teacher steve

ASAF_Lecture2.pdf

Home >Computer Science homework help >teacher steve

PSB385ACC:

Advances in Accounting and Finance

Writing Literature Review

Dr. James KwanDr. James KwanDr. James KwanDr. James Kwan PhD Finance (UWA), MBA (Strathclyde), MBA Investment & Finance (Hull), MBR (UWA), FHEA,

MSc Digital Education (Edinburgh), BAcc (NTU), SDALT, FCA (Singapore), FCPA (Aust.), MSID, ASEAN CPA, FAIA (Acad), AMA (Aust.), ACTA, Bok TC (Harvard), CEOT (Oxford), COCD (Oxford)

Purpose of a Literature Review

The literature review is a critical look at the

existing research that is significant to the

work that you are carrying out.

• To provide background information

• To establish importance

• To demonstrate familiarity

• To “carve out a space” for further research

A literature review is NOT . . .

• An annotated bibliography

• A list of seemingly unrelated sources

• A pure summary of various journal articles which does not demonstrate any synthesis,

comparison and critique

• Background information or explanations of

concepts

• An argument for the importance of your research

(although the LR can and often does support your position)

Characteristics of

Effective Literature Reviews

• Outlining important research trends

• Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of

existing research

• Identifying potential gaps in knowledge

• Establishing a need for current and/or future

research projects

Steps for Writing a Lit Review

• Planning

• Reading and Research

• Analyzing

• Drafting

• Revising

Planning

• Focus

– What is the specific dissertation, problem, or research questions that my literature review helps to define?

– Identifying a focus that allows you to:

• Sort and categorize information

• Eliminate irrelevant information

• Type

– What type of literature review am I conducting?

– Theory; Methodology; Policy; Quantitative; Qualitative

Planning

• Scope

– What is the scope of my literature review?

– What types of sources am I using?

• Academic Discipline

– What field(s) am I working in?

Reading and Researching

• Collect and read material.

• Summarize sources. – Who is the author?

– What is the author's main purpose?

– What is the author’s theoretical perspective? Research methodology?

– Who is the intended audience?

– What is the principal point, conclusion, thesis, contention, or question?

– How is the author’s position supported?

– How does this study relate to other studies of the problem or topic?

– What does this study add to your project?

• Select only relevant articles, preferably peer-reviewed.

Top Quality Journals - Accounting

Top Quality Journals - CG

Quality Journals - CG

Top Quality Journals - Finance

Analyzing Sources

• A literature review is never just a list of

studies — it always offers an argument

about a body of research

• Analysis occurs on two levels:

– Individual sources

– Body of research

Four Analysis Tasks of the

Literature Review

TASKS OF LITERATURE

REVIEW

SUMMARIZE SYNTHESIZE CRITIQUE COMPARE

Summary and Synthesis

In your own words, summarize and/or

synthesize the key findings relevant to

your study.

• What do we know about the immediate area?

• What are the key arguments, key characteristics,

key concepts or key figures?

• What are the existing debates/theories?

• What common methodologies are used?

Sample Language for

Summary and Synthesis

• Sinclair (2017) has demonstrated…

• Early work by Izan, Pettigrew, and McArthur (2018) was concerned with…

• Natasa and Brett (2015) compare algorithms for handling…

• Additional work by Trowler et. al (2016), Murray (2015), and Dempster et al. (2014) argue that…

 Consider citations place at the end 19

Example: Summary & Synthesis

In today’s increasingly competitive economy and the emphasis of higher education across many sectors and industries, students see the need of pursuing a postgraduate degree to stay competitive in the job market (Dugan et al., 1999; Edington & Bruce, 2003; Marks & Edington, 2006; Powell, 2010; Williams & Mujtaba, 2008). Placing an initial “MBA” or “MPA” in their resume is more likely to boost their chances of securing jobs that will allow them to increase their earning power or to gain promotion in their current organisation (Baruch & Leeming, 2001; Dailey et al., 2006; Heslop & Nadeau, 2010; Lewis, 1992; Mihail & Elefterie, 2006; Zhao et al., 2006).

Example: Summary

(Country Studies)

Over the past decade, there has been numerous studies

exploring the benefits and challenges of blended learning from

the undergraduate students from universities in Australia (Bliuc, Ellis, Goodyear, & Piggott, 2011; El-Mowafy, Kuhn, & Snow, 2013;

Ellis, Goodyear, Calvo, & Prosser, 2008; Ginns & Ellis, 2006; Yam

& Rossini, 2011), Croatia (Zuvic-Butorac, Roncevic, Nemcanin, &

Nebic, 2011), Ireland (Stuart, 2013), Malaysia (Tang & Chaw,

2013), New Zealand (Stacey & Gerbic, 2007), Spain (López-

Pérez, Pérez-López, & Rodríguez-Ariza, 2011), Turkey (Delialioğlu, 2012), and the US (Jones & Chen, 2008; Park &

Bonk, 2007; Vaughan, 2007). At the postgraduate level, studies

on perspectives on blended learning have also been conducted in

Australia (Waha & Davis, 2014), New Zealand (Stacey & Gerbic,

2007), Trinidad and Tobago (Kistow, 2011), the UK (Bentley,

Selassie, & Shegunshi, 2012), and the US (Chen & Jones, 2007; Grandzol, 2004).

Example: Summary & Synthesis

Prior studies reported mixed results on the relationship between age, gender and experience effects on pursuing an MBA (Simpson et al., 2005; Thompson & Gui, 2000; Zhao et al., 2006). For instance, Thompson and Gui (2000) reported that the younger students (under 35) placed more importance on career switching for pursuing an MBA while mature students with eight or more years of work experience placed greater emphasis on improving analytical skills as the key reason for taking an MBA. They also argued that men see an MBA more important than women when comes to career switch. Conversely, Simpson et al. (2005) reported that the most common reason for pursuing an MBA is to gain more job opportunities, especially for younger men and older women. They found that younger women placed more emphasis on career change while older men placed

greater importance on intellectual stimulation. Marks and

Edington (2006) surveyed 709 men and 759 women to determine which of the three categories of reasons (career enhancement, career switching, personal development) motivate them to pursue an MBA. They found that approximately one quarter of both men and women fall into all three categories, and men are more driven by career switching while women are more motivated by career enhancement. Their findings lend support to an earlier study conducted by Simpson (2000) where he reported that women are more likely to pursue an MBA to seek career enhancement while men see career switch and personal development as key motivation drivers. Other studies found no effects for gender and experience (Zhao et al., 2006). These mixed research findings on age, gender and experience are at best inconclusive, suggesting further research is needed.

Comparison and Critique

Evaluates the strength and weaknesses of the work:

• How do the different studies relate? What is new, different, or controversial?

• What views need further testing?

• What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradicting, or too limited?

• What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?

Sample Language for

Comparison and Critique

• Jones and Wang’s study lend support to am

earlier study conducted by Ravi (2013)…

• These general results, reflecting the

stochastic nature of the flow of goods, are

similar to those reported by Ross and Roll

(2011)…

Example: Comparison and

Critique

• The critical response to the poetry of Phillis Wheatley often

registers disappointment or surprise. Some critics have

complained that the verse of this African American slave is

insecure (Collins 1975, 78), imitative (Richmond 1974, 54-

66), and incapacitated (Burke 1991, 33, 38)—at worst, the

product of a “White mind” (Jameson 1974, 414-15). Others,

in contrast, have applauded Wheatley’s critique of Anglo-

American discourse(Kendrick 1993,222-23), her revision of

literary models…

Example: Comparison

greater importance on intellectual stimulation. Marks and

Analyzing: Putting It All Together

Once you have summarized, synthesized, compared,

and critiqued your chosen material, you may

consider whether these studies

• Demonstrate the topic’s chronological development.

• Show different approaches to the problem.

• Show an ongoing debate.

• Center on a “seminal” study or studies.

• Demonstrate a “paradigm shift.”

Analyzing: Putting It All Together

• What do researchers KNOW about this

field?

• What do researchers NOT KNOW?

• Why should we (further) study this topic?

• What will my study contribute?

Drafting: An Overview

To help you approach your draft in a

manageable fashion, this section addresses

the following topics:

• Thesis Statement

• Organization

• Introduction and conclusion

• Citations

Thesis Statements

The thesis statement offers an argument about the

literature. It may do any of or a combination of the

following:

• Offer an argument and critical assessment of the literature

(i.e. topic + claim).

• Provide an overview of current scholarly conversations.

• Point out gaps or weaknesses in the literature.

• Relate the literature to the larger aim of the study.

Examples: Thesis Statements

1) In spite of these difficulties we believe that preservice elementary art

teachers and classroom teachers need some knowledge of stage

theories of children’s development…[then goes on to review theories

of development]

2) Research on the meaning and experience of home has proliferated

over the past two decades, particularly within the disciplines of

sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, history,

architecture and philosophy. . . . Many researchers now understand

home as a multidimensional concept and acknowledge the presence

of and need for multidisciplinary research in the field. However, with

the exception of two exemplary articles by Després (1991) and

Somerville (1997) few have translated this awareness into genuinely,

interdisciplinary studies of the meaning of home.

Organization

Five common approaches to organizing the

body of your paper include:

• Topical

• Distant to close

• Debate

• Chronological

• Seminal Study

Topical: Characteristics

• Most common approach

• Breaks the field into a number of subfields, subject areas, or approaches

• Discusses each subsection individually, sometimes with critiques of each

• Most useful for organizing a large body of literature that does not have one or two studies that stand out as most important or a clear chronological development

Topical: Typical Language

• Three important areas of this field have received

attention: A, B, C.

• A has been approached from two perspectives F

and G.

• The most important developments in terms of B

have been…

• C has also been an important area of study in this

field.

Distant to Close: Characteristics

• A type of topical organization, with studies grouped by

their relevance to current research.

• Starts by describing studies with general similarities to

current research and ends with studies most relevant to

the specific topic.

• Most useful for studies of methods or models.

Distant to Close: Typical Language

• Method/Model M (slightly similar to current research) addresses …

• Drawing upon method/model N (more similar to current research) can help . . .

• This study applies the procedure used in method/model O (most similar to current research) to . . .

Debate: Characteristics

• Another type of topical approach, with a

chronological component.

• Emphasizes various strands of research in which

proponents of various models openly criticize one

another (e.g. EMH vs Behavioural Finance)

• Most useful when clear opposing positions are

present in the literature.

Debate: Typical Language

• There have been two (three, four, etc.) distinct

approaches this problem.

• The first model posits…

• The second model argues that the first model is

wrong for three reasons. Instead, the second model

claims…

Chronological: Characteristics

• Lists studies in terms of chronological development

• Useful when the field displays clear development

over a period of time (e.g. changes in IASs/IFRSs)

– Linear progression

– Paradigm shift

Chronological: Typical Language

• This subject was first studied by X, who argued/found…

• In (date), Y modified/extended/contradicted X’s work

by…

• Today, research by Z represents the current state of the

field.

Seminal Study: Characteristics

• Begins with detailed description of extremely

important study.

• Later work is organized using another pattern.

• Most useful when one study is clearly most important

or central in laying the groundwork for future

research.

Seminal Study: Typical Language

• The most important research on this topic was the study

by X in (date).

• Following X’s study, research fell into two schools of

thought (extended X’s work, etc.)

Introduction

• Indicate scope of the literature review.

• Provide some background to the topic.

• Demonstrate the importance or need for research.

• Make a claim.

• Offer an overview/map of the ensuing discussion.

Example: Introduction

• There is currently much controversy over how nonhuman primates understand the behavior of other animate beings. On the one hand, they might simply attend to and recall the specific actions of others in particular contexts, and therefore, when that context recurs, be able to predict their behavior (Tomasello & Call, 1994, 1997). On the other hand, they might be able to understand something of the goals or intentions of others and thus be able to predict others’ behaviors in a host of novel circumstances. Several lines of evidence (e.g., involving processes of social learning; Tomasello, 1997) and a number of anecdotal observations (e.g., Savage-Rumbaugh, 1984) have been adduced on both sides of the question, but few studies directly address the question: Do nonhuman primates understand the intentions of others? 46

Example: Introduction

Conclusions

• Summarize the main findings of your review.

• Provide closure.

• Explain “so what?”

• Implications for future research.

• Connections to the current study.

Example: Conclusion

• In summary, although there is some suggestive evidence that chimpanzees may understand others’ intentions, there are also negative findings (e.g., Povinelli et al., 1998) and a host of alternative explanations. As a consequence, currently it is not clear whether chimpanzees (or other nonhuman primates) distinguish between intentional and accidental actions performed by others. In contrast, there are several studies indicating that children as young as 14 months of age have some understanding of others’ intentions, but the lack of comparative studies makes it difficult to know how children compare to apes. This study is the first to directly compare children, chimpanzees, and orangutans with the use of a nonverbal task in which the subjects were to discriminate between the experimenter’s intentional and accidental actions. 49

Citing Sources

If it’s not your own idea (and not common

knowledge)—DOCUMENT IT!

• Paraphrase key ideas.

• Use quotations sparingly.

• Introduce quotations effectively.

• Use proper in-text citation to document the source of ideas.

• Maintain accurate references record.

Citing Sources: Things to Avoid

• Plagiarism

• Irrelevant quotations.

• Citations not found in reference list.

Examples: Citing Sources • In their seminal work on threshold concepts, Meyer and Land

(2003) described threshold concepts as “akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something” (Meyer & Land, 2003, p. 1). A threshold concept represents “a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress” (Meyer & Land, 2003, p. 1).

• Threshold concepts are integrative as they expose the hidden interrelatedness of the phenomenon (Cousin, 2006; Meyer & Land, 2003; 2005). Land et al. (2005) argue that learners may grasp the concepts and recognise the relationship between knowledge is perceived as equally transformative to the process of learning. However, they are unable to gain a deeper level of understanding or moving towards expert knowledge (Walker, 2013). Thus, integrative knowledge is “not just how much knowledge you have but how much you can do with what you have” (Perkins, 2008, p. 4). 52

Some Tips on Revising

• Title: Is my dissertation title consistent with the content of my

paper?

• Introduction: Do I appropriately introduce my review?

• Soundness: Does my review have a clear claim?

• Body: Is the organization clear? Have I provided headings?

• Topic sentences: Have I clearly indicated the major idea(s) of

each paragraph?

• Transitions: Does my writing flow?

• Conclusion: Do I provide sufficient closure?

• Spelling and Grammar: Are there any major spelling or

grammatical mistakes? 53

Writing a Literature Review:

In Summary

• As you read, try to see the “big picture”—your literature review

should provide an overview of the state of research.

• Include only those source materials that help you shape your

argument. Resist the temptation to include everything you’ve

read!

• Balance summary and analysis as you write.

• Keep in mind your purpose for writing:

– How will this review benefit readers?

– How does this review contribute to your study? Linking this

chapter with Chapter 4

• Be meticulous about citations. 54