a procedural guide to write a research paper

A PROCEDURAL GUIDE TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER

A PROCEDURAL GUIDE TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER

Editors Dr. S.S. Bhakar Shailja Bhakar

BHARTI PUBLICATIONS New Delhi-110002 (India)

Copyright © ????????? All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First Published, 2015 ISBN : 978-93-85000Printed in India: BHARTI PUBLICATIONS 4819/24, 3rd Floor, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj New Delhi-110002 Mobile : +91-989-989-7381 E-mail : [email protected] [email protected] Website : www.bhartipublications.com PRINTED IN INDIA Published by Onkar Bharti for Bharti Publications. Typeset by Gaurav Graphices, Rajouria Printers, Delhi.

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Prologue

Recent years have seen a plethora of journals published by different associations and Institutions, indicating increasing need for such journals as desire to publish research articles by faculty members and practitioners in the area of management stream. The requirement of a minimum mandatory APA score; having major contribution of scores on research related activities; required for promotion to different academic positions being one of the prime reasons for triggering the desire further. However, the improvement is in terms of quantity (number of research papers published) rather than quality of these articles. Also in majority of these articles research methodology aspect is not given a considerable attention, because of which the research papers end up in just being endless words containing stories leading to less or no sense. It should be noted that the quality in research articles comes from the extensive planning, in-depth research before starting writing them actually. This is true even for management research papers writing. A research paper analyzes a perspective or argues a point. Regardless of the type of research paper the researcher is writing, the researcher should present his own thinking backed up by others’ ideas and information. The major reasons for the poor quality of research are the lack of training in research method in the under graduate and graduate programs, few quality research methodology workshops organized in the country and lack of quality books on research methodology focusing on the application side of the RM. Most of the books written on research methodology have taken an overly static and “product-oriented” process of research writing. These books

(vi) typically focus on the conceptual understanding of the research and application part is ignored. The two major problems associated with this approach are: First, writing can be best taught as a “process,” not merely as a “product” and the second, the approach doesn’t account for the diverse ways that students actually use research in their classes. This book is a result of the understanding of the near vacuum in application oriented research methodology books, discussions with colleagues, and own experiences. We have developed a detailed approach to writing research papers and the approach is presented in this book. Instead of focusing on one research paper, we have focused on the process of research writing through a large no. of research papers developed during third national research methodology workshop organized by Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior during August 21-24, 2011. Readers of this book would understand that they need to be patient with learning the nuances of writing research based articles. This book emphasizes that the researchers need to carefully think about a topic of research by developing a working idea. They then need carry out extensive review of literature to explore that topic in depth. All along the way, researchers continue to research and revise their working proposal so that by the time they start writing the research paper, their thinking about their original topic of research has evolved. As a result, they are not only prepared to write a methodical research paper; they better understand what it means to conduct academic research, which we believe is the real goal of an introductory writing. Organisation of Book: The book is organized into two parts. Part one starts with thinking critically about research, explains what is (and isn’t) research, explains how to properly use research in your writing to make your points, introduces a series of writing exercises designed to help students to think about and write effective research papers. Instead of explaining how to write a single “research paper,” The Process of Research Writing part of the book breaks down the research process into many smaller and easier-to manage parts like what is a research paper, starting steps for writing research papers, writing conceptual understanding and review of literature, referencing including various styles of referencing, writing research methodology and results including interpretations, writing implications and limitations of research and what goes into conclusions. Part two contains sample research articles to demonstrate the application of techniques and methods of writing good research papers in all the management areas of Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Marketing Management and Information Technology

(vii) Aspects. The individual chapters included in part–II of the book demonstrate the use of different statistical techniques and the interpretation of their results. The first two chapters of the book demonstrate the application of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling for testing marketing models; these papers evaluate ‘Image Congruence and Brand Attitude amongst Teenagers’ and ‘Country of Origin Effect on Consumer Willingness to Buy Foreign Product’. The third chapter demonstrates application of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), t-test and MANCOVA to evaluate ‘Brand Image and Its Impact on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty’. The fourth and fifth papers demonstrate application of multiple regressions to evaluate ‘Relationship between Inflation, Interest Rates and Stock Prices: An Empirical Study of Asia Pacific Countries’ and application of linear regression to evaluate cause and effect relation between ‘Capital Structure and Stock Returns’. The fifth chapter ‘Impact of Service Quality Attributes on Customer Satisfaction for Local Bus transit service at Gwalior region’ demonstrates application of ANCOVA in addition to EFA. The sixth chapter titled ‘A Study of Factors Affecting Academicians Motivation for Research’ also demonstrates application of EFA. The seventh chapter ‘Examining the Effect of Product Performance on Brand Reputation, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty’ demonstrates the application of MANOVA along with the application of EFA, linear regression and multiple regressions. The eighth and Ninth chapters titled ‘Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: An Empirical Study’ and ‘Psychological Climate and Student’s Attitude towards Learning: a Study of Higher Education’ demonstrate the application of EFA and linear regression. The tenth chapter ‘Estimation and Stability of Beta: A Case of Indian Stock Market’ demonstrates the application of regression using Dummy variables. The Eleventh chapter titled ‘An Evaluation of Customer Perception of Service Quality in Internet Banking’ demonstrates the application of N-way ANOVA along with EFA. The last and twelfth chapter ‘Mutual Fund Performance: An Analysis in Indian Context’ demonstrates the application of Mann Whitney U-test and Kruskal Wallis H-test. Majority of these chapters also demonstrates computation of Cronbach’s Alpha and testing distribution of variables using one sample Kolmogorov- Smirnov test.

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Acknowledgements

The book is an outcome of concerted efforts of a dedicated team. We are thankful to all the contributors who have made this academic endeavor fructify and take shape of a book. It is difficult to name every person who has directly or indirectly contributed in giving this book the current shape. We would like to put on record our sincere thanks to all the authors and co-authors of the research articles included in this book. We would like to put on record our sincere appreciation for the efforts put in by all the team leaders in the third PIMG National Research Methodology work shop for facilitating all the teams while developing the research papers during the Workshop. We would also like to put forward our sincere thanks to Professor Raghuvir Singh and Prof. Nimit Chaudhary; who provided valuable guidance to the participants in the third research methodology workshop along with the authors of this book. Our thanks are also due to the organizing teams of the third PIMG National Research Methodology workshop along with Ms Shailja Bhakar the coordinator of the workshop; who toiled hard in coordinating and fecilitating all the participants before, during and after the workshop. Last but not the least we would like to thank Mr. Om Bharati and his team at Bharti Publications, New Delhi for their co-operation in bringing out this edited volume.

List of Contributors

 Aashish Mehra, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior.  Abhimanyu Bharadwaj, Training and Placement Officer at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior.  Abhishek Dixit, Assistant Professor at Jain College.  Anil Singh Parihar, Assistant Professor at IPS College of Technology and Management Gwalior.  Brijesh Shrivas, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management of Gwalior.  C.K Dantre, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management of Gwalior.  Deepshikha Rajdev, Assistant Professor at IPER.  Dr. Garima Mathur, Associate Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior.  Dr. Garima Mathur, Associate Professor at Prestige Institute of Management.  Dr. Gaurav Jaiswal, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior.  Dr. Jatinder Loomba, Associate Professor at JK Business School.  Dr. K.K. Pandey, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior.

(xii)  Dr. Navita Nathani, Associate at Professor, Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior  Dr. Neeraj Dubey, Associate Professor at V.M. National Instt of Coop. Management Pune  Dr. Nischay Kumar Upamannyu, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management of Gwalior  Dr. P. A Ratna, Assistant Professor at Symbiosis Institute of Operation Management, Nashik  Dr. Ravindra Pathak, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior  Dr. S. S. Bhakar, Director at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Dr Saloni Mehra, Assistant professor at Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management Nasik, Maharashtra  Dr. Saurabh Goyal, Assistant Professor at SRIIT  Dr. Tarika Singh, Associate Professor at Prestige Institute of Management  Jagmohan Jadon, Assistant Professor at Jain College  Jaspreet Kaur, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior  Kumar Neelmani, Student Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management, Gwalior  Manisha Pandey, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior  Manjari Agrawal, Faculty, MLB Govt. Arts & Commerce College, Gwalior  Manoj Agarwal, Student, Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior  Mayank Singhal, Faculty in MPCT College, Gwalior  Mehak Huria, Student at Symbiosis Law School, Noida  Moksha Shukla, Assistant Professor at MPM & IR  Monika Mittal, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Nainshree Goyal, Assistant Professor at Shri Ram College of Management  Nitin Pahariya, Senior Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior

(xiii)  Pratiksha Pathak, PS to Director at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Prerna Bisht, Student at Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management  Prof. Puja Jain, Assistant Professor, BVM College, Gwalior  Pushpamala Pathak, Assistant Professor at MPCT Gwalior  Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Reeva Chugh, Student at Symbiosis Law School, Noida  Ruturaj Baber, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Sandeep Shrivastava, Research Scholar at Jiwaji University Gwalior  Satish Bansal, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management  Shailja Bhakar, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Shikha Priyadarshani, Assistant Professor at Symbiosis Law School, Noida  Shilpi Nagariya, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Sneha Rajput, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Sonu Sidhwani, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management  Suman Lata Bisht, Assistant Professor at Prestige Institute of Management Gwalior  Umesh Sharma, Assistant Professor at Shri Ram Institute of Technology & Management, Banmore, Gwalior  Vishnudyutya Kumar Punj, Assistant Professor at Vision Institute of Advanced Studies, New Delhi  Yahomandira Kharade, Assistant professor at Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management Nasik, Maharashtra

Contents

Prologue

v

Acknowledgements

ix

List of Contributors

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PART—I WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER: BRIEF DISCUSSION 1.

What is a Research Paper?

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Classification of Research Papers Structuring the Research Paper Steps in Writing a Research Paper

PART—II SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPERS 1.

Image Congruence and Brand Attitude amongst Teenagers

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Dr. S.S. Bhakar, Dr. Saloni Mehra, Yahomandira Kharade, Shikha Priyadarshani, Prerna Bisht & Pratiksha Pathak 2.

Country of Origin Effect on Consumer Willingness to Buy Foreign Product Dr. S.S. Bhakar, Dr. Saloni Mehra, Dr. Yahomandira Kharade, Shikha Priyadarshani, Prerna Bisht & Pratiksha Pathak

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3.

Brand Image and its Impact on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

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Shailja Bhakar, Sneha Rajput, Suman Lata Bisht, Shilpi Nagariya, Anil Singh Parihar & Mehak Huria

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Relationship between Inflation, Interest Rates and Stock Prices: An Empirical Study of Asia Pacific Countries

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Dr. Navita Nathani, Jaspreet Kaur, Dr. P.A. Ratna, Sandeep Shrivastava, Pooja Jain, Manoj Agrawal & Nitin Paharia 5.

Capital Structure and Stock Returns Dr. Tarika Singh, Dr. Jatinder Loomba, Deepshikha Rajdev, Dr. Saurabh Goyal, Jagmohan Jadon, Kumar Neelmani & Sonu Sidhwani

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6.

Impact of Service Quality Attributes on Customer 116 Satisfaction for Local Bus Transit Service at Gwalior Region Dr. Nischay Kumar Upamannyu, Nainshree Goyal, Dr. Neeraj Dubey, C.K Dantre & Brijesh Shrivas

7.

A Study of Factors Affecting Academicians 136 Motivation for Research Dr. Garima Mathur, Ms. Monika Mittal, Mr. Abhishek Dixit, Ms. Moksha Shukla & Mr. Satish Bansal

8.

Examining the Effect of Product Performance on 146 Brand Reputation, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty Shailja Bhakar, Sneha Rajput, Suman Lata Bisht, Shilpi Nagariya, Anil Singh Parihar & Mehak Huria

9.

Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: An Empirical Study Dr. Gaurav Jaiswal, Dr. Ravindra Pathak, Manjari Agrawal & Umesh Sharma

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10.

Psychological Climate and Student’s Attitude 179 towards Learning: a Study of Higher Education Dr. Garima Mathur, Monika Mittal, Vishnudyutya Kumar Punj & Pushpamala Pathak

11.

Estimation and Stability of Beta: A Case of Indian 190 Stock Market Dr. Navita Nathani, Jaspreet Kaur, Dr. P. A Ratna, Sandeep Shrivastava, Prof. Puja Jain, Manoj Agarwal & Nitin Paharia

12.

An Evaluation of Customer Perception of Service 200 Quality in Internet Banking Aashish Mehra, Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav & Ruturaj Baber

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Mutual Fund Performance: An Analysis in 215 Indian Context Dr. Tarika Singh, Dr. Jatinder Loomba, Deepshikha Rajdev, Dr. Saurabh Goyal, Jagmohan Jadon, Kumar Neelmani & Sonu Sidhwani

14.

Effects of Advertising on Product Risk Perception and 229 Warning Effectiveness: A Study of Household Cleaners in Gwalior Krishna Kumar Pandey, Manisha Pandey, Abhimanyu Bhardwaj, Mayank Singhal, Reeva Chugh

A Procedural Guide to Write a Research Paper

Part—I Writing a Research Paper: Brief Discussion

1

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3

1 Writing a Research Paper: General Guide Lines

What is a Research Paper What image comes into mind as we hear the words ‘Research Paper’: working with stacks of articles and books; hunting the ‘treasure’ of others' thoughts; preparing research report on the basis of primary or secondary data? Whatever image we create, it's a sure bet that we're envisioning sources of information—articles, books, people, and artworks. Yet a research paper is more than the sum of sources, more than a collection of different pieces of information about a topic, and more than a review of the literature in a field. A research paper analyzes a perspective or argues a point. Regardless of the type of research paper the researcher is writing, the researcher should present his own thinking backed up by others' ideas and information. A research paper involves surveying a field of knowledge in order to find the best possible information in that field and that survey can be orderly and focused. What is Management Research Paper Management papers are developed to express the knowledge and learning, in addition to the inclusion of information from the texts, current events in business, and past research that defines the ability to connect learning to application. Every researcher specifically researching in the field of management should answer some key questions before submitting a paper. The first question every researcher should answer is "Why am I writing this paper?" If the answer is of

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the form "to document what I have been doing for the past two years", then researcher is in danger of writing a bad paper. Another poor answer is "to help build my case for tenure". Tenure may be initial motivation for writing a paper, but it should not be the only motivation. The purpose of the paper should be to communicate something to someone. So, the next questions are "What is my paper trying to say?" and '"Who is the audience for my paper?" If researcher cannot clearly answer these questions, then the paper is likely to be poor. A focused paper is better than a scattered paper. Resist the temptation to describe every great idea that one may have while working on the project. Pick a primary message and communicate it well. After deciding what the paper is trying to say, the next question to answer is "Is it worth saying" Is it a new message, or just a rehash of an old message? Is the message of value, or potential value, or is it trivial? Is it conjecture, or have the researcher demonstrated the soundness of the conclusions. A complete job on paper includes writing, editing and revising. Each complete revision is a draft. Don't try to write just one final draft of a paper. Always write a first draft with the intention of having one or more revision drafts. For the first draft, author will find it faster to write something approximating the points he/she wishes to make, then go back and revise them. While drafting, keep computer or paper at hand so you can jot down new ideas as they occur. It's faster to edit and revise on computer, without printing out the intermediate drafts. However, it is needed to print out a draft for editing. Format the text with double-spaced or triple-spaced lines so that the changes can be marked between lines. Write a second draft. Check the spelling and use a thesaurus to make improvements. If needed, edit the second draft for a third draft, and so on. Motivation for writing the research papers One may ask why researchers have to write down what they have been doing, or what they are currently working on. Still, it may be asked why researchers have to turn their writing into formal papers. Writing for others is more demanding than writing for oneself but it can help to get a better understanding of the own ideas. As publications have system-maintaining roles in their respective sciences, additional motivations for researchers to write and publish their research work were discussed by Booth et al. He listed three obvious reasons: • To remember, because once something is forgotten, it cannot be reproduced correctly without having written notice • To understand, as writing about a subject can only be accomplished by approaching the subject in a structured way, which itself leads to better understanding thereof


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• To gain perspective, as writing includes looking at something from different points of view. O’Connor points out that writing and publishing research papers is essential if management science is to progress. Peat et al. [7] provided a list of some pragmatic reasons for writing down and publishing research results. Among them are: – The Researcher has some results that are worth reporting. – The Researcher wants to contribute in the progress of scientific thought. – The Researcher wants his work to reach a broader audience. – The Research will improve the chances of promotion. – It is unethical to conduct a study and not report the findings. Classification of Paper into one or the other Category Pick the category which most closely describes the paper. Though some papers can fit into more than one category but it is good to assign the paper to one of the categories listed below to facilitate searching within the database: • Research paper: This category covers papers which report on any type of research undertaken by the author(s). The research may involve the construction or testing of a model or framework, action research, testing of data, market research or surveys, empirical, scientific or clinical research. • Viewpoint: Any paper, that includes content that is dependent on the author's opinion and interpretation, should be included in this category; this also includes journalistic pieces. • Technical paper: Describes and evaluates technical products, processes or services. • Conceptual paper: These papers will not be based on empirical research but will develop hypotheses. The papers are likely to be discursive and will cover philosophical discussions and comparative studies of others' work and thinking. • Case study: Case studies describe actual interventions or experiences within organizations. They may well be subjective and will not generally report on research. A description of a legal case or a hypothetical case study used as a teaching exercise would also fit into this category. • Literature review: It is expected that all types of papers cite relevant literature the literature review papers annotate and/or

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develop critique of the literature in a particular subject area. It may be a selective bibliography providing advice on information sources or it may be comprehensive in that the paper's aim is to cover the main contributors to the development of a topic and explore their different views. • General review: This category covers those papers which provide an overview or historical examination of some concept, technique or phenomenon. The papers are likely to be more descriptive or instructional ("how to" papers) than discursive. Structuring the Research Paper Organizing in a logical order of the presentation of the research is the other half of the battle involved in creating a successful management research paper. Preparing an outline is important to ensuring that the argumentation supports the main research statement. Be sure to construct the paper in a way that uses the “if this happens, then this is the result” format and then tie the results back to the original premise of the research. Do not assume that all the research pooled for the paper has to be used. After further reading, researcher may discover that some of the material is not relevant or has a bias that would not make it a good reference to substantiate the argument. Few starting steps before writing the research paper can be as follows1. Pen down the thoughts you yourself have not generated or tested. 2. Give sources for quotations, and be sure to quote any string of three or more words that comes from a given source. 3. Paraphrase with care. Since copyright laws protect the expression of ideas. 4. Cite when in doubt. The overall idea is to cover the bases, leaving no question about which ideas came from researcher and which came from others. 5. Contact the senior teacher or professor if struggling with the paper. Work out a solution together instead of taking the plagiarism shortcut. Transform the Research While a management research paper is heavily based on available research, the premise of the project is not to simply restate what has already been discovered. The primary goal of doing a management research paper is to transform the research and make it own, illustrating the concepts and theories to the point of understanding how these might be applied to or solve a real-world critical business issues or


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problems. To help in transforming the research into a research paper, it is a good idea to make a list of questions at the start and then refer back to these while formulating the outline for the management research paper. Finding the answers to these questions will then serve as the foundation for the primary points the researcher will be making in the main body of the paper. Adding personal experiences with management or as a manager within an organization also helps transform the research into a compelling piece of work. Solidify the Message The best way to solidify the message in the management research paper is to re-read the draft and revise it numerous times to ensure a succinct, powerful, and well-stated argument for the particular research topic. This involves careful proof reading and a review of a checklist provided by the publishers in terms of formatting. If this information is not provided, be sure to consult a writing guide that focuses on specific ways to format a research paper as well as explains the various standard referencing mechanisms, such as APA, Harvard, and MLA, that will provide details to construct the bibliography as well as internal references, footnotes, or endnotes. Unless you are an experienced researcher it is important to submit the first draft to the guide or mentor who will check whether or not the format has been adhered to. This format is very important because the publication depend also on the format followed. Of course, there are those who would aver that the content is more important than the format. This is not entirely true. Having a collection of thoughts on a particular topic is not the same as having the same put into a particular format that makes it more coherent and focused. Over a period of time the research scholar is able to adhere to the research paper format without the watchful eyes of the guide. Of course, a lot depends on the research paper topic that is chosen. Unless these standard procedures are used it would become quite difficult to judge the research papers and evaluate it based on purpose. The research paper could be in any one of the styles that are mentioned below, depending on the types of research papers written: 1) Harvard 2) APA 3) MLA These are some of the most commonly used styles. Apart from the three mentioned above, there are other formats too that are used. It is important to know the particular kind of research paper format mainly

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because there is a certain methodology that needs to be followed while inserting references and citations. In some cases, there are numbers that are written as superscripts, which are then explained below either at the end of each page or at the end of the complete work. These are called footnotes and endnotes respectively. Written Proposal of Research Papers Research reports usually have five chapters with well-established sections in each chapter. Readers of the research report will be looking for these chapters and sections. Therefore, the researcher should not deviate from the standard format. Most research studies begin with a written proposal. Again, nearly all proposals follow the same format. In fact, the proposal is identical to the first three chapters of the final research report except that it's written in future tense. In the proposal, might say something like "the researchers will secure the sample from ...", while in the final paper, it would be changed to "the researchers secured the sample from ...” Once again, with the exception of tense, the proposal becomes the first three chapters of the final research paper. The most commonly used style for writing research reports is called "APA" and the rules are described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Avoid the use of first person pronouns.. Instead of saying "I will ..." or "We will ...” say something like "The researcher will ..." or "The research team will ...".Never present a draft (rough) copy of the proposal, thesis, dissertation, or research paper...even if asked. A paper that looks like a draft will be interpreted as such, and the researcher can expect extensive and liberal modifications. Take the time to put the paper in perfect APA format before showing it to anyone else. The payoff will be great since it will then be perceived as a final paper, and there will be far fewer changes. Style, layout, and page formatting Title page

All text on the title page is centered vertically and horizontally. The title page has no page number and it is not counted in any page numbering. Page layout

Left margin: 1½" Right margin: 1" Top margin: 1" Bottom margin: 1"


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Page numbering

Pages are numbered at the top right. There should be 1" of white space from the top of the page number to the top of the paper. Numeric page numbering begins with the first page. Spacing and Justification All pages are single sided. Text is double-spaced or 1.5 spaced, except for long quotations and the bibliography (which are single-spaced). There is one blank line between a section heading and the text that follows it. Justify the text. Font face and Size Any easily readable font is acceptable. The font should be 12 points or larger. Generally, the same font must be used throughout the manuscript, except 1) tables and graphs may use a different font, and 2) titles and section headings may use a different font. Visual Layout Give strong visual structure to the paper using • sections and sub-sections • bullets • italics • laid-out code • draw pictures, and use them Paper Organization The general structure of a paper comprises three major sections: introduction, body, and discussion. The progression of the thematic scope of a paper within these sections typically follows a general pattern, namely the “hourglass model” shown below in figure The introduction leads the reader from general motivation and a broad subject to a particular research question to be dealt with in the paper. The body of the paper stays within a tight thematic scope, describes the research methods and results in detail. The discussion section aims to draw general conclusions from the particular results. This is in line with Berry’s claim that a research paper should be circular in argument, i.e., the conclusion should return to the opening, and examine the original purpose in the light of the research presented. However, there are additional parts of a paper with equal importance: title, abstract, and the references.

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Fig – 1

Fig - 2

The extended hourglass model, the “King model” for its visual resemblance of the chess piece, is shown in the figure 2. The following subsections describe all parts of a published paper. Fig.1 and 2, the hourglass model (left) and the King model (right) of paper structure. – begin with the subject of the paper, – The results presented in the paper are accurate, unambiguous, specific, and complete, – do not contain abbreviations (unless they are well known by the target audience, – attract readers. Title: Research paper titles should be descriptive and informative. Sometimes the research thesis or research question is used for a title. Avoid vague, inaccurate or amusing titles. Abstract: on-line search databases typically contain only abstracts, it is vital to write a complete but concise description of the work to entice potential readers into obtaining a copy of the full paper. Writers should follow a checklist consisting of: motivation, problem statement, approach, results, and conclusions. Following this checklist should increase the chance of people taking the time to obtain and read the complete paper.


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Introduction: The introduction should appeal to a reader's interest and it should make clear what the research paper is about. Ask the research question. The question can come first, informing the reader of the purpose of the research paper; or, the question can come last, making a transition to the body of the research paper. Body: The meat of a research paper is evidence, facts and details. The researcher can't have too much documentation, too many references. On the other hand, it is possible to have too many quotes. Discover information and analyze and evaluate it for readers. Tell readers what the data means and show them how to weigh the evidence. Present the evidence in the body of the research paper. Point out strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the issue. Making concessions establishes that the researcher have researched the issue thoroughly. Artwork: Use appropriate drawings, pictures, diagrams, maps, tables and charts to illustrate key points. Keep artwork simple. Conclusion: The conclusion of the research paper is the culmination of everything written in the paper before the conclusion. The research question is answered in the conclusion. The conclusion should include one to one correspondence between the objectives and their satisfaction. Discussion: The discussion portion typically centers on what the results mean and more importantly why? Remember that a strong research paper actually justifies discussion. The researcher needs to ensure that the thesis indicates the point of the discussion. The discussion should be a summary of the principal results. Look for relationships, generalizations as well as trends among the results as well as their exceptions. Talk about the most likely causes which are found underlying the patterns resulting in the predictions. There are a host of other questions which the researcher should deal with such as does it agree or perhaps contradict previous work? Talk about implications and possibilities. Remember to add evidence or even a line of reasoning which supports each interpretation. It might be helpful to break up this particular section into different logical segments with the help of subheadings. Steps in Writing the Research Paper 1. Pick the Problem and Designing the topic

Success starts with the right topic and scope of the research that would be involved. In terms of a management research paper, there are a seemingly endless amount of problems and issues that span across every aspect of a business, organization, and industry, so it is important to narrow the subject matter and find the niche. It is important to pick

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a research topic that interests the researcher and that has application for field of study. Additionally, the research should be something that is relevant to today’s business environment, such as something that relates to the issues of sustainability, ethics, corporate responsibility, the use of technology, or new management styles that can be successful in the global information society. Topic Selection- For a research paper, report or article, the researcher learns information about a subject, then set forth a point of view and support it with evidence from authorities known as sources. All of their sources must be declared via citations within the research paper. The typical research paper, report or article is an informative document, which sheds light on an event, person or current issue. It also may be persuasive. If a subject intrigues the researcher, he will do a better job on the finished product. As the home in on a general topic, consider using the brainstorm and free write techniques. Eventually, every researcher must narrow the general topic to a specific research question. Generating Ideas for Topic of the Research Paper Brainstorming: Brainstorming, sometimes known as thinking on paper, means jotting down ideas in a computer file or on paper may be used to generate large amount of data in a short time. • List all ideas that come to mind—alone or in a group. • Ask journalistic questions and answers to ensure consideration of all angles—who, what, when, where, why, how? • Limit all writing to point form to avoid writer’s block. • Consider your point of view on an issue and establish your own bias or feelings on a topic. Free Writing: Free writing can help the researcher to find ideas by writing quickly, with no plan, and without stopping for ten to twenty minutes. Don't worry about what to say first; start in the middle. Ignore grammar, spelling and organization. Let the thoughts flow into a computer file or onto paper as they come. If researcher draws a blank, write your last word over and over. More ideas will follow. Free write more than once, then write a sentence, which begins, "My main point is ...". Good writing has a subject, purpose and audience. Consider the audience for the research work, and how the purpose limits the subject. Think about how important the topic is in relation to the purpose of the investigation. Keep in mind the availability, variety and worth of materials that will be able to find. Consider the amount of time available.


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Unsuitable topics: A research paper topic would be a poor choice if it were... • Too broad: Should you try to cover the entire subject. Narrow the scope of the topic to include only a portion of a broad subject. • Too subjective: A personal topic, such as "Why my Learning is Best," may be unsuitable because you probably won't be able to support it from library sources. • Too controversial: Avoid any subject about which can't be written objectively. • Too familiar: The work on a research paper should lead to discovery of things the researcher doesn’t already know. • Don't submit a research paper already written for another purpose. • Too technical: Don't write about a topic that is still not understood thoroughly after the complete research. • Crystallizes what we don’t understand. This forces us to be clear focused • Opens the way to dialogue with others: reality check, critique, and collaboration Topic Selection: model 1

DO RESEARCH

IDEA

WRITE RESEARCH PAPER

Topic Selection: model 2

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At the outset, when one wishes to write a research paper, confirm the following checklist for deciding about the title. Checklist-1 i. Where do you want to send your article for publication? ii. What is the proposed title? iii. If the idea is to publish, then go through the earlier publication/ s to know what kinds of papers are published - this will give you idea about the way titles are presented. iv. Select the topic which will be very useful for the readers and also latest one. v. What kind of data/information needs to be collected from different sources in order to write a good paper? vi. Start with introduction - objectives - have survey of literature will it be possible to collect the data required for the research. vii. Decide how many pages need to be prepared. This is very essential in order to decide how much inputs are required. viii.

Try to refer recent articles, information, data etc.

ix. Don’t forget to record acknowledgement for the information you have taken. Important: Research paper titles should be descriptive and informative. Sometimes the research thesis or research question is used for a title. Avoid vague, inaccurate or amusing titles. After topic selection, form a research question and hypothesis. A hypothesis is a working idea that the evidence may support. The researcher should have a hypothesis in mind as he/she starts looking into the subject. While writing the paper, the researcher may narrow the hypothesis or even discover a better hypothesis. Be prepared to change the hypothesis if evidence doesn't support it. 2. The Abstract

Basically, an abstract comprises a one-paragraph summary of the whole paper. An abstract is a concise single paragraph summary of completed work or work in progress. In a minute or less a reader can learn the rationale behind the study, general approach to the problem, pertinent results, and important conclusions or new questions. Abstracts have become increasingly important, as electronic publication databases are the primary means of finding research reports in a certain subject area today. So everything relevant to potential readers should be in the abstract, everything else not. There are two basic types of abstract:


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– An informative abstract extracts everything relevant from the paper, such as primary research objectives addressed, methods employed in solving the problems, results obtained, and conclusions drawn. Such abstracts may serve as a highly aggregated substitute for the full paper. – On the other hand, an indicative or descriptive abstract rather describes the content of the paper and may thus serve as an outline of what is presented in the paper. This kind of abstract cannot serve as a substitute for the full text. Writing an abstract Purpose

What are the reason(s) for writing the paper or the aims of the research? Design/methodology/approach

How are the objectives achieved? Include the main method(s) used for the research. What is the approach to the topic and what is the theoretical or subject scope of the paper? Findings

What was found in the course of the work? This will refer to analysis, discussion, or results. Research limitations/implications (if applicable)

If research is reported on in the paper this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process. Practical implications (if applicable)

What outcomes and implications for practice, applications and consequences are identified? How will the research impact upon the business or enterprise? What changes to practice should be made as a result of this research? What is the commercial or economic impact? Not all papers will have practical implications. Social implications (if applicable)

What will be the impact on society of this research? How will it influence public attitudes? How will it influence (corporate) social responsibility or environmental issues? How could it inform public or industry policy? How might it affect quality of life? Not all papers will have social implications.

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Originality/value

What is new in the paper? State the value of the paper and to whom. Using keywords

Using keywords is a vital part of abstract writing, because of the practice of retrieving information electronically: keywords act as the search term. Use keywords that are specific, and that reflect what is essential about the paper. Put yourself in the position of someone researching in your field: what would you look for? Consider also whether you can use any of the current "buzz words". Styles

• Single paragraph, and concise • As a summary of work done, it is always written in past tense • An abstract should stand on its own, and not refer to any other part of the paper such as a figure or table • Focus on summarizing results - limit background information to a sentence or two, if absolutely necessary • What the researcher report in an abstract must be consistent with what is reported in the paper • Correct spelling, clarity of sentences and phrases, and proper reporting of quantities (proper units, significant figures) are just as important in an abstract as they are anywhere else. Checklist 2 A checklist defining relevant parts of an abstract is proposed below: i. Motivation: Why do we care about the problem and the results? ii. Problem statement: What problem is the paper trying to solve and what is the scope of the work? iii. Approach: What was done to solve the problem? iv. Results: What is the answer to the problem? v. Conclusions: What implications does the answer imply? vi. Abstracts should contain no more than 250 words or as per the requirements of the publisher. Write concisely and clearly. The abstract should reflect only what appears in the original paper. Important - There are some things that should not be included in an abstract, i.e. information and conclusions not stated in the paper, references to other literature, the exact title phrase, and illustrative elements such as tables and figures.


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3. Introduction

The introduction serves the purpose of leading the reader from a general subject area to a particular field of research. Three phases of an introduction can be identified a) Establish a territory

i. Bring out the importance of the subject and/or ii. Make general statements about the subject and/or iii. Present an overview on current research on the subject. b) Establish a niche

i. Oppose an existing assumption or ii. Reveal a research gap or iii. Formulate a research question or problem or iv. Continue a tradition. c) Occupy the niche

i. Sketch the intent of the own work and/or ii. Outline important characteristics of the own work; iii. Outline important results; iv. Give a brief outlook on the structure of the paper. In brief, the introduction should guide the reader to understand the rest of the paper without referring to previous publications on the topic. Even though the introduction is the first main section in a paper, many researchers write – or at least finish – it very late in the paper writing process, as at this point the paper structure is complete, the reporting has been done and conclusions have been drawn. Check List 3

The introduction is the only text in a research paper to be written without using paragraphs in order to separate major points. Approaches vary widely; however for the following approach can produce an effective introduction. i. Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context. ii. Defend the model - why did you use this particular organism or system? What are its advantages? The researcher might comment on its suitability from a theoretical point of view as well as indicate practical reasons for using it.

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iii. Provide a rationale. State the specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s), and describe the reasoning to select them. iv. Very briefly describe the research design and how it accomplished the stated objectives. Style • Use past tense except when referring to established facts. After all, the paper will be submitted after all of the work is completed. • Organize the ideas, making one major point with each paragraph. • Present background information only as needed in order to support a position. The reader does not want to read everything the researcher knows about a subject. • State the hypothesis/objective precisely - do not oversimplify. • As always, pay attention to spelling, clarity and appropriateness of sentences and phrases. 4. Review the Research What is a Literature Review?

A review of the literature is an essential part of the academic research project. The review is a careful examination of a body of literature pointing toward the answer to the research question. A literature or a body of literature is a collection of published research relevant to a research question. All good research writings are guided by a review of the relevant literature. The literature review will be the mechanism by which the research is viewed as a cumulative process. That makes it an integral component of the scientific process. There are a number of steps to take in selecting the research problem and then filtering through all of the information to find the data that substantiates the research title that researcher have chosen or that has been assigned by an organization. Be sure to get the details on the format and referencing style that is required since everything presented in the paper must be attributed to the person who provided that research material. The Internet has opened up the doors of opportunity for accessing a wealth of in-depth research material by providing a number of open-sourced academic databases that contain recent findings and studies. Some of the databases do require either a password that can be obtained from the university or a small payment to join. Emerald and Science Direct are particularly excellent sources of high-quality research material. Many other researchers have made their published papers available online, so be sure to search Google using specific


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keywords that relate to the research topic. The university library should not be left out as an excellent place for source material. Why do it - The purpose of the literature review remains the same regardless of the research methodology used. It is an essential test of the research question, which is already known about the subject. Literature review can be used to discover whether someone else has already answered the research question. If it has, the researchers must change or modify the question. Importance of review - It is important because it shows what previous researchers have discovered. It is usually quite long and primarily depends upon how much research has previously been done in the area researcher is planning to investigate. If the researcher is planning to explore a relatively new area, the literature review should cite similar areas of study or studies that lead up to the current research. Never say that the area is so new that no research exists. It is one of the key elements that readers look at when reading the research papers and approving them for publication. Where to start? Often, it is appropriate to start the research with encyclopedias, almanacs and dictionaries for broad, general background information on a topic. Next, check specialized encyclopedias, bibliographies and handbooks on your topic. Search general, then specialized indexes and databases for articles on the chosen subject in authoritative books, scholarly journals, trade papers, consumer magazines and newspapers. One may search all of these resources on web with the help of search engines like Google. Taking notes: Read every source for facts, opinions and examples relating to the subject. Jot down notes of information either in computer files or on cards that is important in answering the research question. Record page numbers in the source for each fact or quote while jotting down. If one wishes to quote from a source, make sure that exact wording have been recorded along with the page number. Organizing information: After completing the main research, organize the information in such a way that guides the researcher to research specific points while writing the research paper. Outlining the research paper: Group the information in computer files or on note cards coherently by topic that will lead to an efficient working outline. Organize the points either from most-to-least or leastto-most important. Write an outline from the organization of the computer files or note cards. List the major divisions and subdivisions to visualize the ideas and supporting material. The outline will reveal whether the research has turned up enough materials to support the conclusion.

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How to do Bibliographies Creating a bibliography manually can be a very annoying and timeconsuming job. Professional researchers who work with citations every day use one of the commercial computer software tools for tracking references. Word Processors: Although modern word processors are loaded with features, they don't offer complete help with one of academic writing's most laborious tasks -- the bibliography. Creating a "bib" means tracking references, including citations in text, and formatting each reference in a particular style. Two commercial computer programs (End Notes3 and Pro Cite) perform those tasks. They are like employing a personal librarian to track, store and retrieve bibliographic references while you do scholarly writing. Researchers, scholars, writers, reporters, authors, reviewers, teachers and anyone gathering and maintaining bibliographical references and publishing papers and reports can use these tools to access, organize and update article references pulled from the expanding literature in a knowledge field. Mechanics of a literature review: The literature review will have two components: the search through the literature and the writing of the review. Obviously, the search is the first step. However, the researcher must remember that we love knowledge and that academic databases can be seductive. The researcher could spend untold hours clicking around the bibliographies of the favorite collections. It may have fun, but might not advance the literature review. The solution: Have the research question been written down and at hand when you arrive at the computer to search databases. Prepare in advance a plan and a preset time limit. • Finding too much? If you find so many citations that there is no end in sight to the number of references you could use, it is time to re-evaluate the question. It's too broad. • Finding too little? On the other hand, if you can't find much of anything, ask yourself if you are looking in the right area. The topic is too narrow. • Leading edge research: What if the researcher is trying to research an area that seems to have never been examined before? Be systematic. Look at journals that print abstracts in that subject area to get an overview of the scope of the available literature. Then, the search could start from a general source, such as a book, and work its way from those references to the specific topic. Or, it could start with a specific source, such as a research paper,


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and work from that author's references. There isn't a single best approach. • Take thorough notes: Be sure to write copious notes on everything. It is very frustrating not to find a reference found earlier that the researcher wants to read in full. • It's not hard to open up a blank document in Word, WordPad (Windows) or SimpleText (Macintosh) to keep a running set of notes during a computer search session. Just jump back and forth between the Web browser screen and the notepad screen. • Using resources wisely: Practice makes a person perfect. Learn how the computer system works and then use the available computer resources properly and efficiently. Log onto the Internet frequently. Visit the on-line library. Play with the database resources. • Identify publications, which print abstracts of articles and books in the chosen subject area. Look for journals from which researcher can identify the most useful references. Identify those authors who seem to be important in subject area. Identify keywords of area of interest. Read online library catalogs to find available holdings. Be sure to write notes on everything. • Getting ready to write: Eventually, a broad overview picture of the literature in subject area will begin to emerge. Then it's time to review the notes and begin to draft the literature review. • Pile them on a table and sit down. Turn to research question. Write it out again at the head of a list of the various keywords and authors that have been uncovered during the review. Writing the review: One draft won't cut it. Plan from the outset to write and rewrite. Naturally, the researcher will crave a sense of forward momentum, so don't get bogged down. It is not important to write the review in a linear fashion from start to finish. If one area of the writing is proving difficult, jump to another part. Edit and rewrite. The goal is to communicate effectively and efficiently the answer found to research question in the literature. Make it clear, concise and consistent. Big words and technical terms are not clear to everyone. They make it hard for all readers to understand the writing. Checklist-4 i. Is there is enough material on each point?

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-

Will this amount of information seem convincing?

-

What are the assumptions in the research?

-

What are the implications of the research?

-

How old is this information?

ii. Do I have the most recent data? -

Who are the authorities?

-

Has the information come from recognized experts?

-

Has the information come from respected publications?

-

Are the terms clearly defined?

-

Are all sources using the terms in the same way?

-

Is all the information relevant?

-

What do the statistics mean?

-

How were the statistics gathered?

-

What are the relative merits of the arguments?

-

Which arguments are stronger?

-

Which arguments are less significant?

iii. What is known about my subject? iv. What is the chronology of the development of knowledge about my subject? v. Are there any gaps in knowledge of my subject? vi. How do I intend to bridge the gaps? vii. Is there a consensus on relevant issues? Or is there significant debate on issues? What are the various positions? viii. What is the most fruitful direction I can see for my research as a result of my literature review? ix. What directions are indicated by the work of other researchers? Important- Academic researchers reach into scholarly journal databases to build bibliographies for their papers. On-line library provides access to academic databases for use in scholarly projects. Evaluating Evidence (Primary vs. Secondary Evidence) Primary evidence: A primary source of evidence is first-hand data collected through interviews, experiments, fieldwork and other handson efforts. Secondary evidence: A secondary source of evidence is information published about research done by others. Most library material is secondary evidence.


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The Body of Research Paper The body of a paper reports on the actual research done to answer the research question or problem identified in the introduction. It should be written as if it were an unfolding discussion, each idea at a time. Generally, the body of a paper answers two questions, namely how was the A) Research question addressed (methods) B) What was found (results). Normally, the body comprises several subsections, whereas actual structure, organization, and content depend heavily on the type of paper. – In empirical papers, the paper body describes the material and data used for the study, the methodologies applied to answer the research questions, and the results obtained. It is very important that the study is described in a way that makes it possible for peers to repeat or to reproduce it. – Case study papers describe the application of existing methods, theory or tools. Crucial is the value of the reflections abstracted from the experience and their relevance to other designers or to researchers working on related methods, theories or tools. – Methodology papers describe a novel method which may be intended for use in research or practical settings (or both), but the paper should be clear about the intended audience. – Theory papers describe principles, concepts or models on which work in the field (empirical, experience, methodology) is based; authors of theoretical papers are expected to position their ideas within a broad context of related frameworks and theories. Important criteria are the originality or soundness of the analysis provided as well as the relevance of the theoretical content to practice and/or research in the field. 5. Methodology

The methodology section of body describes the basic research plan. It usually begins with a few short introductory paragraphs that restate purpose and research questions. Keep the wording of the research questions consistent throughout the document. Population and Sampling It all begins with a precise definition of the population. The whole idea of inferential research (using a sample to represent the entire population) depends upon an accurate description of the population.

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Usually, just one sentence is necessary to define the population. Examples are: "The population for this study is defined as all adult customers who make a purchase in our stores during the sampling time frame", or "...all home owners in the city of Mumbai", or "...all potential consumers of product". While the population can usually be defined by a single statement, the sampling procedure needs to be described in extensive detail. There are numerous sampling methods from which to choose. Describe in minute detail, how the researcher selected the sample. Use specific names, places, times, etc. Don't omit any details. This is extremely important because the reader of the paper must decide if the sample will sufficiently represent the population. Instrumentation If researcher is using a survey that was designed by someone else, state the source of the survey. Describe the theoretical constructs that the survey is attempting to measure. Include a copy of the actual survey in the appendix and state that a copy of the survey is in the appendix. Procedure and Time Frame State exactly when did the research begin and when was it completed. Describe any special procedures that were followed (e.g., instructions that were read to participants, presentation of an informed consent form, etc.). Analysis plan The analysis plan should be described in detail. Each research question will usually require its own analysis. Thus, the research questions should be addressed one at a time followed by a description of the type of statistical tests that will be performed to answer that research question. Be specific. State what variables have been included in the analyses and identify and mention the dependent and independent variables if such a relationship exists. Decision making criteria (e.g., the critical alpha level) should also be stated, as well as the computer software that was used. Validity and Reliability If the survey was being designed by someone else, then describe the previous validity and reliability assessments. When using an existing instrument, researcher wants to perform the same reliability measurement as the author of the instrument. If the researcher had


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developed his own survey, then he must describe the steps he took to assess its validity and a description of how the reliability was measured Validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of a measure. Are we measuring what we think we are? There are no statistical tests to measure validity. All assessments of validity are subjective opinions based on the judgment of the researcher. Nevertheless, there are at least three types of validity that should be addressed and the researcher should state what steps he took to assess validity Face validity refers to the likelihood that a question will be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Pre-testing a survey is a good way to increase the likelihood of face validity. Content validity refers to whether an instrument provides adequate coverage of a topic. Expert opinions, literature searches, and pretest open-ended questions help to establish content validity. Construct validity refers to the theoretical foundations underlying a particular scale or measurement. It looks at the underlying theories or constructs that explain phenomena. In other words, if the researcher is using several survey items to measure a more global construct (e.g., a subscale of a survey), then he should describe why the researcher believe the items comprise a construct. If a construct has been identified by previous researchers, then describe the criteria they used to validate the construct. A technique known as confirmatory factor analysis is often used to explore how individual survey items contribute to an overall construct measurement. Reliability is synonymous with repeatability or stability. A measure that yields consistent results over time is said to be reliable. When a measure is prone to random error, it lacks reliability. There are three basic methods to test reliability: test-retest, equivalent form, and internal consistency. Most research uses some form of internal consistency. When there is a scale of items all attempting to measure the same construct, then we would expect a large degree of coherence in the way people answer those items. Various statistical tests can measure the degree of coherence. Another way to test reliability is to ask the same question with slightly different wording in different parts of the survey. The correlation between the items is a measure of their reliability. Assumptions All research studies make assumptions. The most obvious is that the sample represents the population. Other common assumptions are that an instrument has validity and is measuring the desired constructs. Still another is that respondents will answer a survey truthfully. The

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important point is for the researcher to state specifically what assumptions are being made. Scope and Limitations All research studies also have limitations and a finite scope. Limitations are often imposed by time and budget constraints. Precisely list the limitations of the study. Describe the extent to which the researcher believes the limitations degrade the quality of the research. Writing the methods section Methods

• Report the methodology. • details of each procedure included in the methodology • To be concise, present methods under headings devoted to specific procedures or groups of procedures. Style • It is awkward or impossible to use active voice when documenting methods without using first person, which would focus the reader's attention on the investigator rather than the work. Therefore when writing up the methods most authors use third person passive voice. • Use normal prose in this and in every other section of the paper – avoid informal lists, and use complete sentences. What to avoid • Methods are not a set of instructions. • Omit all explanatory information and background - save it for the discussion. Checklist-5 i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix.

Reported the description of the sample Reported the type of sampling method used Reported the software used for analyzing the data Reported the tool used for collecting the data. Reported the tools used for analyzing the data Reported the sample size, sample element and sampling extent Reported the various demographic information Reported the descriptive statistics of the sample Reported the type of research Design


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6. Results and Discussion and Conclusion

Results: The results of all the tools used for analysis must be included in the results section. The summary of results should be included in this section if some of the data analysis results into multiple tables displaying results or the tables are very large. The large tables and multiple tables already used for preparing summary tables should be presented under the annexure heading. The results tables should be interpreted immediately following the tables. Also, sentencing on the hypothesis tested through statistical tests and presented in the results section should be presented immediately after the results tables. If there are a large number of statistical tests presented in the results section, a summary of these results should be presented to show all the results together. The summary should not contain too many details about the results; idea is to provide at a glance results of the study. The summary provides the readers of this paper a bird’s view of all the results of the study. Discussion: Thinking in terms of the hourglass model (Figure 1) the discussion and conclusion section is somehow the counterpart to the introduction since this section should lead the reader from narrow and/or very specific results to more general conclusions. The function of the Discussion is to interpret results in light of what was already known about the subject of the investigation, and to explain new understanding of the problem after taking the results into consideration. The Discussion will always connect to the Introduction by way of the question(s) or hypotheses posed and the literature cited, but it does not simply repeat or rearrange the Introduction. Instead, it tells how study has moved us forward from the place left at the end of the Introduction. Generally, this section includes: – Presentation of background information as well as recapitulation of the research aims of the present study. – Brief summary of the results, whereas the focus lies on discussing and not on the details of results. Recapitulating the Results – Comparison of results with previously published studies. – Conclusions or hypotheses drawn from the results, with summary of evidence for each conclusion. – Proposed follow-up research questions.

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Writing the Discussion Writing a discussion section is where the researcher needs to interpret work. In this critical part of the research paper, process of correlating and explaining the data should be started. If someone left few interesting leads and open questions in the results section, the discussion is simply a matter of building upon those and expanding them. In an ideal world, someone could simply reject null or alternative hypotheses according to the significance levels found by the statistics. That is the main point of discussion section, but the process is usually a lot more complex than that. It is rarely clear-cut, and researcher will need to interpret the findings. For example, one of the graphs may show a distinct trend, but not enough to reach an acceptable significance level. Remember that ‘no significance’ is not the same as ‘no difference’, and researcher can begin to explain this in discussion section. For this purpose, experiment should be criticized, and be honest about whether the design was good enough. If not, suggest any modifications and improvements that could be made to the design. The discussion section is not always about what is found, but what was not find, and how to deals with that. Stating that the results were inconclusive is the easy way out, and one must always try to pick out something of value. One should always put findings into the context of the previous research that have been cited in the literature review section. Do your results agree or disagree with previous research? Finally, after saying all of this, a statement can be made about whether the experiment has contributed to knowledge in the field, or not. Once writing the discussion section is completed, one can move onto the next stage, wrapping up the paper with a focused conclusion. Steps for Writing an Effective Discussion Section The organization of the Discussion is important. Before beginning it should be tried to develop an outline to organize thoughts in a logical form, cluster map can be used, an issue tree, numbering, or some other organizational structure. The steps listed below are intended to help organize the thoughts. To make message clear, the discussion should be kept as short as possible while clearly and fully stating, supporting, explaining, and defending your answers and discussing other important and directly relevant issues. Care must be taken to provide commentary and not a reiteration of the results. Side issues should not be included, as these tend to obscure the message. No paper is perfect; the key is to help the reader determine what can be positively learned and what is more speculative. 1. Organize the Discussion from the specific to the general: researcher findings to the literature, to theory, to practice.


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2. Use the same key terms, the same verb tense (present tense), and the same point of view that you used when posing the questions in the Introduction. 3. Begin by re-stating the hypothesis that were tested and answering the questions posed in the introduction. 4. Support the answers with the results. Explain how the results relate to expectations and to the literature, clearly stating why they are acceptable and how they are consistent or fit in with previously published knowledge on the topic. 5. Address all the results relating to the questions, regardless of whether or not the findings were statistically significant. 6. Describe the patterns, principles, and relationships shown by each major finding/result and put them in perspective. The sequencing of providing this information is important; first state the answer, then the relevant results, then cites the work of others. If necessary, point the reader to a figure or table to enhance the “story”. 7. Discuss and evaluate conflicting explanations of the results. This is the sign of a good discussion. 8. Discuss any unexpected findings. When discussing an unexpected finding, begin the paragraph with the finding and then describe it. 9. Identify potential limitations and weaknesses and comment on the relative importance of these to your interpretation of the results and how they may affect the validity of the findings. When identifying limitations and weaknesses, avoid using an apologetic tone. 10. Summarize concisely the principal implications of the findings, regardless of statistical significance. 11. Provide recommendations (no more than two) for further research. Do not offer suggestions which could have been easily addressed within the study, as this shows there has been inadequate examination and interpretation of the data. 12. Explain how the results and conclusions of this study are important and how they influence our knowledge or understanding of the problem being examined. 13. In the writing of the Discussion, discuss everything, but be concise, brief, and specific. Style: Use the active voice whenever possible in this section. Watch out for wordy phrases; be concise and make results points clearly.

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Use of the first person is okay, but too much use of the first person may actually distract the reader from the main points Checklist-6 i. What did the researcher expect to find, and why? ii. How did the results compare with those expected? iii. How might researcher explain any unexpected results? iv. How might the researcher test these potential explanations? v. Background information vi. Statement of results vii. Expected outcome viii. Reference to previous research ix. Explanation x. Exemplification xi. Deduction and Hypothesis xii. Recommendation Conclusion • State the study’s major findings • Explain the meaning and importance of the findings • Relate the findings to those of similar studies • Consider alternative explanations of the findings • State the clinical relevance of the findings • Acknowledge the study’s limitations • Make suggestions for further research 7. References Embedding the own work in related literature is one of the essential parts of research writing. There are citations of references in the text, as well as a list of cited references at the end of the paper. Different publishers require Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing different formats or styles of (a) citing in the paper text and (b) for listing references. The most commonly used referencing systems are: Name and Year System: References are cited by their respective authors and the year of publication, e.g., “Chuck and Norris (2003) define .....”. This system is very convenient for authors, as the citation does not have to be changed when adding or removing references from the


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list. The fact that sentences become hard to read when subsequently citing many references in one single parenthesis; this way is one negative aspect for readers. Alphabet-Number System: This system lists the references in alphabetical order and cites them by their respective number in parentheses or (square) brackets, e.g., “As reported in [4],” This system is relatively convenient for readers, as it does not break the flow of words while reading a sentence with many citations. On the other hand, the author has to keep an eye on the references cited in the text as their numbers may change when the reference list is updated. Citation Order System: This system is similar to the alphabet-number system with one major difference: the reference list is not sorted alphabetically, but in the order of appearance (citation by number) in the text. Variations of the referencing systems mentioned above are used in most of the common style guides. The overall most widely used styles include: American Psychological Association (APA) Style. APA Style - is a set of rules developed to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences. APA style" is the set of specific formatting conventions sanctioned by the American Psychological Association. The collected procedures of any style are usually referred to collectively as a "style sheet." Elements of the APA style sheet include such in-text matters as punctuation standards, margin depth, line spacing, and heading format. This series of pages, however, will concentrate mostly on the post-text elements of APA style—that is, how to assemble and format entries for specific sources on the "References" page of a research paper. Why Formatting is Important In academic writing, the reader's response to a piece of writing is crucial. In Such a situation where the research will be published or circulated, and read by others in the field, style sheets are equally important. Proper formatting is the hallmark of a detail-oriented researcher. A writer who makes style sheet errors because he or she believes they are "no big deal" might be surprised when evaluators question other details of the paper, such as the data on which the conclusions are based. After all, if a writer can't get all the periods in the right places, how can he or she be expected to correctly calculate an ANOVA or T-test? Finally, remember that the whole purpose of citing sources is to give readers the information they need to locate the various sources the researcher has used in the paper. Sometimes, a reader might simply want to read the whole source to learn more

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about the subject. Other times, a reader might want to find more about the context of the quote; perhaps to check that it really applies in the context in which researcher is using it. In other cases, a reader might want to verify that the writer actually said whatever is quoted them as saying. In all of these situations, the reader should be able to find the original piece of writing based on the information researcher provides. The citation format depends on a major factor: the kind of source you're referring to. The type of the source will determine the elements that need to be included and the order in which they are presented. While there are actually many different types of source materials, there are certain kinds that are cited most often: • • • • • • • • • •

Books Articles In Journals Chapters In Edited Books Eric Resources Internet Resources Unpublished Sources Conference Papers Authors Publication Dates Titles

Authors There are basically two types of authors: people and institutions. There are specific formatting guidelines for both types of authors. People as Authors The number of people credited with authoring a particular document can range from one to twelve and more. When large groups of people generate a text, authorship is often assigned to the institution that these people have in common. In most cases, however, the authors of a document are named individually, and each name is given in the bibliographic reference for that work. For each person listed as an author, the researcher must give that person's last name, and the initials of any other "name elements" given for that person. If a first or middle name is given, researcher will provide only the first initial of that first or last name. If a first or middle initial is given, these initials go in as read. For authors (though not for editors), type the last name, then a comma, then first and middle (and any subsequent) initials. Put a period after each initial. For example:


John Wilkes Booth John F. Kennedy C. Thomas Howell P. D. James J. R. R. Tolkien

33 Booth, J. W. Kennedy, J. F Howell, C. T. James, P. D. Tolkien, J. R. R

When multiple authors are given for a single document, all authors are listed in the order given in the document. Put a comma between each person's name, and put an ampersand (&) before the final name. If only two authors are given, this means the ampersand goes between the first and second author. Since the list of authors will necessarily end with the period that follows the final initial of the final author listed, no further punctuation is needed. Here are some examples: One author

Blythe, Q. L.

Two authors

Martin, U. M., & Wenmbsley - Meekes, I.

Three authors

Aaron, H., Upswitch, J. T., & Rennington, S.

Seven authors

Sleepy, A., Happy, B., Grumpy, C., Sneezy, D., Bashful, E., Dopey, F., & Doc, G.

Institutions as Authors Sometimes a particular person or group of people is not credited with authorship of a document. In cases like this, the work is said to have "institutional authorship". Citing institutions as authors is quite simple. Simply spell out the name of the institution and end it with a period. Do not use abbreviations in institutional authors: spell everything out. Capitalize every word in the name of the institution, except for prepositions (like of, to, and from), articles (like a, an, and the), and conjunctions (like and or). However, if the first word of the title is a preposition, article or conjunction, capitalize it anyway. Institutional Authors

Association of Indian Management Schools. Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Publication Dates It's important to know the date a document was published. This information tells the reader how much time has passed between the writing and publication of the source document and the writing of your own research paper. Obviously, in research writing, the newer the information, the better. The date of publication is almost always the second element of the reference, coming right after the author(s).

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With few exceptions, only the year of publication is given. The year is included in parenthesis, and followed by a period. Standard form

1994

Republished Books Sometimes a book is republished for various reasons. If a book is out of print, and sufficient demand exists, a publisher might begin printing it again to capitalize on that demand. When this happens, citing the newer publication date would be misleading-the book is exactly the same as when it was originally published. In cases like this, two dates are given: the original publication date and the new publication date. The two dates are included in parentheses, separated by a slash. The right parenthesis is followed by a period. No Date Given In rare cases, no date is given for the publication of a source. While this is much more common with older sources, this still happens today. Instead of a date simply put "n. d." in the parentheses when a date is not available. Follow the right parenthesis with a period. Standard form

(1994)

Republished source

(1969/1996)

No date given

(n. d.)

Titles Every document has (or should have) a title. Some citations--such as articles in journals and chapters in edited books--will actually need two titles: the title of the smaller work (the article or chapter) and the title of the larger work (the journal or book). Whether one or two titles are necessary will depend on the source you are working with. Titles are often broken into two or more parts. Sometimes a subtitle is tacked onto a title to clarify the meaning of the title. Sometimes the title as written is purposefully obscure; the subtitle in these cases indicates the source's real content. If a source like a book or monograph is part of a series, the series title is sometimes included as a sort of subtitle. It's important to know how to format the various elements of your source's title. Capitalize the first word in each element: main title, subtitle, and series name. If any element contains a proper name, capitalize that too. Use a colon (:) between main title and subtitle, main title and series name, or subtitle and series name. Precede a series name with


35

the abbreviation "Vol." and the source's number within that series, as in "Vol. 2." If all three elements exist, put the series name last. The titles of larger sources (such as books and journals) are underlined, while the titles of smaller sources (such as articles and chapters) are not. Additionally, some titles are followed by a period, while others are not. Check the section on the individual source type for further information about formatting the title(s). Title only Title and subtitle Title and series name

A Handbook of Psychology Project Management: Planning and Control Business Economics in The Current State of Business Discipline: Vol. 2. Title, subtitle, and series name Pricing, Business Economics, The Current State of Business Discipline: Vol. 2

A book is a work that is published once, not as part of a regular series. Books can be revised and republished: each revision is considered a new edition of the same book. A book, as we are defining it here, is distinguished from an edited book in that the entire text of the work is written by the same author, group of authors, or institution. If individual sections of the work you are citing were written by different authors, refer to the page, chapters in edited books. Necessary information and where to find it Author(s) of book Year of publication

Title of book Edition/revision number (if any)

Place of publication Publishing entity

Can generally be found on both the cover (and or dust jacket) and title page. Can sometimes be found at the bottom of the title page; otherwise look on the page directly behind the title page, where it says "Copyright ©." Can be found on both the cover (and or dust jacket) and title page (naturally). Is usually indicated on the cover (or dust jacket) or title page. If no edition number or revision information is present on either of these places, assume that the book is an original edition. Is usually listed on the title page Is almost always listed at the bottom of the title page. If no listing is made here, try the page directly behind the title page.

Citation Formats Author, A. A. (1996). Title of book. City: Publisher. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of book: Subtitle of book (edition). City, ST: Publisher.

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Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1996). Title of book: Vol. 1. Title of series. City, Country: Publisher. Journal is a blanket term for a scholarly publication that is published periodically-generally either monthly or quarterly. A journal is distinct from a magazine in that journals are generally for a very specific audience: experts within a specific scholarly or professional field. Magazines, on the other hand, usually have a more general readership. While magazines sometimes report new or ongoing research, the information is often given second-hand. If an article in a magazine reports any kind of scholarly research, chances are pretty good that the information was originally presented in a journal. The information contained in a journal article is often more valuable than the information found in books, because turnaround time for journals is usually quite short. While it takes months or years for a book to be published, an article could conceivably be written, submitted, accepted, and published in a journal all in a matter of weeks. Thus, since journal articles generally present fresh, cutting-edge information, their value and validity in the research process cannot be understated. Necessary information and where to find it Author(s) of article Year of publication

Title of article Title of journal

Volume number Issue number

Pages of chapter

Can be found either in the table of contents or on the first page of the article. Is almost always included on the front cover of the journal, or on the journal's title page. Often the publication year can also be found on the first page of each article, at the top of each page, or on the journal's spine. Is printed in the table of contents and on the first page of the article. Is indicated on the journal's front cover or title page. Sometimes it will also be printed at the top of each page and on the journal's spine. Is usually noted on the front cover or title page of the journal. Is used only if the journal paginates each issue individually; the issue number can usually be found either on the front cover or title page. Sometimes the issue number is also found on the first page of the article. Are sometimes specified as a range in the table of contents; otherwise, make a note of the first and last page numbers of the actual article.


37

Citation Elements Author(S) of Article

For journal articles, put each author's last name, then a comma, then the first initial of the given name, then any additional initials. A period should follow each initial. Separate the last author from the secondto-last author with a comma and ampersand (&). Separate any additional authors by commas. One author

Keely, J. T.

Two authors

Luggio, M. R., & Moulton-Kowinski, R. S.

Three authors

Jackson, B. I., Jackson, G. P., & Jackson, I. G.

Year of Publication Even though a month or season of publication may be given for a specific journal, include only the year of publication, in parenthesis, and end with a period. (An individual issue within a journal's yearly output is indicated by the page range, if the journal paginates by volume, or issue number, if the journal paginates by issue.) Standard form

(1993). (1982).

Title of Article Give the full title of the article, including the subtitle if one is given. Capitalize only the first word of the title, and the first word of any subtitle; also capitalize any proper names in the title. Separate title and subtitles with a colon (:); journal articles do not get any other special formatting: no quotation marks or underlining. End the title with a period. Standard form

Statistical Methods

Title and subtitle

Statistical Methods: Concepts and Applications.

Title of Journal The title of the journal is given in full, including the subtitle if any. Capitalize only the first word of the title, and the first word of any subtitle; also capitalize any proper names in the title. Separate title and subtitle with a colon (:); italicize the title and subtitle and follow them with a comma, which is also in italics.

38


Standard form

Prestige International Management

Journal

of

Technology

and

Title and subtitle

Sanchayan: Prestige international journal of technology and management

Volume Number The volume number indicates the total number of years a particular journal has been published-one volume per year. Sometimes a journal prints its volume number in Roman numerals; if this is the case, translate the volume number into Arabic (regular) numerals. The volume number is preceded by a comma and space, followed by a comma. If no issue number is necessary (see next section), the journal title, comma and space, volume number, and comma are italicized continuously. If an issue number is present, only the journal title, comma and space, and volume number are italicized. The issue number, and the comma which follows it, is never italicized. Volume alone

Journal title, 25,

Volume and issue

Journal title, 18 (6),

Issue Number An issue number is only provided if the particular journal starts pagination over at page 1 at the beginning of each issue. If pagination does not start over for every issue, issue numbers are redundant-they give more information than is necessary to re-locate the source. However, if each issue's pagination begins with page 1, give the issue number in your reference entry. After the volume number, put a space, then the issue number in parentheses, then a comma. The issue number, the space before it, and the comma after it are not italicized. Standard form

Journal title, 25 (6), Journal title, 18 (3),

Page Numbers Page numbers give the range of pages for the journal article. The first number is the first page on which the article appears; the second number is the last page of the article's text, notes or bibliography (whichever comes last). The page numbers come directly after the comma that follows the volume or issue number, and are preceded by a space, separated by a hyphen, and followed by a period.


After volume

18, 94-156.

After issue

9 (6), 221-238.

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Citation Formats Author, A. A. (1996). Title of journal article. Title of journal, volume number, first page-last page. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of journal article: Subtitle of journal article. Title of journal, volume number, first page-last page. Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1996). Title of journal article. Title of journal: Subtitle of journal, volume number (issue number), first page-last page. Citation of Chapters in Books Author, A. A. (1996). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. first page-last page). City: Publisher. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of chapter: Subtitle of chapter. In E. E. Editor, & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book: Subtitle of book (edition, pp. first page-last page). City, ST: Publisher. Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1996). Title of chapter: Subtitle of chapter. In E. E. Editor, F. F. Editor, & G. G. Editor (Eds.), Title of book: Subtitle of book (edition, pp. first page-last page). City, Country: Publisher. Unpublished refers to any information source that is not officially released by an individual, publishing house, or other company, and can include both paper and electronic sources. Some examples of unpublished sources may include manuscripts accepted for publication but still "in-press," data from an unpublished study, letters, manuscripts in preparation, memos, personal communications (including e-mails), and raw data. Author, A. A. (1996). Title of paper or manuscript. Unpublished manuscript. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of paper: Subtitle of paper. Manuscript submitted for publication. Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1996). [Topic of study or untitled work]. Unpublished raw data. Huge quantities of information are now available electronically via the Internet. Most college students now have access to the World Wide Web, either on computers at school or at home by dialing up a server with a modem. Electronic texts (or "e-texts") are popping up

40


more and more in research papers. There are a number of reasons for this. On one hand, the internet gives users access to the information on hundreds of thousands of servers throughout the world-the breadth and depth of available knowledge is incredible. On the other hand, the documents on the internet are "surfable" from a single location, bringing a global library to your computer. However, several problems have arisen from this surge in the availability and popularity of electronically-accessed information. First, many researchers have no idea how to cite electronic texts. Only the most current style manuals give any hint as to how to write a reference entry for, say, a Web page; even then, the citation formats are sometimes confusing and outdated. Interestingly enough, it is Web sites like this one that can help solve this problem. Volume number only Issue number only Volume and issue None

Journal Journal Journal Journal

Title Title Title Title

[On-line [On-line [On-line [On-line

serial], 56. serial], (3). serial], 56 (3). serial].

Second, compared to print-based resources, e-texts are relatively unstable. While a book consists of information encoded in ink on a printed page, an e-text exists as magnetic pulses over a telephone line. Discounting mishaps such as fire, flood, and theft, books are fairly permanent. As anyone who uses computers can tell you, though, servers go down and phone connections get cut. Electronic documents can literally be here today and gone tomorrow. As we've mentioned before, the whole purpose of a reference is to allow readers to find a source themselves. If the source itself no longer exists, this causes problems for validity and verification. One possible solution to this problem is to keep careful records. Saving e-texts (either as screenshots or text files) will allow you to produce the source for a reader, even if the document has disappeared from the server on which you found it. In addition, it's also wise to use many different types of documents-books and journals, as well as etexts-rather than relying heavily on one kind of source. Necessary information and where to find it Author(s) of document

If an author is given it is usually at the very beginning or very end of a particular document; when in doubt, look for an email address-this will often lead you to the name of the person who authored the document


41

Date of publication

If given, the document's date will be included somewhere in its text. There is a special way to note if the document has no specific date. Date of publication on the web (or the date of most recently version)

Title of document

The placement of documents' titles varies. Generally, web authors place a title at the top of the actual web page. If no title is there, use the title of the window as it opens in your web browser

Type of document

Varies according to the source of the document. See below for details on this citation element

Volume and issue number (on-line journals)

If a volume and issue number is given, it will probably be in the header for the document, close to the title

Volume and/or Issue Number (On-Line Journals) For on-line journals which give a volume number only, put the volume number after the comma which follows the journal's title and descriptor, and follow it with a period. The volume number, like the title, should be underlined. If the on-line journal in question gives an issue number only, put the issue number in parentheses, after the comma which follows the journal's title and descriptor. Follow the issue number--or rather, the parenthesis which brackets it, with a period. Issue numbers are never underlined. For on-line journals which give a volume number and issue number, put a comma after the journal title and descriptor, then a space, then the volume number, then a space, then the issue number in parentheses, then a period. Only the journal title and volume number are underlined. If an on-line journal gives neither volume nor issue number, simply put the journal's title and descriptor, and end with a period. Citation Formats for Online Journal Author, A. A. (1996). Title of electronic text [E-text type]. Location of document Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of electronic journal article. Title of electronic journal [On-line serial], Volume number (Issue number). Email address and request message Citation Formats Author, A. A. (1996). Title of book. City: Publisher. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of book: Subtitle of book. City, ST: Publisher.

42


Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1956/1996). Title of book: Vol. 1. Title of series. City, Country: Publisher. Journal Articles Citation Formats

Author, A. A. (1996). Title of journal article. Title of journal, volume number, first page-last page. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of journal article: Subtitle of journal article. Title of journal, volume number, first page-last page. Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1996). Title of journal article. Title of journal: Subtitle of journal, volume number (issue number), first page-last page. Chapters in Edited Books Citation Formats

Author, A. A. (1996). Title of the article. In E. E. Editor, Title of book (pp. 1-25). City: Publisher. Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of the article. In E. E. Editor, & F. F. editor, Title of book: Subtitle of book (2nd. ed., pp. 125). City, ST: Publisher. Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1956/1996). Title of the article. In E. E. Editor, F. F. Editor, & G. G. Editor, Title of book: Subtitle of book (Rev. ed., pp. 1-25). City, Country: Publisher. Eric Documents Citation Formats

Author, A. A. (1996). Title of ERIC document (Report No. AB-12). City, ST: Sponsoring Entity. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 123 456) Institutional Author. (1996). Title of ERIC document (Report No. AB12). City, Country: Sponsoring Entity. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 123 456) Internet Documents Citation Formats

Author, A. A. (1996). Title of electronic text [E-text type]. Location of document Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of electronic journal article. Title of electronic journal [On-line serial], Volume number. Email address and request message


43

Checklist-7 • Check the information for authors for writing styles • Do not site too old reference. • Order it according to the requirement of publisher(alphabetically or by appearance) • Cite your own publish work also. • Check if there are red marks in the word file it indicate typos in the work. • Check if there are green marks in the word file for grammatical error. Important Considerations Avoid Plagiarism-Documenting the Sources

Give credit to every single source used in the article, even if the information is changed into own words. When writer's exact wording is used, put quotation marks around those words and use a citation. Plagiarism means writing facts, opinions or quotations taken from someone else or from books, magazines, newspapers, journals, movies, television or tapes as if they were own and without identifying the source. Unintentional plagiarism still is plagiarism. Document all sources using the citation style of either the American Psychological Association (APA). Include the works cited at the end of the research paper. The researcher must acknowledge the source of any: • Statistic • Paraphrase • Concrete fact • Direct quotation • Idea other than your own • Opinion held by someone else • Information not commonly known Is It Premature?

Many papers are rejected because they are "premature". This characterization means that the work appears to be interesting, but it has not progressed far enough to be worth reporting in a conference paper. The paper may have more conjectures or opinions than results. Perhaps there are ideas that look promising, but they have not been worked out in enough detail. Perhaps more analysis of the issues is

44


needed. Perhaps the proposed technique sounds interesting, but its value cannot be determined until it has been implemented. An experience paper may be called premature if it offers conjectures about expected results rather than reporting observed results. The decision to accept or reject a paper that is premature is a judgment call by the program committee. A committee may choose in some cases to accept a paper that presents early work of a profound or provocative nature. Is It Sound?

If the correctness of the work is in doubt, the paper will probably be rejected. Soundness of ideas or techniques can often be demonstrated by the depth and clarity of the analysis, or by reference to a working implementation. Questions of soundness often arise for papers that present algorithms or proofs (see the next two sections). Proofs

A formal proof is of value only if it is convincing. While a reviewer may be able to spot an error in a faulty proof, one cannot expect a reviewer to validate a proof. Therefore, any sloppiness in the formalism is grounds for suspicion (and likely rejection of the paper). It is better to avoid formality than to misuse it. In addition to being convincing, a proof must prove something worth proving. It is not worth anyone's time to read a paper that proves an irrelevant result. Be careful about including a proof in an effort to make your paper more "prestigious". This approach may backfire, as a sloppy or unmotivated proof can easily cause a paper to be rejected that otherwise might have been accepted. Generality

A paper that can demonstrate the value (or disadvantage) of a subject could be of great interest to all researchers of the same subject. Don't Be Isolated

If the researcher is writing a research paper, it is important that to be familiar with the larger area, and not isolate to the narrower domain of object technology. Writing

Effective communication is important for a successful paper. A paper has little value if its intended audience cannot understand it. An incomprehensible paper cannot even be reviewed. Most authors will


45

benefit from having their paper reviewed by a skilled writer. If your native language is not English, you have an extra burden. If at all possible, try to have your paper reviewed by a native or fluent speaker of English. Feedback

Most papers are substantially improved by getting feedback from other people. Giving a talk to a small group is an excellent way to get feedback and to force you to organize the thoughts. The reviewers operate under strict time constraints, and the committee must make quick decisions. A paper will not receive the careful attention that it would from a journal. Furthermore, the committee may need to satisfy other constraints in putting together a successful program. As a result, some good papers will be rejected. Authors should carefully consider any reviewer comments and get opinions from experienced colleagues before deciding whether to abandon the effort or to revise the paper and submit it elsewhere.

46



Part—II Sample Research Papers

47

48



49

1 Image Congruence and Brand Attitude amongst Teenagers Dr. S.S. Bhakar, Dr. Saloni Mehra, Yahomandira Kharade, Shikha Priyadarshani, Prerna Bisht & Pratiksha Pathak

ABSTRACT A large number of studies have been carried out to evaluate the effect of image congruence on repurchase intention, customer satisfaction or brand acceptance and very few have evaluated the effect of image congruence on brand attitude. Also, majority of these studies have computed congruence through difference in the self image and the brand image measured separately. The main focus of this work was to evaluate cause and affect relationship between the Image congruence and brand attitude amongst teenagers. The congruence between the self image and the brand image of the mobile phone that the respondents were using was directly measured using structured 7 point questionnaire. The attitude of teenagers towards the mobile phone brand that they were using was also measured using structured questionnaire. The major findings of the study indicate that higher the congruence between the self image and the mobile phone brand image, more positive the attitude towards the mobile phone brand. Key Words: Image Congruence, Self Image, Brand Image, Brand Attitude, Personality Introduction Brand Attitude: It can be defined as buyers overall evaluation of the brand w. r. t its perceived ability to meet a currently relevant motivation. In other words, it is the opinion of consumers toward a product

50


determined through market research. Brand Attitude is also known as the consensus attitude of potential consumers toward a product. The brand attitude will tell what people think about a product or service, whether the product answers a consumer need, and just how much the product is wanted by the consumer. Knowledge of brand attitude is very helpful in planning an advertising campaign. Brand association refers to what the consumers believe the product does, how well it does it, and how likely they are to find it useful. Knowledge of a product's brand association is developed through market research such as asking focus groups. It is used in preparing advertising for products. Customer brand attitude can be thought of as having two components: 1. The strength of positive or negative valence that a customer experiences with regard to a particular brand. 2. The conviction that the positive or negative valence is accurate. In other words, how much does the customer like/dislike a brand, and how convinced is the customer that this perception about the brand is correct? Literature Review Self concept has become a very important factor in contributing significantly to brand attitude as the customers not only give importance to need fulfilling features but also to symbolic or social significance of the product (Rares Mocanu, 2013; Park et al., 1986; Sirgy, 1982). The importance of symbolic or social significance has increased in the twenty first century as product features of most of the brands vying for customer interest in each product category are similar. In light of this, selfcongruity theory provides a framework for studying the construct brand personality and its relationship to brand attitudes. Parkar (2005) highlighted the importance of self congruity where he described that self-brand congruity model hypothesizes that favorable brand attitudes should result as the congruence increases between consumer self-image and a brand’s image. The basis of differentiation has shifted from product features to symbolic differences of brands. In this scenario the brands have become important and have replaced products themselves (Salzer-Morling and Strannegard, 2004). The customers have built self congruency between the self image and the brand image (Escalas and Bettman, 2005). The brand building processes actually provide cultural cues to the customers (McCracken, 1993) to communicate their personality through the brands they use (Piacentini and Mailer, 2004).


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Products and brands are perceived by consumers as having images or symbolic meaning these good symbols assists an individual in defining and enhancing his self concept for himself and for others. Purchasing and consumption are vehicles of self expression and therefore, individuals consume certain product brands to improve and enhance their self concept through the consumption of goods as symbols (Graeff, 1996; Feinberg et al., 1992; Schwer & Daneschvary, 1995; Fournier, 1998). In other words the brands that they will prefer will be those that the consumer perceives as having images which are most consistent with their self concept (Schiffman & Kanuk, 1997; Solomon, 1996). Also the symbolic meaning demonstrated by the brands can make consumers’ brand preferences more enduring (Rajagopal, 2005). Two methods have been used to measure self congruity; indirect method, also called adhoc method. The indirect method of self congruity compares self personality with the personality of same brand users, and closure these personality scores are, higher the brand congruity (Birdwell, 1968; Dolich, 1969; Gould, 1991; Graeff, 1996; Grubb & Grathwhohl, 1967; Sirgy, 1986). The disadvantage of this measure is that it cannot be fully validated; its construct validity may also be low because some personality traits of self or the brand may not be included in the personality traits questionnaires (Hogg, Cox & Jeeling 2000). The direct method self congruity measure was first advocated by Sirgy (1997) and measures self congruity through a single direct measure. Direct method of measuring self congruity has been used in the current study. Objectives of Research • To develop and standardize a questionnaire on brand attitude and image congruence in Indian context. • To find out relationship between brand attitude and image congruence. • To open new areas for further research. Research Methodology The study was causal in nature with survey method being used to conduct the study. Image congruence and brand attitude were measured using interval scale and structural equation modeling approach was used to evaluate the effect of image congruence on brand attitude. The study was focused on evaluating the image congruence of teenagers with the mobile phones that they were using and their brand attitude towards the mobile phone brand. The major mobile phone brands that were popular at the time of study were: Pepsi and Thumsup.

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Sample Design The study was carried out on teenagers belonging to Gwalior city (A city in Madhya Pradesh state of India with a population of 15 lakhs). The city had 80% mobile phone penetration at the time of study. Individual teenagers were used as sample element. The data was collected from students studying in higher secondary schools (classes X, XI and XII) and the first year students of undergraduate courses. Since the complete list of students studying in these classes was not available to the researcher non probability, purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample elements. The Sample Size for the study was 150 respondents. Tools used for data collecting-Self designed questionnaires were used to collect the data. Data was collected on a seven point Likert type scale where one indicated minimum agreement and seven indicated maximum agreement with the statements in the questionnaires. Traditionally self congruence has been measured through differences between self image and brand image (Kressmann, et al., 2006; Sirgy & Samli, 1985). In this study the congruence between self image and brand image was measured through direct measure as advocated by Sirgy, et al. (1997) and Sirgy, et al. (2007) Tools used for data analysis-Both the questionnaires used in the study were tested for internal consistency reliability through computation of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient using PASW 18 software. The data collected using the questionnaires were put through confirmatory factor analysis. The relationship between the image congruence and the brand attitude was evaluated using Structural Equation Modeling approach, applied using AMOS software. The effect of demographics was evaluated on both variables of the study using MANOVA. Data Analysis and Interpretations Image Congruence

The internal consistency reliability of Image Congruence questionnaire was computed using PASW 18 and as indicated in table 1 below the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was found to be 0.860. Reliability coefficients above 0.7 are considered good enough to treat the questionnaire through which the data was collected reliable. Thus the reliability of the Image congruence measure was high. Table 1: Reliability analysis of Image Congruence Measure Cronbach's Alpha .861

Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items .860

N of Items 12


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Factor Analysis – Image Congruence Table 2: Kaiser Meyer Olkin measure of Sampling Adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity KMO and Bartlett's Test Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square Df Sig.

.842 666.001 66 .000

The KMO measure of sampling adequacy should be greater than 0.5 for satisfactory analysis. From the details in Table 2 it is evident that the KMO measure of sampling adequacy value is 0.842. It indicates that the sample size used in the study was adequate to consider the data normally distributed. Bartlett’s test of sphericity tests the null hypothesis “the item-to-item correlation matrix is an identity matrix”. The value of Chi-Square was found to be 666.001 which is significant as its associated probability is less than 0.05 (actually it is 0.000). These results indicate that the item-to-item correlation matrix is not an identity matrix and therefore, the data collected from respondents is suitable for factor analysis. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was used as the method for convergence and varimax rotation with Kaiser Normalization was used to rotate and refine the factors. The rotation converged on three factors after 13 iterations. The summary of exploratory factor analysis is given below in table 3. Table 3: Exploratory factor Analysis – Image Congruence Factor Name Sociable

Eigen Value 2.827

Variance Explained 23.560

Assured

2.275

18.952

Stylish

2.029

16.912

Items converged 10 Outgoing –Shy 8 Sophisticated-Unsophisticated 11 Formal-Informal 1 Delicate-Rough 2 Active-Passive 7 Self-confident-Not Self Confident 9 Brand Conscious-Not Brand Conscious 3 Urban-Rural 5 Conventional-Unconventional 12 Vibrant-Dull 6 Modern-Old-Fashioned 4 feminine-Masculine

Factor Loads .737 .728 .687 .596 .582 .722 .657 .605 .555 .493 .875 .852

Note: The cumulative Variance extracted was = 59.428

The results of the exploratory factor analysis were used as the basis for the formation of factors of Image Congruence for the purpose of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). AMOS 18 software was used to

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analyze the conceptual model of Image congruence using CFA. The final model after modifying the initial model on the basis of modification indices is given in the fig 1 below: Fig. 1: Showing Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis – Image Congruence

Testing of the Conceptual model: Image Congruence The conceptual model above was tested through goodness of fit tests. The global goodness of fit index Chi-square for the model is 32.303 significant at 0.120. Indicating that Chi-square is not significant and therefore the conceptual model has good fit with the data. In addition to the Chi-square goodness of fit index there are three sets of goodness of fit indices and one set of badness of fit index. All the goodness of fit indices are above 0.9 indicating further that the model very well fits to the data. The badness of fit index Root Mean Square error approximation RMSEA should be lower than 0.05. The table below indicates that the RMSEA value is 0.048, showing that the model has good fit. Table 4: Showing the CFA Results Applied on Image Congruence Measure χ² Criterion Obtained values χ² GFI NFI AGFI

df. p-value χ²/df. 1< χ²/df.