Research Paper Marking
Definition of the problem/question and clarity of research objectives
•Your paper should address one main question/problem, but you may have several research objectives. For instance, your topic may be “Green Supply Chain Management in Canadian Organizations,” while your research objectives may be aimed at assessing the state of green supply chain management in Canadian organizations and identifying main barriers to its implementation in Canada.
The grade in this area will be based on how clearly the problem/topic and research objectives are stated and addressed throughout the paper. In the previously stated example, the marker might ask the following questions in assigning this grade:
Does the paper identify issues that are particular to the Canadian context (such as legal or cultural issues)?
Does the paper stay focused on green supply chain management?
Does the paper actually assess the state of green SCM?
Introduce your topic clearly, so you give your readers a good sense of what you are going to write about.
•Establish the topic’s importance. Ask yourself questions such as “Is this a little-researched topic?”, “Why study this topic?”, and “Does it have strong strategic, operational, or competitive implications for organizations?”
10 Comprehensive literature review
•Thoroughly review literature/research that reflects on your topic.
•Bring in concepts and theory from the course where appropriate.25 Analysis/discussion
•Analyze the literature you have reviewed. It is not enough to simply tell the reader what the literature says; you need to assess what is being said and differentiate clearly between your own thoughts and those coming from the literature.
Identify gaps in the information (this signals new research areas), problems that are emerging, areas of growth and opportunity, etc
.•Where appropriate, bring in concepts and theory from the course to aid the analysis.
