Strategic Management

Assignment 01

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Berihun Muche (PhD)

 Article review First Assignment

Instruction:
•Download one article on any concept related
to Strategic Management.
•Review and prepare a report
•The report should not exceed 4 page with
its cover page
 Guide on Review Article

• What is an article?
• What is a journal?
• What is Thesis/Dissertation?
• What is monograph?
• What is a manuscript?
• What is a Book?
 What is review article?

• It is a critical and constructive analysis of

a given article.
• It could have two forms: summaries and
 critiques

• Both require you to read and understand

the general literature in the topic.
• The Summary- involves briefly and
accurately stating the key points of the article
for a reader who has not read the original
article.
 Cont’d

• The Critique – begins by summarizing the

article and then analyzes and evaluates
the author’s research.
• This one is strong and it shows your
mastery of critical analysis and command of
the literature.
 Importance

• Very important step to critically review

and compile literature
• It gives graduate students exposure to
works of others and identify research gaps
• Crucial element in conducting original
and scientific research
 What to Focus on while reviewing an

Article?

• Originality and innovativeness of the

research idea(s)?
• Validity and appropriateness of the
hypotheses/research questions/premises
 are valid and the methodology
• Whether the literature is adequate and

up-to-date?

• Whether the data is new, sufficient and

accurate?
 Cont’d

• Whether findings and discussions are linked

and address research objectives?

• Whether conclusions and/or
recommendations are logically derived
from the data and it’s interpretation?
• Coherence, continuity and flow
• Contribution to existing body of knowledge
• Appropriateness of sourcing and
acknowledgement of sources of
data
 Steps in Reviewing Articles

1) Skim the article without taking notes

- Read the abstract and conclusion
- Read for the ‘big picture’
- Identify items/terms/techniques that
you want to define
- Write down whatever you did not
understand at glance
 Cont’d

2) Reread the article carefully (several times)

• Pay close attention to the ‘methodology part’

or ‘methods and materials’.
• Raise questions such as:
 - was the study repeated?

- what was the sample/size? is this representative

of a larger population?
- what variables were used? Which were
held constant? Was there a control?
- what factors might affect the outcome?

• Reread the ‘methodology part’ or ‘methods

and materials’ part multiple times.
 Cont’d

3)Before you begin the first draft your

summary:
• Try to describe the article in your own
words first.
• Try to distill the article down to its
 ‘scientific essence’
• Include all the key points and be accurate.
• Make the summary understandable.
 Cont’d

4) Write a draft of your summary

• Do not look at the article while writing, to
make it easier to put the information in your
own words and avoid unintentional
plagiarism.
• Refer back to the article later for details
and facts.
• Ask yourself questions as you write:
 Cont’d

• What is the purpose of the study?

What questions were asked?
• How did the study address these questions?
• What assumptions did the author make?
• What were the major findings?
• What surprised you or struck you
as interesting?
• What questions are still unanswered?
 Format and Organization of the

Review

1) A complete citation of the article goes at

 the top of the page, below your heading.
2) Don’t skip a line between the citation
and the start of the essay.
3) Indent the first line of the essay.
4) Be concise and eliminate
superfluous information.
 Cont’d

5) The introductory paragraph summarizes the

background information and purpose of the
research (specific questions of the study
researched).
6) then, explain the methods that were used to
investigate the research questions (use past
 tense)
7) Mention the major results of the study (use past
tense)
8) State what the author of the study learned.
Additional points on Critical Review

• Include a summary as well as your

own analysis and evaluation of the
article.
• Know the article thoroughly.
• Do not include personal opinions
• Be sure to distinguish your thoughts from
that of the author.
• Focus on the positive aspects and what
the author(s) of the study learned.
 Cont’d

• Note limitations of the study at the end of

the essay:
• E.g. - do the data and conclusions
contradict each other,
- Is there sufficient data to support
the author’s generalizations?
 - what questions remain unanswered?
- how could future studies be improved?
• Recommendation for readers
 Sources of Reputed Journals

• Scopus- rates articles

• Google scholar
• Web of science
• Since Direct
• Thompson
• Repository