“What & How” of a Business Research

To begin with a business research, it should be made sure that the question asked is valid and fair and relates directly to the need for information. Clear research objectives must be stated.  A systematic data collection technique should be adopted, keeping in mind the sample population. 

Moving ahead is the data analysis section where the gathered data should be evaluated carefully in a sequential manner. The assessment of this data would define the validity of the research results. For example, the critical technological advancements should not be overlooked while determining the range of new technologies to invest in as these inaccuracies will lead to a poor investment decision.

One important attribute about business research is that the business related issues and problems cannot be narrowly linked to a single academic discipline like chemistry. There are many different academic disciplines like mathematics, sociology, economics, politics, history and language that can be classified under business.

Securing Admission into a PhD Program

Taking up a PhD program is not easy. It needs a lot of resolution and groundwork. It is a good idea to carry out a research on the colleges or universities which you prefer to seek admission for PhD program. Various study guides are available today by which you can prepare for the GRE exam which is of extreme importance in PhD admissions. 

Also, you need to focus on programs which match your academic interests as well as personal requirements. Choose a program after judging the feasibility of research. The duration, costs involved, availability of a guide and resources are some conditions which will determine your decision. If you are a working professional then you will need to allocate ample time for research. Also, you must aim to select a course that will add to your professional strengths and will give a boost to your career.

Some of the programs require internship or work experience, and so you may require letters regarding the same apart from letters from the faculty. Getting sufficient college GPA is a major component when it comes to the admission process. Obtaining a higher GPA in college increases your chances of getting admission in a PhD program easily. Once you have passed these criteria, you are ready to enter a PhD program.

Editing a thesis as per Harvard style

Harvard Style is author-date referencing style usually in format: (Author’s Last Name Year of Publication, Page Number(s)). General rules to be followed are:

A. Maximum of 6 authors must be listed in alternate case include 3 names followed by ‘et al’
B. Use initials without spaces and full points
C. Avoid usage of ibid., op. cit., infra., supra

In case, the author gets cited in text, then follow it with the year, in alternate case include last name and year separated by a ‘,’ within parentheses. In case of 2 authors use ‘and’ and for more than 3 authors use ‘et al’. If there is more than one reference to an author, insert a, b etc.in text as well as in the list.

While editing reference list in Harvard style follows below format:

A. It should be arranged in alphabetical order
B. For multiple references of the same author repeat the names rather than using dashes or other marks
C. For names with initials like Jr. or II; format will be:  Author, Jr (2009) or Author, II (2008)
D. Include all publication data like issue, volume, page number, name of the publisher and place

Though the guidelines for Harvard style are quite simple, their application varies amongst universities. Hence, students must check for the exact style sheet when using this style for formatting and citations.

Editing Your Dissertation Paper Smartly

Editing is what you start when you complete your first draft. Herein, you go through your draft carefully to check whether the dissertation is well organized, there are proper evidences to confirm your arguments, and that the shifts between paragraphs are effective or not. This means that editing occurs at different levels such as content, structure, style, and citations. This is exactly how you are supposed to edit for making an effective final dissertation.

At the content level, you need to check whether the paper includes everything that is essential as well as relevant as per your goal of writing the dissertation. Further, you also need to see whether the claims are precise and consistent, arguments are complete, each argument has adequate evidence or not. 

You now monitor the writing style in the paragraphs. Here, you ensure that an appropriate tone such as formal is used consistently, proper gendered language is retained, passive voice is not used, unnecessary words such as ‘due to the fact that’ and ‘generally’ are not used. At the end, editing includes checking the citations. Herein, you need to ensure that the quotes, ideas, and paraphrases are properly cited and that too in the correct format. The moment you edit at different levels, you are bound to make drastic changes to the content of your paper. 

How to follow a Citation Style Perfectly

A citation depicts the sources quoted in an essay, report, a book, anthology, or a thesis to substantiate a point or corroborate the evidence given. In a sense citations are the rock-solid suggestions to the breadth of your research and knowledge on a subject. It also simultaneously is a way of paying homage to the original source or author of an idea or concept. 

Since citations are a crucial part of any in-depth analysis, it should be mentioned in a particular format. Often researchers are confounded about these varying citation styles – so, when that happens it is always good to ask the supervisor which style he would prefer. 

Following a citation style is not an easy task – since each school of style has a different approach to grammar, numbers, spacing, fonts and overall presentation. Also since citing other authors or works is a way of avoiding plagiarism and other copyright issues, it’s critically important to include citations. 

Largely there are five broad categories of formats that editors, writers and publishers follow. These are the APA, CSE, Chicago, MLA and Turabian. 

While MLA (Modern Language Association) stresses on double spacing when a source is being mentioned, the Chicago style highlights two further sub styles under its broad category. Further MLA also stresses that the in-text citation should be mentioned along with the works-cited page later. 

With so many intricate rules to formatting a citation, it is best to understand how each style will help justify the specific work it is being included in. Thus, to be on the safe side, it is important to follow some established norms while choosing a particular format. For example the APA style is usually used in works of psychology and social sciences – while MLA helps in literature, arts, and humanities and in some other disciplines. Chicago and Turabian are both preferred in history and some other disciplines. 

Since most citation styles have been elaborated on in PDF formats online – any student who wishes to refer to them can directly refer to these style guides online. 

With publishers, research institutions and universities becoming more and more aware of plagiarism, and scientific writing, the value of a citation increases manifolds. Thus to do absolute justice to one’s work and honour publishing protocol– a proper and detailed mention of the works, authors (along with the page numbers and year published) is a crucial tool to avoid facing any punishment. 

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Humanities - The Twiddle Thumbs

Humanities, a subject broadly marked by the study of human society, history and social science are characterized unfavorable to majority. Studying history or philosophy is not propitious comparable to hardheaded subjects namely science or commerce.  Where science is considered to be a cerebral subject endowing students to knock their heads hard, humanities is treated as futile subject, a stream outlining weak section.Students with a notion of studying dillydally commonly exercise their choices on humanities. These are some abstract principals associated with a student of humanities.

Definite percentages for streams are determined in schools. Lowest percentage is accorded to humanities and highest to science followed by commerce. Besides the level of interests in the streams, students are allotted to subjects on the grounds of their marks. A student with his interest lying in science stream cannot opt for one, if he has scored below the definite marks required for opting science. The qualifying marks to meet the requirements to opt science are above 90% and the lowest will conclusively be driven to humanities. A below average student will eventually be accredited to humanities if he is incapable to make it to science or commerce.Students securing higher marks in science stream are honored unlike students in humanities that inculcate a sense of failure in the students. This discrimination has led to humanities losing importance as a subject.

Humanities are looked down upon by most parents. Students must have experienced differences in opinions amidst family when it comes to opting for humanities as the prestige of astute medical and non-medical subjects has overtaken insignificant humanities. Parents have a significant say in influencing student’s opinions. They will barely acknowledge humanities as it is notwithstanding to their ostentatious stature.

Humanities define a limited scope ahead. Few calculable prospective jobs are available to a humanities pass out. Students can opt for teaching as their line of work or adhere to counseling and social groups or embark upon their not for profit organizations. These posts are not characterized as much a big league as becoming doctors, engineers or chartered accountants by virtue of career prospects and earning potential. 

Besides, institutes for humanities or political science are not acknowledged in India. Tremendous money has been flown in building innumerable institutes for science and commerce subjects however, humanities is camouflaged with inferiority. Lack of infrastructure and funds for humanities institutes have resulted in lesser number of students opting this field. 

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Agendum for Documentation of Experiments

Documentation provides official information for transparency and constancy in organizing data systematically. An eloquent appellation, affiliation, time frame, strategies and well-defined quotations are the harbingers of a good documentation that can be presented in either tabular form or paragraph form.

Citations, a reference from a book or an author can be used in the documentation. Citations can be picked up from various sources like textbook, trade magazine articles, catalogs, websites, academic general or conference papers.

Besides, a document must adhere to few elements that will help produce a good report. A simple and easy to comprehend document must be presented without usage of idioms and phrases. A good document must not be dominated by creative graphical representation rather it should have informative and logical data and must include finite information required. An error free and grammatically correct report marks a good impression to the opposite party. In addition to this, a clogged up data is never preferred. Segregating data that holds prime significance helps one to thwart clumsiness.

The first and foremost point is the introduction that includes the rationale of the experiment. It exemplifies how a problem has to be solved and steps undertaken to solve a problem. An introduction section contains content that facilitates the reader to apprehend the main body. The next step in the documentation of experiments is Method that states the management and strategies of the experiment. A comprehensive study of the experiment is incorporated in the main body while preparing documentation. Subsequently the outcome is results. Generally, tables and plots are used to epitomize the experiment. Colorful representation will create chaos only. Rather a simple display of the chart can provide fruitful results. At times, attraction also creates distraction and data seems to be misleading. The dots plotted must have a good precision to visualize and provide 100% accuracy.Right set of data and best plot format and style must be undertaken to plot more proficiently. Tiny plots might create a complication to the reader. The outcomes put forward the evaluated data and are confined only to the data available. Last but not the least, a bound and determined discussion of the experiment takes place. A discussion is the analysis of results and involves many viewpoints.

A good documentation of experiments is characterized as a simple, transparent and accurate presentation of the facts precisely. 

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