Research Review

So, what is a review of the literature?

A research review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Sometimes it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the research review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been already written about a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the research review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available and/or a set of summaries.

Topics
Choose two of the following topics to review:

· Explain how a firm’s human resources influence organizational performance.

· Describe how firms can use HR initiatives to cope with workplace changes and trends such as a more diverse workforce, the global economy, downsizing, and new legislation.

· Explain why employees join unions.

· Define “human resource management.”

· Explain why compliance with HR law is an important part of doing business.

· Describe the process of job analysis, components of a job description, and those of a job specification.

· Explain how a firm’s human resources influence organization performance.

· List the factors influencing worker motivation that are under managers’ control.

Writing Terms
2-3 pages, not including cover page and reference list. 12 pt font, double-spaced, 1′ margins on all sides. Uses APA.

Responds to every assignment requirement with originality. Focuses on one core learning objective and includes 3-4 researched topics related to that course objective.

Properly cites reference materials used. Uses references from websites as well as the text.

Exceptional use of proper English and free of all typographical errors and grammatical mistakes.

Skills
This project enhances your knowledge about the topic and helps you gain skills in the following areas.

1. information seeking: the ability to review the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, or to identify a set of useful articles and books

2. critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies or reviews.

Research Review
A research review should do the following:

1. be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing

2. synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known

3. identify areas of controversy in the literature

4. formulate questions that need further research

The purpose is to assure that you are progressing appropriately with your research project, which is due the end of unit 7. This piece is worth fifty points and due the end of unit 4. It should be submitted in rich text format. Each review should contain at least two to three appropriate quotes and citations. If you need support on using the APA style, please visit the following websites.