As a UTSC Management student, you are required to have outstanding research skills for both assignments and job readiness. Follow these 10 steps to develop your research expertise.
Do some background reading so you understand your topic.
What information do you need to complete this assignment? What have you learned in class that relates to the assignment? List the information you need.
For example, do you need...
List keywords that relate each concept in your research (use a thesaurus, course readings, or lecture notes for ideas).
For example: "Is there a significant relationship between openness and employee performance?"
Keywords:
Put them together using operators. This is what you'll use to search databases.
What kind of information do you need? Every database is different. Modify your search strategy if needed.
Scan the titles and abstracts (summaries) in your result list. Assess the number of results and content.
Download articles
Off-Campus Access
After reading abstracts and articles, decide which articles to use to support the ideas and arguments in your paper.
Ask yourself:
Is it Peer-Reviewed?
Peer review is the process by which scholars critically appraise each other's work. It is intended to ensure a high level of scholarship in a journal and to improve the quality and readability of a manuscript. The terms "peer reviewed" and "refereed" mean the same thing. are the same.
How do you know if the articles in a journal are peer-reviewed?
Some databases allow you to limit to peer-reviewed articles. For other databases, you need to look up the title of the journal in Ulrich's Periodical Directory. Search for the journal title (not article title) click on to see the full record. If it says "Refereed: Yes," then you know the journal (and the articles published in it) are refereed/peer-reviewed.
Critical Reading
To read critically is to make judgments about how a text is argued. This is a highly reflective skill requiring you to “stand back” and gain some distance from the text you are reading. (You might have to read a text through once to get a basic grasp of content before you launch into an intensive critical reading.) THE KEY IS THIS:
When you are reading, highlighting, or taking notes, avoid extracting and compiling lists of evidence, lists of facts and examples. Avoid approaching a text by asking “What information can I get out of it?” Rather ask “How does this text work? How is it argued? How is the evidence (the facts, examples, etc.) used and interpreted? How does the text reach its conclusions?
Consider the following as you read through research and write your paper:
The Student's Guide to Writing Economics by
Understanding the way economists see the world is a necessary step on the way to good economics writing. This book guides students through the means and methods of economics writing, by taking a step by step approach investigating: the keys needed to succeed as a writer of economics and an overview of the writing process from beginning to end the basic methods economists use to analyze data and communicate their ideas suggestions for finding and focusing one's topic, including standard economic sources and techniques for doing economic research how to write paper ways of citing sources and creating a bibliography. It also contains useful appendices, which provide details of statistical sources and relevant electronic indices. Used as a standard guide for economics students at Harvard University, this book is of immense practical use to economics students the world over.
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International students of Business or Economics often need to write essays and reports for exams and coursework, and this new, second edition of Academic Writing for International Students of Business has been completely revised and updated to help them succeed with these tasks. This book explains the academic writing process from start to finish, and practises all the key writing skills in the context of Business Studies. The book can be used either with a teacher or for self-study, and is clearly organised into four parts, with each divided into short units that contain examples, explanations and exercises for use in the classroom or for self-study: The Writing Process, from assessing sources to proofreading Elements of Writing, practising skills such as making comparisons Vocabulary for Writing, dealing with areas such as nouns and adjectives, adverbs and verbs, synonyms, prefixes and prepositions, in an academic context Writing Models, illustrating case studies, reports, longer essays and other key genres This is an up-to-date book that reflects the interests and issues of contemporary Business Studies, with revised exercises, updated reading texts and a new glossary to ensure accessibility and maximise usability. Students wanting to expand their academic potential will find this practical and easy-to-use book an invaluable guide to writing in English for their degree courses, and it will also help students planning a career with international companies or organisations, where proficiency in written English is a key skill. All aspects of writing clearly explained, with full glossary for reference Full range of practice exercises, with answer key included Use of authentic academic texts Fully updated, with sections on finding electronic sources and evaluating internet material
Academic Writing by
This book helps students and researchers write better assignments, better dissertations, and better papers for publication. Characterizing academic writing as an integral part of the knowledge generation and dissemination process, it focuses on three main aspects: understanding research, documenting and sharing the process and results of research, and acknowledging the use of other people's ideas in the documentation. The authors use various samples of good as well as defective writing to illustrate the features of academic writing. They describe in detail the structure and contents of academic papers, especially conceptual and empirical research papers for journals. This lucidly written book will be a rich resource for MBA students and researchers working for MPhil and PhD degrees, especially in the fields of management, behavioural sciences and communications.
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