short video by UniSA Online outlines what Generative AI is and considerations for using it in academic study.

Video length: 5 min 38 sec.

Prompt engineering

Prompt engineering is the process of formulating what you enter into a GenAI tool and affects the response that you get from it. The UniSA Teaching Innovation Unit's guide to AI for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education has some information on how to structure a prompt.

Resources for using AI tools for study

Select appropriate references

While you are finding references, you need to think about whether they are appropriate to use in your assignment. You may be asked to use scholarly or peer-reviewed material to support your arguments. 

You should evaluate all resources before including them in your assignment - even if you found them through the Library Collection or databases.

Research versus review articles

It is important to understand the distinction between two common types of scholarly articles.

Research articles demonstrate original research and are referred to as primary sources. Review articles, on the other hand, synthesise and analyse current primary research in a specific subject area. Review articles, including literature reviews, systematic reviews, etc, are referred to as secondary sources.

You may be required for your assignments to focus on one or both types of articles.

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