Sr No.

Student ID Student Name Superviaor Name

1 mb120400001 Ambreen Gul Uzma Hanif Gondal
2 mb120400006 Ahmad Asfand Yar Hifsa Farooq
3 mb120400013 Hina Aslam Khan Noreen Zahra
4 mb120400130 Ume Rubaca Mubashir Majeed Qadri
5 mb120400152 Muhammad Azhar Farooq Ahsan Masood
6 mb120400185 Ubaid-Ur-Rahman Irfana Aslam Ghouri
7 mb120400192 Riffut Jabeen Saba Munir
8 mb120400220 Muhammad Zahid Faisal Khalil
9 mb120400265 Qurrat- Ul- Ain Usman Riaz Mir
10 mb120400254 Shoukat Ali Shahbaz Yaqoob
11 mb120400259 Aman Ullah Shahida Jahangir
12 mb130400075 Muhammad Shafique Khan Wahbeeah Mohti
13 mb130200063 Khurram Shahzad Khan Muhammad Umar Shahzad
14 mb130200117 Sajjad Hussain Muhammad Shahbaz Yaqub
15 mb130400121 Awais Iqbal Noreen Zahra
16 mb130200078 Iqra Afzal Muhammad Atiq Khan
17 mb120400045 Sidra Anwar Muhammad Zohaib
18 mb120400281 Munazza Mukhtar Irram Shahzadi
19 mb120400282 Aiman Faridi Asma Rafique
20 mb120400229 Nadia Nazir Usman Riaz Mir
21 mb130400090 Muhammad Irfan Irfana Aslam Ghouri
22 mb130200002 Zil Hasnain Dr. Muhammad Irfanullah Arfeen
23 mb130400002 Aaisha TA Khan Aamir Azeem
24 mb130200135 Khurram Shaheen Dr. Muhammad Irfanullah Arfeen
25 mb130400191 Haidar Ali Rahila Hanif
26 mb130400098 Tenzeela Shouket Amara Awan
27 mb130400178 Aniba Parwez Awais Imam
28 mb130400137 Muhammad Yaseen Maryam Mushtaq
29 mb130400053 Urooj Usman Maryam Tanweer Qureshi
30 mb130400118 Huma Rana Muhammad Ahsan Jamil
31 mb130200052 Sonia Tauhid Asifa Ilyas
32 mb130400058 Shahzad Ahmad Sadaf Chauhdary
33 mb130400054 Sara Sial Aisha Ismail
34 mb130200042 Imran Amanat Saba Munir
35 mb120400258 Sanila Altaf Sadia Kausar
36 mb120400248 Samreen Ramzan Bhatti Asma Rafique
37 mb130200026 Anam Liaqat Saliha Anwar
38 mb140200122 Muhammad Imran Atiq Khan
39 mb140200104 Sehrash Sabir Uzma Hanif Gondal
40 mb130400060 Javed Iqbal Farhina Hameed
41 mb130400172 Muhammad Muddasar Khurshied Faisal Khalil
42 mb140200142 Roha Mehmood Noreen Zahra
43 mb130400169 Umair Pervez Aqeel Feroze
44 mb130400106 Sobia Sadaf Shahida Jahangir
45 mb130200129 Usmara Aslam Uzma Hanif Gondal
46 mb130200091 Noreen Rafi Usman Riaz Mir
47 mb120400300 Afifa Naseer Asma Rafique
48 mb140400112 Ahsan Iftikhar Qureshi Muhammad Shahbaz Yaqoob
 Topics
Analysis of Conflict Management Styles: A Cross Cultural Study of Mangers in Azad Kashmir
Effect of Power on Intention to Commit a Crime of Obedience in Government Organization of Southern Punjab, Pakistan
Brand Personality, Celebrity Endorsement and Its Impact on Purchase Intension in Cellular Industry
Determinants and Outcomes of Knowledge Workers Commitment to the Organization
Impact of Financial Leverage on Financial Performance of Firms: A Study on Cement Sector in Pakistan
Effect of Service Quality on Customers Behavioral Intention in Group Life Insurance
Ethical Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital
Impact of micro finance on profitability of small farmers of tehsil sadder Bahawalpur, Pakistan
Impact of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment on Turnover Intentions in Banking Sector of Pakistan
The Relationship between Investment and Internal Finance under Asymmetric Information: An Empirical Investigation into Pa
The Influence of Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles on Employees Task and Contextual Performance
Stock Market Integration & Volatility Spillover Evidence From Pakistan & Its Major Trading Partners
Impact of Chronic Stress on Organizational Affective Commitment of Employees: A Case Study of Mobile Telecom Sector in Pa
Can we beat the market with beta? A case study of Pakistani stock market
Adoption Behavior of Mobile Banking Services: An Empirical Appraisal of Pakistani Consumer
Impact of Psychological Contract on Employee Performance: Mediated by Organizational Commitment
Impact of Value-based Performance Measures vs. Accoun ng-based Performance Measures in determining rms Market Valu
Impact of Big Five Personality Traits on Organizational Commitment in University Academia of Pakistan
Corporate Governance, Firm Value and Financial Performance: An Empirical Study on Manufacturing Companies Listed on Kar
Impact of Psychological Contract on Knowledge Management Practices (Kmps) With Moderating Effect of Organizational Cult
Talent Management Practices in Banking Sector of Pakistan
Productivity Enhancement: A Case study of Production Management Systems in Denim Jeans Manufacturing Industry in Pakist
Impact of Oil Shocks and Financial Development on Economic Growth: A Panel Study of Major Oil Market Participants
The Moderating Role of Organizational Justice on the Relationship between Employee Empowerment and Organizational Com
The Investment-cash flow sensitivity and financing constraints-Evidence from Pakistan
Impact of Financial and Macroeconomic Measures on Economic Development
Organizational Health and Performance of HEIs of Pakistan: An Academia Perspective
Determinants of Capital Structure: A Comparative Analysis of Financial Sector and Non-Financial Sector of Pakistan
HRD as a set of Generic Activities associated with Learning leading to a Learning Organization: a case of Mobilink, Pakistan
Influence of Social Media on Consumer behavior- Decision making process of Fashion Apparels in Lahore City
Impact of Glass Ceiling on Organizational Commitment: Evidence from Banking Sector of Pakistan
Effect of leadership style on climate for innovation with an intervening role of organizational culture; a study of healthcare sec
Working Capital Management and Corporate Performance In The Presence Of Financial Constraints
Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction in Relationship between Employees Empowerment and Organizational Commitment
Exploring the level of Machiavellian style among bank managers and its impact on job Satisfaction of the employees
Impacts of Determinants of Corporate Governance on Earnings Management
Effect of Intellectual Capital on Organizational Performance: A Case of Insurance Sector of Pakistan
Impact of Leadership Styles & Innovative Behavior on Organizational Performance: An Empirical Investigation in Textile Sector
Intangible Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation: Mediating Role of Organization-Based Self Esteem
Predictive Role of Personality Traits in Compulsive Buying Behaviour: Mediating Effect of Attitude towards Advertising
CEO and Executive Compensation, Ownership Concentration and its effect on Firm Performance
Mediating Role of Job Stress on the Relationship of Job Demand and Work-Life Balance
Factors leading to cloud computing adoption: A study of textile spinning units
Exploring the Moderating Effect of Leader Member Exchange (LMX) on Relationship between Organizational Justice Perceptio
The Role of Gender Based Emotional Intelligence in Managing Stress
Organizational Spirituality, Employee Performance and Ethical Behavior
Dynamic Portfolio Returns: Impact of Macroeconomic Variables
Empirical examination of technical analysis for short-term investments in equity market at Karachi Stock Exchange
n Punjab, Pakistan

al Investigation into Pakistani Listed Non-financial Firms

tual Performance

le Telecom Sector in Pakistan

ning rms Market Value: An Empirical Evidence from selected Pakistani Companies Listed at KSE

ompanies Listed on Karachi Stock Exchange

t of Organizational Culture

turing Industry in Pakistan

et Participants
and Organizational Commitment: A Case Study of the Banking Sector in Pakistan

r of Pakistan
f Mobilink, Pakistan

study of healthcare sector of Pakistan

onal Commitment
he employees
igation in Textile Sector of Pakistan

ards Advertising

tional Justice Perceptions and Employees Affective Commitment

ck Exchange
 MS Synopsis
A research proposal is a document that presents a plan to reviewers for evaluation. It is actually a
road map showing clearly the location from where a journey begins; the method of getting there
and the destination to be reached at.

The purpose of the research proposal is to:

Present the issue to be researched and its importance.

Give an idea to supervisor about how you will proceed in your research thesis.
Suggest the data necessary for solving the problem and how the data will be gathered,
analyzed and interpreted.

The synopsis must include the following sections

Title page
It must include:

Research topic
Name & ID of the student
Major field of study
Name of Research Supervisor
Name of the University
University Logo
Date of Submission

1. Introduction
The introduction section must include:

Introductory paragraph
Rationale of the study Why this research is needed?
Statement of the problem

2. Background
Background of the research shows the impact and implication of the topic on the environment
(the specific set up in which you are studying the issue). It should be well elaborated. It is
advised to include current facts and figures in the background. You should also explain it in the
context with the work already done on the topic. It should provide all the necessary initial
information so that the reader can better understand the situation under study.
3. Research Objectives
Research objectives are the deliverables of the research project. You should consider following
points on stating research objectives:

These should state the purpose of the research

These must be based on logical facts and figures
These must be achievable within a specified timeframe and parameters
These objectives should be presented such that these should facilitate the reader to locate
various important points in the research work
The specified objectives should be clearly phrased in operational terms specifying exactly
what you are going to do, where and for what purpose
At the end of the study, objectives must be assessed to see if they have been met/achieved
or not

4. Research Questions
Write the research objectives in terms of questions that can be addressed by research. You should
consider following points on stating research questions:

Research questions must be clear

Be researchable
Connected with already established theory and research
Linked with each other
Have potential for making contribution to research
Be neither too broad nor too narrow.

5. Significance
It lays down the importance or potential benefits of the research. It specifies how your study will
improve, modify or broaden presented facts in the field under exploration. Make a note that such
improvements/ modifications may have significant implications also.

When you are taking into account the importance of your study, pose yourself the following
questions.

What will be the outcomes of this research study?

Will the results of this research contribute to the solution or development of anything
related to it?
What will be improved or changed as a result of the proposed research?
How will results of the study be implemented and what innovations will come out?
6. Preliminary Literature Review and Proposed Theoretical Framework:
Literature review is the systematic account of what has already been researched and
published on the topic at hand. It basically assesses the existing level of knowledge at the
subject matter.
Literature review is based on the funnel technique that narrow down the topic from a
general perspective to the specific one
It sets the stage for the study and provides rationale for proving or refuting the arguments
our results generate

For detailed guidelines about the literature review do visit the following link:

http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/images/stories/Documents/literature-review.pdf

7. Research Methodology
This section should provide solid or concrete foundations to the study. Quality and value of the
research report depends upon how precisely and accurately the data is collected, processed,
analyzed and interpreted so that fruitful conclusions may be drawn out of it. It includes:

7.1 Type of Research: (Quantitative or Qualitative)

7.2 Research Paradigm: (Positivistic, Constructive or Pragmatic). Justify the selection of
research paradigm based on inductive or deductive reasoning approach.
7.3 Nature of Research Study: (Descriptive, Exploratory or Explanatory)
7.4 Data Collection Sources: (Describe all the primary and secondary sources used for data
collection)
7.5 Data Collection Tools/Instruments:
Which tools are used for data collection (Questionnaire, Interviews, Archival
analysis, observation, content analysis etc.)
Why a particular tool is selected?
Will you use multiple tools for data collection? If yes, provide justification.
7.6 Subjects/Participants:
What is the target population?
Which sampling frame is used? (Based on scope of study)
What is the sample size?
What type of sampling technique is used? And Why?
 7.7 Data Processing, Analysis Techniques and Interpretation:
Mention the methods used to extract and process the information gathered
Transcription/Codification of the data (Based on type of study)
Software used to process the data (SPSS, AMOS, NVivo etc.)
Analysis technique (Regression, Correlation, Analytic Induction, Thematic
Analysis, Comparative analysis etc.)

References
This section includes a list of source materials on a particular subject. In a formal report it shows
what books and other library materials were consulted. As part of the reference matter, it follows
the appendix or appendices. APA format should be used for citing the references.

Kindly visit the following link to quote the references in the required manner

http://www.waikato.ac.nz/library/study/guides/apa.shtml
Following are some demos videos which will help you in research
thesis.

Overview of Literature Review:

If you want to know the overview of Literature Review, watch the
following short video.

Click here to see video of overview of Literature

Literature Review - A Practical Example:

If you want to know the Literature Review with the help of a practical
example, watch the following short video.

Click here to see Example of Literature Review

Citation (Referencing) with Google Scholar, EndNote & MS Word:

If you want to know how to give reference/citation with Google Scholar,
EndNote and MS Word then watch the following short video.

Citation (Referencing) with Google Scholar, EndNote & MS Word

Plagiarism:
Plagiarism should be less than 20%. Watch the short demo about the use
of Turnitin for removing plagiarism in your assignment.

Click here to see Turnitin demo

Plagiarism - How not to do it:

If you want to know how to avoid plagiarism then watch the following
video.

Click here to see video

 Plagiarism Sensitisation Document

Academic integrity is extremely important and an integral part of coursework at the

Virtual University of Pakistan. Plagiarism is a serious offence to academic integrity; it is
academic theft and dishonesty. It is essential that academic integrity procedures and
policies are respected and practised at all times.

As a student of Virtual University

Do share ideas with one another

Do consult books, journals, magazines, internet sources as much as possible
Do take care in downloading sources and taking notes
Do use sources wisely and fairly
Do take great care to distinguish your own ideas and knowledge from information
derived from sources
Do place quotations properly within quotation marks and cite them fully
Do acknowledge paraphrased material completely
Do expect to make mistakes managing and citing sources. Do expect to correct
them
Do learn the myriad rhetorical purposes that including and citing sources can
serve
Do have fun with sources, think of using them as weaving, building, playing with
blocks, or any other metaphor that you associate with "taking what's at hand and
making something of it
Do discover an argument so you have a distinctive voice in your own
assignment/paper, and are not overwhelmed and intimidated by sources
Do develop and assert your own ideas and beliefs to think for yourself. But at
the same time do engage the thinking of others, to place your own writing within
the context of academic discourse by using and criticizing arguments from that
discourse
Do use the word processor to help you manage sources (for example, put sources
you are quoting or paraphrasing in a different font and font color until the final
draft so you don't accidentally forget they came from some other writer)
Do observe the practice of careful record-keeping. Always write down the author,
title and publication information (including the URL and other identifying
information for web pages) so you can attach names and dates to specific ideas
later while writing your assignment or paper
Do learn to like your writing; even when it is bad, hand it in any way, and know
we will always find something to like about it.
Do learn how to write in your own style. Writing is a valuable exercise that tests
your ability to explain a topic
Do consult your instructor if you are in any doubt about the preparation of
academic work before the work is prepared or submitted
 Do consult us (i.e. your instructors) whenever you have a question about the
course, are feeling overwhelmed, or unhappy with an assignment or your work;
we can discuss and find a way to make things work

Plagiarism definition and what constitutes plagiarism

Plagiarism includes lifting information (text or graphics) from an original source without
quotation marks (in the case of text), reference, or acknowledgement, as well as
paraphrasing without reference or acknowledgement to the original source.

Applying, analysing, criticising or quoting other peoples work is perfectly reasonable

and acceptable providing you always:

Attempt to summarize or restate another persons work, theories or ideas and give
acknowledgement to that person. This is usually done by citing your sources and
presenting a list of references.

Or

By always using quotation marks (or indenting lengthy quotations in your text) to
distinguish between the actual words of the writer and your own words. Once again, you
should cite all sources and present full details of these in your list of references

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

Collusion without official approval between two or more students, with the result
that identical, or near identical work, is presented by all those involved
Copying another persons work, including the work of another student (with or
without their consent), and claiming or pretending it is your own
Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving
credit
Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of
your work, whether you give credit or not
Buying a paper, or turning in a paper written by someone else
Paraphrasing someone else without giving credit

Copying and pasting text from a web site without quotation marks and appropriate
citation
 Why Should You Cite Sources

Whenever you are citing a source, you are actually strengthening your writing
Citing a source, whether paraphrased or quoted, reveals that you have performed
research work and synthesised the findings into your own argument
Using sources shows that you are engaged in "the great conversation," the world
of ideas, and that you are aware of other thinkers' positions on the topic. By
quoting (and citing) writers who support your position, you add strength to the
position
By responding reasonably to those who oppose the position, you show that there
are valid counter arguments
Appropriate quoting and citing also evidences your respect for the creators of
ideas and arguments--honoring thinkers and their intellectual property
Giving due credit and acknowledgement to others work adds to your credibility
and demonstrates that you know what is going on in your field of study
Letting your reader know exactly which authorities you rely on is an advantage. It
shows that you have done your research and that you are well acquainted with the
literature on your topic
Giving proper citation and referencing is also a courtesy to your readers because it
helps them consult the material you have found. That is especially important for
Internet sources
In a nutshell, citing helps make the assignment stronger and sounder and will
probably result in a better grade.

Who Is Really Being Cheated When Someone Plagiarises?

You are in University to get an education, to prepare for a better career, and subsequently
a more productive life. All the assignments, reports and projects that take so much time,
give you a chance to develop and strengthen critical thinking and evaluative skills that
enable you to make decisions.

Copying, cheating or plagiarizing short circuits a number of learning experiences and

opportunities for the development of skills: actually doing the work of the research paper
or assignment rather than counterfeiting it gives you not only knowledge of the subject
and insights into the world of information and controversy, but improves research skills,
thinking and analyzing, organizing, writing, planning and time management, and even
meticulousness (those picky citation styles actually help improve one's attention to
detail). All this is missed when the assignment is faked, and it is these missed skills
which will be of high value in the working world. A degree will help you get a first job,
but performance - using the skills developed by doing the given rigorous assignments
will be required for promotion. If you cheat, you rob yourself of a learning opportunity
and make yourself less prepared when you get out in the real world. So, in the long run,
plagiarism even hurts the cheater.
Note:

The responsibility for learning the proper forms of citation lies with the individual
student. (Refer to the Academic Integrity Tutorial links)
It is the responsibility of students to learn the craft of scholarly referencing and to
accurately cite the work of others in their own assignments.
Students are expected to be familiar with the plagiarism sensitization document.
If you have any questions at any time about whether something that you are
considering might involve an instance of plagiarism, please consult with your
instructor before you act.

Academic Integrity Tutorials

The following is a list of useful websites providing online interactive tutorials on

academic integrity. You will visit all of them to get familiar with plagiarism, citation,
referencing, proper quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing etc. In most of the following
websites quizzes and tests are given to check your understanding. Do attempt them.
However, note that the academic integrity policy and rules given in the following
websites do not apply to you. You are subjected to Virtual University Academic Integrity
Policy.

There are numerous styles of citation and referencing, however, you are required to use
APA citation style in all your assignments and coursework at Virtual University. In the
following websites, focus on the APA style.
Canadian Universities

You Quote It, You Note It! Acadia University

Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism, Simon Fraser University
Academic Integrity Tutorial Episodes, Ryerson University
Academic Integrity Tutorial, Brock University
Test Yourself, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

American Universities

Searchpath Tutorial 6: Citing Sources, University of Michigan

Bruin Success With Less Stress, University of California, Los Angeles
Plagiarism: What It Is And How to Avoid It, Montgomery College, Maryland
Quiz on Academic Integrity, University of Southern California
The Plagiarism Test, University of Michigan
Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory, University of Maryland University College
How to Avoid Plagiarism, University of Maryland University College
Understanding Plagiarism, Indiana University Bloomington
http://umuc.edu/library/tutorials/apa/apa.shtml A very helpful audio tutorial
by UMUC on APA citation style
 http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/ait/ University of Waterloo Academic
Integrity Tutorial

Plagiarism Tutorials & Tests

Plagiarism Tutorial, (UConn) brief introduction to basic citation practices

How to Recognize Plagiarism (Indiana U), tests paraphrasing techniques

Tools Recommended for Students

Citing Sources, introduction to basic information

Bibliographic Citation PDF guides for MLA, APA, and Turabian formats (Check the
guide for APA citation style only as you will be required to use it in all your assignments
and research work )

Citation Machine, interactive citation tool for MLA and APA styles

KnightCite, interactive citation tool for MLA, APA, and Chicago styles

UNIVERSITY POLICY

Penalties exist to reassure honest students that their efforts are respected and valued, so
much so that those who would escape the work by fakery will be punished substantially.

Virtual University of Pakistan has Zero Tolerance Policy as far as plagiarism is

concerned. Strict action will be taken in case plagiarism is detected including expulsion
from the University.
Topic Selection
Selecting the topic
Research problem has to have some title (topic).
No formula for the selection of topic. Freedom of
interest.
Interest emerges from a variety of sources:
- Personal experiences.
- Mass media.
- Developments in knowledge.
- Solving problems (Org., family).
- Hot issues of daily life.
 Start with a broad area of interest

Dont try to solve all the problems in one project.

Make it doable. Manageable. So narrow it.
At the end, you have something specific
(definitive) to say. Not broadly based things.
For example: within the broad area identify
variables of interest (brainstorming, review of
literature).
 Possible variables:
Power relations, organizational citizenship
behavior, motivation, customer satisfaction,
customer loyalty, aggressive behavior,
modernism, religiosity, leadership, women
empowerment, women harassment, self concept,
job enrichment, emotional intelligence, emotional
labor, occupational aspirations, conflict
management, stress, organizational commitment,
corporate social responsibility, marketing social
responsibility, corporate voluntarism, super
market loyalty schemes and customer retention,
mobile hand-held devices, work-life balance.
 Some guidelines
Freedom to select a topic may be frustrating.
Interest. Limit it to the field of study. Gender
studies. Locate a specialized index related to field.
Review the literature:
- Skim the headings till the one catches your
interest.
- Focus on current research in your field. Any
controversies. What more you would like to
know? Brainstorm.
From broad area of interest to a narrow topic.
 Narrow it to:
Focal question you want to answer. Where to
go? If you know where to go then you can ask
for its direction.
Not a question for interview protocol.
Research questions determine what is to be
included and what is to be excluded.
Therefore:
 From a narrowed topic to question (s)
Find in the topic the question (s) to be answered.
Something which you do not know but feel you
must.
Why these questions are important? I am studying
X because I want to find out who/ what/ when/
where/ why/ how _______
Motivating question transform the question of
your interest that makes others interested in it.
Question with a rationale.
 From questions to problems
Topic: I am studying harassment of women. Call it
an educational problem. (you may convert it into a
research problem)
Research Questions: What is the profile of women
experiencing harassment? What could be the
determinants of harassment? What could be its
consequences? How could we overcome it?
Rationale: could be different for each question.
Usefulness of what we do not know.
 From problem to research problem:
Practical problem. For solution pose research
question (s). Incomplete knowledge or flawed
understanding will need research. Will result in
research problem.
Research problem: Involves what we dont know.
Non availability of answer (s) to the research
question (s) can be a problem for research. Learn
more, create knowledge.
Solving research problem per se does not solve
the practical problem. Have to apply the research
findings.
 Epistemological considerations
Research to create knowledge.
Knowledge that is acceptable in a discipline.
Acceptability based on grounds and nature of the
knowledge itself. Epistemology.
Nature of knowledge: natural science, social
science.
How to acquire that knowledge? Basis means
for acquiring knowledge. Strategies of research.
 Natural science epistemology
Positivism: scientific strategy to study the
phenomenon based on five principles:
1. Sensory experiences: Knowledge confirmed by the
senses (principle of phenomenalism).
2. Theory to generate hypotheses to be tested thereby
provide explanations of laws (principle of
deductivism).
3. Knowledge arrived at through gathering of facts
that provide the basis for laws (inductivism).
4. Scientific strategy has to be value free (objectivity).
5. Scientific findings (statements) can be verified.
Normative statements or beliefs cannot be confirmed
by the senses.
 Positivism in social sciences
Application of natural science model to social
reality.
Reality out there. External to the observer.
Positivism equated with science. Tangled.
Debate. Opposing positivism or scientific approach
Subject matter of the natural sciences different
from the social sciences.
Difficulty to apply the natural science model to SS.
 Interpretivism
Explanation of human behavior (positivism) vs.
understanding of human behavior (interpretivism).
Understanding (Webers use of Verstehen).
Emphathic understanding. Interpretive
understanding of social action.
Subjective meaning of social action.
Such approach is also called phenomenology.
Alferd Schutz associated with it.
How individuals make sense of the world around
them? Based on subjective interpretation.
 Interpretivism (cont.)
Three main features:
1. Reality (social + physical) has meaning for humans.
Common sense thinking. Act. Meaning to own and
others acts. Interactions. All based on interpretation.
2. Social scientist has to gain access to peoples
common sense thinking and hence to interpret their
actions and their social world from their point of
view.
3. Researchers interpretation of the humans
interpretation + Interpreted in terms of concepts,
theories, and literature of the discipline. Use social
scientific frame. (double interpretation)
 Epistomologically
Can natural science approach (positivism) be
applied to social science world? Quantitative +
Deductive approach. Theory and research.
Can the interpretivist approach be a substitute?
Qualitative + inductive approach. Research and
theory.
Theory and research compliment each other.
 Ontological considerations
Concerned with the nature of social entities.
Can social entities be considered as objective
entities?
Can these social entities be realities external to
social actors?
Who constructed these realities? Actors?
Researchers?
Two ontological positions: Objectivism and
constructionism.
Are these poles apart? Ideal types.
 Objectivism
Social phenomena and their meaning have an
existence external (independent) of actors.
Organization as tangible object: rules and
regulations, TQM, meritocracy, bureaucracy,
culture. A reality external to workers. Employees
perform in line with some set pattern.
Organization components outside the employees.
Putting constraints on workers.
Ideally it is assumed that workers in the
organization have no role in the creation of
organization and its culture.
 Constructionism
Also called constructivism.
Social phenomena and its meaning created and
continuously being created by the people.
Researchers own accounts of the social world are
also constructions. Specific version of reality. One
version of knowledge.
Organization and its culture created. Negotiation.
Culture persists and antedates the participation of
particular people. Shapes their perspectives.
Categories of the reality are created. Masculinity.
Research strategy: General orientation
quantitative vs. qualitative research
Quantitative researches employ measurement.

Fundamental difference
Quantitative Qualitative
Role of theory to Deductive: theory Inductive: theory
research testing generation
Epistomological Natural science model: Interpretivism
orientation positivism
Ontological Objectivism Constructionism
orientation
 No wedge between the two
Overtones of one over the other. Examples:
Qualitative research used for testing theories
rather than generating theories. (Adler and Adler
1985 study of relationship between participation
in athletics and academic achievement. Used
existing literature as proxy for theory.)
Quantitative: Westergaard et.al. 1989 feeling of
redundancy and job search. Interpretivist tone.
Use mixed methods.
 Influences on social research
Epistomology
Ontology
Practical considerations
Values research not value free. Can intrude any /all steps.
-- Choice of research area
-- Formulation of research question
-- Choice of method
-- Formulation of research design
-- Data collection
-- Analysis of data
-- Interpretation of data
-- Conclusions
 Sinclair M. (2007) Editorial: A guide to understanding theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Evidence Based Midwifery 5(2): 39
A guide to understanding theoretical and conceptual frameworks
Mentioning theoretical framework or conceptual framework
to midwives is likely to be met with either silence, a shrug of the
shoulders or an arched eyebrow that says I know what you are
talking about, but please dont ask me too much about it.
These reactions are understandable, but I hope that this brief
editorial will help novice researchers, educationalists and clini-
cal midwives to grasp the essence of theoretical frameworks and
their potential contribution to midwifery practice.
A theoretical framework can be thought of as a map or travel
plan. When planning a journey in unfamiliar country, people
seek as much knowledge as possible about the best way to
travel, using previous experience and the accounts of others who
have been on similar trips. Survival advice and top tips enable
them to ascertain the abilities, expectations and equipment that
may help them to have a successful journey with good outcomes,
to achieve their objectives and return to base safely.
At the start of any research study, it is important to consider
relevant theory underpinning the knowledge base of the phenom-
enon to be researched. By addressing simple questions,
the researcher can begin to develop a loosely-structured theoreti-
cal framework to guide them. The following questions have been
adapted from Slevin and Basford (1999: 298):
What do I know about the phenomenon that I want to study?
What types of knowledge are available to me (empirical,
non-empirical, tacit, intuitive, moral or ethical)?
What theory will best guide my midwifery practice?
Is this theory proven through theory-linked research?
What other theories are relevant to this practice?
How can I apply these theories and findings in practice?
In considering these questions and critically appraising the liter-
ature, the quantity of information that emerges can be cumber-
some, and it is often unclear whether it can be brought together
to build something meaningful, aesthetically pleasing and scien-
tifically sound. To address this, researchers consider many
constructs or permutations amalgamations, definitive proper-
ties, relationship differentials, knowledge derivatives and prac-
tice outcomes and effects. This search for theoretical
understanding and its translation into meaningful practice is
what is done when developing a theoretical or conceptual
research framework. This framework must have a clear practice
outcome, if it is to be of clinical relevance.
Having considered knowledge outcomes from the literature
carefully, permutations or links between these can be projected
and predictions made on how relationships might impact on
outcomes. These concepts move from being completely abstract
and unconnected to becoming a tentative or loose framework to
explore and test theory. Alternatively, relationships between
different concepts can be observed using grounded theory
research, and used alongside theoretical constructs to test
emerging theories by deliberately manipulating the variables.
Research is a journey toward an endpoint to develop new
knowledge that will contribute to practice and a theoretical
map provides a guide. In the case of a field trip, it can be theo-
rised that factors such as body mass index and fitness levels
may determine whether individuals will achieve their objectives
2007 The Royal College of Midwives. Evidence Based Midwifery 5(2): 39
or not. These assumptions are based on knowledge and under-
standing of environmental stressors, personality traits, for
example. Similar processes of enquiry and synthesis of data are
required in developing a theoretical research framework.
Initial preparatory work leads to the identification of certain
factors that are likely to have an impact on the outcome this
can be likened to a crystallisation process in which emerging or
tentative factors that are relevant to the research study begin to
make themselves visible. The next stage of the process involves
mapping out or visualising these theoretical threads to form
some diagrammatic representation of inter-relatedness.
Imagination is important to avoid producing linear or circular
diagrams. Successful theoretical constructs such as Maslows
pyramidal hierarchy of needs or Bruners spiral theory of learn-
ing can provide inspiring mental images of frameworks that
have anchored previous knowledge and theory development.
Researchers often get excited by the aha moment, when
they begin to see the relevance of theories about adaptation,
motivation and decision-making, for example and how they can
help formulate research questions, select an appropriate
research design and report findings within a structured frame-
work. This is only the beginning of the theoretical journey
once the relevant theories or constructs have been identified,
their place in the caring context clearly articulated and tentative
relationships between them posed, the research study can
progress rapidly. However, it is important to review the frame-
work and synthesise data outcomes at each stage of the research
process to further develop, test or confirm relationships
between the variables. The theoretical framework evolves and
develops until it becomes refined and burnished, to emerge as a
robust outcome of the research.
The process of designing a theoretical framework is develop-
mental and experiential. I would argue that the personal
journey is a life-changing event for many researchers, and one
that should not be feared. The journey toward theoretical
know how and know what is worthy of careful planning and
preparation. It starts with reading the literature, asking basic
questions, describing and defining relationships and proposing
potential links between emerging factors. The end result of
sound theoretically-based research is filtration and absorption
of knowledge that trickles and merges into the thought process-
es and senses of clinicians. If midwifery research is to be effica-
cious and effective, its contribution must be made visible
better research, underpinned by sound theory and leading to
demonstrable effects on practice.
References
Bruner SJ. (1966) Toward a theory of instruction. Harvard University:
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Maslow AH. (1970) Motivation and personality (second edition). Harper
and Row: New York.
Slevin O, Basford L. (1999) Theory and practice of nursing: an integrated
approach to caring practice (second edition). Stanley Thornes:
Cheltenham.
Professor Marlene Sinclair
Editor
39
 SELF-CHECK REVIEW FORMAT
(Students are strongly urged to perform a self-check review of their research thesis using the
following format; this will help them to improve their research thesis before submission)

Title of Thesis:

I. Checklist

Topic Yes No Not

Clear
Is the topic interesting, informative, original
and novel?
Is it short, concise and compact?
Does it reflect/represent what the research is
all about?
Additional
comments, if any
Abstract Is the Abstract included?

Does it tell about the problem/central theme

addressed?
Does it tell about method adopted to pursue
the issue?
Does it tell about the results found?
Does it tell about the conclusions drawn?
Additional
comments, if any
Keywords Are these given?
If yes, do they reflect/represent what the
research is all about?
Additional
comments, if any
Introduction Does the Introduction section give the reader a
clear idea about the central issue of concern?
Does the Introduction section tell the reader as
to why the topic was thought worth studying?
Does the Introduction section include full
statement of research questions and research
objectives?
Does the Introduction section include a route
map to guide the reader through rest of the
paper including brief on content of each
 section/subsection?
Does plagiarism apparenly reflect?
Additional
comments, if any
Literature Does it help to set the research in its wider
Review context?
Does it help to explain how the study
supplements the existing work?
Does it help to develop research hypotheses?
Does it help to identify and finalize the
research methodology?
Does it help to provide materials to give
references in introduction, as well as,
discussion sections?
Does plagiarism apparenly reflect?
Additional
comments, if any
Methodology Does this section give readers complete info
on population, participants (who they are),
sample size, and sampling techniques used?
Is the methodology adopted/ model
developed/ presented based on some accepted
theory in the area of discipline?
Does this section give readers information on
various data analytic techniques developed
and used?
Does this section provide information on the
materials developed and used (such like
tests/scales/interview or observation
schedules/questionnaires/purpose-made
instruments, etc.)
Does plagiarism apparenly reflect?
Please mention which of the
mathematical/statistical techniques
(econometrics/operations reearch) has been
used for analyzing data.

Additional
comments, if any
Results/research Does this section provide complete
findings information on findings on all research
questions and/or objectives set in introductory
section?
Does this section provide information on
findings in the same order in which the
research questions and/or objectives were set
in introductory section?
 Or alternatively, have the results been reported
thematically, in descending order of
importance.
Have the results/findings arrived at, and
interpreted appropriately?
Does plagiarism apparenly reflect?
Additional
comments, if any
Conclusions Is there at least one conclusion for each
finding?
Have all major research questions been
answered?
Have all major research hypotheses been
discussed?
Does plagiarism apparenly reflect?
Additional
comments, if any
References Are these in APA style?
Are these relevant and up-to-date?
Are they complete?
Are all references mentioned in the text
included in the References section?
Additional
comments, if any
Tables & figures Are all tables, figures and their captions okay?
Additional
comments, if any
Spelling & Are spellings in general okay?
grammar Is the use of grammar okay?
Additional
comments, if any
English language Is the use of english language as a whole
okay?
Additional
comments, if any
Presentation Is presentation as a whole okay?
Additional
comments, if any

II. Special comments in detail (if referee so desires)

Guidelines for Layout, Organisation and Citation in
Academic Papers
(Harvard Style)

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Sprenger

School of Business
September 2012
 Guidelines Academic Papers

Contents

1. Introduction 3
2. Harvard Style for Citation 4
3. Layout, Process and Organisation 5
3.1 General Layout 5
3.2 Layout Cover Page 5
3.3 Layout of Other Pages 6
3.4 Processes and Organisation 8
3.4.1 Outline 8
4. Elements of the Paper 8
4.1 Cover Page 8
4.2 Abstract or Executive/Management Summary 8
4.3 Declaration of Authenticity 8
4.4 (Acknowledgements) 9
4.5 Table of Contents 9
4.6 Introduction 9
4.7 Main Contents 9
4.7.1 Literature Review/Theoretical Framework 10
4.7.2 Methodology 10
4.7.3 Findings 10
4.7.4 Discussion/Analysis 10
4.8 Conclusion 10
4.9 Bibliography 11
4.10 (Appendices) 11
4.11 (List of Graphics; List of Terms, List of Abbreviations...) 11
5. Sourcing 11
5.1 Note-taking 11
5.2 Bibliography 12
5.2.1 Layout Bibliography 12
5.3 Examples 13
5.3.1 Books 13
5.3.2 Articles and papers 14
5.3.3 Internet and Multimedia 15
5.3.4 Personal Communication, Interviews, Theses 17
5.4 Graphs and Graphics/Images/Tables 18
5.5 Citations in Text 18

Prof Dr Brigitte Sprenger February 2012 2/29

 Guidelines

5.5.1 Variations with author name 19

5.5.2 Quotations 20
5.6 Footnotes 21
6 Plagiarism 21
6.1 Consequences 21
6.2 Declaration of Authenticity 21
6.3 Academic Misconduct 22
Appendix A: Examples of Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarising 23
Appendix B: Examples FHNW Cover Page layout 26
Appendix C: Example of body text layout with block quote and graph 28
Appendix D: Example of Declaration of Authenticity 29

1. Introduction

Academic papers adhere to a strict form regarding layout, organisation and citation. At this
university the Harvard style is adhered to for citations. A School of Business template for
layout and organisation is also set. Papers submitted by Business students in English 1 need
to follow these styles and formats unless otherwise stipulated by the supervisor and/or the
client.

An academic paper communicates results of research to a peer community. Its main aim is
to communicate and therefore it must be:

Clearly and logically organised and structured.

Clearly written. Paragraphs and texts are individually and correctly organised. The
use of language is grammatically correct and preferably concise and precise. The
use of specific (technical or vocational) language is inevitable: it may be advisable to
provide a Glossary of Terms.
Texts are written in politically correct language: no sexist or racist terminology.
Texts are correct in spelling and punctuation (use spellcheckers, grammar checkers
and preferably proofreaders).
All sources are fully cited (see Section 4 of this guide).
1
In the BSc Business Administration (International Management) programme students submit two papers and the Bachelor
thesis. In the MSc International Management programme students submit a research paper in semester 2 and a Master thesis.
Students additionally need to produce a considerable number of academic written assignments.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 3/29

 Guidelines

All sources must be cited and cited correctly according to the Harvard style (see sections 2
and 5 in this guide). Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and results in penalties (see
Section 6 of this guide).

All sources must meet academic criteria. This means that sources included tend to come
from journals, books, papers, respectable magazines or newspapers, conferences (in paper
or in electronic form). Sources such as forums, wikis, (company, private or social media)
websites or blogs may not meet academic, scientific or professional standards. Students are
advised to approach such sources with caution.

2. Harvard Style for Citation

The Harvard style is not a style manual which, like MLA or APA, is owned, published and
maintained by an organisation. Therefore there are no standard manuals. However, there
are many excellent, detailed electronic guides to referencing in the Harvard style 2. Thus,
when these Guidelines do not give examples (cf. Section 5) electronic sites as are listed
below can be referred to 3. Please note that each university or organisation using the Harvard
style has minor variations, especially regarding punctuation. It is best to follow the FHNW
style; most important is to be consistent. Whichever pattern is adopted must be maintained
throughout the paper.

Bournemouth University (Academic Services). 2007. BU guide to citation in the Harvard

style. Available online at:
www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/citing_references/citing_refs_main.html (Accessed 20
November 2008)
Dartmouth University. n.d. Materials for Students. Available online at:
www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/toc.shtml (Accessed 6 January 2009)
Harvard Business School, 2012. Citation Guide 2012. Available online at
www.library.hbs.edu/guides/citationguide.pdf (Accessed 18 September 2012)
University of Leeds University Library. 2009. Harvard style bibliographies and references.
Available online at: www.leeds.ac.uk/library/training/referencing/harvard.htm
(Accessed 23 November 2008)
University of Queensland Library. 2007. References/Bibliography Harvard Style. Available
online at: www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/harvard.html (Accessed 19
November 2007)

2
There are, within the style, a number of variations. Different universities using Harvard style may have slightly different styles.
Most of these differences are minor. Key is to be consistent with whichever variation is selected.
.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 4/29

 Guidelines

3. Layout, Process and Organisation

3.1 General Layout

The standard layout for a paper at the School of Business FHNW is set out below. Slight
variations are possible though these should be discussed with the client and supervisor.
Consistency is important.

Paper format: The format is A4, if printed out then only on white paper and only printed on
one side. Papers should be bound and not presented in a file.

Margins left 2.5cm

right 1.5cm
top 3.0cm
bottom 2.8cm
Spacing body of text 1.5
Footnotes single
Emphasis Capitals, italics and bold can be used for emphasis
NB italics (not underline) are used for main titles so avoid confusion
Underline is only used for URLs

3.2 Layout Cover Page

The cover page for papers submitted to the School of Business follows corporate style
manuals. This page features 4:

Logo Top left-hand corner

Title of Paper Middle centred /or flush left
Author(s) Below title, centred/or flush left
Date Below Author(s), centred/or flush left
Supervisor Below Date, centred/or flush left
(Study Programme) (Below Supervisor, centred or flush left below logo)

4
For an example, see the cover page of this Guide and the Appendices.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 5/29

 Guidelines

Confidentiality If the paper carries confidentiality then this must be stated prominently
on the cover page in the bottom third
3.3 Layout of other Pages

Following the cover page, a standardised layout should be used for the rest of the paper. It
should have the following features 5:

FHNW School of Business top left-hand corner/or Title of Degree

Header Programme; Title (or, short title) of Paper in top right-hand corner.
10pt (optional, in grey colour )
Margins Left: 2.5 cm, right: 1.5 cm, top: 3.0 cm, bottom: 2.8 cm
Footer: Authors at left; date in the middle; page (of page total) at right.
10pt (optional: in grey colour)
Body of Text 11 pt Ariel/Calibri/Helvetica, or 12pt Times New Roman.
Spacing 1.5 or double line spacing (except block citation
Graph info 10 pt Arial/11pt Times New Roman
Footnotes 8pt Arial/9pt Times New Roman
Heading level 1 13pt Arial bold/14 pt Times New Roman bold
Heading Level 2 13 pt Arial/14pt Times New Roman
Heading Level 3 11pt Arial bold or italics/12pt Times New Roman bold or italics 6

3.4 Processes and Organisation

Academic or professional research is complex and therefore needs to be methodical. The

following table provides a guide to a standard process.

Papers need to be well organised at all levels to clearly navigate the reader through the
argumentation and presentation. At the overall level this entails working with an Outline (see
below) which will contain chapters clearly subdivided into sub-chapters which cover all
elements of a chapter (research theme). Paragraphing is essential and each paragraph
should have a topic sentence and then cover elements of that topic (only).

5
The page layout in this Guide is according to the corporate style and can serve as a template.
6
Academic papers do not have more than three levels of text. Headings and sub-headings are numbered decimally using
Arabic numbers (no Latin numbers, no letters of alphabet)

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 6/29

 Guidelines

Fig 1: Process Academic Paper

Planning Task set Determine framework,

Search for topic
Preliminary reading/research
Topic delimitation
Formulation thesis, research
question
Determine methods
Research Proposal/Synopisis Systematic research
Gather data
Synthesise, categorise,
organise data, establish
structure
(Submit Proposal)
Writing Produce first draft
Refine content (second draft)
Refine language (third draft)
Final proofreading
Submission Final formatting. Binding if
paper format
On or before time
Grading
Feedback
Source: Author based on Kruse 2007:112
deadlines, quality, length
Qualitative /quantitative
Select documentation methods,
keep notes (categorise), collect
bibliographical material, track
progress
Desk research, exploratory
interviews, experiments
Set up template, set up outline
Gather feedback if there was no
Proposal stage
Ensure all data in place and
under logical chapter. Ensure
all citation in place.
Paragraphing with topic
sentences. Academic language,
grammar, punctuation, spelling,
etc
Peer review. Cross-check
citations, numbering,
pagination, labelling, etc
Client/Supervisor

3.4.1 Outline
The outline is usually produced at the start of research and serves as the skeleton for the
paper contents. The paper is divided into its constituent elements and numbered accordingly.
Each element of the paper (cf chapter 4 below) is embedded in the outline and serves as
placeholder until filled by content. Generally, the chapters in the main body of the paper are
determined by the thesis or research question. The approved thesis or question is usually
sub-divided into a set of 3-5 sub-theses or questions and these usually provide the chapter
topics. Numbering and phrasing of chapters is consecutive, consistent and parallelised. The
outline is later converted into the Table of Contents when the paper is finished.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 7/29

 Guidelines

4. Elements of the Paper

Papers submitted at the School of Business should have a standard Cover Page
(see 3.2 above) and may have the following elements in the following order 7:
Cover Page
Abstract/Executive Summary 8
Declaration of Authenticity 9
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Introduction
Bulk of Paper:
o Literature Review/Theoretical Framework
o Methodology
o Results/Findings (subdivided thematically)
o Discussion
Conclusion/Recommendations/Summary
Bibliography
Appendices
Glossary of Terms, List of Figures/Tables, List of Abbreviations/Terms, Index

Not all of these elements will be included: The supervisor and content determine
which elements are required. Short descriptions and guidelines for each of these
parts are below.

4.1 Cover Page

For layout and content see 3.2 and for examples see Appendix B. If the paper is confidential
this needs to be stated prominently.

4.2 Abstract or Executive/Management Summary

Academic papers have abstracts. Abstracts usually do not exceed 200 words and contain
three sets of information: reason for research (thesis or question formulation), methods used

7
The layout of this Guide is in accordance with the School of Business style.
8
An Abstract is used for Academic Papers; an Executive Summary for Business Papers
9
Elements such as the Statement of Authenticity, Glossary of Terms, Acknowledgements, List of Figures/Tables can be slotted
in either at the start (e.g. just before or just after the Table of Contents) or at the end (just before or after the Bibliography)

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 8/29

 Guidelines

and main findings. The abstract is laid out in 1-3 paragraphs no headings or bulleting. As
abstracts are generally uploaded into databases, keywords can be listed at the end.

Business papers have executive or management summaries. Such summaries can be up to

two pages in length and aim to present executive with key findings and recommendations
relating to the task set. A short formulation of reasons/motivation for research and methods
used is followed by key findings. Recommendations may be bulleted. A financial summary is
included where relevant.

4.3 Declaration of Authenticity

A short text, which must be signed by hand, testifying the paper is original, authentic and
sourced. A sample declaration can be found in Appendix D. See also Chapter 6 of these
Guidelines which covers the topic of plagiarism.

4.4 (Acknowledgements)
Where supervisors, clients or third parties were especially supportive and helpful, mention
can be made of this in a short separate section which can be placed at the start or end of the
paper.

4.5 Table of Contents

A full table of contents lists all elements, chapters and sub-chapters, and provides page
numbers. The elements are numbered (cf 3.2 Outline) and these must be parallelised.
For example:

1. Level 1
1.1 Level 2
1.2 Another Level 2
1.2.1 Level 3
2. Level 1
3. Level 1
3.1 Level 2
3.1.1 Level 3
3.1.2 Another Level 3

4.6 Introduction
A short segment (generally 1 2 pages) which leads the reader into the topic. An
Introduction may present key themes, definitions or questions. It may entice interest by
presenting recent statistics, unusual facts or facets. It may offer a birds eye perspective of

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 9/29

 Guidelines

the topic. Usually the full main research question or thesis will be stated here as well as a
summary of methods (however the sub-questions and the detailed description of methods
will normally be presented in other segments (see Main Contents).

4.7 Main Contents

The bulk of the paper and which elements are here included depend on the nature of the
research. Usually it includes:

4.7.1 Literature Review/Theoretical Framework

In empirical papers, state of current knowledge and research on the themes to be examined
is presented. Theories underpinning the topic, key experts and related data/findings related
to the papers research questions may be presented.

In qualitative papers where the entirety might comprise presenting textual data from other
sources and the entire paper is a literature review, a theoretical framework can be presented.
This might address the historical development or larger theoretical contexts.

4.7.2 Methodology
A full description of how research was conducted must be included. Each individual
research question, task or problem is fully formulated and the precise method applied given
(sample sizes, dates, places, software used, type of interview full survey questions are
usually appended - , models used for analyses, etc). Delimitations are declared.

4.7.3 Findings
This may constitute the bulk of the paper. Usually it comprises 2-3 chapters which cover the
main research topics. In qualitative papers this will be the mostly textual analyses,
evaluations and comparisons; in quantitative papers this is usually the presentation of data
collected.
4.7.4 Discussion/Analyses
Whereas all previous sections of the academic research paper presented either neutral data
or the opinions of those researched, this section enables the author to interpret and discuss
results and findings.

4.8 Conclusion
Final conclusions, summaries of findings or recommendations are presented succinctly at the
end. This section also often includes educated speculation on future developments or
suggests possible further research.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 10/29

 Guidelines

4.9 Bibliography
All literature and data presented is sourced in Harvard Style. This not only includes books,
articles, papers, statistics, journals and websites but also interview material, graphs,
illustrations, etc. See Chapter 5 for fuller details and examples. The bibliography is
alphabetical according to author surname or entry name as used contextually. Each entry is
indented.

4.10 (Appendices)
Full research findings, interview transcripts, survey questions, codebooks and similar further
and more detailed information which is relevant but not included in the main text can be
appended.

4.11 (List of Graphics; List of Terms, List of Abbreviations, Index...)

Where appropriate or helpful for the reader, other elements can be included. Where there is
a considerable collection of graphs and tables with statistical data, these can be listed
including the titles and page numbers. Similarly in cases of a profusion of terminology or
abbreviations, these can be collected and defined or explained in a separate list.

5. Sourcing

All sources (books, articles, websites, graphs, statistics, visuals, etc) must be
sourced precisely enough in the text and then fully in the Bibliography/References10
to enable a reader to easily track down the original.

5.1 Note-taking
To ensure the precision required in academic papers it is vital to take accurate notes.
Advisable is a separate Bibliography card index 11. Bibliography notes must include:
author(s), year of publication, edition if applicable, title(s), place, and publisher. For
websites include the full URL and the date you viewed this source. The precise way
of listing sources in bibliographies according to Harvard style is shown in 4.2.

10
A Bibliography includes all and any works consulted during the course of research including
secondary data which may not be cited in the text. References only include sources cited in the text.
11
Microsoft Office includes electronic management of sources and enables bibliography entries. A
number of Harvard styles are included in the standard package (the Anglia version is closest to FHNW
style. There are compatibility issues of this function in Mac OS. An alternative is using Mendeley
Desktop, available under http://www.mendeley.com/

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 11/29

 Guidelines

Equally important is systematic note-taking. Differentiate between your own

idea/thought (note this down) and a note taken from a source. If the note is from a
source, cross reference it clearly to your bibliography note. If you use any direct
quote (a word, a phrase, a sentence or more) then clearly put this in citation marks in
your note to prevent errors when transcribing. Ensure, if the note relates to an
argument or theory, that the context is retained.

5.2 Bibliography
Bibliographies are ordered alphabetically according to the surname of the (main)
author. Each entry is on a new line. Bibliography entries are not numbered or
bulleted. Bibliographies are not segmented (e.g. one set for electronic sources, one
for print sources).

Below are examples of the most frequently used types of publications set out as they
should be set out in a Bibliography as well as an example of how the reference could
be inserted into the text (contextual sourcing).

Bibliography entries in Harvard style follow the same basic pattern: surname and
initials. publication date. Italicised title(s). Place: publisher.

5.2.1 Layout Bibliography

Each entry is indented. Main title (of book, journal) is in italics. Titles capitalised as
in the publication, however, do not use all capitals even if this is the case in the
original.
For electronic or new media sources the same basic pattern as for print material is
followed with some additions: surname author and initials, publication date. Italicised
title. Publisher (organisation). Type of medium (if applicable). Available online at: Site
address. Date retrieved (e.g. Accessed, Retrieved or Viewed with the date in (round
or square) brackets, e.g. (Accessed 12 November 2007). (For examples see 5.3)

Where authors are not known, the bibliography entry begins with the publication title
or with the publisher. Where other details are not known, this is indicated by no/not.
For example: No publisher. Date not known.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 12/29

 Guidelines

5.3 Examples
These Guidelines do not attempt to list every single type of publication. Students
should consult the other online references mentioned under Section 2 or consult their
supervisor. The rule of thumb is to follow the basic order (author, year, title, place,
publisher) and to provide enough information to enable a reader to efficiently trace
the original source. The examples below also indicate how the contextual citation
might appear.

5.3.1 Books

Type Contextual Bibliography

One author According to Stenning
(2002:65) language is
Two authors ..at the start (Leedy and
Ormrod, 2001:187).
Three Jones, Kleinbock and Ashton
authors (1999:32) confirmed this in
their groundbreaking.
Four or more often replaced (Cranshaw
authors et al, 2003:54).
Multiple As Benning (2003a) further
works by developed his theory
same
author(s)
Unknown ..as defined by the Oxford
author/editor English Dictionary (1990).
Editor ..is relatively rare
(Chandrasekaran and
Glasgow, 1995:76).
Organisation, Strict guidelines can even be
institution, monitored (Australian
company Government Publishing
Service, 1994:114).
Contribution This was confirmed by Coffin
of chapters in 1999 (8).
Electronic Miniskirts were part of this
revolution (Mc Robbie,
1998:39).
Stenning, K. 2002. Seeing Reason: Language and
Image in Learning to Think. Oxford: Oxford
University Press
Or OUP (cf below) if using a common
abbreviation then do so consistently
Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.R. 2001. Practical
Research: Planning and Design.7th ed. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Jones, M., Kleinbock, P.P. and Ashton, S. 1999.
Psychological Approaches to Power. Pittsburgh:
WSP
Cranshaw, P. et al. 2003. Renaissance Painting in the
Low Lands. Cambridge: CUP
Up to 3 authors are mentioned; then either the
leading author or the first listed is mentioned only,
with et al representing the others.
Benning.T.J. 2003a. Systematic Approaches. Oxford:
OUP
Benning, T.J. 2003b. Further Dimensions. Oxford: OUP
Publications from same author in different years
are differentiated (contextually) by different
publication year. Different publications by same
author in same year are allocated letters of the
alphabet to differentiate.
Oxford English Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1990. Oxford: OUP
Title is inserted into bibliography alphabetically
Chandrasekaran, B. and Glasgow, J. (eds). 1995.
Diagrammatic Reasoning: Cognitive and
Computational Perspectives on Problem Solving
with Diagrams. Cambridge: MIT Press
Australian Government Publishing Service. 1994. Style
th
Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers. 5 ed.
Canberra: APS
Coffin, J. M. 1999. Molecular Biology of HIV. In: K.A.
Crandell (ed). The Evolution of HIV. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins Press, pp. 2-10
McRobbie, A. 1998. British Fashion Design: Rag Trade
or Image Industry? London: Routledge.
Available online at
http://leeds.etailer.dpsl.net/Home/html/moreinfo
.asp?isbn=0203168011 (Accessed 31 May

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 13/29


Different Similarly, Kottler and Keller
editions (2998:66) found...
Quotations As Smith (2006:132)
within observes a compassionate
quotations woman is required for such
roles. (Nb single quotation
marks are used for the
quotation within quotation.
The source will list where
the quotation came from.)
Works cited A study by Smith (2004,
in other cited by Chatwin 2009:34).
works where
original not
traceable
Kindle books Within this context Jones
(2008: Kindle 2267) claims...
Google
books
5.3.2 Articles and papers
Type Contextual
Article in In designing new
Journal approaches Eden, Williams
and Smithin (1986:239) also
considered.
Article in such as evidenced in the
Journal An Unknown Manuscript
(author Catalogue of the Library of
unknown) J.A. de Thou (1968).
Conference Equally, Hartmann and
Paper Hartmann (2005:187)
present conflicting
evidence..
Brigitte Sprenger September 2012
Guidelines
2006)
Full URLs are given if the reader will need this to
find the original document. If the site
navigation is clear and will lead to the
source, then the main site URL suffices.
Kottler, P and Keller, K. 2008. Marketing Management.
th
13 ed. Boston: Prentice Hall
The edition is not mentioned contextually: it comes
st
after the title in bibliography. Not valid for 1
editions.
Smith, R. 2006. Job Descriptions. London: Routledge
Chatwin, T. 2009. Experimental Documentation.
London: Blackwell
Jones, G.R. 2008. Bank Management. London:
Richard. D. Irwin Inc. Kindle edition
Or
Jones, G.R. 2008. Bank Management. Kindle ed.
London: Richard. D. Irwin Inc.
Books in Google books will have an import function on
the right (which also enable tracing a library copy or an
Amazon copy). Go to find this book in a library which
has functions to import details to your Bibliography (or
to EndNote, RefWorks), click and select Harvard style.
Bibliography
Eden C., Williams, H. and Smithin, T. 1986. Synthetic
Wisdom: the design of a mixed mode modelling
system for organizational decision making,
Journal of the Operational Research Society.
37:233-241
"An Unknown Manuscript Catalogue of the Library of
J.A. de Thou." The Book Collector 17 (Summer
1968): 168-76
Insert title alphabetically into Bibliography
Hartmann, H. and Hartmann, M. 2005. Leaving
Engineering: Gender Differences ACEE Annual
Conference The Changing Landscape of
Engineering and Technology Education in a
Global World, June 12-15, 2005. Portland,
Oregon: ACEE
Where dates are given by the publishers (e.g. June
12-15 in example above) it is best to follow
14/29
 Guidelines

the format the publisher gives, even if not

compatible with own format (e.g. 12-15 June)
Article in ...which was seen in the Dobson, I.R. 2005. Brain drain and brain gain: the
electronic Doubleday case presented challenges of internationalisation. Conference
journal by Dobson (2005). paper at Trends in the Management of Higher
Education on 25-26 August 2005. Available
online at:
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/56/14/35322804.p
df (Accessed 2 June 2009)
Newspaper as first reported by Tran Tran, M. 2007. Khmer Rouge Prison Chief faces
article (by- (2007). Court. The Guardian. 20 November 2007, p. 2
line)
Newspaper Soon afterwards The The Guardian Civil Servants join huge French Strike.
article, Guardian (2007) also ran 2007. 19 November 2007, p. 14
author reports Newspaper names (considered contextually as
unknown main title) are in italics
Magazine Samuelson (2007) reported Samuelson, R. 2007. Crude weapon wields global
article that.. power. The Australian Financial Review.
November 2007, pp. 21-24

5.3.3 Internet and Multimedia

The general rule is to list items from the internet in the same style as for other
publications The same information is provided in the same order. Reputable sites will
usually contain this information (author, publisher, date). Additionally, the date of
accessing (also referred to as retrieving or viewing select one of these terms and
then use consistently) the site must be stated in round or square brackets and the full
URL provided (unless the original is easily found on the site, in which case just the
main URL can be given).

In the table below, a number of sources have been listed where the content may not
meet academic standards (e.g. Twitter, Youtube). Students are advised to be
extremely critical when using content from such sources, preferably only use such
content for preliminary reading and then gather evidence from more respected
sources. However, for certain topics (e.g. the client uses such media for PR or
marketing purposes, a respected expert's blog etc), such sources can legitimately be
cited.
Type Contextual Bibliography

Online Peston (2007) remarked Peston, R. 2007. The Citi Tsunami in Pestons
newspaper on Picks, BBC News. 20 November 2007.
article Available online at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpe
ston/2007/11/the_citi_tsunami.html (Accessed
20 November 2007)
Online born in 1694 (Voltaire, Voltaire. 2007. In: Encyclopdia Britannica. Available
encyclopedia 2007). online at:
entry http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/6324

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 15/29


Online Further increases were
column/opini noted later that year
on/blog (Scofield, 2006).
Film He next appeared in Ghandi
(1982).
Television The news broke in the 6pm
broadcast headlines (BBC News,
2006).
TV advertise- went on to win several
ment awards (Cadbury, 2009).
Cd-rom ..as illustrated in the Sioux
textile included in Appletons
collection (2005:76).
Song/music This theme of mistakes
being rehashed and
replayed was returned to in
2001 (Williams).
Website where a Jubilee Fund was
set up (Credit Suisse website
1997-2010).
Youtube as Porter stated in 2008.
Facebook to notify of new
acquisitions at the library
(FHNW Bibliothek. 2010)
Twitter ..whose death was also
mourned by London mayor
Boris Johnson (2010).
Company/ this agreement (Albanese
author/ 2009).
organisation
news release
Brigitte Sprenger
Guidelines
88/Voltaire (Accessed 21 December 2007)
Scofield, J. 20 May 2006. "Yahoo is winning tin the
portal wars". GU technologyblog. Available
online at: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology.
(Accessed 23 May 2008)
Ghandi. 1982. Columbia Pictures. (DVD)
Occasionally, dependant on focus, the name of the
director can be used as the author entry (clearly
theis name is then used contextually and the
bibliography is under that name)
BBC News. 23 May 2006. News at Six. Eruption Mt
Cleveland in Alaska
Cadbury. 2009. Young boy and girl with eyebrows
dancing along to music. 30 second
advertisement. Glass and a Half Full
Productions. Screened ITV1 4 April 2009 8.23pm
Appleton, L.R.H. 2005. Appletons American Indian
Designs. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. (CD-
ROM)
Williams, R. 2001. Road to Mandalay, Sing when
youre winning. EMI. (CD)
Credit Suisse. 1997-2010. Jubilee Fund. Available
online at https://www.credit-
suisse.com/citizenship/en/jubilee_fund.js.
(Accessed 20 May 2010)
Porter, M. 2008. Columbus Partnership Lecture on 28
August 2008 on Competitiveness. Available
online at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5I_cnpP99U.
(Accessed 20 May 2010)
FHNW Bibliothek. 2010. Facebook FHNW Bibliothek
Olten. Available online at
http://www.facebook.com/search/?o=69&sfxp=
1&c1=1&c2=10#!/pages/Olten-
Switzerland/Bibliothek-FHNW-
Olten/347668595255. (Accessed 5 May 2010)
or
FHNW Bibliothek. 2010. Facebook FHNW Bibliothek
Olten. Available online at www.facebook.com.
(Accessed 5 May 2010)
Where search options are clear, it is possible to
just give the main site address.
Johnson, B. 2010. Twitter Mayor of London. Available
online at http://twitter.com/mayoroflondon
08:49 19 April 2010. (Accessed 10 May 2010)
Albanese, A. 2009. Fairer compensation for air
travellers. Media release 29 January 2010.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional
Development and Local Government.
www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases
/2009/January/AA007_2009.htm. (Retrieved 2
April 2009)
September 2012 16/29
 Guidelines

5.3.4 Personal Communications, Interviews, Theses, Papers, Reports, Patents

A great variety of less common sources are listed below but not all can be mentioned.
Source types not listed should follow the basic patterns and simply provide enough
details to enable a reader to quickly find the original. It is also possible to refer to the
other guides mentioned on pp. 4-5.

Type Contextual Bibliography

Letter, email No recorded incidents were
available for that year
(Pritchard 2005).
Interview When interviewed on 4
August 2003 Rickman
reiterated his viewpoint
that.
Thesis ..researched in depth in
(published) Hateleys thesis (2009).
Paper (not Johnson (2007) explored this
published) theory in
Patent in transmission systems
(Cookson 1985).
Report This was also noted in the
UN World Water
Development Report (2009).
Interview Such practises were
(confidential) mentioned by Pharma1
(2012)
Legislation as was stipulated in the
2007 revised European
Commission legislation
(Council Regulation 2007).
Lecture As Domenghino (2008)
notes emphasised
Pritchard, S. 2005. Your request for Information about
ISO Standards. Message to: Margaret Morrison.
18 February 2005. (Personal communication)
Rickman, A. 2003. Interview with the author on 10
August 2003. Hunstanton, UK. (Digital recording
in possession of author)
Hateley, E.2009. Shakespeare's Daughters: Children's
Literature and the Production of Gendered
Readers. New York: Routledge
Johnson, F. 2009. Transport Clusters in Spain.
Unpublished semester paper. Available at the
FHNW Library, Olten (www.fhnw.ch)
Main title is not italicised but put in quotation
marks
Cookson, A.H. 1985. Particle trap for compressed gas
insulated transmission systems. US Patent
4554399
United Nations. 2009 UN World Water Development
rd
Report. 3 ed. Available online at
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/.
(Retrieved 4 June 2009)
Pharma1.2012. Interview 23 March 2012 (transcript in
possession of author; identity known to author)
See p.17 for guidelines on anonymisation
Council Regulation (EC) 834/ 2007. Regulation of 28
June 2007 on organic production and labelling of
organic products and repealing Regulation
2092/91. Available in the Official Journal of the
European Journal at http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:
L:2007:189:0001:0023:EN:PDF. (Retrieved 3
May 2010)
Domenghino, M. 2008. International Marketing lecture
notes. Distributed on 12 October 2008. FHNW
School of Business

5.4 Graphs, Tables and Graphics/Images

All graphs, graphics, images, tables are sourced. For all visuals, the term Fig.
(abbreviation for figure) is used and a chronological number is allocated. This is

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 17/29

 Guidelines

immediately followed by the Title given. Below the visual the source is given. For
example:

Fig. 3: Student Growth in Missouri

Source: University of Missouri

This source is linked directly to a Bibliography entry (that means under the name
cited there is the bibliography entry. In the example above this would mean under
University of Missouri). If the graph is your own, give Author as the source. If your
graph includes sets of data from other sources, this must be mentioned (e.g.: Source:
Author based on data from the Bundesamt fr Statistik)

5.5 Citations in Text

Any information which comes from a source other than yourself must be cited when
referred to in the paper. This is done by supplying the surname of the author, the
year of publication and the page number in your text. The citation must come as
soon as possible (normally in the first sentence of your paragraph). If you then
continue citing this source, you may need to restate that you are still referring to the
same source after a few sentences. You can use the term ibid. (meaning: in the
aforementioned place, i.e. the same source as before) but would need to add a new
page number if applicable. Alternatively, try to embed the fact that you are still using
the same source into your sentence (e.g. Furthermore, Smith established , It was
also found.). As soon as you cite from a different source, this must be indicated
immediately. Only if the reference to the source is general (for instance, referring to

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 18/29

 Guidelines

an overall theory or summary which the author presents in an entire work) can the
specific page number be omitted.

It is always ideal to embed the citation within the flow of your text. Some examples:

As Leedy noted (2001:154) a model must be

Models are best developed after hypotheses have been articulated (Leedy,
2001:154).
According to Leedy (2001:154) ..
Development of models, as Leedy (2001:154) asserts, are best left to post
hypothesis formulation stages.

If the source cannot be supplied within the sentence, then all details are given at the
end of the sentence in round parentheses. The full stop, indicating the end of the
sentence, comes after the citation. Example:

Models are best developed after the hypotheses have been formed (Leedy,
2001:154).

Embedding citations requires considerable skill and practice. Students are advised
to attend courses in academic writing, take advantage of coaching or tutorials,
collaborate with fellow students for proofreading, etc. Resource sites like
www.uefap.com (Use of English for Academic Purposes) or the language centres at
some academic universities can offer additional support .

See Appendix A for further guides on paraphrasing, quoting and avoiding plagiarism
when doing so.

5.5.1 Variations with author name in contextual citation

If you cite from more than one work by the same author(s), allocate alphabetical
lettering (e.g. Leedy (2001a:154) believes that ....) to each of these separate works.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 19/29

 Guidelines

In situations where there is no author or the author is not known the title of the work
or the publication can be used instead. In such cases the bibliography entry must
come under that same name.

Where authors share a surname and initial, provide full first name(s).

Where the author is known but must be kept anonymous (confidential interviews), a
pseudonym is allocated. Ideally a pseudonym is selected which will not lead to
(insider) identification but relates to the interview context/topic: an interview with a
sales manager on distribution from a car parts manufacturing company could be
allocated the pseudonym Sales1 or CarParts1 or Distribution1.

Where the citation refers to a work referred to within another work, both (sets of)
authors are cited: (Johnson, 2003 as cited in Meesters, 2010:322). Both works are
entered in the Bibliography. However, such citations should be avoided and where
possible, the original should be consulted.

5.5.2 Quotations
Direct quotations are clearly signposted. If the quotation is one line or less,
incorporate it within the body of text in quotation marks. Cite as usual. If it is longer,
then leave an empty line, insert the quote in indented block text, single-spaced and
leave an empty line before continuing with the body of text. The source in a block text
is not embedded but provided at the end of the quotation (please note punctuation).
Examples:
According to Edwards (2006:17) an author must still be acknowledged each time
he or she is mentioned at the start of a paragraph.

Or (a block quote)

Where a paragraph or section paraphrases an authors view, the author must

still be acknowledged in the first sentence of the relevant paragraph or section.
The rest of the paragraph or section is automatically attributed to the same
source until a new source is acknowledged. (Edwards, 2006:17)

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 20/29

 Guidelines

5.6 Footnotes

Footnotes may be used to provide extra information, background information, details.

Use clear, consecutive numbering for such notes. Pertinent background information
which is of considerable length is usually provided as an Appendix. Typically a
survey codebook or an interview transcript would be provided as an appendix.

Endnotes are not used. Footnotes are not used to provide references within the text.

6. Plagiarism
It is a distinguishing criteria of research, academic and business papers that they
provide an overview of knowledge and publications in the subject area selected. It is
therefore vital to quote and refer to other works. This is not plagiarism; this is a
positive, commendable element.

Only if these references and quotations are not properly sourced does it become
plagiarism.

Plagiarism is theft. It is passing off another persons words, ideas, work as your own.
You plagiarise when you write down another persons words and do not accredit this
author. Plagiarism can also refer to pictures, lyrics, ideas, a lecturers comment, an
apt expression from an email, a piece of music or art. Plagiarism falls under
Copyright Acts or Intellectual Property laws and is therefore illegal. It is also highly
unprofessional and affects your reputation or the reputation of this university.

To avoid plagiarism, keep precise notes, place quoted words or texts in quotation
marks, attribute the source directly in the text and provide a full bibliography.

Please note that the School of Business routinely runs plagiarism checks using
software. Additionally, for some papers or theses a plagiarism software check is
standard on all submissions.

6.1. Consequences
If plagiarism is found in a student's work there are consequences. These are in
relation to the amount of plagiarism, the level of studies and the topic. Penalities
Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 21/29
 Guidelines

range from removal of academic title, expulsion, rejection of paper with short period
to re-submit, grade 1.

6.2 Declaration of Authenticity

In keeping with best practice, students include a declaration of authenticity at the
start (or end) of the paper. A sample statement can be found in Appendix D. All
copies of the paper submitted to the university or the clients must be signed by the
author (or in case of group papers, all authors).

6.3 Academic Misconduct

Apart from plagiarism, other academic misconduct is also not tolerated by the school.
Falsification or fabrication of data or unacknowledged collusion in academic papers
or theses is penalised.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 22/29

 Guidelines

Appendix A: Further information on Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarising

Do not quote at great length. You should pass on most information in your own
words. If some words, a phrase or a paragraph is especially poignant or important
then quote precisely. Examples (always boxed):

Parenthetical, short quote within own text, quote marks around exact quotes:

Generally, Gibaldi recommends not reproducing any unusual typographical

characteristics when referring to titles (2005:56).

In the Bibliography then, you have the full entry (note that the entries are indented to
enable quick location alphabetically of the author):

Gibaldi, J. and Achtert, W.S. 2005. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
New York: Modern Language Association of America

Parenthetical, longer quotation, no quote marks, indented as a whole (so-called block

quote), one empty line before and after:

Although Wal-Mart has been operating in India since 2001, regulations have kept

Operations limited:

Foreign retailers can only operate in India as wholesalers, and local shopkeepers
want to keep it that way. Kishore Biyani, founder of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.,
the country's top chain with some $450 million in annual revenue, has been
pressing New Delhi to keep Wal-Mart out. "We are trying to close the back door
and the front door," he says. (Kripalani 2006:32)

This has resulted...

And in the Bibliography:

Kripalani, M. 2006. Wal-Mart: Rapping On India's Door Business Week Online. 1

May 2006. Available online at
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982069.htm (Accessed 23
June 2008)

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 23/29

 Guidelines

The main thing to remember is to reference clearly and succinctly so that your reader
can track the original.
If you alter the quotation there are standard ways to indicate this:
Leave out words use ellipsis (three dots) such as a horse . A
kingdom for a horse
Insert an explanation by using square brackets (these always indicate
editorial comment) such as: this lead to the abbreviation of Gruezi
[short for Gruss Gott, meaning Greet God] and therefore.
Insert the Latin signal word sic (really like this) if there is a mistake or
oddity in the original and the hannkerchif [sic] was used
Underline words or place words in italics to indicate emphasis or
importance but then immediate add square bracket explanation, e.g.
and the original [author emphasis] version is

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means putting into your own words it is therefore the most acceptable
method of supporting your thesis. It usually conveys the original idea in fewer words
but will also reflect your own voice. You source the original within the body of your
text within the paraphrase. Should you adopt the exact phrasing of the original at
certain points, these are then quotations and must be incorporated in that style.

As a guideline on how and how not to paraphrase (and attribute) study the example
below from http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html (viewed 24 April 2006)

The original passage is from Oliver Sacks' essay "An Anthropologist on Mars":
The cause of autism has also been a matter of dispute. Its incidence is about
one in a thousand, and it occurs throughout the world, its features remarkably
consistent even in extremely different cultures. It is often not recognized in the
first year of life, but tends to become obvious in the second or third year.
Though Asperger regarded it as a biological defect of affective contactinnate,
inborn, analogous to a physical or intellectual defectKanner tended to view it
as a psychogenic disorder, a reflection of bad parenting, and most especially
of a chillingly remote, often professional, "refrigerator mother." At this time,
autism was often regarded as "defensive" in nature, or confused with
childhood schizophrenia. A whole generation of parentsmothers,
particularlywere made to feel guilty for the autism of their children.

What follows is an example of illegitimate paraphrase:

The cause of the condition autism has been disputed. It occurs in

approximately one in a thousand children, and it exists in all parts of the world,
its characteristics strikingly similar in vastly differing cultures. The condition is
often not noticeable in the child's first year, yet it becomes more apparent as
the child reaches the ages of two or three. Although Asperger saw the
condition as a biological defect of the emotions that was inborn and therefore
similar to a physical defect, Kanner saw it as psychological in origin, as
reflecting poor parenting and particularly a frigidly distant mother. During this
period, autism was often seen as a defense mechanism, or it was
misdiagnosed as childhood schizophrenia. An entire generation of mothers

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 24/29

 Guidelines

and fathers (but especially mothers) were made to feel responsible for their
offspring's autism (Sacks, 2003: 247-48).

Most of these sentences do little more than substitute one phrase for another. An
additional problem with this passage is that the only citation occurs at the very end of
the last sentence in the paragraph. The reader might be misled into thinking that the
earlier sentences were not also indebted to Sacks' essay.
The following represents a legitimate paraphrase of the original passage:

In "An Anthropologist on Mars," Sacks (2003) lists some of the known facts
about autism. We know, for example, that the condition occurs in roughly one
out of every thousand children. We also know that the characteristics of autism
do not vary from one culture to the next. And we know that the condition is
difficult to diagnose until the child has entered its second or third year of life. As
Sacks points out, often a child who goes on to develop autism will still appear
perfectly normal at the age of one (247).
Sacks observes, however, that researchers have had a hard time agreeing on
the causes of autism. He sketches the diametrically opposed positions of
Asperger and Kanner. On the one hand, Asperger saw the condition as
representing a constitutional defect in the child's ability to make meaningful
emotional contact with the external world. On the other hand, Kanner regarded
autism as a consequence of harmful childrearing practices. For many years
confusion about this condition reigned. One unfortunate consequence of this
confusion, Sacks suggests, was the burden of guilt imposed on so many
parents for their child's condition (247-448).

Summarising

A summary, or prcis, considerably shortens the original usually the main ideas of
an extensive work. Summarising in your note taking, especially in early research,
can be very helpful. There should be very little summarising in your final paper.
Again, any original phrases must be presented as quotes.

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 25/29

 Guidelines

Appendix B: Title Page Example 1(NB NO headers/footers on cover page as

information already there)

Swiss Watch Industry: The Pirate Version

Copycat Cluster in Taiwan

By

Mary Jones

Susan Strong

Mark Black

20 April 2005

International Management 2.3

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. John Doe

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 26/29

 Guidelines

Title Page Example 2

Student Paper/Bachelor Thesis

Spring 2009

Main Title
(sub-title)

Daniel Mller
Sonja Meyer

Prof. Dr. Maja Baker

Basel, 12 May 2009

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 27/29

 Guidelines

Appendix C: Example of body text layout including a block quote and a graph

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 28/29

 Guidelines

Appendix D: Declaration of Authenticity

I (we) the undersigned declare that all material presented in this paper is my (our)
own work or fully and specifically acknowledged wherever adapted from other
sources.

I (we) understand that if at any time it is shown that I (we) have significantly
misrepresented material presented here, any degree or credits awarded to me on the
basis of that material may be revoked.

I (we) declare that all statements and information contained herein are true, correct
and accurate to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief.

Name

Date

Signature

Brigitte Sprenger September 2012 29/29

 Search articles from internet

Are specific sites NO Are specific topic or NO Is the area of interest NO

addresses are known? keyword is known? is general?

If yes

If you do not know the exact website site lets starts

from Open website http://scholar.google.com.pk/

In left side dates are mentioned,

Search using keywords,
free text or by selecting you can narrow down your
a topic search by clicking on the specific
year (dates e.g. 2012, 2013 etc)

If you find your concerned articles

then download it, but if you are
unable to download that article then
at least read its Abstract. At least
you will get the idea that this
reading/article is relevant with your
topic or not. If you find any one
article relevant with your topic. go
to its references and try to search all
those articles mentioned in that
Search not
relevant article. defined sufficiently
This resource was written 2009 by: Philip Mayer, Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center
(http://www.plantscience.ethz.ch/education/Masters/courses/Scientific_Writing)

Guidelines for writing a Review Article

A) Good to know about review articles
B) Elements of a review article
C) Guidelines for preparing a review article in 18 steps
D) Examples of high-quality review articles in the plant sciences (to be used in
your own work)
E) References used in this Guideline

A) Good to know about review articles

What is a review article?

A critical, constructive analysis of the literature in a specific field through summary,
classification, analysis, comparison.
A scientific text relying on previously published literature or data. New data from the
authors experiments are not presented (with exceptions: some reviews contain new
data).
A stand-alone publication. Literature reviews as integral parts of master theses, doctoral
theses or grant proposals will not be considered here. However, many tips in this
guideline are transferable to these text types.

What is the function of a review article?

to organize literature
to evaluate literature
to identify patterns and trends in the literature
to synthesize literature
to identify research gaps and recommend new research areas

Who is the audience of review articles?

experts in specific research areas
students or novice researchers
decision-makers

Review articles targeted at the last two groups: Extended explanations of subjects or of
subject-specific language are mandatory (e.g. through the uses of information boxes or
glossaries).

Which types of review articles exist?

Types by methodological approach
Narrative review
Selected studies are compared and summarized on the basis of the authors experience,
existing theories and models. Results are based on a qualitative rather than a
quantitative level.
Best evidence review
A focus on selected studies is combined with systematic methods of study-selection and
result exploration.
Systematic review
Findings from various individual studies are analyzed statistically by strict procedures.
Meta-Analyses are used to pool the results of individual studies.

1
Types by objective (Noguchi 2006)
Status quo review
Presentation of the most current research for a given topic or field of research.
History review
Development of a field of research over time.
Issue review
Investigation of an issue (i.e. a point of disagreement or a question) in a specific field of
research.
Theory/model review
Introduction of a new theory or model in a specific field of research.

Types by mandate
Invited reviews: experienced researchers are invited
Commissioned reviews: formal contracts of authors with clients
Unsolicited submissions: researchers develop an idea for a review and submit it to
journal editors

How long is a review article?

Review articles vary considerably in length. Narrative reviews may range between 8,000 and
40,000 words (references and everything else included). Systematic reviews are usually
shorter with less than 10,000 words.

B) Elements of a review article

Title

Function Helping readers to decide whether they should read the text or not.
Includes terms for indexing (e.g. in data bases).

Elements The title must be informative:

The title has to include important terms.
It has to indicate that the text is a review article.
It may include the message of the article, not just its
coverage (Gustavii 2003).

The title must be short:

Keep the title concise.
A longer subtitle may be an option in case a specification is
necessary.

Tense In a title with results indicated: the present tense stresses the
general validity of the results and illustrates what the author is
trying to achieve with the article; the past tense indicates that
results are not established knowledge yet.

Citations None

Length between eight to 12 words (Davis 2005)

Question The title should only be a question if this question remains

unanswered at the time of writing.

2
List of authors

Function Declare intellectual ownership of the work,

provide contact information
Elements 1) Decision on authorship:
Every person that contributed significantly to the literature
search, literature exploration and/or writing process.
2) Order of authors:
The first author has done most of the research and written
major parts of the article.
Authors between first and last author have contributed in
one way or the other to the success of the project. They
may be ordered alphabetically (indicating equality) or in a
sequence of decreasing involvement.
The last author usually coordinated the project and had the
original idea.

IMPORTANT: Discuss authorship as early as possible!

Abstract

Function Informs about the main objectives and result of the review article
(informative abstract) or indicates the text structure (descriptive
abstract).

Descriptive abstract - for narrative reviews

Elements Description of subjects covered without specific details. A
descriptive abstract is like a table of contents in paragraph form.

Tense present

Informative abstract - for systematic and best evidence reviews

Elements 1) Objectives: One or two sentences describe the context and
intention of the review.
2) Material and methods: One or a few sentences provide a
general picture of the methodological approach.
3) Results: A few sentences describe main outcomes.
4) Conclusions: One or two sentences present the conclusion
(which is linked to the objectives).

Tense objectives: present

material and methods, results: past
conclusions: present

Citations usually none

Length usually 200 to 250 words

Table of Contents

3
Function Shows the readers the organisation of the text. Helps orientation
among sections.

Note Some review journals print an outline/table of contents at the

beginning of the article, others do not. In general, these are
recommended for extensive narrative reviews.

Introduction

Function Provides information about the context, indicates the motivation for
the review, defines the focus, the research question and explains
the text structure.

Elements Elements of a three paragraph introduction (after Anonymous

2003).
1) Subject background. The general topic, issue, or area of
concern is given to illustrate the context.
2) Problem. Trends, new perspectives, gaps, conflicts, or a
single problem is indicated.
3) Motivation/justification. The authors reason for reviewing the
literature, the approach and the organisation of the text are
described.

Tense present (use past tense for the description of your methods and
your results)

Citations many

Length Between 10% and 20% of the core text (introduction, body,
conclusions).

Note Make sure to have a narrow focus and an explicit research

question. Indicate these two points clearly in the introduction.
Give theoretical or practical justifications for the need for a review.

Body: Material and Methods

Function Systematic and best evidence reviews have a methods section.

This section enables motivated researches to repeat the review.
Narrative reviews do not have a methods section but should
include some information about applied methods at the end of the
introduction.

Elements The material and methods section contains for example

information about: data sources (e.g. bibliographic databases),
search terms and search strategies, selection criteria
(inclusion/exclusion of studies), the number of studies screened
and the number of studies included, statistical methods of meta-
analysis.

4
Tense past

Citations few (e.g. to statistical analyses or software used)

Length Approx. 5% of the core text (introduction, body, conclusions).

Note Make sure that data sources are clearly identified. Precision has
first priority in the material and methods section.

Body: Main Part of the Review Article

Section structure A coherent structuring of the topic is necessary to develop the

section structure (Bem 1995). Subheadings reflect the organisation
of the topic and indicate the content of the various sections.
Possible criteria for structuring the topic are:
methodological approaches
models or theories
extent of support for a given thesis
studies that agree with another versus studies that disagree
chronological order
geographical location

Paragraph structure Cover one idea, aspect or topic per paragraph.

Avoid referring to only one study per paragraph; consider
several studies per paragraph instead.

Links Frequently link the discussed research findings to the research

question stated in the introduction. These links create the a
thread of coherence in your review article.
Link the studies to one another. Compare and discuss these
relationships.

Tense According to Ridley (2008) three tenses are frequently used:

Present: reporting what another author thinks, believes, writes,
reporting current knowledge or information of general validity,
e.g. It is believed
Simple past: referring to what a specific researcher did or
found, referring to a single study, e.g. They found
Present perfect: referring to an area of research with a number
of independent researchers involved, e.g. They have found

5
Citations Citations are usually indirect but in some cases pointed and
relevant remarks might be cited directly.
Non-integral references (indirect): The authors name, or a
number referring to the reference list, appears in brackets.
Non-integral references emphasize the idea, result, theory etc.
rather than the person behind it (Ridley 2008). Most references
in biology are non-integral.
Integral references (direct): The authors name has a
grammatical function in the text. As Ridley (2008) points out
this type is appropriate to emphasize the contribution of a
specific author.

Length 70 to 90% of the core text (introduction, body, conclusions).

Note Make sure to organise the different pieces of information into a line
of argument. An appropriate organisation of information is all-
important for the quality of a review (Day & Gastel 2006).
Throughout it is important that the idea/topic (paragraph 3 of the
Introduction) drives the article and not the literature used; write an
idea-driven, rather than literature-driven article!

Conclusions

Function Answer the research question set in the introduction.

Elements implications of the findings

interpretations by the authors (kept separate from factual
information)
identification of unresolved questions

Tense present: summarising and drawing conclusions

present perfect: referring to an area of research or a body of
literature

Citations few or none

Length 5 to 10% of the core text (introduction, body, conclusions).

Note Make sure to have a clear take home message that integrates the
points discussed in the review. Make sure your conclusions are not
simply a repeat of the abstract!

Acknowledgements

Function Expresses gratitude to people who helped with the literature

search, the structuring of the material or in the writing process
(but whose contribution is too small to justify co-authorship).
Expresses gratitude to funding organisation and specifies the
funding program (often required by funding agencies).

6
Elements Full names of people and their specific contributions to the
project are given.
The name of the funding agency and program as well as the
grant number and the person to whom it was awarded are
mentioned.

Tense present (past tense when referring to funding agencies in

terminated projects)

Citations none

References

Function Shows interested readers how to find the literature

mentioned in the text.
Acknowledges the work of other scientists.
Compulsory to avoid charges of plagiarism

Elements Include every reference cited in the text. Do not include additional
references. Avoid internet sources. If internet sources must be
used, find the original source for the internet reference, check it
has been correctly cited and cite it directly.

Length A range between 50-100 references is in most cases appropriate.

Note For narrative reviews the inclusion of all relevant, high-
quality studies is the target.
Systematic and best evidence reviews need explicit criteria
for the inclusion/exclusion of studies from which they got
the data.

Illustrations: Concept Maps

Function Concept maps are used in review articles to visualize the
structuring of the topic, to show the relationships between studies,
concepts, models or theories.

Organisation of data Boxes with terms or names are arranged in a two-dimensional

space. Arrows are used to link boxes. Specifications of the
relationship are written on the arrows.

Legend The legend describes the concept maps content. It is specific and
informative (it should be possible to understand the map without
reading the full text).

Note Concept maps are very useful to display complex relationships.

Boxes Often provided to explain terms/concepts for those who are

interested in certain issues more in depth.

Glossary Often provided to explain terms particular to a subject area so that

as broad an audience as possible may be reached.

7
If you want to include see Guidelines for writing a Research Article
tables or figures in
your review article

C) Preparing a review article in 18 steps

stage step
prepare 1. narrow the topic, define a few research questions or
hypotheses
2. search for literature sources, refine topic and research
questions during the search*
3. read, evaluate, classify and make notes
4. redefine the focus and the research questions, define the
take-home message
5. compose a preliminary title
develop structure 6. find a structuring principle for the article (e.g. chronological,
subject matter, experimental procedure)
7. prepare an outline, find headings for the sections in the text
body
8. plan the content of each paragraph in the different sections
9. prepare tables, concept maps, figures
write draft 10. draft the methods section (if needed)
11. draft the body sections
12. draft the conclusions
13. draft the introduction
14. draft the abstract
revise 15. revise drafts of different sections, abstract & title, tables,
figures & legends
16. revise citations and references
17. correct grammar, spelling, punctuation
18. adjust the layout

*
In systematic and best evidence reviews additional points have to be defined and considered in the
preparation stage:

selection of databases, published data and other resources, search strategy

criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies (comparability of methods is an important point here)
statistical procedures for the analysis of studies (meta-analysis)
treatment of qualitative research presented in the review

All these points have to be described in the material and methods section. In addition, a detailed
review protocol is required by some contracting bodies.

IMPORTANT: For all types of review articles: Make sure to ask competent persons for
feedback in the stages prepare, develop structure, and revise.

D) Examples of high-quality review articles in the plant sciences

High impact review journals in the plant sciences

8
Annual Review of Plant Biology
Current Opinion in Plant Biology
New Phytologist: Tansley review series (commissioned, paid)
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Trends in Plant Science
Nature Reviews Genetics*
Nature Reviews Microbiology*
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology*

Sample review articles

Narrative review: Kessler A. & I. T. Baldwin (2002). Plant responses to insect herbivory: The
emerging molecular analysis. Annual Review of Plant Biology 53: 299 328.

The structure includes:

Title in this case does not indicate that it is a review article.
Abstract includes a description of subjects covered.
Table of Contents shows the reader the organization of the text (overview)
Introduction includes a description of context (paragraph 1 3), motivation for review
(paragraph 4, sentence 1) and defines the focus (paragraph 4, sentences 2 3)
Body structured by headings and subheadings
Conclusion states the implications of the findings and an identifies possible new
research fields
References (Literature Review) organised by number in the order they were cited
in the text.

Systematic review: Ashmann T-L. & C. J. Majetic (2006). Genetic constraints on floral evolution: a
review and evaluation of patterns. Heredity 96: 343 352.

The structure includes:

Title informs us it is a review
Informative Abstract informs us this is a meta-analysis (novel analysis in a novel
context of previously published data)
Introduction
Body Material & Methods, Results (including the use of tables and figures to display
novel findings), Discussion
Conclusion a listing of novel findings of the meta-analysis
References organised alphabetically

This is structured like a research article (see Guidelines for writing a Research Article)
*
Not specific to plant sciences but none the less important media in this field.

E) References

Anonymous (2003): Tips for conducting a literature review. Centre AlphaPlus. Available on
http://alphaplus.ca/pdfs/litrev.pdf; accessed 12 November 2008.
Bem, D.J. (1995): Writing a review article for Psychological Bulletin. Psychological Bulletin
118 (2): 172-177.
Day, R.A., Gastel, B. (2006): How to write and publish a scientific paper. Sixth edition.
Greenwood Press, Westport.

9
Noguchi, J. (2006): The science review article An opportune genre in the construction of
science. Linguistic Insights Volume 17. Peter Lang, Bern.
Ridley, D. (2008): The literature review a step-by-step guide for students. Sage
Publications, London.

10
J Bus Psychol (2009) 24:117121
DOI 10.1007/s10869-009-9116-2

Crafting a Successful Manuscript: Lessons from 131 Reviews

Steven G. Rogelberg Marisa Adelman
David Askay

Published online: 24 May 2009

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

Having good data is simply not enough to assure publication of research contribution, and the content and/or structure of
in a high quality academic journal. The data must be sold, the literature review.
justified, described, and packaged in a compelling way. In Conceptual and/or theoretical rationale:
this paper, we focus on how to prepare a quality manuscript.
It is unclear why the particular variables were selected.
To do so, we content analyzed reviewer comments from
The model is poorly specified or explained.
nearly 100 manuscripts that were submitted to the Journal of
Need to explain why particular variables were chosen
Business and Psychology over a 4-month time period
as mediators/moderators.
(November 2008April 2009). This yielded 131 reviews.
Missing variable concerns: need to consider other
The goal was to identify areas of concern commonly
constructs that may be relevant to the model.
expressed by manuscript reviewers. By doing so, it is our
Lacking theory behind focal constructs and
hope that we can better educate authors on the key elements
relationships.
of a successful manuscript, increase manuscript impact, and
Theories are discussed, but not effectively used as the
in general help data reach their potential.
framework for the research.
The reviews were analyzed and common themes were
Arguments are unclear, inconsistent, and not always
identified. Illustrative comments were provided under each
compelling.
theme listed below. The themes were then organized into
Lack of connection between the model, the hypotheses,
the following categories: (1) introduction section, (2)
and the title.
methods and results section, (3) discussion section, and (4)
writing. It is important to note that not all of the themes and Purpose/contribution of study:
illustrative comments are universalsome may be more
Title and abstract misrepresent the content of the
applicable to particular research designs and approaches
manuscript.
(e.g., quantitative versus qualitative designs).
Need to clearly state the purpose and contribution of the
studydo this early in the paper.
Need to articulate what this study adds to the extant
Introduction Section
literature.
Explain how this is more than a replication study.
Reviewers frequently expressed concerns about theoretical
Need to highlight/emphasize the novel contribution of
or conceptual rationale, clarity of research purpose, extent
the study.

All authors have contributed equally to this manuscript.
S. G. Rogelberg (&)
M. Adelman
D. Askay
University of North Carolina Charlotte, 9201 University City
Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA
e-mail: sgrogelb@uncc.edu
Proposed relationships/hypotheses:
Some of the hypotheses seem trivial/it is unclear how
the proposed relationships add to the literature.
Need to more clearly state the direction of the proposed
relationships.

123
118
Hypotheses/research questions are not clearly stated.
Terms and constructs need to be clearly defined.
Redundancies/lack of conciseness:
Introduction section is very long and redundant.
Need to revise for clarity and conciseness.
Methodological issues (e.g., specifics of the sample,
measurement details) should generally be saved for the
Methods section.
Literature review:
Need to better integrate extant research with the aims of
the present study instead of merely reviewing the
literature.
Incorporate a broad range of literature instead of
relying extensively on recent, unpublished work.
Need to mention recent review articles and recent
controversies on your topic.
Cited literature is misrepresented.
Large amount of recent literature is missing.
Extant literature is poorly integrated with present study.
Cited literature is severely dated; recent studies are
missing.
Some representative comments illustrating the above
themes
My main concern about this manuscript is that it is
an empirical investigation without any specific a priori
hypotheses.
The Introduction, though useful, is a bit long for the
paper.
The literature review is generally excellent but has
several shortcomings that undermine its clarity and make
the reader question the relevance of this study.
The contribution of Hypothesis 1, which deals
with ______, is weak. That is, the literature review pro-
vided by the authors (including their discussion of meta-
analytic evidence) seems to demonstrate convincingly that
______ are likely to be more related to ______ than
to ______. Therefore, it is unclear how this hypothesis
adds to the literature.
While I appreciate the authors attempts to be thorough
in their literature review, I think the manuscript would
benefit from efforts to tighten up the introduction and lit-
erature review and make the stated arguments more
concise.
At several points in the manuscript, the authors make
very strong statements without providing sufficient sup-
porting references to empirical research backing up these
claims. I would suggest toning these statements down
123
J Bus Psychol (2009) 24:117121
or providing additional references to support these
assertions.
The model, as presented, is primarily heuristic. That is,
the model is not tested in its entirety, but is instead used as
a guiding framework. This is not a problem in and of itself.
However, the authors, both in their choice to title the
paper ______ and in their presentation of the model in
the text, give it a centrality that it may not deserve.
When reading the introduction, I was struck by the
obviously interesting nature of the topic, the differing
approaches used in past research, and the brevity with
which all this was presented. At some points I would have
appreciated a bit more theoretical background and
explanation.
The introduction of the paper delves immediately into
the specific research scenario. I would like to see the
author(s) spend a paragraph or two setting up the context of
the research and discussing what has motivated the
research. Why is this an important problem? Before getting
into the conceptual model for the paper, I would like to see
a clear statement of the purpose of this research.
The authors do a nice job of identifying an area of
research that deserves more research attention: ______.
The authors address this issue with an impressive sample.
However, as currently conceptualized, analyzed, and pre-
sented, this manuscript does not add to our understanding
of ______.
My biggest critique is regarding the alignment of stated
purpose with the actual work the paper puts forth.
Methods and Results
Reviewers frequently raised concerns about study mea-
sures, sampling strategies, the extent of methodological
information presented, appropriateness of analyses,
reporting of analyses, and common method bias issues.
Measurement:
Need to provide sample items (if not all items) for each
measure.
Indicate the scale of the measurement.
Describe how scales were scored and composites
generated.
Clearly define the variables/measures and identify how
they effectively operationalize the study variables.
Provide reliability and validity data for all measures.
Need to report descriptive statistics for the measures.
Assess discriminant validity using an exploratory factor
analysis to show that all scale items adequately loaded
onto their respective factors without problematic cross-
loadings.
J Bus Psychol (2009) 24:117121
CFA should be conducted on all items from each
measuredo not run separate factor analyses for each
scale, if possible.
Sample/sampling strategy:
Need a better explanation of how participants were
recruited, when and where they were surveyed, and
which participants completed which measures.
It is difficult to assess the appropriateness of the
analyses and meaningfulness of the results because
detailed information about the sample and procedure
are not provided.
Need discussion of how subjects were assigned to
experimental conditions.
Interpretation of the results is limited by the sampling
strategy employed (convenience sampling) and the
extremely small sample size.
Very limited sampleserious range restriction on the
criterion measure.
Need to collect additional data with a broader sample.
Discuss response rates and bias potential. Refer to
Rogelberg and Stanton (2007).
Common method variance:
Refer to Podsakoff et al. (2003) and Spector (1994,
2006).
Common method bias issues should be considered in
the design of the study and discussed.
Language is too strong surrounding minimization of
common method varianceeffects were reduced, not
eliminated.
General analytic issues:
Theory should guide your analyses.
Need to explain rationale behind chosen analyses, if not
obvious (e.g., why an EFA was conducted instead of a
CFA; see Bryant and Yarnold 2000; Fabrigar et al.
1999; Thompson 2007 for discussion).
Effect size indicators are needed.
Avoid over-analyzing the data, as significant results sured your variables. Given that the measures are mostly ad
may be found due to chance.
Individual-level analysis ignores the possibility that the
groups in which members are nested influence their
ratingsconsider the need for HLM (see Ilies et al.
2009; Raudenbush and Bryk 2002).
Your HLM analyses are problematic (see Bliese 2002;
Hofmann et al. 2000).
Make sure that the model being tested is consistent with
the hypothesized relationships.
Regression: report all betas in the table; consider
plotting simple slopes; use proper language when
describing regression techniques (e.g., regressed crite-
rion on predictor variables).
119
Use appropriate and most up-to-date procedures for
testing moderation and mediation (e.g., Sobel test or
bootstrapping). For a discussion of moderated regres-
sion analyses, see Aiken and West (1991) and Muller
et al. (2005). For additional information on mediation,
see James et al. (2006) and MacKinnon et al. (2002).
Qualitative methods: need to report full list of interview
questions; need to explain how qualitative coding
scheme was developed; contextual information is
needed (for additional information, see Denzin and
Lincoln 2005; Miles and Huberman 1994; Willig
2001).
Reporting results:
Include an explanation of the study procedure.
Explain the standards for excluding data that were
returned and subsequently not included in the
analyses.
Missing important information about the participants
and procedure, specifically contextual factors related to
the nature of the task.
Display caution in over-interpreting null results.
Results should be consistent with APA style guidelines.
Need more detail and clarity: specifically state which
results provide support for which hypotheses.
Language/tone of results:
Avoid causal language when using a cross-sectional
design.
Avoid evaluative language; report findings without
reference to what constitutes a good model.
Do not use marginally significant and marginally
supported.
Some representative comments illustrating the above
themes
I had a number of concerns regarding how you mea-
hoc measures, you need to justify these more thoroughly.
As it stands, especially with the regression analyses,
there is little consistency across occupation which may be
due to capitalization on chance. In fact, Table 3 only pre-
sents the significant results; you should present all results
(significant or not).
I found the analyses difficult to follow because at least
one of the figures referred to seemed to be missing. Simi-
larly, the list of figures does not match the figures.
While your hypothesis essentially proposes an inter-
action, your regression-analysis tests for two main-effects.
A subsequent step should include the proposed interaction
between ______.
123
120
Significance is a binary variable: a particular result
either is or is not statistically significant, and the field of
applied psychology imposes a hurdle of p \ .05 for this
claim to be substantiated.
Discussion
Many reviewers noted problems with the structure of the
discussion section, missing components, overgeneraliza-
tion of results, and a lack of meaningful interpretation.
Discussion section style/structure:
Be sure to discuss your findings, implications, limita-
tions, and future research ideas.
Open the discussion section with a brief review of the
results (e.g., clearly and concisely articulate which of
the hypothesized relationships were supported).
Make sure the terms are consistent throughout your
paperdo not start using different terminology in the
discussion section.
The discussion section is too short.
The final paragraph in the paper needs to cohesively
summarize the importance of the authors work.
Interpretation of findings:
Need to consider alternative explanations for findings.
Acknowledge other potential mediators/variables and
pose possibilities for future research.
Avoid making statements in the discussion that are not
supported by the methods and results.
Answer the so what questionclearly articulate the reviewers often commented on a lack of clarity in the
knowledge gained as a result of the study and how this
knowledge can be used.
Need to link the results to extant literaturehighlight
the contribution of the present results above and beyond
previous work.
Limitations and implications:
Address limitations due to sample size and
composition.
Applied implications have no foundation in data or
design.
Include a discussion of the practical implications.
Practical application of results needs to be better
explained.
Some representative comments illustrating the above
themes
The authors made a strong start in their discussion of
the findings by underlining the contributions of their study
(instead of a summary of findings, as is often the case).
123
J Bus Psychol (2009) 24:117121
However, I felt that they relied perhaps somewhat too
much on speculation when addressing unexpected
findings.
The theoretical implications of the results need to be
explored in more depth, and the authors need to be careful
not to make claims unsupported by their results. One such
example can be found .
The authors should exercise caution in suggesting
causal inferences based on their data; for example .
I would like to see much more discussion on what the
findings mean to practitioners and researchers. What do the
findings suggest we do differently? What are the implica-
tions of these findings? Id like to see the manuscript go
deeper into the importance and implication of the
findings.
I would like to see the discussion go into greater detail
about the meaning of the results and the implications. Why
were the expected effects found only for ______? Is this
pattern of findings consistent with what was found in other
studies? Tie this back to the literature. What does this mean
for ______ in other settings? Can you generalize the
results? I would like to see a much more extensive dis-
cussion of these issues than what is currently presented.
Writing
Reviewers frequently expressed concern about the overall
quality of the writing, particularly noting grammatical and
spelling errors, and errors in APA style. In addition,
overall manuscript.
Editing and grammar:
Poor grammar.
Spelling errors.
Problems with omitted words.
Confused verb tenses.
Need to use an active voice.
Data were not was.
Use more paragraphs.
Avoid grandiose over-statements; write in a scholarly
manner.
Avoid the use of judgmental or evaluative statements.
Concerns relating to APA style.
Writing issues were more common in manuscripts
submitted by non-native English speakers; indicates a
need for editing by a native English speaker.
Proofread, proofread, proofread.
Manuscript lacks clarity:
Reads like a thesisneed to be more concise and clear
in logic.
J Bus Psychol (2009) 24:117121
Need to clearly define focal constructs and terms.
Heavy use of acronyms hinders comprehension.
Be consistent in use of termsusing terms inter-
changeably hinders comprehension.
The manuscript does not flow well; the logic behind the
arguments is disjointed.
Additional headings would enhance the clarity of the
manuscript.
Some representative comments illustrating the above
themes
The manuscript is very well written and well-orga-
nized, which made it a pleasure to read.
In general, I would suggest going through the manu-
script very carefully to check for proper grammar as there
are a number of instances of grammatical issues.
This manuscript would benefit greatly from the edito-
rial services of an expert in the English language. I highly
recommend the author(s) consult their universitys English
department for any services for editing English
documents.
There are a number of errors in writing I would ask the
author(s) to address.
Conclusion
This paper is designed to help authors become better aware
of the types of issues and concerns reviewers typically raise
in their reviews. We hope that authors will take the above
concerns into consideration prior to submitting a manu-
script for publication. Doing so not only should result in
greater success for authors, but will provide good data
more of an opportunity to have a meaningful impact on
organizational science and practice.
References
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interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Bliese, P. D. (2002). Multilevel random coefficient modeling in
organizational research: Examples using SAS and S-PLUS. In F.
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Drasgow & N. Schmitt (Eds.), Modeling in organizational
research: Measuring and analyzing behavior in organizations
(pp. 401445). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
Bryant, F. B., & Yarnold, P. R. (2000). Principal-components analysis
and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. In L. G.
Grimm & P. R. Yarnold (Eds.), Reading and understanding
multivariate statistics (pp. 99136). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
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