Guidance for Writing Research Paper Abstracts, Ethical Considerations in Data Analysis, Literature R

Tips for Writing a Good Research Paper Abstract

1 a) A good abstract (executive summary) of a research paper should include the background information, purpose of the study, design/methodology/approach, findings, recommendation(s), and originality/value. Using a hypothetical topic of your choice, write an abstract that follows the given structure below.

 

i. Title

 

ii. Purpose

 

iii. Design/methodology/approach

 

iv. Findings (expected)

 

v. Recommendation(s) (expected)

 

vi. Originality/value

 

b) You are a first-year master’s student of UPSA working with your colleagues on a group term paper that examines the relationship between working capital management and firm performance. You are reviewing the draft report for submission and you notice that the data summarized in one of the tables are not consistent with the raw data you collected. Specifically, the data presented in that table make some of the firms’ performance look better than would be observed had the true data been used. You brought this to the attention of your group mates and they told you that some statistical adjustments had to be applied to “improve” the data. They added that these statistical adjustments are standard and have been validated, and that you should not worry about these apparent discrepancies.

 

i. What are the ethical considerations in this case study?

 

ii. What are your responsibilities as a group member for understanding the analyses performed on the data?

 

iii. Should you investigate this further? If so, what steps would you take?

 

2 As part of your final-year project work, you are required to write a chapter on literature review.

 

i. Outline the processes/steps you will follow to critically review literature on a topic of your interest or choice. For a comprehensive response/answer to this question, please ensure that you state your proposed topic and give specific examples to illustrate the processes/steps.

 

ii. Using the proposed topic in (i) above, identify one relevant theoretical literature and two empirical literature you will review for your chapter. For a comprehensive answer to this question, state the theory and tilles of the empirical papers you have selected, and provide summaries of these literature.

 

iii. Write the full citation of the relevant literature in (ii) above to be included in your reference list using the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style/format.

 

3 The Ghana Enterprises Agency (formerly, National Board for Small Scale Industries [NBSSI]) intends to conduct a research into how businesses can stay afloat amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to identify and document strategies for managing businesses in turbulent times. As a Master of Business Administration student, you are asked to design a qualitative research that will address the aim of the study.

 

Required:

 

i. Suggest an appropriate topic for this research.

 

ii. Formulate two research questions and two specific research objectives for this study.

 

iii. Justify the appropriateness of a qualitative research design for this study.

 

iv. What philosophical foundation will underline the choice of qualitative research design?

 

v. What method(s) of data collection will you use for this study? Justify your choice of method(s)?

 

vi. Design a topic-based interview guide to be used in this study. The interview guide should includetwo main topics and two sub-topics pertaining to each main topic. 

 

4 As a first-year MBA student, you have been tasked to write a brief proposal on a project that seeks to improve/enrich the learning experience of UPSA distance learning students. Write your response based on the following outline:

 

i. Title

 

ii. Background of the Project

 

iii. Problem Statement (Explanation of the nature of problem)

 

iv. Purpose of the Project (Main and Specific aims)

 

v. Approach (Methodology)

 

vi. Significance of the Project

 

vii. Foreseeable Challenge(s)