HRM Assignment

Research and Writing

http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm

Some additional IMPORTANT points are:

- Do NOT EVER use Wikipedia, a dictionary, encyclopedia, textbook, or any other reference book as a source citation for a graduate paper – I don’t consider those authoritative. If you see something in a textbook of interest, look up the source at the end of the chapter and read the original source before citing it.

- Do not use "internet only" sources (that is, you can only find it on the internet). Do not confuse "internet only" sources from sources you use the internet to research. For example, you may access the UMUC library via internet to obtain authoritative material contained in the library - this is certainly acceptable and encouraged. 

- Do not ever use a blog as a reference source.

- Do not use newspapers, news magazines (e.g., Time, Business Week, Newsweek, etc.,) or trade magazines (HR Executive) as reference sources.

- Do not rely on only a few sources from which you paraphrase extensively. Even though you may have several sources, if you use and cite only a few principal sources throughout your paper, there will be questions regarding how thorough you were in your research. While I don't expect an exhaustive review of the research and literature on your topic, you need to demonstrate that you have been relatively thorough in objectively examining various perspectives on your topic.

- Use primary sources and avoid secondary sources, unless it is impossible to obtain the original source document.

- You should be researching and using, on average, 2-3 different sources per page for an assignment.  Thus, for example, at the end of a 7-8 page paper you submit for an assignment, you should have used and cited 14-24 sources. Obviously, the more relevant authoritative sources you use in your papers, the more it shows you did research and used those sources. I have seen students hand in an assignment with only 2-3 sources and expect an A or a B. Do not do a minimal amount of research and writing and then expect an A or a B.

WRITING SKILLS AND THE USE OF AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) FORMAT (NOTE: THE TERM “PAPER” IS THE SAME AS AN “ASSIGNMENT”.

Let me make the following points about writing skills and the use of APA format.

· IMPORTANT: You may receive assignments in the form of a set of questions (e.g., 1. 2., 3., 4.) Do not simply answer them by listing the questions, then your answers. You are to write your responses to the questions in an organized cohesive paper.

· Make sure your assignment has, at a minimum, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.  Make sure your introduction specifies, in as much detail as possible, the purpose of your paper and how you intend to fulfill that purpose (This is only an example: "..... Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to . . . . . . In examining this issue, the paper first discusses the research on . . . . Second, the paper examines the research on . . . . These two lines of research will be compared and contrasted to . . . . Finally, based on the research, a set of recommendations will be presented which . . . .").  Your introduction tells me the purpose of the paper, why your topic is important/relevant, and how you will accomplish the purpose. Then, in the remainder of the paper (the body) do what you said you were going to do in the introduction.  Finally, in the conclusion summarize your findings and/or give recommendations you garnered from your research.

· DO NOT QUOTE. Quoting refers to taking the words of another author and putting it into the text of your paper. What you should be doing is paraphrasing – putting it into your own words, which indicates you understand the source materials.  Once you have paraphrased from the source, you do need to cite the source from which you paraphrased. Furthermore, paraphrasing eliminates any possibility of accusations of plagiarism.

· Please ensure that your grammar, syntax, vocabulary, spelling, etc. are at the graduate level of writing. If you have difficulty with your writing skills I suggest you contact the Writing Center.  If I refer you to the Writing Center, please take the advice – there is no shame in not being able to write. The shame is in ignoring an inability when there is room for improvement.

· Be particularly sensitive to source citations. Examples of appropriate and inappropriate citations: 

INAPPROPRIATE: Professor Ulysses S. Grant of the prestigious Harvard School of Economics wrote in 1995 in his seminal book, "The Politics of Selection”, that ……..

APPROPRIATE: "Grant (1995) wrote that . . .. . . .. . .. . "

Note: I don't care about his title, first name, who he's affiliated with (or where he's from), the name of the book, etc. - these are not relevant to the immediate topic of discussion in your paper - they do not establish the validity of an argument.

INAPPROPRIATE: "Research done in the late 1980's by some leading scholars, Howard Smith, Richard Longfellow, Jeanine Wonder, and Frank Wanderlic, found that in general, . . . . ..”

APPROPRIATE: "Research by Smith (1986), Longfellow (1987), Wonder (1988, 1989), and Wonderlic (1989), found that in general ...” OR: "Researchers (Smith, 1986; Longfellow, 1987; Wonder, 1988, 1989; Wonderlic, 1989) found that in general . . ........”

 INAPPROPRIATE: "Research by Smith (Smith, 1986) . . ........”

APPROPRIATE: "Research by Smith (1986) . .. . . ."  OR  "Research (Smith, 1986) has found. .. . . ." 

INAPPROPRIATE: "Research by Smith found that the issue is much more complex than it seems (1986).”

APPROPRIATE: "Research by Smith (1986) . .. . . ."  OR  "Research (Smith, 1986) has found. .. . . ." 

· Reference Page: Again, consult the APA manual. Sources listed on your reference page should match only what is cited in the text of your paper. Likewise, if you cite an author in your paper, there must be a corresponding source on the reference page. Do not list every source you consulted or read in writing your paper: some stuff you will read and "toss aside". I only care about the sources you used in the text of your assignment to make your arguments or present evidence. 

· Do not break or subdivide your assignment into headings and subheadings. The only heading I want to see is the title of the assignment.

· Do not include an abstract nor use a paper heading at the top of each page.

· Do not include a Table of Contents.  A Table of Contents is useful for a book or monograph but your papers are not going to be long enough to justify a Table of Contents (besides, you are NOT to subdivide your paper into sections necessary for a Table of Contents).

· Do not use lists or "bullets". Lists and bullets explain nothing. If you use charts, graphs, etc., make sure you explain them and refer to them in your paper.

· Use only Word software with the doc. or .docx suffix. Any other format will be returned unread and the paper will be considered late.  I will not on any assignment accept spreadsheets.

· Indent paragraphs and double space between paragraphs.

· Do not use the first person (e.g., I, we) or second person (e.g., “You should first . . .") pronoun in writing your paper.

· Proofread your paper. You don't want your grade lowered because of some error that easily could have been caught had you proofread your paper. While this may seem an elementary point, it is amazing how such a simple point is overlooked.

Finally, I do check papers and, at times, discussions for plagiarism and academic dishonesty. It is much too easy in this age of online academia for students to be tempted to engage in copying and pasting materials. It is unfair to the vast majority of students who put forth a great deal of effort in completing assignments for me to ignore it.