Emergency Research Paper

Academic paper

• Review and discuss the scholarly literature • Present critical analysis, research and scholarly insight in an objective

manner • Formatted according to APA standards (6th or 7 edition) – particular

attention to the APA citation format. • Your paper should be written in the scholarly voice: unbiased, high-

level and evidence-based writing.

The Do’s

Use proper syntax to ensure clarity

• Incorrect syntax often results in sentences and paragraphs that do not make sense.

• There are a number of things that you should think about when editing for syntax:

• 1. Is the meaning of the sentence clear? When editing a document, you need to look beyond the grammar alone and consider how your reader may interpret your writing.

• 2. Does the sentence contain repetition? Look for repetitious words or phrases during the editing phase.

• 3. How does the sentence/paragraph end? A paragraph should contain one idea or encapsulate one part of the action and the sentences contained within this paragraph should help to build this idea.

Follow the rules of punctuation

• Using appropriate punctuation is one of the vital rules you should follow when writing academic papers. The most frequently used options are commas, full stops, dashes, and colons.

• The crucial point to keep in mind is that you should always strive to write concise and clear sentences

• When using commas, pay attention whether you could split the sentence into two shorter ones instead of dividing it with a comma.

• Aim to avoid exclamation marks in an academic assignment. • Colons can be useful to optimize the structure of your assignment. You can

place them before lists for example. • Common errors include incorrect placement of quotation marks. As an

example, note that quotation marks follow periods and commas, (“The sky is blue.”)

Include references, citations and/or footnotes

• Taking the time to locate sources that substantiate your statements demonstrate your proficiency

• Citations are required in your papers. • You should include at least ten sources, of which at least four should

be articles from scholarly journals. • Selecting the appropriate sources for your research topic is critical to

your paper’s success. You may have to go through a lot of material before you find the relevant sources. Invest the time in the NJCU remote library databases and/or Google Scholar.

Proofread and edit your work

• Many errors are missed during the first proofread; be prepared to review your work multiple times.

State the goal of your paper explicitly and state it early • Do not test the patience of your readers by letting them know what

you are up to only at the very end of the introduction. • Students tend to write lengthy introductions and forget to state

whether the paper contains experiments, a literature review, a formal model, a new statistical method,....

Use concrete examples

• In general, abstract theoretical concepts need to be clarified with concrete examples.

• Phrases “for instance” and “for example” seem to attract attention almost automatically.

Add structure through consistent constructions • First example: When you state in the abstract that you will discuss

topics A, B, and C, retain this order throughout the entire paper. • In general, academic writing is clear when it delivers information in

accordance with what the readers expect.

Add structure through transitional phrases

• In a clearly written article, several paragraphs will start with transitional phrases such as “However”, “In contrast to”, “To this end,” or “In sum,” connecting what has been presented earlier to what will be presented next.

• Transitional phrases provide structure by setting up strong expectations.

Follow a logical flow

• Start with a sentence that summarizes your argument in the next sentence

• When a sequence of sentences has flow, one sentence seamlessly transitions to the next. Each sentence provides information that the next sentence elaborates on, so that the reader is never confronted with unexpected changes in topic.

The Don’t

Combat wordiness

• Keep your writing concise by avoiding padding words.

Do not express more than one or two ideas in a single sentence • Sentences can be too long also because the writer wanted to express

multiple ideas in a single sentence. • Sometimes, the sentence needs to be broken apart and replaced by

two or more shorter sentences.

Don’t write in the second person narrative

• According to WritingCommons.org, “writing from the second person point of view can weaken the effectiveness of the writing in research and argument papers. Using second person can make the work sound as if the writer is giving directions or offering advice to his or her readers, rather than informing [them].”

• Excerpt from students’ papers: • “I am sure that many have lost faith in the law because you barely see, any senior

management or CEO, get a sentence that they deserve but it’s the employees at the lower levels taking a harsher punishment and paying high fines.”

• “Instead of trying to look at corporate governance as a bad thing, think of it as a guideline that can help successfully lead a corporation to a great and beneficial future”.

Paper structure

Structure

• Title page • Abstract • Introduction • Main body – different sections (and subsections if needed) • Discussion and conclusions • References

Title page

• Title in bold, Capitalize All of the Major Words • The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's

name, and the institutional affiliation • A student paper should also include the course number and name,

instructor name, and assignment due date all on separate lines • The title should be centered and written in boldface. • All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be

double-spaced

How to write an abstract (APA 7th)?

The Purpose of an Abstract

• The purpose of an abstract is to summarize the major aspects of the entire paper

• The abstract provides readers with the main points of the paper so that they can decide whether or not to read the whole article in its entirety

• Many people decide whether to read a paper based on the title and the abstract

• Library databases use the keywords to generate search results so readers can find your study using relevant search terms.

The content

• The following information should be included (1 sentence for each): • The overall purpose of the study and the research questions being

examined • The basic design of the study: the method being used (literature review) • Major findings or trends found in the analysis • Include the possible implications of the findings

• Keywords are not required • The abstract usually does not include references unless they are significant. • Use complete sentence.

The format of an Abstract in APA 7th Edition

• No more than 250 words (typically 150 words) • The abstract is on its own page after the title page and before the

body of the paper begins • The word “Abstract” should be centered at the top of the page and in

bold • Do not indent the paragraph

Qualities of a Good Abstract

• Accurate: only include information that is explained in the body of the paper

• Nonevaluative: report the information rather than evaluate it • Coherent and readable: use clear and deliberate information • Concise: be brief yet informative

Example of Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the effective ways to prevent and detect financial fraud. After defining the concept of financial fraud, this paper provides a view about the different responses and mechanisms to prevent and detect fraud. This paper shows that the SOX legislation implemented in 2002 was passed in response to several corporate accounting scandals. This Act brought changes into the accounting world for organizations and auditing firms. In addition to SOX, this paper develops other measures that companies use to prevent and detect financial frauds such as whistleblowing program or codes of conduct. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the importance of planning, preparing, and implementing programs to prevent financial fraud.

How to write an introduction?

Opening sentence • Work on your opening sentence! Avoid generic opening sentences.

• Rather than “Financial frauds have been around since the 1800s”, I would prefer “As the competition and pressure increase upon managers and directors to reach profits, there are more opportunities to commit different types of fraud”.

• A good introduction can make an intriguing assertion that your paper will then address.

• Payoffs from innovative activities are difficult to estimate because innovation is a long-term, multi-stage, unpredictable process (Brown and Martinsson 2018). Prior literature primarily focuses on large public firms and finds that financial reporting helps reduce agency costs (Healy and Palepu 2001, Kothari 2001, Nanda and Rhodes-Kropf 2016). However, little is known about the role that financial reporting plays for innovative small cap firms. In this study, we examine investors’ preferences for accounting performance measures from innovative small cap firms.

• Or you can start your introduction with questions:

• “What causes managers to misstate their financial statements? How best can investors, auditors, financial analysts and regulators detect misstatements? Addressing these questions is of critical importance to the efficient functioning of capital markets. For an investor it can lead to improved returns, for an auditor it can mean avoiding costly litigation, for an analyst it can mean avoiding a damaged reputation, and for a regulator it can lead to enhanced investor protection and fewer investment debacles. Our research question is twofold:…..“

Introduction structure

• The introduction presents the problem that the paper addresses and explain its significance.

• Define your topic; Add definitions. • What is your research question? That is crucial! • Establish your motivations to study the issue • State the scope of the paper – i.e., what is included and what is not –

especially if the research question is broad. • Add a short overview of your findings • Explain the organization (i.e., sequence) of the paper.

• Example: The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section 2 discusses the SOX act. Section 3 provides an overview of…Section 4 concludes.

Main Body

• Organize the literature according to common themes • Your main body should contain two (or three) sections that respond

to your research question.

Paper headings

• Use headings in your paper to distinguish between main sections and sub-sections. • Format for the Five Levels of Headings in APA Style Level • 1 Centered, Bold, Capitalize Major Words Text begins as a new indented paragraph. 

MAIN SECTIONS • 2 Left Align, Bold, Capitalize Major Words Text begins as a new indented paragraph. • 3 Left Align, Bold Italic, Capitalize Major Words Text begins as a new indented paragraph. • 4 Indented, Bold, Capitalize Major Words. After a period, text begins on the same line

and continues. • 5 Indented, Bold Italic, Capitalize Major Words. After a period, text begins on the same

line and continues

• I believe only level 1 and level 2 headings is necessary for your paper.

Discussion and conclusions

• The conclusion of your paper is the final paragraph where you restate your thesis and tie together supporting ideas you have referenced, spelled out and argued for in earlier paragraphs.

• Summarize the important aspects of your paper • Identify significant flaws or gaps in existing knowledge • Don't just restate the information. Instead put it into logical order in the

body of your paper like a series of steps the reader can climb, illustrating the connections between each piece that reinforce your thesis.

• End with a suggestion to your reader that encourages further study or action.

References

• I suggest you to use online bibliography and citation tools: https://elearningindustry.com/12-best-free-online-bibliography- andcitation-tool

APA citation common mistakes

In-text citations

• Narrative citation style Graham and Harris (1997) have shown that an academic style of writing is slowly learned, and is not often intuitive.

• Parenthetical citation style Often, the rules of academic English, and American academic English in particular, are presented as assumptions rather than with explicit guidance (Graham & Harris, 1997).

• Never add the title of the cited article in your paper. The in-text citation is enough. • All sources used in in-text citations must also be included in the reference page at the

end of the paper. • If there’s no author found, use a shortened version of the title instead. • If there’s no

date found, use “n.d.”

Multiple authors

• Sometimes, students don’t include all names, or they forget the comma or they put the year in the wrong place.

• TWO AUTHORS • In the sentence, name both authors in the signal phrase, using “and”

between the name; end with the year: Reports by Smith and Doe (2017) state….

• In the parentheses at the end of the sentence, use last names separated by “&“; end with a comma and the year: …the report stated (Smith & Doe, 2017).

• MORE THAN TWO AUTHORS • In these cases, use the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.” (Smith

et al., 2017)

Quotations

• Cite the specific page number of direct quotes. In general, the style guide recommends paraphrasing sources rather than using too many direct quotes, “because paraphrasing allows you to fit material to the context of your paper and writing style” (APA, 2019, p. 270).

• Avoid too long quotations (more than 40 words)

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism: Plagiarism occurs when a person represents someone else’s words, ideas, phrases, sentences or data as one’s own work. When a student submits work that includes such material, the source of that information must be acknowledged through complete and accurate references. All verbatim statements must be acknowledged by means of quotation marks.

• academic_integrity_policy_final_2-04.pdf (njcu.edu)

Example paper

• APA-7-Writing-in-APA-7th-Ed-Example-Paper.pdf (antioch.edu)

Group work in breakout room or class

• When you enter the breakout room, write your email in the chat • Send your abstract to your assigned classmate’s email

• 2. Read the abstract and give feedback/comments to your classmate • 3. Can you determine the research question from reading the

abstract?