Unit Assessment
1. Outline the advice you would give a colleague on: a how to plan her search; b which literature to search first.
Planning research should always begin with a critical review. The main purpose of the critical review is to help develop a good understanding and insight into relevant previous research and the trends that have emerged (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). When writing the critical review of literature read, my colleague must show how her research hypothesis relates to the research that has already been done. In addition, the review must show that there is a need or a gap in the existing literature in which her research would fill. At the end of the process, the researcher must combine the works of literature into one cohesive review (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005).
Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill (2009) outline several steps to assist in planning research. The first is to develop a literature search strategy. This strategy includes defining the parameters to the research question(s) and objectives. For example, generate key words that will be used to execute the search and determine the search engines or databases that will be used. In addition, the subject area, business sector, geography, date of publication and type of literature desired should be considered.
It would be efficient to start the search by obtaining relevant literature that has been referenced in books and articles already read. After generating the key words and conducting the initial search, tertiary sources may be used to identify secondary literature. My colleague will have a list of references, but must detail a methodology for selecting relevant literature among them. Once the relevant literature has been selected, she must read and critically evaluate.
References
Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design. Upper Saddle
River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for
Planning research should always begin with a critical review. The main purpose of the critical review is to help develop a good understanding and insight into relevant previous research and the trends that have emerged (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). When writing the critical review of literature read, my colleague must show how her research hypothesis relates to the research that has already been done. In addition, the review must show that there is a need or a gap in the existing literature in which her research would fill. At the end of the process, the researcher must combine the works of literature into one cohesive review (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005).
Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill (2009) outline several steps to assist in planning research. The first is to develop a literature search strategy. This strategy includes defining the parameters to the research question(s) and objectives. For example, generate key words that will be used to execute the search and determine the search engines or databases that will be used. In addition, the subject area, business sector, geography, date of publication and type of literature desired should be considered.
It would be efficient to start the search by obtaining relevant literature that has been referenced in books and articles already read. After generating the key words and conducting the initial search, tertiary sources may be used to identify secondary literature. My colleague will have a list of references, but must detail a methodology for selecting relevant literature among them. Once the relevant literature has been selected, she must read and critically evaluate.
References
Leedy, P., & Ormrod, J. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design. Upper Saddle
River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for
References: Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. New York: Oxford UP, Incorporated.