Research paper

Students may research topics related to Managerial Finance. The research may be based on an existing scholarly researches, theoretical framework, emerging theory, or other related issues of concern on the area of Managerial Finance. Students are expected to utilize WBU’s on-line library and its many research databases. When writing academic papers at WBU, students are often required to do research and collect information from outside materials, including journal articles, books, websites, videos, lectures, and a whole host of other formats. Please make sure only scholarly sources are used in your research. It is recommended to select business related databases. The Introduction section should contain the following information:

· Write your research purpose statement (first paragraph)

· Brief background (historical) regarding the research underling topic.

· Paper organization. A brief explanation (road map) regarding how the paper is organized(last paragraph)

The research paper has a minimum number of content pages set to 12. Title pages, abstract page, table of contents, and references pages don’t count towards the 12 content pages requirement. There is a minimum of 8 scholarly references. The writing style is based on the American Psychology Association (APA) 6th edition publication manual. When other people’s “ideas, theories, or research have directly influenced your work” (APA, 2010, p. 169), you need to properly cite and reference each source to both give credit to and point the reader toward the original author or source. In the previous sentence, you can see one example of a citation (often referred to as ‘in-text citation’). This citation is directly tied to an entry in the references section.

The reference section of your paper is the location where you list all of the sources (books, articles, videos, lectures, etc.) that you used to collect information for your assignment. There are specific ways to format references depending on the number of authors a work has, what type of media the source is from, whether there is an online version of the source, and many more variations. A sample reference section is on the following page, and it provides examples of how to list some of the types of sources you might encounter.

Chapter six of the APA Publication Manual provides examples and information about the different ways to both cite your sources and list your references within your document. There are also excellent online resources – including the Purdue OWL site – that can help students properly cite and reference the many types of sources that students might use.

The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper is likely to contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions. Look for other literature reviews in your area of interest or in the discipline and read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or ways to organize your final review. A literature review, like a term paper, is usually organized around ideas, not the sources themselves as an annotated bibliography would be organized. This means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one of them, one at a time. As you read widely but selectively in your topic area, consider instead what themes or issues connect your sources together.

You’ve got a focus, and you’ve stated it clearly and directly. Now what is the most effective way of presenting the information? What are the most important topics, subtopics, etc., that your review needs to include? And in what order should you present them? Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.

Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically.

The Conclusions section should be approximately two to four in length. Discussion points to consider in your conclusions:

1. Identifying how the research problem has been addressed. Re-state the purpose of your study in this section first paragraph. The conclusion can be where you describe how a previously identified problems and challenges could be addressed by the opportunities identified in your literature review section.

2. Presenting the last word on the issues you raised in your paper. Just as the introduction gives a first impression to your reader, the conclusion offers a chance to leave a lasting impression by highlighting key points in your analysis.

3. Summarizing your thoughts and conveying the larger significance of your study. The conclusion is an opportunity to concisely answer the "So What?" question by placing the study within the context of past research about the topic you've investigated. Remind the reader of the strengths of your main argument(s) and reiterates the most important evidence supporting those argument(s). Do this by stating clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research topic you investigated.

4. Introducing possible new or expanded ways of thinking about the research problem. Offer new insights and creative approaches regarding how your topic could be further researched. Make recommendations.

Discussion points in the Conclusions section.

1. If your essay deals with a contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.

2. Recommend a specific course or courses of action that, if adopted, could address a specific problem in practice or in the development of new knowledge.

3. Cite a relevant quotation or expert opinion already noted in your paper in order to lend authority to the conclusion you have reached [a good place to look is research from your literature review].

4. Restate a key statistic, fact, or visual image to emphasize the ultimate point of your paper.

5. Provide a "take-home" message in the form of a strong, succinct statement that you want the reader to remember about your study. In the introduction, your task was to move from the general field of study to the specific research topic. However, in the conclusion, your task is to move from a specific discussion back to a general discussion such as how your research contributes to new understanding or fills an important gap in the literature. In short, the conclusion is where you should place your research within a larger context. Conclude with a broad summary of the study's implications and significance.

References–Samples

Please note the source DOI or publisher’s URL are required in journal sources. Database URL’s are not accepted. Please make sure formatting related to capitalized words and publisher titles are correct. Use single spacing for the references page(s).