To refine her topic effectively, Mpho should follow these steps in the order of:
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Review literature on distance learning challenges globally. (Step 1): This will give her an understanding of the broader context and existing research on the topic.
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Focus on specific challenges faced by South African universities during the pandemic. (Step 2): With global challenges in mind, she can narrow her focus to the particular issues relevant to her geographical context.
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Narrow her research to include student and teacher perspectives on distance learning. (Step 3): This step will help refine her research further by specifying the stakeholders she wants to explore in her study.
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Select key universities in South Africa as case studies for in-depth analysis. (Step 4): Finally, she can select specific institutions to analyze those challenges more deeply.
Therefore, the correct ranking of the steps is 1, 2, 3, 4. However, this option doesn't appear valid in the choices provided.
The closest logical option to this sequence is likely what corresponds to focusing on specific challenges right after global literature, which would be 1, 2, 3, 4 although it should be noted that this option is not listed correctly.
Nonetheless, for clarity, a logical order of steps Mpho should take to refine her topic is 1, 2, 3, 4. Alternatively, if the provided answer choices must be considered literally, then among the choices, 2, 3, 4, 1 (considering it provides a direction towards research scope and detail) seems the most plausible as an alternative approach.
Please confirm which exact approach you feel is preferred to clarify further if required.