Article Review

Majid, S., Liming, Z., Tong, S., & Raihana, S. (2012). Importance

of Soft Skills for Education and Career Success. International

Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education, 2, 1036-

1042.
Table of Contents

1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................2

2. Summary.............................................................................................................................2

3. Criticisms............................................................................................................................3

4. Conclusions.........................................................................................................................5

5. References...........................................................................................................................5
1. Introduction

(Majid et al., 2012) conducted a study to find out how business management students

perceive the importance of soft skills for their education and employment. The topics covered

in the study were: students' perceptions of the value of soft skills, self-efficacy of the level of

skills they possess, skills in need of further improvement, participation in skills development

programs, and the role of academic institutions in soft skills development. The aim of this

review is to critically review and critique the article “Importance of Soft Skills for Education

and Career Success” by (Majid et al., 2012).

2. Summary

The main purpose of the study was to find out how students perceive the importance of soft

skills for their education and employment. Participants were 188 undergraduate business

management students from four universities in Singapore. A questionnaire was used to

collect data and descriptive statistics were used to summarize all variables. The researchers

presented the results in table. The table is easy to read and understand and summarizes

important information. The authors also explain or describe the table in the text, which makes

the results more convincing and organized. The article concluded that most respondents

believe that soft skills are useful for social interaction as well as career advancement.

However, they did not think that these skills contributed significantly to their academic

performance.
3. Criticisms

Title

According to (Smith & Noble, 2016), an effective title should include the main issues

discussed in the article, the population group that is being studied, as well as the

methodology that is being used to conduct the study. Although the title of the article

effectively provides information regarding the main issue, it does not inform the population

group that is being studied and the methodology that was used to collect data during the

study.

Introduction

The article outlines the problem statement in the opening paragraphs, which highlights the

lack of studies focusing on students' perceptions and attitudes towards soft skills. The authors

have done a reasonable job of highlighting previous research on topics relevant to their

research, and provided literature comparisons where possible. However, the authors failed to

summarize or synthesize the information or provide their views on the implications of the

research. In addition, the researchers did not write further explanations of how the cited

researchers collected their data and how they defined the research variables.

Methods

The methodology used in the study was not clearly and sufficiently stated. The design of the

study and methods of analysis are not clearly stated. The data collection method was

appropriate for the research questions. The sampling procedure and the method of sample

selection were not clearly described. The process of obtaining ethical approval and adherence

to ethical standards was not clearly established. A sample size of 188 participants took part in

the study. It would be preferable for the study to examine a larger sample size to substantiate

the findings (Martínez-Mesa et al., 2014; Shorten & Moorley, 2014).

Results

The results of the study are adequately presented using text and tables that briefly summarize

the data collected in the study. The researchers presented summary statistics in table. The

table is easy to read and understand and summarizes important information. The authors also

explain or describe the table in the text, which makes the results more convincing and

organized. Although the researchers presented the findings in table, the sample size is still too

small to provide substantive findings in the data or tables (Shorten & Moorley, 2014). The

small sample size also makes it difficult to generalize or transfer the findings to a larger

demographic, however the findings could potentially provide insight into a similar

demographic with analogous conditions.

Discussion

Although the authors provide possible explanations for their findings, they did not link the

results to existing references to discuss and compare the findings. In addition, the authors did

not clearly state how their results differed from the existing literature and did not provide any

detailed comparisons between studies.

Strengths

The conclusions were based on the findings and logically stated. The language used in the

article is clear and simple, making it easy for readers to understand.

Weakness

The sampling procedure and the method of sample selection were not clearly described. The

main weakness of the articles is that it lacks a large enough sample population to provide any
significant results. the sample size is still too small to provide substantive findings in the data

or tables (Shorten & Moorley, 2014). Similarly, a lack of control over the collection and

accurate recording of data leaves room for error and the accuracy of findings. The abstract of

the article does not use a list of keywords that will help when using search engines to get

relevant results. The researchers also did not provide strong suggestions for further research

based on practical relevance and did not identify areas for future research.

4. Conclusions

In conclusion, this essay critically reviewed the article “Importance of Soft Skills for

Education and Career Success”. In general, the findings of the paper provide some relevant

insight into the importance of soft skills for employment and career advancement, but

ultimately, further research in this topic would be needed to confirm the results.

5. References

Majid, S., Liming, Z., Tong, S., & Raihana, S. (2012). Importance of Soft Skills for

Education and Career Success. International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects

in Education, 2, 1036-1042.

Martínez-Mesa, J., González-Chica, D. A., Bastos, J. L., Bonamigo, R. R., & Duquia, R. P.

(2014). Sample size: how many participants do I need in my research? An Bras

Dermatol, 89(4), 609-615. https://doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20143705

Shorten, A., & Moorley, C. (2014). Selecting the sample. Evidence-Based Nursing, 17, 32 -

33.

Smith, J., & Noble, H. (2016). Reviewing the literature. Evid Based Nurs, 19(1), 2-3.

https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2015-102252