BUS 8304, The Doctoral Research Study Journey 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Analyze the literature review process necessary to complete the doctoral research study. 3.1 Examine a scholarly article for its fit in a research study. 3.2 Describe how a scholarly article supports a study.
7. Explain how research results can influence business decisions.
7.1 Demonstrate how article findings influence business decision-making.
Course/Unit Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
3.1, 3.2, 7.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 9 Unit II Literature Review
Required Unit Resources Chapter 9: Reviewing the Literature
Unit Lesson For this unit lesson, we will cover introductory concepts of reviewing the literature. In the next unit, we will extend this lesson and cover more advanced topics of the literature review.
Importance of Reviewing the Literature
(Dudko, n.d.) We all know that the end goal of attending a doctoral program is to earn a doctoral-level degree. The most important deliverable for your degree is the doctoral study or dissertation. Achieving this goal means that you are deemed a subject matter expert (SME) and academic expert in a specific subject area. Realistically, though, you can be a SME without attending a doctoral program. For example, 20 years of practical experience can make you a SME. Optimally, you will choose a firmly grounded topic in an area where you already have a significant amount of subject matter expertise. For example, if you have 20 years of practical
UNIT II STUDY GUIDE
Reviewing Literature
BUS 8304, The Doctoral Research Study Journey 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
accounting experience, you are likely a SME in accounting. You may be a comptroller, a chief financial officer (CFO), or an accountant with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation. The expectation is that you would choose a dissertation subject area within the accounting or finance realm. If you have no experience in accounting or finance, then in order to get to the point where you can write a dissertation, you will need to make up that loss of 20 years of practical experience. For example, someone who has spent their life working in information technology (IT) would likely never do a doctoral study/dissertation in marketing or accounting or a similar topic area. When you choose your subject area, choose a subject in which you are interested and are considered a SME regarding that topic. Also, understand that you may have been a chief executive officer (CEO) of a large, successful organization for 20 years. While that makes you a SME in many business areas, it does not mean you have doctoral-level academic subject expertise. Academic expertise is required to write a doctoral study/dissertation, so reading and comprehending large amounts of the current literature is crucial to obtain this goal. Once you are sure of your subject area, you will want to narrow it down to potential topic areas. For some examples, review the chart below.
Subject Area Topic Area
IT Software Development, Security, IT Governance
Accounting Tax, Accounting Ethics, Budgeting, Investing
Marketing Branding, Online Marketing, Mobile Advertising
