Academic writing skills

Academic Writing Skills: Participant Handbook © Dr C P Rijal Page 1

ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

A one-day training/workshop

Participant Handbook

Organized by

Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA) Surkhet

Nepal

Facilitated by

C P Rijal, PhD

Associate Professor

Birendranagar, Surkhet, Nepal

June 15, 2013


Pleasure learning insights

Please answer the following questions as precisely as possible.

Q1. Please provide your brief introduction.

Q2. What are at least three things that you want to learn today?

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3.

Q3. Why do you want to learn these things? Please describe with very short reasons.

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3.

Q4. How do you think these things will serve instrumental in your professional

development?

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3.

Q5. How would you like to provide with your commitment to make this day-long activity

a more fruitful one?

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3.

Please put on your name and signature here: ___________________________________


ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

1. Preamble

Along the advancement of teaching learning process in school education and

development of a number of higher education institutions in the mid and far western

regions of the country, more efforts are sought to improve the overall quality of academic

inputs at all levels in these regions.

At this outset, Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), Surkhet has

taken a number of genuine initiatives with shared responsiveness to contribute in the

value system based development at all levels of academic discourse. NELTA, Surkhet

has already made it a part of its institutional culture to publish a research-based journal in

yearly basis. In addition to it, a number of talk programs and seminars are organized from

time to time to promote culture of academia industry dialogue, inquiry-based teaching

learning approaches, and value-driven discourse management.

The present idea on offer aims to orient the teaching learning community of modern

education with depth insights on design, development and delivery of a number of

academic writing skills. It has been crafted in the form of a one-day training/workshop

program. It is expected to serve as a milestone in the region to promote more systematic

and scientific approach in academia. The program is designed and developed keeping in

view the learning needs of wider spectrum of teaching professionals at different levels

and subject specializations.

2. Modular Organization of the Program

The program has been organized and developed in three specific modules. The first

module deals with the detailed sharing on selected areas of concern in academic writing,

followed by distinguishing features of a high sound piece of academic writing and finally,

relevant style guidelines for academic writing in the third module of the program.

3. Module-based Program Objective

Module I: Areas of Concern in Academic Writing

Objective 1: Create general awareness about the various areas of concern in academic

writing.

Objective 2: Bring in discussion the selected areas of concern in academic writing.

Objective 3: Provide with practical learning inputs how to develop a piece of academic

writing in each selected area of concern.

Module II: Features of Effective Academic Writing

Objective 4: Promote the culture of inquiry and research-based practices in academic

discourses.

Objective 5: Impart the sense of innovation in development higher education discourses

by means of academic writing skills.

Objective 6: Establish a common understanding of the use of appropriate language

skills in academic writing.


Objective 7: Help learn how to make an academic writing more focused on specific

beneficiaries, subject of concern and associated program.

Objective 8: Share different ways to develop an academic writing on constructive

thought patterns.

Objective 9: Promote universal teaching learning insights through academic writing for

all.

Module III: Style Guidelines in Academic Writing

Objective 10: Build a shared understanding about how to use computers to maintain

some common style guidelines of language and paper layout.

Objective 11: Establish ‘learning for going concern’ on basic rules of citation and

referencing using in respect with American Psychological Association

(APA) guidelines.

Objective 12: Help participants apply more systematic approach to produce a formal

document of academic writing.

4. Working Mechanism

This training/workshop delivery has been designed in a blend self learning, peer learning,

group work and presentation, followed by instructor guided lecture and discussion in

person-attended setting.

Throughout the program, all participants, organizers and the main facilitator will not use

their cell phones, unless and until it is extraordinarily important and urgent.

Each member of the program will use English as the means of language of discourse.

Please remember, we would like to extend a strong message through this program that

English language, if used in simple, localized form and nature, is the easiest universal

language for the second language learners.

We will work in as informal setting as possible, but will be remain intact with the basic

norms to make the program more effective.

5. Thematic Inputs

Module I: Areas of Concern in Academic Writing

Before we proceed ahead, what do you think are the most important types of academic

writing of your day to day use? Please recall at least three types and write them in the

space provided below:

1.

2.

3.


Research and Academic Writing

Academic writing is also referred to as research writing. It is best known as empirical or

evidence-based writing. We already know that research is referred to as a systematic and

objective investigation on a subject or problem in order to discover relevant information.

Investigation on a subject refers to the process of establishing a conceptual or theoretical

understanding about something to be promoted as part of disciplinary studies. For

example, development of a theory in public health science.

Similarly, investigation on a problem refers to assessing, diagnosing, exploring, or

evaluating various facets related to a management problem. For example, what

percentage of first time visitors of Bhatbhateni Superstores come again to this place for

shopping? Why is it difficult in teaching to higher education students in English medium

at Mid-Western University, Surkhet?

Discovery of relevant information refers to establishing theoretical grounds for a

disciplinary study, or deducting a conceptually or theoretically grounded problem

solution in a defined situation.

Basically, there are two types of research – 1. fundamental research, and 2. Applied

research.

Fundamental research is also known as the basic or pure research. It seeks to expand the

boundaries of subjective knowledge in the given area. For example, development of

research methods, propagation of new theories, and conduction of academic research

studies are a few examples of fundamental research.

Applied research is known as the decisional research. It attempts to use the existing

knowledge for resolving the current problem. For example, what are the customer needs,

expectations and problems associated to the offerings of Sunny Village Resorts? How did

the general public like the prevailing national ruling system?

Whatever be the purpose, a research may be considered as a systematic and objective

investigation that involves systematic design, collection, preparation, interpretation and

reporting of information needed to solve specific problems or promote a domain of

learning.

A piece of writing based on research findings is known research writing. From the above

discussion, it should also be understood that there are mainly two branches of scientific

exploration -- academic research and management research. Academic writing originates

from within the branch of academic research but may receive a lot of inputs from the

management research too.

In a recent survey research Burnett (2013) at the University of Essex, has identified that

writing and reasoning are the two interconnected skills. This study also identified that

most of the graduates were lacking these skills the highest. Here, in writing component,


the author has emphasized on text structuring or construction and grammatical soundness

as the key requirements. Similarly, providing with critical, evidence-based, and grounded

reasoning has been explored to be equally important element to make the piece of writing

a more effective one. This study has further identified that a large majority of

academically well off graduates highly lacked these two skills in their writing. It means

that lack of adequate focus on academic writing skills is a universal problem in the

mission of higher education.

Similarly, in a three volume work contributed by means of a team research at Wasedo

University (2013), it has been claimed that academic writing is one of the very essential

tools for promoting skills for authentic academic essay writing.

There may be a varying number of such academic essays. Today, we will mainly focus

our discussion on writing research proposals, research reports, articles, developing a case

study, and a number of other equally important academic writing works.

Proposal for Thesis Research

A research proposal serves as a plan in the form of a request to conduct and control a

research project. It describes the research problem, approach, design, methods of data

collection and analysis, and approach of reporting. A finely developed research proposal

serves as a blueprint in overall design, development and execution of a research project.

Learner Development Unit (2013) has claimed that there is no single format for research

proposals as a result of difference between different research projects, academic

disciplines, donor organizations and academic institutions having different formats and

requirements. There are, however, several key components which must be included in

every research proposal. For example, description of the problem, argument of the

significance of problem exploration, supporting with relevant reviews of literature,

description of proposed research methodology, and the description about how the

research findings will be treated are a few commonalities.

Say for example, a study may intend to explore why anarchism is developing in different

sectors in Nepal. In particular, the research will focus on the factors which promote and

maintain anarchism in the Nepalese society. Recent reports in the media detailing the

operation of extensive and organized anarchy groups that created public interest and

concern, and a number of important implications for policing policy need be reviewed.

Similarly, various facets of prevailing anarchism and their future consequences need be

confirmed through observation. For this, it may require a scientific research design. This

all will make over the research proposal for our liberal science graduates.

Basically, a research proposal is developed in two components – 1. technical component,

and 2. financial component.

The key technical components of an academic research proposal may comprise of these

elements --


1. Problem definition may comprise of essential, preliminary exploration about specific

areas of research gap, objective of the research, statement of the problem, research

questions, working hypotheses, significance of the study and limitations of the study.

2. Theoretical linkage should be built on review of relevant literature established from

the perspectives of theoretical constructs and managerial implications or broad, social

outcomes. It is normally organized in the second section of the proposal.

Development of a conceptual framework of the study should be the final ingredient to

guide the overall study on a more academic flight.

3. Study approach and design should present with relevant logic about the combination

of selected approach and designs that will be used to accomplish the proposed

research. This should serve as a gateway to methodological perspectives of the

research, normally written in the third section of the proposal.

4. Population and sampling attempts to logically establish and define the population of

the study and sampling techniques and size.

5. Instrumentation deals with the various data collection instruments to be used with

adequate discussion on proposed mechanism for their development and procedure for

their validation and testing. In many cases, the employers may seek detailed proposals

with appropriate data collection instruments attached with the proposal.

6. Field work/data collection approach should mention how the data will be collected,

who will collect it, how the accuracy and authenticity will be established and

confirmed, and so on... In this section, the ensured mechanisms to ensure the quality

of data and data collection mechanism should be described.

7. Mechanism for data processing and analysis deals with the kind of data that will be

collected, the way they will be processed, and how the results will be interpreted.

8. Work schedule serves as a quick look onto the time schedule, broken down by phases

of bottom line activities. A graphical portray of critical path method (CPM), or a

Gantt Chart showing such activities and corresponding time estimation may be more

preferred.

9. Use of resources should describe with logical pattern of diversity and intensity of

various human and non-human resources to be involved or used in executing the

proposed research project.

10. Sociao-ethical compliance is considered to be equally important issue that needs be

clarified in the proposal stating the various efforts to be made during specific stages

of research in action. It helps gain research authenticity with socio-ethical soundness.

Similarly, the financial component of a research proposal establishes a budgetary

estimation and ethical use of the funds.

11. Cost of the study is developed to establish a relevant projection of total estimated cost

for conducting the research. As the key part of financial proposal, budget breakdown

has to be developed with detailed indication of the funds needed to undertake the

research and how those funds will be utilized in each activity and how much cost will

be incurred for procuring/using various resources.

12. Compliance of financial transparency is equally important. The request should be

made by proposing with the evidence of compliance to general taxation and other

accounting systems and standards.


This is how an academic research proposal may be developed in two distinctive

components – technical and financial. The technical component can be further branched

into three sub-components -- problem definition, theoretical linkage and methodological

perspectives, and financial component may end-up in 1 or 2 pages of relevant budgetary

propositions for carrying out the proposed study. In case of individual researcher’s self-

funded research project, financial component may not appear in the proposal.

Keeping in view the above stated components of a research proposal, it can be organized

in three distinctive chapters or sections:

Chapter I: Introduction

1.1. Preamble/Focus/Background of the study

1.2. Gap analyses

1.3. Objective of the study

1.4. Statement of the problem

1.5. Research questions

1.6. Working hypotheses

1.7. Significance of the study

1.8. Scope of the study

1.9. Definition of key terms

1.10. Limitations and delimitations of the study

1.11. Organization of the proposed study report

Chapter II: Review of Literature

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Review of theoretical perspectives

2.3. Review of relevant policy developments

2.4. Review of related studies

2.5. Development of theoretical framework of the study

2.6. Chapter summary

Chapter III: Research Methodology

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Study approaches

3.3. Study designs

3.4. Sources of information and population of the study

3.5. Sampling strategies

3.6. Development of data collection instruments

3.7. Test of validity and reliability

3.8. Mechanism for research administration

3.9. Mechanism for data reduction, presentation and analyses

3.10. Expertise to be involved

3.11. Other resources required

3.12. Compliance with socio-ethical considerations

3.13. Work schedule

3.14. Budgeting



The headings may vary significantly according to our interest and freedom of choice

when we apply a more qualitative journey. There are more restrictions on choice, if it is a

more quantitative study. It will also vary as per the specific level and type of

specialization.

References

All sources cited in any part of an academic paper need be presented following the

recognized styles by the respective department.

Appendices

This part should include the Curriculum Vitae of the main researcher and key members of

the team. All necessary instruments prepared for the use of proposed research should be

presented in both official language of the respective department and the local language/s

of the community/ies in which the research is planned for fielding. Similarly, highly

modular and structured secondary source documents on which the present study has been

visualized or developed also will be placed in this section.

So, what should be the length of a proposal? There is no concrete answer. If you are

submitting only a concept note, it may be completed between 4-10 pages, and it may go

more than 40 pages in the case of submitting a detailed proposal. These three chapters

should occupy around 70% of the total length of the final report after accomplishing

research.

Finally, please write about five features of an effective academic research proposal and

share them with the colleagues?

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2.

3.

4.

5.

Also discuss what structural and grammatical considerations should be made while

developing and editing a research proposal? Please pin-point and share at least three

things.

1.

2.

3.


Do you think you still have some room for the development of these areas? Please

specify.

Thesis Research Report

The contents of chapters I through III of the detailed proposal research are transformed

from the language of proposition to accomplishment and then at least two additional

chapters – data presentation and analyses in chapter iv and summary, conclusions and

recommendations in chapter v – are developed. In the case of more qualitative journey,

the options will be quite open.

Chapter IV: Data Presentation and Analyses

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Information on informant and unit of analyses

4.3. Research question-by-question structured headings to make detailed data

presentation, analyses and relevant testing

4.4. Key findings of the study


Chapter V: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

5.1. Summary of the work

5.2. Discussions

5.3. Conclusions

5.4. Recommendations

In the supplementary part of a well written research report, the references and appendices

are the same as prepared while developing a proposal, necessary annextures may be

added to provide the inventory of bulky information in different types of interactive form

of outputs which could not be fitted in the text in chapter iv.

One important section we have not yet talked about. Can you guess what it is! Probably

you could trace it by yourself. Yes, it is the prefatory part. It should be prepared at last

after the completion of all writing task and it should be placed before the first chapter of

the document. Mostly, the contents of this section are defined by the respective

department and they normally include –

Cover page

Title fly

Signatory page/s

Copyrights

Acknowledgements

Abstract

Table of contents

List of tables

List of figures

List of appendices

List of annextures

List of abbreviations


Now, please set at least five standards of a finely crafted research report from the

perspectives of relevancy of the subject matter of inquiry, grounded connectivity of

theoretical perspectives, methodological aspects, grounded academic insights, quality of

text and its documentation and share them with rest of members present here:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Case Study

Introduction

A case study presents an account of what happened to a business or industry or an

institution over time. In business studies, it is applied in the study of various situations

that the managers are expected to deal with, or have already dealt. For example, the

changes in the competitive environment leading to change in managers' responses, which

usually involve changing the corporate, business, product or service-level strategy.

A case study may be understood as a description of a real life business situation involving

decision-making for problem-solving. For example, Whitehead (as cited in Aguliar,

1988) has instructed that the root of true practice in education must start from particular

fact, concrete and definite individual apprehension, and must gradually evolve towards

the general idea. Cragg (as cited in Aguliar, 1988) is of the opinion that the learning

should be based on dynamic cooperation and interactive one rather than flatter, one-way

listening of wise statements.

A case can be based on real situation that actually has happened just as described, or

some portion is disguised for reasons of privacy. Most of the case studies are written such

that the reader takes the place of the manager whose responsibility is to make decision to

solve the problem explained in the case situation. In almost all case studies, a decision

must be made, even though the decision might be leaving the situation as it is and doing

nothing.

The case method is based on a philosophy that combines knowledge acquisition with

significant student involvement. In the words of Alfred North Whitehead, the case

method rejects the doctrine that students first learn passively, and then apply the

knowledge.

The case method is based on what Dewey (as cited in Horava, & Curran) has stated that

only by wrestling with the conditions of this problem at hand, seeking and finding his

own way out, does [the student] think... If he cannot devise his own solution (not, of


course, in isolation, but in correspondence with the teacher and other pupils) and find his

own way out he will not learn, not even if he can recite some correct answer with a

hundred percent accuracy.

The case method brings reality into the classroom, if it is developed and presented

effectively with rich and interesting details. Cases keep conceptual discussions grounded

in the reality. Experience shows that simple fictional accounts of situations and

collections of actual organizational data and articles from public sources are not as

effective for learning as are fully developed cases.

A comprehensive case presents you with a partial clinical study of a real-life situation

faced by a practicing manager. A case presented in a narrative form provides motivation

for involvement with, and analysis of a specific situation. By framing alternative strategic

actions and by confronting the complexity and ambiguity of the practical world, case

analysis provides extraordinary power for your involvement with a personal learning

experience.

1. Case analysis requires students to practice important managerial skills--

diagnosing, making decisions, observing, listening, and persuading--while

preparing for a case discussion.

2. Cases require students to relate analysis and action, to develop realistic and

concrete actions despite the complexity and partial knowledge characterizing the

situation being studied.

3. Students must confront the intractability of reality--complete with absence of

needed information, an imbalance between needs and available resources, and

conflicts among competing objectives.

As illustrated above, the case method can help you develop your analytical and judgment

skills. Case analysis also helps you learn how to ask the right questions-that is, the

questions that focus on the core strategic issues included within a case. Students aspiring

to be transformed as managers can improve their ability to identify the underlying

problems, rather than focusing on superficial symptoms, through development of the

skills required to ask probing, yet appropriate, questions. The particular set of cases your

instructor chooses to assign your class can expose you to a wide variety of organizations

and managerial situations. This approach vicariously broadens your experience base and

provides insights into many types of managerial situations, tasks, and responsibilities.

Such indirect experience can help you make a more informed career decision about the

industry and managerial situations you believe will prove to be challenging and

satisfying. Finally, experience in analyzing cases definitely enhances your skills in issue-

based probing and problem-solving.

Further, when you practice oral and written presentations, your communication skill will

be improved as you go on using case methods of teaching learning. Of course, these

added skills depend on your preparation and facilitation of teaching learning. However,

the primary responsibility for excellence is yours -- how you would like to equip

yourself. The quality of case discussion is generally acknowledged to require, at a

minimum, a thorough mastery of case facts and some independent analyses of them. The


case method, therefore, first requires that you read and think carefully about each case.

Additional comments about the preparation you should complete to successfully discuss a

case appear in the next section.

The case method of analysis in university classrooms is a teaching learning tool in which

the students and instructors participate through direct discussions on given cases, as

opposed to the lecture or story telling method, where the instructor speaks and students

listen and take notes, or nod the head. In case study method, the students learn to teach

themselves, with the instructor being an active guide or facilitator rather than just a

talking head delivering content. The focus is on students’ learning through their joint, co-

operative efforts.

Assigned cases are first prepared by students under closer guidance of the instructor.

Such preparation forms the basis for guided class discussion. Students learn, often

unconsciously, how to evaluate a problem, how to make decisions, and how to orally

argue a point of view. Using this method, they also learn how to think in terms of the

problems faced by an administrator. In courses where the case method is used

extensively, a significant part of students’ learning evaluation may rest with classroom

discussion with lively participation, with another substantial portion resting on written

case analyses. For these reasons, using the case method tends to be very intensive for

both students and Instructors.

Case studies are used extensively thoughout most of the programs at the university level,

business administration classes with no exception. As you will be observing the

happening features of case studies in many of the lectures in my classroom proceedings

in Leadership, Organizational Psychology, Strategic Management, Business

Management, Human Resource Management, Brand Management, Advertising and

Promotions Management, Consumer Behavior, Organizational Design and Change,

Critical Thinking, Managerial Communication, Management Information System, Global

Business, Research and Innovation, and other similar areas of teaching learning, it is

important that you get off to a good start by learning the proper way to approach and

complete them. I am sure a case embedded approach of teaching learning practice will set

a new height and excellence in your professional career of university level teaching. You

must understand for your life-term learning with a felt understanding that you have a bag

full of collection of cases which may be directly applicable in many business dealings.

So, are you ready to learn how to help your graduates learn to understand and implement

the best decision alternatives through case study method?

My insights on case study approach are clear. The case study approach is valuable for

several reasons. First, a case study provides you, the learner and teacher, with

experience of organizational problems that you did not have the opportunity to

experience firsthand. In a relatively short period of time, you will have the chance to

appreciate and analyze the problems faced by many companies and to understand how

managers tried to deal with them.


Second, a case study illustrates what you have learnt for teaching. The meaning and

implication of the information is made clearer when it is applied to case studies. The

theory and concepts help reveal what is going on in the institution under observation, and

allow you to evaluate the solutions that specify companies adopted to deal with their

problems.

Consequently, when you analyze cases, you will be like a detective who, with a set of

conceptual tools, probes what happened and what or who was responsible and then

marshals the evidence that provides the solution. Top managers enjoy the thrill of testing

their problem-solving abilities in the real world. It is important to remember, after all,

that no one knows what the right answer is. All what managers can do is to make the best

guess. In fact, managers repeatedly say that they are happy if they are right only half the

time in solving strategic problems. Management is an uncertain game, and using cases to

see how theory can be put into practice is one of the ways to improve your skills of

diagnostic investigation.

Third, the case studies provide you with the opportunity for classroom participation to

gain experience in presenting your ideas to others. Instructors may sometimes call on

students as a group to identify what is going on in a case and through classroom

discussions the issues in and solutions to the case problem will reveal themselves. In such

a situation, you will have to organize your views and conclusions so that you can present

them to the class. Your colleagues and students may have analyzed the issues differently

from you, and they will want you to argue your points before they will accept your

conclusions, so be prepared for debate. This is how decisions are made in the actual

business world.

For the purpose of graduates’ collaborative learning, you also may assign to individuals,

but more commonly to groups, to analyze the case/s before the whole class. The

individual or group probably will be responsible for a thirty to forty-minute presentation

of the case to the class. That presentation must cover the issues involved, the problems

facing the company or institution, and a series of recommendations for resolving the

problems. The discussions then will be placed open to the class, and you will have to help

the graduates defend their ideas. Through such discussions and presentations, they will

experience how to convey their ideas effectively to others. Remember that a great deal of

managers' time is spent in these kinds of situations, presenting their ideas and engaging in

discussions with other managers, who have their own views about what is going on.

Thus, you will be able to make them experience the real life situation in the classroom the

actual process of what goes on in a business setting, and this will serve you and your

graduates well in future careers. If you are a working executive, it will help you reach

back to nature. Do you know what ‘back to nature’ all is about!

If you make the graduates work in groups to analyze case studies, they will also learn

about the group processes involved in working as a team. When people work in groups, it

is often difficult to schedule time and allocate responsibility for the case analysis. There

are always group members who shirk their responsibilities, and there are group members

who are so sure of their own ideas that they try to dominate the group's analyses. Most


business negotiations take place in groups, however, and it is best if you can make strong

feeling among the graduates about such problems now.

Significance of the case study

In my understanding, a business case study is a powerful decision-making tool in

business management studies for a few different reasons. First, it forces the decision

makers to follow a predetermined process or format to ensure all factors have been

considered. Next, it inherently points the user to determine the risk factors and other

major success factors. Finally, it allows multiple parties to review the case and its

assumptions.

The alternative to a business case study is decision making ‘on the fly’, ‘on the instinct’,

or ‘back of the envelop’. All of these are shortcuts of doing the work and formally

documenting the research, assumptions, and analyses.

Analyzing a case study

As just mentioned, the purpose of the case study is to let the learner apply the concepts

he/she has learnt when he/she analyzes the issues facing a specific situation. To analyze a

case study, therefore, you must examine closely the issues which the institution is

confronted with. Most often you need to read the case several times - once to grasp the

overall picture of what is happening to the company and then several times to discover

and grasp the specific problems.

Generally, detailed analyses of a case study should include eight areas:

1. The history, development, and growth of the company over time

2. The identification of the company's internal strengths and weaknesses

3. The nature of the external environment surrounding the company

4. A SWOT analysis

5. The kind of corporate-level strategy pursued by the company

6. The nature of the company's business-level strategy

7. The company's structure and control systems and how they match its strategy

8. Recommendations

1. Analyze the company's history, development, and growth. A convenient way to

investigate how a company's past strategy and structure affect it in the present is to

chart the critical incidents in its history - that is, the events that were the most unusual

or the most essential for its development into the company it is today. Some of the

events have to do with its founding, its initial products, how it makes new-product

market decisions, and how it developed and chose functional competencies to pursue.

Its entry into new businesses and shifts in its main lines of business are also important

milestones to consider.

2. Identify the company's internal strengths and weaknesses. Once the historical

profile is completed, you can begin the SWOT analysis. Use all the incidents you

have charted to develop an account of the company's strengths and weaknesses as

they have emerged historically. Examine each of the value creation functions of the


company, and identify the functions in which the company is currently strong and

currently weak. Some companies might be weak in marketing; some might be strong

in research and development. Make lists of these strengths and weaknesses. The

SWOT checklist gives examples of what might go in these lists.

3. Analyze the external environment. The next step is to identify environmental

opportunities and threats. Here you should apply all information you have learned on

industry and macro environment, to analyze the environment the company is

confronting. Of particular importance at the industry level is Porter's five forces

model and the stage of the life cycle model. Which factors in the macro environment

will appear salient depends on the specific company being analyzed (Thompson, Jr.,

Strickland III, Gamble, & Jain, 2006). However, use each factor in turn (for instance,

demographic factors) to see whether it is relevant for the company in question.

Having done this analysis, you will have generated both an analysis of the company's

environment and a list of opportunities and threats. The SWOT checklist lists some

common environmental opportunities and threats that you may look for, but the list

you generate will be specific to the institution or the company under observation.

4. Evaluate the SWOT analysis. Having identified the company's external

opportunities and threats as well as its internal strengths and weaknesses, you need to

consider what your findings mean. That is, you need to balance the strengths and

weaknesses against opportunities and threats. Is the company or institution in an

overall strong competitive position? Can it continue to pursue its current business- or

corporate-level strategy profitably? What can this institution do to turn weaknesses

into strengths and threats into opportunities? Can it develop new functional, business,

or corporate strategies to accomplish this change? Never merely generate the SWOT

analysis and then put it aside. Because it provides a concise summary of the

company's condition, a good SWOT analysis is the key to all the analyses that follow.

5. Analyze the institutional or corporate-level strategy. To analyze a company's

corporate-level strategy, first you need to review the company's mission and goals. If

they do not have one, define and establish one for them. Sometimes the mission and

goals are stated explicitly in the case; at other times you will have to infer them from

available information. The information you need to collect to find out the company's

corporate strategy includes such factors as its line(s) of business and the nature of its

subsidiaries and acquisitions. It is important to analyze the relationship among the

company's businesses. Do they trade or exchange resources? Are there gains to be

achieved from synergy? Alternatively, is the company just running a portfolio of

investments? This analysis should enable you to define the corporate strategy that the

company is pursuing (for example, related or unrelated diversification or a

combination of both) and to conclude whether the company operates in just one core

business. Then, using your SWOT analysis, debate the merits of this strategy. Is it

appropriate, given the environment the company is in? Could a change in corporate

strategy provide the company with new opportunities or transform a weakness into


strength? For example, should the company diversify from its core business into new

businesses?

Other issues should be considered as well. How and why has the company's strategy

changed over time? What is the claimed rationale for any changes? Often it is a good

idea to analyze the company's businesses or products to assess its situation and

identify which divisions contribute the most to or detract from its competitive

advantage. It is also useful to explore how the company has built its portfolio over

time. Did it acquire new businesses, or did it internally venture its own? All these

factors provide clues about the company and indicate ways of improving its future

performance.

6. Analyze business-level strategy. Once you know the company's corporate-level

strategy and have done the SWOT analysis, the next step is to identify the company's

business-level strategy. If the company is a single-business company, its business-

level strategy is identical to its corporate-level or institutional strategy. If the

institution or the company is in many businesses, each business will have its own

business-level strategy. You will need to identify the company's generic competitive

strategy - differentiation, low cost, or focus - and its investment strategy, given the

company's relative competitive position and the stage of the life cycle. The company

also may market different products using different business-level strategies. For

example, it may offer a low-cost product range and a line of differentiated products.

Be sure to give a full account of a company's business-level strategy to show how it

competes.

Identifying the functional strategies that a company pursues to build competitive

advantage through superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer

responsiveness and to achieve its business-level strategy is very important. The

SWOT analysis will have provided you with information on the company's functional

competencies. You should further investigate its production, marketing, or research

and development strategy to gain a picture of where the company is going. For

example, pursuing a low-cost or a differentiation strategy successfully requires a very

different set of competencies. Has the company developed the right ones? If it has,

how can it exploit them further? Can it pursue both a low-cost and a differentiation

strategy simultaneously?

The SWOT analysis is especially important at this point if the industry analysis,

particularly Porter's model, has revealed the threats to the company from the

environment. Can the company deal with these threats? How should it change its

business-level strategy to counter them? To evaluate the potential of a company's

business-level strategy, you must first perform a thorough SWOT analysis that

captures the essence of its problems.

Once you complete this analysis, you will have a full picture of the way the company

is operating and be in a position to evaluate the potential of its strategy. Thus, you

will be able to make recommendations concerning the pattern of its future actions.


However, first you need to consider strategy implementation, or the way the company

tries to achieve its strategy.

7. Analyze structure and control systems. The aim of this analysis is to identify what

structure and control systems the company or institution is using to implement its

strategy and to evaluate whether that structure is the appropriate one for the company.

Different corporate and business strategies require different structures. For example,

does the company have the right level of vertical differentiation? Does it have

appropriate number of levels in the hierarchy or decentralized control or horizontal

differentiation? Does it use a functional structure when it should be using a product

structure? Similarly, is the company using the right integration or control systems to

manage its operations? Are managers being appropriately rewarded? Are there right

rewards in place for encouraging cooperation among divisions? These a few issues to

be considered.

In some cases there will be little information on these issues, whereas in others there

will be a lot. Obviously, in analyzing each case you should gear the analysis toward

its most salient issues. For example, organizational conflict, power, and politics will

be important issues for some companies. Try to analyze why problems in these areas

are occurring. Do they occur because of bad strategy formulation or because of bad

strategy implementation?

Organizational change is an issue in many cases because the companies are

attempting to alter their strategies or structures to solve strategic problems. Thus, as a

part of the analysis, you might suggest an action plan that the company in question

could use to achieve its goals. For example, you might list in a logical sequence the

steps the company would need to follow to alter its business-level strategy from

differentiation to focus.

8. Make recommendations. The last part of the case analysis process involves making

recommendations based on analysis. Obviously, the quality of your recommendations

is a direct result of the thoroughness with which you prepared the case analysis. The

work you put into the case analysis will be obvious from your side as a professor to

make your graduates internalize the problems and make real-life suitable

recommendations for implementation.

Recommendations are directed at solving whatever strategic problem the company is

facing and at increasing its future profitability. The recommendations should be in

line with the analyses; that is, they should follow logically from the previous

discussion. For example, the recommendation generally will center on the specific

ways of changing functional, business, and corporate strategy and organizational

structure and control to improve business performance. The set of recommendations

will be specific to each case, and so it is difficult to discuss these recommendations

here. Such recommendations might include an increase in spending on specific

research and development projects, the divesting of certain businesses, a change from

a strategy of unrelated to related diversification, an increase in the level of integration


among divisions by using task forces and teams, or a move to a different kind of

structure to implement a new business-level strategy.

Again, make sure the recommendations are mutually consistent and are written in the

form of an action plan. The plan might contain a timetable that sequences the actions

for changing the company's strategy and a description of how changes at the

corporate level will necessitate changes at the business level and subsequently at the

functional level.

After following all these stages, you will have performed thorough process of case

development and analyses and now you will be in a position to join in class discussion or

present your ideas to the class, depending on the format you used as a professor.

Remember that you must tailor your analyses to suit the specific issue discussed in your

case. In some cases, you might completely omit one of the steps in the analyses because it

is not relevant to the situation you are considering. You must be sensitive to the needs of

the case and not apply the framework we have discussed in this section blindly. The

framework is meant only as a guide and not as an outline that you must use to do a

successful analysis.

Writing a case study

Often, as part of your course requirements, you will need to present your graduates with a

written case analysis to facilitate their learning. You will often ask the graduates to do the

same again. This may be an individual or a group report. Whatever the situation be, there

are certain guidelines to follow in writing a case analysis. Before I outline these

guidelines for your use, please make sure they do not conflict with any directions I have

given to you. Also remember that your rest of the colleagues may have their own ways of

doing it. Respect them too.

I firmly believe that at this level of your profession, the structure of your written piece

should be not only more comprehensive, but also equally critical. Generally, if you

follow the steps for analysis discussed in the previous section, you already will have a

good structure for your written discussion.

All reports begin with an introduction to the case. But the captions are yours, you should

be showing your comfort, that’s all! In the introductory part, you should outline briefly

what the company or institution does, how has it been developed historically, what

problems it is experiencing, and how you are going to approach the issues in the case

write-up. Do this sequentially by writing, for example, "First, we discuss the environment

of Company X...Third, we discuss Company X’s business-level strategy... Last, we

provide recommendations for turning around Company X’s business."

In the second part of the case write-up, the strategic-analysis section, do the SWOT

analysis, analyze and discuss the nature and problems of the company’s business-level

and corporate strategy, and then analyze its structure and control systems. Make sure you

use plenty of headings and subheadings to structure your analysis. For example, have

separate sections on any important conceptual tools you use. Thus, you might have a


section on Porter’s five forces model as part of your analyses of the environment. You

might offer a separate section on portfolio techniques when analyzing a company’s

corporate strategy. Tailor the sections and subsections to the specific issues of importance

in the case. Interestingly, you may find plenty of room to use a number of tools

developed from behavioral science perspective.

In the third part of the case write-up, present your solutions and recommendations. Be

comprehensive, and make sure they are in line with the previous analysis so that the

recommendations fit together and move logically from one to the next. The

recommendations section is very revealing because, as mentioned earlier, you will have a

good idea of how much work you put into the case from the perspective of quality of

your recommendations.

Following this framework will provide a good structure for most written reports, though

obviously it must be shaped to fit the individual case being considered. Some cases are

about excellent companies experiencing no problems. In such instances, it is hard to write

recommendations. Instead, you can focus on analyzing why the company is doing so

well, using that analysis to structure the discussion. Following are some minor

suggestions that can help make a good analysis even better.

Do not repeat in summary form large pieces of factual information from the case. The

instructor has read the case and knows what is going on. Rather, use the information in

the case to illustrate your statements, to defend your arguments, or to make salient points.

Beyond the brief introduction to the company, you must avoid being descriptive; instead,

you must be analytical.

Make sure the sections and subsections of your discussion flow logically and smoothly

from one to the next. That is, try to build on what has gone before so that the analysis of

the case study moves toward a climax. This is particularly important for group analysis,

because there is a tendency for people in a group to split up the work and say, "I’ll do the

beginning, you take the middle, and I’ll do the end." The result is a choppy, stilted

analysis because the parts do not flow from one to the next, and it is obvious to for your

audience to feel that no real group work has been done.

Avoid grammatical and spelling errors. They make the paper sloppy. All people admire

simple and short language and hardly a few of them love long sentences with newer

words.

In some instances, the case dealing with well-known companies may not include up-to-

date research because it was not available at the time the case was written. If possible, do

a search for more information on what has happened to the company in subsequent years.

Some of the highly pertinent sources may include, if you have access to, The World Wide

Web the place to start your research; compact disk sources provide an amazing amount of

good information, including summaries of recent articles written on specific companies

that you can then access in the library; companies themselves provide information if you


write and ask for it; Fortune, Business Week, and Forbes have many articles on company

featured cases.

Sometimes your hand-out questions should facilitate each case to help your graduates.

You should help your graduates use such things guides for writing the case analysis.

They often illuminate the important issues that have to be covered in the discussion. If

you follow the guidelines in this section, you should be able to write a thorough and

effective evaluation.

The significance and role of financial analysis in a case study

An important aspect of analyzing and writing a case study analysis is the role and use of

financial information. A careful analysis of the company's financial conditions

immensely improves a case write-up. After all, financial data represent the concrete

results of the company's strategy and structure. Although analyzing financial statements

can be quite complex, a general idea of a company's financial position can be determined

through the use of ratio analysis. Financial performance ratios can be calculated from the

balance sheet and income statement.

These ratios can be classified into five different subgroups: profit ratios, liquidity

ratios, activity ratios, leverage ratios, and shareholder-return ratios. These ratios

should be compared with the industry average or the company's prior years of

performance. It should be noted that deviation from the average is not necessarily bad. It

simply warrants further investigation. For example, newer companies will have

purchased assets at different price and will likely have different capital structures than the

ones. In addition to ratio analysis, a company's cash flow position is of critical

importance and should be assessed. Cash flow shows how much actual cash a company

possesses.

Profit Ratios

Profit ratios measure the efficiency with which the company uses its resources. The more

efficient the company, the greater is its profitability. It is useful to compare a company's

profitability against that of its major competitors in its industry. Such a comparison tells

whether the company is operating more or less efficiently than its rivals. In addition, the

change in a company's profit ratios over time tells whether its performance is improving

or declining. A number of different profit ratios can be used, and each of them measures a

different aspect of a company's performance.

The most commonly used profit ratios are gross profit margin, net profit margin, return

on total assets, and return on stockholders' equity.

1. Gross profit margin. The gross profit margin simply gives the percentage of sales

available to cover general and administrative expenses and other operating costs.

It is defined as follows:

Gross Profit Margin = Sales Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold

Sales Revenue

http://college.cengage.com/business/resources/casestudies/students/financial.htm#NET PROFIT MARGIN


2. Net profit margin. Net profit margin is the percentage of profit earned on sales.

This ratio is important because businesses need to make a profit to survive in the

long run. It is defined as follows:

Net Profit Margin = Net Income

Sales Revenue

3. Return on total assets. This ratio measures the profit earned by employing the

assets. It is defined as:

Return on

Total

Assets

=

Net Income Available to

Common Stockholders

Total Assets

4. Net income is the profit after preferred dividends (those set by contract) have

been paid. Total assets include both current and noncurrent assets.

5. Return on stockholders' equity. This ratio measures the percentage of profit

earned on common stockholders' investment in the company. In theory, a

company attempting to maximize the wealth of it stockholders should be trying to

maximize this ratio. It is defined as follows:

Return on

Stockholders' Equity =

Net Income Available to

Common Stockholders

Stockholders' Equity

Liquidity Ratios

A company's liquidity is a measure of its ability to meet short-term obligations. An asset

is deemed liquid if it can be readily converted into cash. Liquid assets are current assets

such as cash, marketable securities, accounts receivable, and so on. Two commonly used

liquidity ratios are current ratio and quick ratio.

1. Current ratio. The current ratio measures the extent to which the claims of short-

term creditors are covered by assets that can be quickly converted into cash. Most

companies should have a ratio of at least 1, because failure to meet these

commitments can lead to bankruptcy. The ratio is defined as follows:

Current Ratio = Current Assets

Current Liabilities

2. Quick ratio. The quick ratio measures a company's ability to pay off the claims of

short-term creditors without relying on the sale of its inventories. This is a

valuable measure since in practice the sale of inventories is often difficult. It is

defined as follows:

Quick Ratio = Current Assets - Inventory

Current Liabilities


Activity Ratios

Activity ratios indicate how effectively a company is managing its assets. Inventory

turnover and days sales outstanding (DSO) are particularly useful:

1. Inventory turnover. This measures the number of times inventory is turned over. It

is useful in determining whether a firm is carrying excess stock in inventory. It is

defined as follows:

Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold

Inventory

2. Cost of goods sold is a better measure of turnover than sales, since it is the cost of

the inventory items. Inventory is taken at the balance sheet date. Some companies

choose to compute an average inventory, beginning inventory, plus ending

inventory, but for simplicity use the inventory at the balance sheet date.

3. Days sales outstanding (DSO), or average collection period. This ratio is the

average time a company has to wait to receive its cash after making a sale. It

measures how effective the company's credit, billing, and collection procedures

are. It is defined as follows:

DSO = Accounts Receivable

Total Sales/360

4. Accounts receivable is divided by average daily sales. The use of 360 is standard

number of days for most financial analysis.

Leverage Ratios

A company is said to be highly leveraged if it uses more debt than equity, including stock

and retained earnings. The balance between debt and equity is called the capital

structure. The optimal capital structure is determined by the individual company. Debt

has a lower cost because creditors take less risk; they know they will get their interest and

principal. However, debt can be risky to the firm because if enough profit is not made to

cover the interest and principal payments, bankruptcy can occur.

Three commonly used leverage ratios are debt-to-assets ratio, debt-to-equity ratio, and

times-covered ratio.

1. Debt-to-assets ratio. The debt-to-asset ratio is the most direct measure of the

extent to which borrowed funds have been used to finance a company's

investments. It is defined as follows:

Debt-to-Assets Ratio = Total Debt

Total Assets

Total debt is the sum of a company's current liabilities and its long-term debt, and

total assets are the sum of fixed assets and current assets.


2. Debt-to-equity ratio. The debt-to-equity ratio indicates the balance between debt

and equity in a company's capital structure. This is perhaps the most widely used

measure of a company's leverage. It is defined as follows:

Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Debt

Total Equity

3. Times-covered ratio. The times-covered ratio measures the extent to which a

company's gross profit covers its annual interest payments. If the times-covered

ratio declines to less than 1, then the company is unable to meet its interest costs

and is technically insolvent. The ratio is defined as follows:

4.

Times-Covered Ratio = Profit Before Interest and Tax

Total Interest Charges

Shareholder-Return Ratios

Shareholder-return ratios measure the return earned by shareholders from holding stock

in the company. Given the goal of maximizing stockholders' wealth, providing

shareholders with an adequate rate of return is a primary objective of most companies. As

with profit ratios, it can be helpful to compare a company's shareholder returns against

those of similar companies.

This provides a yardstick for determining how well the company is satisfying the

demands of this particularly important group of organizational constituents. Four

commonly used ratios are total shareholder returns, price-earnings ratio, market to

book value, and dividend yield.

1. Total shareholder returns. Total shareholder returns measure the returns earned

by time t + 1 on an investment in a company's stock made at time t. (Time t is the

time at which the initial investment is made.) Total shareholder returns include

both dividend payments and appreciation in the value of the stock (adjusted for

stock splits) and are defined as follows:

Total Shareholder

Returns =

Stock Price (t + 1) -

Stock Price (t) + Sum of Annual Dividends per

Share

Stock Price (t)

Thus, if a shareholder invests $2 at time t, and at time t + 1 the share is worth $3,

while the sum of annual dividends for the period t to t + 1 has amounted to $0.2,

total shareholder returns are equal to (3 - 2 + 0.2)/2 = 0.6, which is a 60 percent

return on an initial investment of $2 made at time t.

2. Price-earnings ratio. The price-earnings ratio measures the amount investors are

willing to pay per dollar of profit. It is defined as follows:


Price-Earnings Ratio = Market Price per Share

Earnings per Share

3. Market to book value. Another useful ratio is market to book value. This measures

a company's expected future growth prospects. It is defined as follows:

Market to Book Value = Market Price per Share

Earnings per Share

4. Dividends yield. The dividend yield measures the return to shareholders received

in the form of dividends. It is defined as follows:

Dividend Yield = Dividend per Share

Market Price per Share

5. Market price per share can be calculated for the first of the year, in which case the

dividend yield refers to the return on an investment made at the beginning of the

year. Alternatively, the average share price over the year may be used. A

company must decide how much of its profits to pay to stockholders and how

much to reinvest in the company. Companies with strong growth prospects should

have a lower dividend payout ratio than mature companies. The rationale is that

shareholders can invest the money elsewhere if the company is not growing. The

optimal ratio depends on the individual firm, but the key decider is whether the

company can produce better returns than the investor can earn elsewhere.

Cash Flows

Cash flow position is simply cash received minus cash distributed. The net cash flow can

be taken from a company's statement of cash flows. Cash flow is important for what it

tells us about a company's financing needs. A strong positive cash flow enables a

company to fund future investments without having to borrow money from bankers or

investors. This is desirable because the company avoids the need to pay out interest or

dividends. A weak or negative cash flow means that a company has to turn to external

sources to fund future investments. Generally, companies in strong-growth industries

often find themselves in a poor cash flow position (because their investment needs are

substantial), whereas successful companies based in mature industries generally find

themselves in a strong cash flow position.

A company's internally generated cash flow is calculated by adding back its depreciation

provision to profits after interest, taxes, and dividend payments. If this figure is

insufficient to cover proposed new-investment expenditures, the company has little

choice but to borrow funds to make up the shortfall or to curtail investments. If this figure

exceeds proposed new investments, the company can use the excess to build up its

liquidity (that is, through investments in financial assets) or to repay existing loans ahead

of schedule.


More on analyses…

What, if you are developing a case study on students’ dropout analyses in public schools

of Birendranagar Municipality? What could be the possible areas of analyses in this case?

Discuss more specifically, the relevant areas of empirical analyses in a case study

developed to assess the socio-economic situation in Guptipur Tharu community in

Surkhet.

Please think of an area of your interest in which you would like to conduct a systematic

inquiry and develop a case at the end to contribute to the teaching learning community.

Focus:

Purpose:

Key issues of investigation:

Conceptual linkage:

Expected research findings:

Expected contribution to the field of academia:

The learning points

When evaluating a case, it is important to be systematic. Analyze the case in a logical

fashion, beginning with the identification of operating and financial strengths and

weaknesses and environmental opportunities and threats. Move on to assess the value of a

company's current strategies only when you are fully conversant with the SWOT analysis

of the company. Ask yourself whether the company's current strategies make sense, given

its SWOT analysis. If they do not, what changes need to be made? What are your

recommendations? Above all, link any strategic recommendations you may make to the

SWOT analysis. State explicitly how the strategies you identify take advantage of the

company's strengths to exploit environmental opportunities, how they rectify the

company's weaknesses, and how they counter environmental threats. Also, do not forget

to outline what needs to be done to implement your recommendations.

The work of completing a case can be divided up into three components – preparation

before the class discussion, class discussion proceedings of the case, and anything


required after the class discussion has taken place. For maximum effectiveness, it is

essential that you do all three components. Here are the subcomponents –

Before the class discussion -- 1. Read the reading assignments (if any)

2. Use the Short Cycle Process to familiarize yourself with the case.

3. Use the Long Cycle Process to analyze the case

4. Usually there will be group meetings to discuss your ideas.

5. Write up the case (if required)

During the class discussion -- 6. Someone will start the discussion, usually at the prompting of the

Instructor.

7. Listen carefully and take notes. Pay close attention to assumptions. Insist

that they are clearly stated.

8. Take part in the discussion. Your contribution is important, and is likely a

part of graduate evaluation for the course.

After the class discussion -- 9. Review as soon as possible after the class. Note what the key concept was

and how the case fits into the course.

It helps to have a system when sitting down to prepare a case study as the amount of

information and issues to be resolved can initially seem quite overwhelming. The

following is a good way to start.

The Short Cycle Process 1. Quickly read the case. If it is a long case, at this stage you may want to read only

the first few and last paragraphs. You should then be able to

2. Answer the following questions: a. Who is the decision maker in this case, and what is their position and

responsibilities?

b. What appears to be the issue (of concern, problem, challenge, or

opportunity) and its significance for the organization?

c. Why has the issue arisen and why is the decision maker involved now?

d. When does the decision maker have to decide, resolve, act or dispose of

the issue? What is the urgency to the situation?

3. Take a look at the Exhibits to see what numbers have been provided.

4. Review the case subtitles to see what areas are covered in more depth.

5. Review the case questions if they have been provided. This may give you some

clues are what the main issues are to be resolved.

The Long Cycle Process At this point, the task consists of two parts:

1. A detailed reading of the case, and then

2. Analyzing the case.


Most, but not all case studies will follow this format which comprises of a number of

coherent actions. The purpose here is to thoroughly understand the situation and the

decisions that will need to be made. Take your time, make notes, and keep focused on the

intended study objectives. Be sure, the overall task comprises of at least all these actions -

- defining the issues or problems, analyzing the situation, analyzing the case data or

information, generating alternatives, establishing cost-benefit analysis, selecting effective

decision criteria, analyzing and evaluating alternatives, choosing among the most relevant

alternatives for critical problem solving, developing a plan of action for the

implementation of the plan.

Making Case Analysis a More Functional Journey

Step 1 – Be familiar

a. In general--determine who, what, how, where and when (the critical facts in a

case).

b. In detail--identify the places, persons, activities, and contexts of the situation.

As the first step of an effective case analysis process, I recommend you to become

familiar with the facts featured in the case and the focal firm's situation. Initially, you

should become familiar with the focal firm's general situation (who, what, how, where,

and when). Thorough familiarization demands appreciation of the nuances as well as the

key issues in the case.

For you to gain familiarity with a situation, it requires to study several situational levels,

including interactions between and among individuals within groups, business units, the

corporate office, the local community, and the society at large. Recognizing relationships

within and among levels facilitates a more thorough understanding of the specific

situation. It is also important that you should evaluate the information on a continuum of

certainty. Information that is verifiable by several sources and judged along similar

dimensions can be classified as a fact. Information representing someone's perceptual

judgment of a particular situation is referred to as an inference. Information gleaned from

a situation that is not verifiable is classified as speculation. Finally, information that is

independent of verifiable sources and arises through individual or group discussion is an

assumption. Obviously, case analysts and organizational decision makers prefer having

access to facts over inferences, speculations, and assumptions.

Personal feelings, judgments, and opinions evolve when you are analyzing a case. It is

important to be aware of your own feelings about the case and to evaluate the accuracy of

perceived "facts" to ensure that the objectivity of your work is maximized.

Step 2 – Recognize the symptoms

a. List all indicators (including stated "problems") that something is not as expected

or as desired

b. Ensure that symptoms are not assumed to be the problem (symptoms should lead

to identification of the problem).


Recognition of symptoms is the second step of an effective case analysis process. A

symptom is an indication that something is not as you or someone else thinks it should

be. You may be tempted to correct the symptoms instead of searching for true problems.

True problems are the conditions or situations requiring solution before an organization's,

unit's, or individual's performance can improve. Identifying and listing symptoms early in

the case analysis process tends to reduce the temptation to label symptoms as problems.

The focus of your analysis should be on the actual causes of a problem, rather than on its

symptoms. It is important therefore to remember that symptoms are indicators of

problems; subsequent work facilitates discovery of critical causes of problems that your

case recommendations must address.

Step 3 – Identify the goals

a. Identify critical statements by major parties (people, groups, the work unit, etc.).

b. List all goals of the major parties that exist or can be reasonably inferred.

The third step of effective case analysis calls for you to identify the goals of the major

organizations, units, and/or individuals in a case. As appropriate, you should also identify

each firm's strategic intent and strategic mission. Typically, these direction-setting

statements (vision, mission, goals, objectives, strategies, etc.) are derived from comments

of the central characters in the organization, business unit, or top management team

described in the case and/or from public documents, for example, annual report.

Completing this step successfully sometimes can be difficult. Nonetheless, the outcomes

you attain from this step are essential to an effective case analysis because identifying

goals, intent, and mission helps you to clarify the major problems featured in a case and

to evaluate alternative solutions to those problems. Direction-setting statements are not

always stated publicly or prepared in written format. When this occurs, you must infer

goals from other available factual data and information.

Step 4 – Conduct the analysis

a. Decide which ideas, models, and theories seem useful.

b. Apply these conceptual tools to the situation.

c. As new information is revealed, cycle back to sub-steps a and b.

The fourth step of effective case analysis is concerned with acquiring a systematic

understanding of the situation. Occasionally cases are analyzed in a less-than-thorough

manner. Such analyses may be a product of a busy schedule or the difficulty and

complexity of the issues described in a particular case. Sometimes you will face pressure

on your limited amount of time and may believe that you can understand the situation

described in a case with-out systematic analysis of all facts. However, experience shows

that familiarity with a case's facts is a necessary, but insufficient, step to the development

of effective solutions - solutions that can enhance a firm's strategic competitiveness. In

fact, a less-than-thorough analysis typically results in an emphasis on symptoms, rather


than problems and their causes. To analyze a case effectively, you should be skeptical of

quick or easy approaches and answers.

A systematic analysis helps you to understand a situation and determine what works and

what does not. Key linkages and underlying causal networks based on the history of the

firm become apparent. In this way, you can separate causal networks from symptoms.

The quality of a case analysis depends on applying appropriate tools. So, it is important

that you should use the ideas, models, and theories that seem to be useful for evaluating

and solving individual and unique situations. As you consider facts and symptoms, a

useful theory may become apparent. Of course, having familiarity with conceptual

models may be important in the effective analysis of a situation. Successful students and

successful organizational strategists add to their intellectual tool kits on a continual basis.

Step 5 – Make diagnosis

a. Identify predicaments (goal inconsistencies).

b. Identify problems (discrepancies between goals and performance).

c. Prioritize predicaments/problems regarding timing, importance, etc.

The fifth step of effective case analysis-diagnosis-is the process of identifying and

clarifying the roots of the problems by comparing goals to facts. In this step, it is useful

to search for predicaments. Predicaments are situations in which goals do not fit with

known facts. When you evaluate the actual performance of an organization, business unit,

or individual, you may identify over- or under achievement (relative to established goals).

Of course, single-problem situations are rare. Accordingly, you should recognize that the

case situations you study probably will be complex in nature.

Effective diagnosis requires you to determine the problems affecting longer-term

performance and those requiring immediate handling. Understanding these issues will aid

your efforts to prioritize problems and predicaments, given available resources and

existing constraints.

Step 6 – Do the action planning

a. Specify and prioritize the criteria used to choose action alternatives.

b. Discover or invent feasible action alternatives

c. Examine the probable consequences of action alternatives.

d. Select a course of action.

e. Design the implementation plan of action.

f. Create a plan for assessing the action results.

The final step of an effective case analysis process is called action planning. Action

planning is the process of identifying appropriate alternative actions. Important in the

action planning step is selection of the criteria you will use to evaluate the identified

alternatives. You may derive these criteria from the analyses; typically, they are related to

key strategic situations facing the focal organization. Furthermore, it is important that you

prioritize these criteria to ensure a rational and effective evaluation of alternative courses

of action.


Typically, managers feel content when selecting courses of actions; that is, they find

acceptable courses of action that meet most of the chosen evaluation criteria. A rule of

thumb that has proved valuable to strategic decision makers is to select an alternative that

keeps aside another possible alternative available if the one selected fails.

Once you have selected the best alternative, you must specify the implementation plan.

Developing a plan of action for implementation serves as a reality check on the feasibility

of your alternative. You should give thoughtful considerations to all issues associated

with the implementation of the selected alternative.

Now, please develop you personal thought patterns to go beyond the one or two-

page text length of a written case study while making its presentation in masses.

Research Article

A research article is prepared as the final output prepared for contributing in the

discipline of academia. In other words, a research article attempts to build the linkage

between the context, concept and the grounded reality and also provides with directions

to support with functional implications using the evidence-based information.

A research article blended by the concept of academic writing, should attempt to bring in

each component and subcomponent of the detailed report of research with condensed

form and precision as well as adequacy of content of the information.

The first paragraph should provide with an abstract of ‘the abstract’ of main report, and it

should be extended with step-by-step coverage of the contents. Focus should be on

exploration of the context, examining the problem, and establishing subjective claims on

the basis of objective observation and analyses.

Length depends partly on the length of the mother document and partly on the basis of

expectation of the publisher. For example, a daily national newspaper will be happy to

publish an empirical work-based article of around 1000 words or less sometimes. A

journal article may go upto 5000 words, or so. Sometimes, the journal publisher may be

interested in your work comprising of a separate chapter or section of above 20 pages. In

rare cases, they may ask you to prepare your paper fitting to a full volume of publication.

I already have experienced it Global Fund. They published a full journal from a single

work by me and my team.

So, you need to prepare according to their expectation and limitations. Remember, more

than 90% of the research articles are not accepted by the publishers of referred journals.

They have their own criteria for choosing. Some of the commonly used criteria may

include relevancy of the subject matter, shared trustworthiness of the empirical aspects

communicated, language efficiency, length of work, legitimacy of information

ownership, etc.


Tasks for you...

Please remember about the placement of these elements while writing a research-based

article:

1. Develop a precise abstract

2. Introduce the core problem observed

3. Explain the overall methodological approaches implemented

4. Illustrate the key findings

5. Produce grounded argument

6. State your conclusions and implications

7. Use short citations in the text and provide with detailed list of references

8. State the key source of publication, if it has been published earlier in the same

or different form.

Other Important Pieces of Academic Writing

1. Teaching learning notes

2. Class presentation and discussion materials

3. Coursework project/fieldwork report

4. Mini research based course seminar paper

5. Workshop proceedings

6. Internship project report

7. Study manual

8. Book review

9. Textbook

10. Pleasure learning materials

What else do you think are additional examples of academic writing? Please discuss

about each of them and try to convince the participants.

Module II: Features of Effective Academic Writing

In this module, let’s work collectively in a total of 6 working teams, brainstorm, pinpoint

the specific features of an effective piece of academic writing, and then make a short

presentation. Each team will take up a specific theme.

Team 1: How can a more effective academic writing serve in promoting the culture of

inquiry and research-based practices in academic discourses?

Team 2: Impart the sense of innovation in development higher education discourses by

means of academic writing skills. How is it possible?

Team 3: How is it possible to establish and promote common understanding and

standards of the use of appropriate language skills in academic writing?

Team 4: Please help us to know how academic writing skill can be promoted as an

instrumental tool for making our academic discourses more focused on specific

beneficiaries, subject of concern and associated program?


Team 5: What are the various constructive thought patterns required to transform our

academic writing as more effectively?

Team 6: In your opinion, what are the ways to promote universal teaching learning

insights through academic writing for all?

Activities and time management: You will be given 15 minutes for brainstorming, 10

minutes to condense the discussion inputs, 10 minutes for developing presentation

materials, and 3 minutes x 6 teams for giving presentation = 53 minutes.

Resources available: Writing marker, chart paper, and meta-cards.

Important !: Please make notes of the key points presented by each team and finally make

a compiled description about these six thematic variants that will serve as the roots of

more effective academic writing skills. If you are able to explore a few completely

different variants, please bring them to the mass discussion at the end.

Learning outcomes: At the end of these team works, we all will be confidently able to

explore and use several insights to make our journey academic writing more effective

one.

Module III: Style Guidelines in Academic Writing

A scientifically written piece of academic work should witness the use of definite style

and layout portrayal. In this module, we will discuss and learn to apply at least three

things to make our work more scientific, impressive and consistent one.


MID-WESTERN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

STYLE GUIDELINES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING

PREPARED BY

CHANDRA P RIJAL, PHD

JUNE 2013

Compiled by

C P Rijal, PhD

Associate Professor


PAPER DOCUMENTATION

Medium of Language

Generally, all the academic documents including book reviews, term paper, research

reports and thesis must be written in correct English language. Exceptions may be made,

if appropriate, in appendix material or if the employer or course instructor gives special

waiver for any other language.

Parts of the Paper

Mostly, a more systematically documented course paper prepared in three distinctive

parts – prefatory part, main body and supplementary part. You will be oriented about

these parts in the subsequent sections.

Title page for project work course work and thesis work may slightly vary.

EMPOWERED WOMEN SERVES AS THE BACKBONE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

A Mini Research in

Project Planning and Development

Submitted to

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Mid-Western University

by

Shyam K Bista, Lecturer

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

June 2013

Submitted to

Dr C P Rijal

Associate Professor


Most of the cases, the respective Faculty/Department issues a defined layout of the title

page of an academic writing.

For course work it should include the title of the paper, author’s name, course or project

for which the paper is being presented (include course code and title), name of the course

professor, faculty, institute of the study, date of presentation, and date of submission

placed at the end of the page.

Thesis includes the title of the paper, author’s name, degree for which the paper is

presented, faculty, institute of the study, date of presentation, and date of submission

placed at the end of the page.

Professional research includes the title of the paper, researcher’s name, project name,

institution awarding research project, and date of submission placed at the end of the

page.

Outline of the paper shows the organization of ideas in the paper. It will be presented

after the title page in the form of a table of contents and will include the page numbers for

each of the major headings in the paper. Letter of transmittal, signatory pages,

declaration, executive summary or abstract, table of contents, list of tables, list of figures,

list of annexure, list of appendices, and abbreviations are the main components of paper

outline.

Introduction

This section will include an introduction to the theme of the paper. As the title name

implies, introduction section simply intends to introduce the area of study or the major

problem under investigation. It might also include a brief overview, historical

perspectives, and present status, if relevant. More specifically, background of the study,

focus of the study, objectives of the study, statement of problem, research questions,

working hypotheses, scope of works, significance of the study, limitations and

delimitations of the study, operational definitions of key terms and overview of the

section or chapter-wise organization of the working paper or dissertation are the major

headings used in introduction section. However, the use of these headings will vary as per

the nature of the work, supervisor’s concern and academic requirements in the particular

work.

For example, the Introduction of a general course-based project work and a thesis

research may be organized as follows:

Thesis Research Works Other Than Thesis Research

Chapter I: Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

1.2 Gap Analyses

1.3 Focus of the Study

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.5 Statement of the Problem

1.6 Research Questions

Section I: Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

1.2 Focus of the Study

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.4 Issues/Problems Observed

1.5 Scope of Study

1.6 Significance of the Study


1.7 Working Hypotheses

1.8 Scope of Study

1.9 Significance of the Study

1.10 Limitations and Delimitations of the

Study

1.11 Operational Definitions of the Key

Terms

1.12 Organization of the Dissertation Report

1.7 Methodology of the Study

1.8 Expertise Involved

1.9 Work Schedule

1.10 Budgeting

1.11 Managerial Implications of the

Study

These all are a few examples of components of Introduction section of a well documented

paper. However, they may slightly vary across the paper and subject matter of inquiry.

Body of the Paper

The body of the paper will be organized as such that the major ideas are clearly indicated

and the supporting ideas and comments are identifiable. It will include an elaboration on

two or more main topics with sub-topics. It will include references of the literature used

for the paper and will use appropriate style of citation.

The presentation of ideas will follow a sequential outline of major and sub-headings. The

presentation in the typed format will follow APA style guidelines. If the paper is short, a

3-level format will be adequate. Longer papers, which are more extensive and have more

complexity in presentation of ideas, may need a 4-level or 5-level format.

For example, the Body of the Paper of a thesis research and a general course-based

project work may be organized as follows:

Thesis Research Works Other Than Thesis

Research

Chapter II: Review of Literature

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Review of Theoretical Perspectives

2.3 Review of Related Policy Documents

2.4 Review of Related Studies

2.5 Development of Theoretical Framework of

the Study

2.6 Chapter Summary

Chapter III: Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Research Approach and Designs

3.3 Population of the Study

3.4 Sampling Techniques

3.5 Development of Data Collection Instruments

3.6 Mechanism for Field Works

3.7 Techniques for Data Reduction and Analyses

3.8 Work Schedule and Budgeting

3.9 Socio-ethical Considerations

Section II: Problem Analyses

2.1 Introduction

2.2 <Major issue or problem-

based headings of

information exploration and

problem analyses>

2.xx Key Findings of the Study

Section III: Summary and

Conclusions

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Conclusions of the Study

3.3 Managerial Implications

3.4 Recommendations


3.10 Chapter Summary

Chapter IV: Data Presentation and Analyses

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Respondent Information

4.3 <Research Question-wise Headings of Data

Presentation and Analyses>; many headings

may apply here

4.xx Key Findings of the Study

4.xy Chapter Summary

Chapter V: Summary and Conclusions

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Discussions

5.3 Conclusions

5.4 Recommendations

Each chapter or section will be further defused in a number of needs based headings, sub-

headings, and sub-sub-headings.

Finally, the paper will follow a detailed list of References prepared in line with APA style

guidelines for writing academic papers and then the Annextures and Appendices will be

placed towards the end of formally composed paper.

Basic Reference Information The list of references should follow the guidelines as set out by APA. After every citation

in the main body of the text, you should immediately prepare the detailed listing of the

sources of information. Remember, bibliography is not the list of references.

The best time to make a record of the reference materials you have consulted is at the

time of reading it. Therefore, you should establish a system for making a complete

record. This will save time and effort in the writing a well-documented paper. Your note

making system should be established to record the following information in the sequence

suggested below:

A. Name(s) of Author(s) Family name and given names in full.

B. Date of Publication Note date for current edition in English dates.

C. Title and Edition No. Your notes should be clear as to whether this is an article in

a journal or magazine, a chapter in a book, or other source.

D. Publisher For book: city and publisher name. For journal or

magazine: may not be needed if the source is a recognized

journal.


E. Volume and Issue Especially needed for journal and magazines. It should

always include page/s where the article is located.

F. Pages Citation of chapters in a book and article in a journal or

magazine should always include pages where the article is

located.

G. Internet Sources Identify www, http, or any other search engines and

newsgroup postings and e-mail; also date.

H. Other Information Any other information to verify your source.

Such information system will be of great use while preparing for text citation and

referencing in future while document preparation.

Annex (Annexure) or Appendix (Appendices)

An Annex or Appendix is included in a paper when the writer wishes to extend or support

the information presented in the main body of the paper. This may include data tables or

other types of materials. All information should be identified as a separate Annex or

Appendix. Materials which are not the work of the present researcher should indicate the

original sources with proper documentation (use APA style).

Page Margins and Fonts

All research reports should be easy to read. Therefore, the pages should have margins of

at least 1” on all sides (excluding page numbers, which may be within a one half inch

margin). Maintain 1.5” margin in the left side of the document.

In addition, specific font types should be selected making it easy for the reader.

For example, you are now reading in a type known as Arial size 10. In the next

section you will see examples of the Courier 12 pitch font. Many other fonts

are available, but the following fonts are more commonly used:

Arial 10/ Arial 11, Prestige 12 pitch (12, Courier font (12), Times

New Roman (10) or Times New Roman (11) or Times New Roman (12).

If you want to consider using the alignment setting so that margins are even on both sides

of the page, then you should use a font that has automatic (proportional) spacing between

letters and words. Fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman are examples of these

fonts. Fonts such as Prestige 12 pitch (12) and Times New Roman (10)

should be used with “align left” only.

Paragraphs and Line Spacing

Maintain 1.5 lines spacing throughout your document with justified document setting.

Apply 18 points before and after for the chapter heading. Keep 12 points spacing before


and 6 points after the sub-headings consistently. Maintain paragraph breaks by using a

line break.

CITATION & REFERENCING

Quotations from Other Sources

Authors of scholarly papers are expected to give credit to the work done by other

scholars. Therefore, a format for citation of works in the text of the paper is needed. Each

citation in the text of the paper must be included on the reference list at the end of the

paper.

The following examples have been adapted from Diana Hacker’s 1997 publication, A

pocket style manual (2nd

ed.), and the 1994 Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (4th

, 5th

, and 6th

ed.). They have been contextualized for Nepal.

For additional examples and updates, follow the latest edition of the Manual.

In general, the APA style requires the use of past tense (e.g.; Smith reported…) or the

present perfect tense (e.g.; Smith has argued; or Smith argues) in the sentence which

introduces materials that are being cited. Please remember, all review works and citations

must be done consistently. A variety of situations are explained below.

Direct quotation: When introducing a quotation, the author’s family name and date of

publication should be identified; the page notation appears in parenthesis at the end of the

quotation. Note that this quotation is less than 5 lines in length.

Cross (1990) stated, “Most of us are naïve observers of

teaching and naïve practitioners of the art and science of

teaching as well” (p. 10).

OR:

One scholar (Cross, 1990) stated, “Most of us are naïve

observers of teaching and naïve practitioners of the art

and science of teaching as well” (p. 10).

Alternatively, when the author’s name does not appear in the introductory sentence, then

the author’s last name, the date, and the page number should be placed in parenthesis at

the end of the sentence.


“We don’t know enough about the intricate processes of

teaching and learning to be able to learn from our constant

exposure to the classroom” (Cross, 1990, p. 10).

Summary or a paraphrase: For a summary or a paraphrase, include the author’s last

name and the date either in the first phrase or in parenthesis at the end. A page number is

not required, but it may be included to help your readers find a specific passage in a long

work.

An idea being Promoted (Cross, 1990) for the …

An idea being promoted for the improvement of college teaching is that teachers should

be helped in knowing how to use higher level of cognitive skills, i.e., ability to diagnose,

analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information (Cross, 1990).

Quotations with more than 40 words or 5 lines: Quotations with more than 40 words

should be shown as a free-standing block of typewritten lines as shown below. Note that

the block quotation starts on a new line and is indented five spaces from the left margin

(in the same position as a new paragraph). All subsequent lines are typed flush with the

indent (align left) and the right margin is similarly indented. Note that when a quotation

is set apart by indentation, quotation marks are not used. In a double spaced document,

the entire quotation may be either double-spaced or single-spaced. The format that is

chosen should be used throughout the paper. The example below is single-spaced.

In a study of memory and comprehension

activities in Sri Lanka primary school

classrooms, it was found that memory-related

activities were less than 30 percent of all

learning activities, ranging from 37.01 percent

in the first year to 24.94 percent in the third,

and 24.13 percent in the fifth year.

Furthermore, the critical thinking and problem

solving type of activities were found to be less

than 10 percent of all learning activities in

all years (Gorrell et al., 1995, p. 87).

Quotation or citation of a work discussed in a secondary source. Many times an author

will make reference to publications that are not available to you, the scholar. These

publications become a “secondary source” for you. For example, you are reading a


document written by Wagley and Mumaw which mentions a study published in a journal

article written by Heyneman. Heyneman’s article is the “primary source” and Wagley

and Mumaw’s document is the “secondary source”. Example will be discussed in later

part.

Citation of References in the Text of the Paper: APA Style

One author (one work): The author’s name and year of publication are essential for the

citation. For example,

Rijal (2003) has claimed that leadership commitment is the

key to lead organizations towards their success.

Two authors (one work): Name both authors in the initial phrase or parenthesis each time

you cite the work. In the initial phrase use “and” between the authors’ name; in the

parenthesis use the Ampersand (&) between the authors’ names.

Cooper and Mueck (1990) have defined cooperative learning

as a structured, systematic instructional strategy in which

small groups work toward a common goal (p. 69).

Cooperative learning can be distinguished from other forms

of team learning by the characteristic features of

“positive interdependence” where all members of a learning

team are responsible for the learning of other members

(Cooper, & Mueck, 1990).

Three, four, or five authors: Identify all authors the first time you cite source. In a

phrase it would appear as Gorrell, Kularatna, Dharmadasa, and Abeyratne (1995). In the

parenthesis format it would appear as: (Gorrell, Kularatna, Dharmadasa, & Abeyratne,

1995). In subsequent citations, use the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in either

the phrase or the parenthesis, i.e., Gorrell et al. (1995) or (Gorrell et al., 1995). The

example below assumes the citation is after the first one.

Studies of memory and comprehension activities in primary

school classroom show varying results. A study of Sri Lanka

classroom activities, reported by Gorrell et al. (1995),

found that memory-related activities were less than 30

percent of all learning activities and ranged from...


Six or more authors: If a work is written by a group of authors which included

Brightman, Bhada, Felhaus, Giovinazzo, Mansfield, Rue, Schaffer, and Schreiber (1990),

then use only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in all citations (Brightman et al.,

1990).

Corporate author: If the author is a government agency or other corporate organization

with a long and cumbersome name, spell out the name the first time you use it in a

citation, followed by an abbreviation in brackets. In subsequent citations, simply use the

abbreviation.

FIRST CITATION: (Research Centre for Educational

Innovation and Development, Tribhuvan

University [CERID], 1995)

LATER CITATION: (CERID, 1995)

Unknown author: If the author is not given or known, either use the complete title of the

work in the phrase or use the first two or three words of the title in the parenthetical

citation. Titles of articles appear in double quotation marks followed by a comma

(“Gender and Education,” 1997); titles of books are underlined or italicized (Universal

Primary education, 1987). If “Anonymous” is specified as the author, treat it as if it were

a real name (Anonymous, 1996). In the list of references, use anonymous as the author’s

name.

Authors with the same last name: To avoid confusion, use initials with the last names if

your list of references contains two or more authors with the same last name; for

example, Rita Dunn and Kenneth Dunn have many publications as single authors and as a

team as well (Dunn, & Dunn, 1993).

“Research on the Dunn and Dunn model of learning styles is

more extensive and more thorough than the research on most

previous educational movements” (Dunn, & Dunn, 1993, p.

xi). Other research has focused on homework (R. Dunn, 1985)

and small group techniques (K. Dunn, 1985).

Personal communication: Conversions, memos, letters, e-mail, and similar unpublished

person-to-person communications should be cited by initials, last name, and precise date:

(S.R. Sharma, personal communication, 13 May 1998).

Do NOT include personal communications in the list of references.


Two or more works in the same parentheses: When your parenthetical citation names

two or more works, put them in the same order that they appear in the list of references,

separated by semicolons (Patton, 1990; & Wagley, 1995).

Research scholars agree that in both qualitative and

quantitative studies, statistics can be a useful tool in

presenting the analysis of research findings (Patton, 1990;

& Wagley, 1995).

Citations from secondary sources: A primary source is one which is published but which

you cannot access directly. You want to cite the original (primary) source. For example,

you are reading a publication written by Wagley and Mumaw. In the document a

reference is made to study published in a journal article written by Heyneman. You do

not have Heyneman’s article (the primary source) but you want to mention the study as

reported by Wagley and Mumaw (the secondary source). The Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association (1994) gives two rules to guide your decision on

citations of secondary sources.

Rule 1: Paraphrase of information

If you paraphrase the information from Heineman as reported by Wagley and Mumaw,

then give only the secondary source in the reference list as follows:

Wagley, M. P., & Mumaw, C. R. (1998). Development of training curricula for the

improvement of quality education in Dhulikhel Municipality. A needs assessment

study. Kathmandu: Kathmandu University.

In the text you are writing, name the original work (primary source), but give a citation

for the secondary source, similar to the following:

The Summary review of World Bank projects by Heyneman (as

cited in Wagley, & Mumaw, 1998) indicated that very few

teaching tools are available to primary school teachers in

developing countries.

Rule 2: Direct quote from secondary source

If you quote directly from Wagley and Mumaw, then you would follow Rule 1 and, in

addition, add the page number to the citation as follows:


The Summary review of World Bank projects by Heyneman (as

cited in Wagley, & Mumaw, 1998) indicated, “typically,

primary school teachers in developing countries have few

teaching tools, and even these are of poor quality” (p. 3).

Preparing the List of References in APA Style

The list of references should be organized so that the listing is in alphabetical order

according to the author’s family name, and from “A” to “Z”. In the examples that follow,

observe all the details, especially the order in which the information is given (names, date

of publication, publisher information) and the way it is presented (underlining,

capitalization, abbreviations, full stops, etc.). The examples have been adapted from

Diana Hacker’s 1997 A pocket style manual (2nd

ed.) and the 1994 Publication manual of

the American Psychological Association (4th

ed.), and have been contextualized for

Nepal.

A. Books

Basic format for a book

Brookfield, S. D. (1990). The skillful teacher on technique, trust, and responsiveness in

the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Two or more authors

Best, J. W., & Kahn, J. V. (1996). Research in education. (4th

ed.). London: Routledge.

Crawford, D. K., Bodine, R. J., & Hoglund, R. G. (1995). The school for quality learning.

Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Corporate authors

Nepal South Asia Centre. (1998). Nepal human development report 1998. Kathmandu:

Author.

United Nations Development Programme. (1998). Human development report 1998.

New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Unknown Authors

Early childhood development and education. (1997). Kathmandu: Ministry of Education,

HMG/ Nepal.


Editors

Schultz, F. (ed.). (1997). Annual editions education, 1997/98. (24th

ed.). Guilford, CT:

Dushkin Publishing Group.

Translation

Miller, A. (1990). The untouched key: tracing childhood trauma in creativity and

destructiveness. (H. & H. Hannum, Trans.). New York: Doubleday. (Original

work published 1988)

Heideggr, M. (1962). Being and time.

Edition other than first

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. (2nd

ed.). Newbury

Park: SAGE Publications.

A. Chapter in a book

McGaghie, W. C. (1993). Evaluation competence for professional practice. In L. Curry, J.

F. Wergin, & Associates. Educating professionals, (pp. 229 - 261). San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Book reprint

Dewey, W. C. (1993). How we think. Lexington, MA: Health. (Originally published

1910)

Multivolume work

Wiener, P. (ed.). (1973). Dictionary of the history of ideas, (vols. 1-4). New York:

Scribner’s.

A volume of a multivolume work

Gerhardt, H. P. (1997). Paulo Freire. In Z. Morsy (ed.), Thinkers on education, vol. 2.

Prospects, (No. 87/88, pp. 439 - 458). Paris: UNESCO Publishing.

B. Periodicals

Note that APA always uses Arabic numerals for volume nos.

Article in a daily newspaper

McGeary, J. (1998, May 25). India: The B. J. P.’s big bang. Time, 151(20), 26 - 33.

No author

Web as a tool for gender and development. (1998, May 27). The Kathmandu Post, p. 3.


Author

Adhikari, K. (1998, May 23). Schools or business houses? The Kathamandu Post, p. 4.

Article in a journal paginated by volume

Bandura, A. (1989). Regulation of cognitive processes through perceived self efficacy.

Developmental Psychology, 25, 729 - 735.

Article in a journal paginated by issue

Mumaw, C. R., & Sugawara, A. (1995). Teacher efficacy and past experiences as

contributors to the global attitudes and practices among vocational home

economics teachers. Family and Consumer Sciences Research journal, 24(1), 92-

109.

Cooper, J., & Mueck, R. 1990). Student involvement in learning: Cooperative learning

and college instruction. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching,1 (1), 68-76.

Unsigned article in a periodical

Mushrooming growth of private schools. (2055 Baisakh) (Apr/May 1998). BM Business

Manager for Managers, 1(1), 14 - 17.

C. Review

McLaren, P. (1993). [Review of the book School subjects and curriculum change: studies

in curriculum history. (3rd

ed.), 1992)]. International Journal of Qualitative

Studies in Education, 6(2), 171-177.

Letter to the Editor

Quadric, A. (1998). Leaders of the century [Letter to the editor]. Time, 150(20), 5.

D. Reports, Conferences, and Unpublished Papers

Reports

Ministry of Education, HMG/Nepal (1995). Cooperative Hands in Restoration,

Advancement and Growth. Primary school teacher training in Nepal: a status

report. Kathmandu: Author.

Secondary Education Development Project, Ministry of Education, HMG/Nepal. (1996,

June). Micro study of school finances. Final report. Kathmandu: METCON

Consultants.

Merchantile Office Systems. (1996, February). Computer systems analysis and Microsoft

software, (3). Kathmandu: Author.


Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development, Tribhuvan University.

(1997). Gender and secondary education. A study report.

Proceedings of a conference

Bhattarai, H. N. (1997). Quality management in higher education. Higher education for

twenty-first century: an interaction program. Proceedings. (pp. 13 - 16).

Dhulikhel: Kathmandu University.

Unpublished paper/poster/session

Eggert, G. R. (1991). Why certify?. Unpublished manuscript. Chicago: Institute for

Certification of Computer Professionals.

Note: The Title of a paper is underlined when it is the primarily reference. When a paper

is published in a proceedings booklet, then the title of a paper is not underlined.

Lanktree, C., & Briere, J. (1991, January). Eqarly data on the Trauma Symprom

Checklist for Children (TSC-C). Paper presented at the meeting of the American

Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, San Diego, CA.

Mumaw, C. T., & Sugawara, A. I. (1993, April). Predictors of global education practices

of high school foods and nutrition teachers in Oregon. Poster session presented at

the joint annual meeting of Oregon Dietetics Association and Oregon Home

Economics Association, Eugene, OR.

Thapa, B. K. (1989, March). Motivational level of primary school teachers in Nepal. A

paper submitted for EDAM 501. University of Alberta, Edmonton.

E. Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertations

Thesis

Wagley, M. P. (1984). An evaluation of Southern Illinois Instrutional Television

Association programming activities for the years 1979-1984. Unpublished

masters’ research paper, Southern Illionis University, Carbondale.

Dissertation

Burt, L. S. (1993). Personal teaching efficacy and ethnic attributions as contributors to

Caucasian preservice teachers’ behavior toward international children.

Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis.


An abstract of a dissertation

Treisman, U. (1983). A study of the mathematics performance of black students at the

University of California, Berkeley (Doctoral dissertation, University of

California, Berkeley, 1986). Dissertation Abstracts International, 47, 1641A.

Ernester, J. (1976). An examination of factors related to worldmindedness in secondary

school teachers. Dissertation Abstracts International, 37, 5205A. (University

Microfilms No. 77-2396).

F. Internet Sources

(Adapted for APA style from the ACW Style-Alliance for Computers and Writing. See

Hacker, p. 122. Also see pp. 218-222 in the 1994 edition of the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association.)

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Sites

Norusis, M. J. (1997). Data files for SPSS 7.5 guide to data analysis. ftp.spss.com. The

file location at the FTP site is \pub\spss\sample\datasets. The file name is norusis.

Exe (26 Feb. 1998).

Manning, G. Celas worldwide Celtic music radio listening. Available at

ftp.celtic.stanford.edu/pub/radio/.list (26 Apr. 1996).

Online Journals

Tice, T. N. (1991). Learning styles: The Brain. [Review of the symposium, “Learning

styles and the brain,” published in Educational Leadership, 48(2), October 1990,

3-81]. Educational Digest, 56(8) [On-line serial], April 1991, 39. Item Number:

9106101395. Available at http://www.EBSCOHost.com (February 20, 1998).

G. WWW Sites

Telnet sites

Office of Financial Aid. Purdue University. The loan counselor. Available at telnet

oasis.cc.purdue.edu. login: ssinfo.press 5, (5 May 1996). Gropher.

News group posting and email

Catano, D. (1995). “Transforming ethics.” [email protected] (6 Jan. 1996)

H. Other Sources

CD-Rom Abstracts

ftp://ftp.spss.com/

ftp://ftp.celtic.stanford.edu/pub/radio/.list

http://www.ebscohost.com/

mailto:[email protected]


Mayers, J.W. (1984). Writing to learn across the curriculum. (Fastback 209). [CDROM]

Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. (ERIC Document

Reproduction Service No. ED 248 532).

Bower, D. L. (1993). Employee assistant programs supervisory referrals: Characteristics

of referring and nonreferring supervisors. [CDROM]. Abstract from: ProQuest

File: PsycLIT Item: 80-16351.

I. Government Documents

Basic and Primmary Education Project, Ministry of Education, HMG/Nepal. (1996,

September). Annual plan of action: fiscal year 1996/97 (2053/54). Kathmandu:

Author.

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. (19901).

Healthy people 2000: National health promotion and disease prevention

objectives. (DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 91-50212).

J. Computer Programs

SPSS 8.0 basic professional. (1998). Chicago: SPSS, Inc.

K. Video Tape

National Geographic Society (Producer). (1987). In the shadow of vesuvius. (Videotape).

Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.

L. No Date Given

When there is no date, indicate with “n.d.” in parenthesis as: (n.d.) this designation is

used for citation as well as for the reference list.

M. Miscellaneous Instructions

1. Apply a consistent font size.

2. Italicize the titles of books, chapters, magazines, journals, videos, and

proceedings.

3. Fit the gutter at 0.5 scales for references that are of two or more than two lines.

4. Keep all the references in dictionary order without further category.

5. Do not use page footnotes to show the detailed references. Keep them in the

reference section after the main body of the paper.

6. Prepare detailed list of reference each time you produce a new citation in the text.

7. List only once for a reference repeated more than twice in the same document.


OUTLINE OF THE MAIN CONTENTS OF THE PAPER

Prefatory Part

Title page/Cover Page

Title Fly

Copyrights

Transmittal Letters

Signatory Page/s

Acknowledgements

Abstracts

Table of Contents

List of Tables

List of Diagrams

List of Annexures

List of Appendices

List of Abbreviations

Main Body

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Objectives of the Study

Statement of the Problem

Research Questions

Statements of Hypotheses (optional)

Rational of the Study

Issues Governing the Study

Limitations of the Study

Definition of Key Terminologies

Chapter Organization of the Report

Chapter Summary

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF

LITERATURE

Introduction

Reviews of Theoretical Perspectives

Review of Policy Documents

Reviews of Related Research Studies

Development of Theoretical Framework

of the Study

Chapter Summary

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

Research Methods

Research Design

Population of the Study

Sampling Strategies

Sources of Data

Development of Data Collection Tools


Reliability and Validity Testing of the

Tools

Mechanism for Minimizing Research

Errors

Mechanism for Research Administration

Techniques of Data Reduction and

Analysis

Work Schedules

Expertise Involved

Budgeting

Chapter Summary

CHAPTER IV: DATA

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

Develop several headings according to

the issues covered in the study, research

questions undertaken and measurement

scales used. Then present the data using

various tables, graphs, or diagrams.

Analysis of the Results

Statistical Testing

Summary of the Findings

CHAPTER V: SUMMARY,

CONCLUSIONS, &

RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

Nature of the Research

Scope of the Study

Research Methods

Key Findings of the Study

Conclusions

Comparison with Other Latest Studies

Similarities and Differences

Distinctive Features of the Present Study

Concluding Remarks

Recommendations

Managerial implications

Further Research Studies

Supplementary Part

References

Annexures

Appendices

6. What Next…

We have now come to the end of today’s program. Like quite a few other programs we

attended in past, let’s not take it as the closure of the program. We wish the concluding of

this program today should provide us with our felt need and readiness to make it a ‘going

concern’ with continuity of a number of very short, medium and long-term, more specific

program activities for improving our professional skills to contribute responsively to the

learning teaching society.


We have empirical information with us that our valuable market requires a number of

training and development programs in promoting research, innovation, institutional

development and overall innovation and change in our professional lives.

For this, NELTA, Surkhet is all set to launch a number of training and development

programs:

1. Research methodology and data processing and analyses using SPSS

2. Professional writing skills

3. Social work skills

4. Writing for pre-primary level teaching learning materials

5. Writing for primary level teaching learning materials

6. Writing for secondary level teaching learning materials

7. Writing textbooks for higher education

8. Writing for development project reports

9. Conducting developmental research

10. Writing for newspaper and journals

11. Skills for learning to learn

12. Any area of your common interest…

We are always on your service. Please feel free to contact us for further queries regarding

the application of the themes discussed today, and also for any sort of new demand of

learning.

References

Aguilar, F. J. (1998). The case method. General managers in Action. NY: Oxford

University Press. Available at:

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Burnett, L. How to improve your academic writing. London: Cambridge University

Press. Available at:

www.essex.ac.uk/myskill/how_to_improve_your_academic_writing.pdf.

Horava, T., & Curran, B. (2012). The importance of case studies for LIS education.

Library Philosophy and Practice. Ontario: University of Ottawa. Available at:

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac.

Learner Development Unit, Birmingham City University. (2013). Study guides: writing.

Birmingham: Author. Available at:

www.ssdd.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writinggudes/1.07.htm.

Thompson Jr. A., Strickland III A. J., Gamble J. E. and Jain A. K. (2006). Crafting and

executing strategy: the quest for competitive advantage – concepts and cases.

(14th

ed.). New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Company.

Waseda University (2013). Academic writing skills: students’ book (vol. 1-3). London:

Cambridge University Press.

http://online.sfsu.edu/castaldi/teaching/casemeth.html

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac

http://www.ssdd.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writinggudes/1.07.htm