ACCT3071 Undergraduate Programmes 2023/24

Research Methods in Accounting

LITERATURE REVIEW SUMMATIVE ASSIGNMENT

Assignment brief
In relation to your research topic, you are required to write a 3000-word initial overview
which articulates your progress to date in generating the detailed research design and
questions/ hypotheses. As the approach to research varies depending upon whether
you are using primary or secondary data and taking a qualitative or qualitative
approach, the actual detail of the submission will vary from dissertation to dissertation.

Within the broad context of your wider literature covering the topic area, you should
focus on 10-15 key contemporary articles that are central to your study. These should
be drawn from peer-reviewed journals and where applicable significant policy or
practice statements.

Please follow the structure below:

Either:
1. Presentation – Cover Page- The topic area, indicative title and key research
questions should be clearly on the first page of your outline chapters
document.

2. Introduction (Indicative length -250 words) This should explore a brief

background to the study which explains the context and motivations for the
study (the so what factor)

3. Key Literature -Focus on the key themes and issues surrounding your
research questions. This will draw on your wider reading of the topic area and
highlight and discuss the key papers that are central to your study.

4. Literature review reflections (Indicative length 500 words)- after the main
body, draw attention to the consistencies and disagreements within the
literature and how your own study will aim to bridge that gap or inform existing
literature. Demonstrate how your project may address new aspects/context
compared to prior literature. You may have relevant materials from the
Business Research Methods module that you could work on for this section.

5. Briefly summarise your key literature using a template, please attach this as
an appendix and NOT part of the 3000-words.
Literature summary template is given below.

1
 ACCT3071 Undergraduate Programmes 2023/24
Research Methods in Accounting

OR
1. Presentation – Cover Page - The topic area, indicative title and key research
questions should be clearly on the first page of your outline chapters
document

2. Introduction (Indicative length – 250 words) This should explore a brief

background to the study which explains the context and motivations for the
study ( the so what factor)

3. Method. This should articulate the specific research questions or hypotheses

to be explored and link into the key literature supporting their development.
The method should identify and justify the research approach being taken
supported by applicable academic support. The nature of the data collection
and data should be articulated and justified in depth – this should detail any
primary research tools used (questionnaires or interviews) showing the link
between the research tool and supporting prior literature. The method used to
identify participants and the application of research ethics should be explicitly
stated and explored. The analytical framework or statistical tools to be used
should be articulated and justified and this should be linked to the research
questions/hypotheses and the prior literature. Any limitations with the
research approach and its management should be discussed.

4. Briefly summarise your key literature using a template, please attach this as
an appendix – this is NOT part of the 3000-words.
Literature summary template below:

Summarise 10-15 articles that are central to your literature in the format below; articles
must be peer-reviewed contemporary articles and predominantly from c.2015-2023.
Other older seminal papers relevant to your study can also be included – if these are
in the majority you must justify this (I.e. Limited recent academic interest)
Author Tittle of Data (source and Key Findings / Contribution to
(year) article date) and analysis Dissertation – link to research
approach (Qual or questions/hypotheses or to
Quant) analytical approach etc.

References - you MUST reference your work - you can either put Harvard-style in-
text references (author and date) and then put the detailed references in a list on a
second supporting page if that reduces the clutter on the research plan and helps with

2
 ACCT3071 Undergraduate Programmes 2023/24
Research Methods in Accounting

the layout. Or you can give the full reference on the research plan – although this may
make it cluttered and difficult to fit in.

Overall word limit: 3000-words

3
 ACCT3071 Undergraduate Programmes 2023/24
Research Methods in Accounting

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Your completed assignment must be uploaded to Ultra

no later than 12:00 midday on Friday 2 February 2024

The assignment should be submitted using one of the following file types :
.doc.;docx.;pdf.
AV1.MP4.MPG.WMV.MOV,QT,ASF,3GP.WMA.MP3 or M4V

A penalty will be applied for work uploaded after 12:00 midday as detailed in
the Student Information Hub. You must leave sufficient time to fully complete
the upload process before the deadline and check that you have received a
receipt. At peak periods, it can take up to 30 minutes for a receipt to be
generated.

Assignments should be typed, using 1.5 spacing and an easy-to-read 12-point font.
Assignments and dissertations/business projects must not exceed the word count
indicated in the module handbook/assessment brief.

The word count should:

▪ Include all the text, including title, preface, introduction, in-text citations, quotations,
footnotes and any other items not specifically excluded below.
▪ Exclude diagrams, tables (including tables/lists of contents and figures), equations,
executive summary/abstract, acknowledgements, declaration, bibliography/list of
references and appendices. However, it is not appropriate to use diagrams or
tables merely as a way of circumventing the word limit. If a student uses a table or
figure as a means of presenting his/her own words, then this is included in the word
count.

Examiners will stop reading once the word limit of 3000-words has been reached, and
work beyond this point will not be assessed. Checks of word counts will be carried out
on submitted work, including any assignments or dissertations/business projects that
appear to be clearly over-length. Checks may take place manually and/or with the aid
of the word count provided via an electronic submission. Where a student has

4
 ACCT3071 Undergraduate Programmes 2023/24
Research Methods in Accounting

intentionally misrepresented their word count, the Faculty may treat this as an offence
under Section IV of the General Regulations of the University. Extreme cases may be
viewed as dishonest practice under Section IV, 5 (a) (x) of the General Regulations.
Very occasionally it may be appropriate to present, in an appendix, material which
does not properly belong in the main body of the assessment but which some students
wish to provide for the sake of completeness. Any appendices will not have a role in
the assessment - examiners are under no obligation to read appendices and they do
not form part of the word count. Material that students wish to be assessed should
always be included in the main body of the text.
Guidance on referencing can be found on Durham University website and in the
Student Information Hub.

MARKING GUIDELINES
Performance in the summative assessment for this module is judged against the
following criteria:
• Relevance to question(s)
• Organisation, structure and presentation
• Depth of understanding
• Analysis and discussion
• Use of sources and referencing
• Overall conclusions

PLAGIARISM AND COLLUSION

Students suspected of plagiarism, either of published work or the work of other
students, or of collusion will be dealt with according to School and University
guidelines.
END OF ASSESSMENT