System Error//Duplicate//Please see first post

Area of Specialization Statement (AOS)

Wentz, E. A. (2014). How to design, write and present a successful dissertation proposal.

Washington D.C.: Sage. ISBN-10: 1452257884 ISBN-13: 978-1452257884—Available online-Please use as reference

· Use the book (Wentz, 2014).

· State and define your subject areas.

· The content of this activity worksheet becomes the first paragraph of the AOS document.

· Please note, the worksheet is only a guide.

· The primary purpose is to write an AOS statement of approximately 500-1000 words that describes your research area.

· Use your AOS statement to determine keywords for further research.

Chapter 4 – Area of Specialization (AOS) - To Do List - page 33

1. Start by listing your discipline: Management

2. Within the discipline, list a subfield:

· Business Operations

· Business Strategy

· Real Estate

· Entrepruenership

For example, ABS Guide lists twenty-two subject fields (Rowlinson, 2013).

Reference: Rowlinson, M., 2013. Accounting for Research Quality: Research Audits and the Journal Rankings Debate.

· academic disciplines (Business History; Economics; Organization Studies; Operations Research and Management Science; and Psychology);

· business functions (Accounting; Finance; Human Resource Management and Employment Studies; Information Management; Marketing; Operations and Technology Management; and Business Strategy);

· industries (Tourism and Hospitality Management);

· sectors (Entrepreneurship and Small Business; International Business and Area Studies; Public Sector Policy, Management and Administration;

· and Sector Studies, covering a wide range of specialisms that includes health and education);

· issues or interests (Ethics and Governance; Innovation and Technology Management; Management and Education);

· residual categories (General Management, which includes many of the leading business and management journals; and Social Sciences)

You may have more than one area you draw from (or another discipline if you’re engaged in transdisciplinary research), but there should be a primary area where your work will be situated. If you draw from multiple subfields, list your secondary field(s) next: __________________________________________________________________________________

3. Write a one-sentence definition for each subfield.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. Within your subfield(s), many subjects or themes are focus areas. For your subfield(s), list at least ten focus areas. At this point, list as many focus areas as possible and do not worry if these are your focus area or not.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

5. At least one (and possibly more than one) focus area is where you consider your specialty. List 2 or 3 themes or focus areas for your area of specialization (or at least your initial research).

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

6. Write a one-sentence definition for each theme. The definition can come from the literature (use a citation) or if it is more generally known, there is no need for a specific reference. Regardless, use your own words instead of quoting so that it is apparent that the perspective is yours.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

7. For each theme, prepare the following (Chapter 4 – Area of Specialization (AOS) - Action Item - p. 34)

· Identify at least one of the key players in this subject. What has their contribution been?

· Knowledge base. What is generally known and not known about this theme?

· Rationale. What makes this an important theme to research?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

8. Write an AOS.

· Page 34-35 of Wentz book provides the instructions for the AOS statement.

· Organization of AOS

· Some Constraints

· The Language of Research

· Approximately 500-1000 words.

· Format is APA – double-space with cover page, reference page, etc.

· Use APA template in student resources.

8. Write a list of keywords, including alternative spellings and forms. (Chapter 5 - Effective Reading – To Do List - pp. 44-47)

· Use a combination of one or two keywords to get a first search. Be systematic about this, recording which combination you used and how many hits (number of records in the list).

· Adjust the search by narrowing or broadening terms. Narrowing can be done by adding new keywords to the search and being more specific with journal dates. Broadening is achieved by using less keywords.

· Review the results by looking at some of the abstracts to determine if the articles meet your desired criteria.