Research Brief
This assignment has the dual purpose of giving you an opportunity to take a closer look at a course topic that directly relates to your current or desired industry, as well as developing your practical research skills in such a way as to enhance your competitive advantage as a manager.
Here are the basics:
- 2-3 pages (not including title page); a title page with the title of the assignment and your name; utilization of the template supplied below (Required Format); APA Style and standard business usage/grammar.
Research Brief: Detailed Instructions
This assignment asks you to write a brief summary of a published academic research article on a topic related to our course that interests you. Your Review will be based on a recent (within the past 18 months) academic research article (one that reports on a study, not one that is based solely on opinion; the best way to tell is that a research article will always include data analysis - of survey results, focus groups or interviews or database analyses; contact the professor if you are unsure if your article is a research article; non-research article reviews will not be accepted for grading) related to one or more of the following topics:
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Suggested Topics
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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Volunteerism
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Sustainability
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Environmental performance
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Community related topics
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Waste related topics
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Human Resources & Diversity issues
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Water related topics
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Humanity related topics
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Eco-innovation related topics
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Product related topics (safety and responsibility related topics)
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Social and Environmental Reporting (reporting assurance, transparency)
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Health & Wellness
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Renewable & Alternative Energy
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Business Ethics
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Corporate Governance related topics
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Green Building
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CEO and Board of Director CSR issues
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Philanthropy & Corporate Contributions
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Social Entrepreneurship
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Other topics related to the course may be appropriate, as well. Please ask if you are uncertain.How can you tell if it's a research article? (Ask if you are uncertain,non-research article reviews will not be accepted for grading).
- It should be published in a scholarly journal and not a newspaper or popular magazine. The authors should be experts in the field and not journalists.
- The article must clearly state that the author(s) conducted research,ran surveys, did experiments, collected data, or otherwise gathered material on their own or with a team of researchers. It must be original research conducted by the authors of the research article, and needs to be identified as such.
- The abstract often has clues. Look for a sentence that says something like "this study examines..." or "we did research to find..." Such statements indicate that the author probably conducted original research.
Use the following resource to identify an article for your review:
The Network for Business Sustainability
Check the monthly archives on the right-hand side of the link below for research related to social performance and environmental performance. Virtually all of the articles found at NBS will align with the Topics identified above.
https://nbs.net/research/?m=4&y=2016 (Takes you to research for April 2016)
Once you identify an article on the NBS site that interests you, you will need to access a full-text copy of the article. I would start at Google Scholar:
https://scholar.google.com
Required Format for Research Brief
Your research brief must be your original work written in engaging language that blends empirical research results and practical advice/examples in a format that facilitates fast knowledge acquisition and long-term retention. Write your review in language that is non-technical (without jargon) and conversational, making sure that you use proper business English. Imagine that you are sitting across the table from a manager and have just been asked to explain this research article and its practical application. Use the following format:
1. Writer's Name and topic of reviewed article:
- Your Name
- Topic - from the table above
2. Research Brief Title:
- Your Research Brief should have a descriptive and engaging title that is not the same as the original article title
- Think Blog-esque, not Journal-esque
3. Analysis Of:
- The original article title, in proper APA style.
4. Key Points:
- The first bullet should be an "overview" statement for your review.
- The following bullets should follow the main arguments in the article, so that a reader gets a preview of all of the important points being made in the article.
- Each key point should have its own bullet, and all ideas appearing in the key points should also be made in the body of the article.
- Each bullet must have a maximum of 25 words and end with a period.
- There should be 3-5 bullets in total.
5. Overview:
- The overview should contain 30-50 words explaining your review in engaging terms that a businessperson will understand and enjoy.
- The overview may follow the key points.
- Please remember to write as though you are speaking directly to a manager, not a professor.
6. What the Research Shows:
- In this section, please tell the manager what the data analysis in the article found, in layman's terms. If there is no data analysis, you are not reviewing a research article and you will need to find a new article as only research articles are eligible for this assignment. A research brief of any other type of article will not be graded.
- This section contains 200 words maximum and must include the name of the journal where the research appeared (in italics), the article's authors' universities and the characteristics of both the samples and the analyses. This includes description of the analytic technique and the research cause/effect dynamics, with emphasis on any mediators or moderators.
- At your discretion, this section may also include mention of previous research findings or context as needed for the current empirical findings to make sense to a businessperson.
- Please place one empty line between paragraphs.
- Every paragraph of the entire research brief should be left justified with no indention.
- Useendnotesthat include numbered, full APA formatted citations for any in-text references/cites.
7. Why This Matters:
- In this section, please tell the reader what the research findings mean to someone leading/managing people. How can it make them more effective? How can it help their teams or organizations perform better? Why does this research matter?
- This section must be between 200-350 words and must include well-crafted managerial implications of the writer's own ideas (rather than from the original journal article). Additionally, each should include at least one example from business practice that names specific companies and/or business leaders. These examples are very strongly encouraged, and articles that don't include one are likely to fail.
8. In Conclusion:
- In this section, please wrap things up and highlight one significant idea or learning point from the related media/links associated with the piece that you have found (so readers are referred to the links).
- This section must be between 25-50 words.
9. Related Links:
- Provide links to at least two related and relevant, quality third party articles (not including the article you are reviewing), videos or websites, using the following formatting:
oTitle of the linked content - URL
oTitle of the linked content - URL