Saint Louis University

Bonifacio St. Baguio City

College of Accountancy and Commerce
Graduate Programs
Masters of Business Administration
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THE TERM PAPER
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A Course Requirement
for
Researc and Statistics for Business and !conomics
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Su-mitted to&
.r. George /. Ramos0 MSBA
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Su-mitted -y&
1AM!S !. CAS2R3
MBA +
I. WHAT A TERM PAPER IS
- 4t is a 5ritten 'a'er0 5ic is organi6ed0 'lanned and studied 5it an
ans5er to a 'articular question.
- A 2erm Pa'er as al5ays -een an academic requirement in scool.
7elementary8secondary8college9
- 4t involves s:ills suc as outlining0 note ta:ing0 -i-liogra'y 5riting0
information organi6ing0 and oter li-rary tecniques0 5ic are taugt
to students even in te elementary level.
- 4t is intended for com'letion in a certain 'eriod of time suc as in a
year0 a semester or a quarter.
- 4t cannot -e made overnigt.
- 4t is a 'roduct of adequate 'lanning0 note ta:ing0 analysis0 syntesis
and inter'retation.
- 4t is te result of te 5riter;s tin:ing.
- <ery significantly0 it is te syntesis of discoveries a-out a to'ic and
te evaluation of tese discoveries.
o Discoveries consists of information involving ideas0 o'inions0
re'orts0 and investigations of ex'erts on te su-=ect cosen for
a te term 'a'er.
By analy6ing0 organi6ing0 and 'resenting tese
discoveries0 te term 'a'er can -e interesting0
stimulating0 and o-=ective.
2ese discoveries cannot -e located0 ta:e note of tem0
coose from among tem0 organi6e tem0 and finally
come u' 5it te 5rite u' in =ust a very sort 'eriod of
time.
- A term 'a'er is not =ust a summary of -oo:s.
- 4t is not a tesis or a dissertation.
- 4t starts 5it a 'ro-lem in te same 5ay tat a tesis or dissertation
does.
- 2ere are questions to -e ans5ered and data to -e collected 5ic are
needed to ans5er tese questions.
- 2e data gatering consists mostly of li-rary researc.
- 4t is not a com'ilation of quotations lifted from sources and 'ut
togeter> altoug quotations do ave teir 'lace in a term 'a'er and
sould 'ro'erly -e documented and s'aringly used.
- ?uotations must -e cited to 'rove a 'oint or to 'resent@su-stantiate an
idea.
II. PURPOSES IN WRITING A TERM PAPER
8Ariting a term 'a'er as te follo5ing -asic functions&
(i) To provide the writer an opportunity for organizing his thinking,
strengthening library skills, and enhancing his writing abilities.
(ii) To train the writer to suspend judgment until evidence are on hand.
(iii) To prepare the writer for more comple research.
(iv) !ccomplishing the term paper gives the writer a sense of achievement and
self-fulfillment.
III. CHOOSING A TOPIC
- Coosing te to'ic is neiter easy tas: nor is it difficult -ecause it is
tied to te course -eing ta:en u' -y te 5riter.
- 2e follo5ing sould -e considered in coosing te to'ic&
o Interest in the topic ('re'aring te term 'a'er 5ill -e easy
'rovided te to'ic interests te you.
o Availability of reading materials ( tere are to'ics tat are
ne5 occurrences so tat not muc information a-out tem is
availa-le. 4f you are really interested in te to'ic0 o5ever0 you
can devise oter 5ays of data collection.
o Choose a topic that is adequately narrow ( a -road to'ic 5ill
require many questions to ans5er rendering te 5or:
unmanagea-le. 2is condition migt 'revent you from finising
te 5or: 5itin a s'ecified 'eriod of time. 4t a''ens0 o5ever
tat te to'ic may -e -road at te start -ut tis can -e delimited
later on.
o Select a topic whose content is within the area of the
course ( you must ave a 5or:ing :no5ledge of te -asic
'ur'oses of te course as 5ell as its main content.
o Choose a topic that falls within the range of your
experience and competency ( if you feel tat a certain to'ic
goes -eyond your 5or:ing :no5ledge and cone of ex'erience
ten tere is no reason for you to go on 'ursuing it.
o Choose a topic with an audience in mind ( in tis 'articular
case0 it is your instructor tat you ave in mind. Bou 5ill -e
a''y :no5ing tat your term 'a'er 5ill give te audience ne5
information. 4t is 5ise to assume tat te e 5ill learn someting
from your term 'a'er -y reading it.
o Choose a topic that can be finished within a term (
deadlines for su-mission must -e given so as to set a timeta-le
in accordance 5it it. 2is arrangement can el' :ee' you
5itin your time -udget and cramming 5ill -e avoided.
IV. COLLECTING INFORMATION
- Ait te cosen to'ic in mind0 you sould start -ro5sing over reading
materials in te li-rary.
- Points to consider in searcing te li-rary&
a9 Consult the card catalog ( you 5ill find tat ere cards are
al'a-etically arranged -y te autor and -y su-=ect. Since you may
not ave any autor in mind0 you sould a''roac te cards -y
su-=ect.
-9 Consult the index ( as soon as you ave te -oo:0 consult te
index located at te end. 2e ta-le of contents 5ill also el' you -ut
te index is far more el'ful -ecause of is s'ecificity.
c9 Index to books or to periodical literature ( tis is anoter source
5ort consulting in te li-rary. Bou may inquire form te li-rarian if tey
ave tese indexes availa-le. Bou sould also consult if te sources
referred to in te indexes are availa-le in te li-rary.
d9 Clippings ( often in a li-rary0 tere is a file of cli''ings ta:en from
ne5s'a'ers and maga6ines. Bou sould loo: for tis file -ecause tis
5ill -e a good source of current literature not usually found in -oo:s.
e9 ibliography writing ( once you ave o-served tat an article is
related to your to'ic0 you record notes on cards. Bour :no5ledge of
-i-liogra'y 5riting is of 'ractical value in tis stage. Moreover0 you
sould arness your s:ills in note ta:ing. 4t is -etter tat you com'ile
overflo5ing notes rater tan get sort of te literature. Bou migt not
find te same -oo: availa-le 5en you return to te li-rary.
- At tis stage you 5ill note tat te more you concentrate on staying in
te li-rary0 te more you find related materials. 2ere is a limit to your
note ta:ing o5ever.
- 2e question of 5en to sto' can -e determined -y te follo5ing&
+9 4f you feel tat te questions you 'osed earlier ave -een
adequately ans5ered0 tis is a signal for you to sto'.
"9 Bou sould estimate te time left for organi6ing and 5riting te
'a'er. Consult your timeta-le. 4f to your mind you still ave am'le
time for 5riting0 you may go on collecting information0 es'ecially if
your questions ave not -een adequately ans5ered. But if you
ave very little time left0 you sould sto' doing so. 2is is te
reason 5y it is recommended tat you start coosing your to'ic
early in te course. 4t 'ays to conceive of a 'ro-lem in te initial
stage of term 'a'er 're'aration since your 5ill not -e 'ressured -y
time constraints usually -rougt a-out -y ina-ility to tin: of a to'ic
5ort researcing. Suc -eing te case0 you 5ill -e encouraged to
go on to te remaining tas:s of going a-out ma:ing a term 'a'er
5it ease and not muc difficulty.
V. ORGANIZING THE MATERIAL
8 As soon as you ave accumulated sufficient notes on cards0 you are
ready to organi6e tem. 2e first ste' is ma:ing an outline. Ait all te
note cards in front of you0 you may start 're'aring an outline.
- 2is 'ase 'erforms many functions&
+9 Bour outline may so5 'oints tat still need researc in 5ic case
you sould go to te li-rary again for additional information.
"9 2e outline 5ill give you items tat ave -een over8researced so
tat later on extraneous notes may -e tro5n out.
$9 2e outline 5ill im'rove your 5ay of tin:ing. 4t is easy to 5rite -its
of information -ut 're'aring an outline entails a different s:ill.
*9 2e outline itself 5ill :ee' you 5itin te -ounds of your 5or:. Bou
5ill avoid using stray 'resentation if you ave tis outline.
Moreover0 it 5ill -e te -asis u'on 5ic your term 'a'er 5ill -e
5ritten.
%9 4n outlining your term 'a'er0 you may ma:e use of t5o :inds of
outline0 namely& te to'ic outline0 and te sentence outline. Aile
te outline consisting of =ust to'ics can -e toroug0 te sentence
outline ena-les you to tin: troug te ideas more com'letely.
VI. WRITING THE TERM PAPER
- At tis stage0 it is assumed tat you ave -efore you a set of questions
tat your term 'a'er 5ill ans5er. Bou can transform tese te main
eadings of te outline into questions. 2is may re'resent te main
-ody of te 'a'er.
- 2e -ody of te term 'a'er is com'osed of te follo5ing contents&
+9 2e introduction0 5ic may indicate 5at te term 'a'er is a-out
and your reason for aving 5or:ed on te to'ic.
"9 2e basic questions tat te term 'a'er 5ill see: to ans5er. 2is
is 5ere te researced information 5ill come in. !x'erts 5it te
line u' of autorities fully documented 5ill ma:e te 5or: autentic.
Stri:ing facts0 illustrations0 or statistics0 needless to say0 may
su''ort te 'resentation. Conflicting vie5'oints accom'anied -y
te foregoing evidences 5ill ma:e your term 'a'er 5ort te 5ile
reading. As you 5rite0 ma:e your tougts and ideas flo5 freely.
Aile you must 5rite in a grammatical and orderly form0 do not
question your grammar in every sentence tat you 5rite. 2is 5ill
ma:e your 5riting slo5. !diting can come later.
$9 2e ending of te term 'a'er consists of generali6ations and
'ro-a-le recommendations if tere are any and if tey are feasi-le.
2ese generali6ations are general statements derived from te
information 'resented in ans5ering te questions. 2ey are sort of
conclusions -ut sometimes it is rater difficult to conclude from
facts 'resented. 4n tis case0 some -road statements covering te
-ody of te term 'a'er are sufficient.
VII. REVISING THE TERM PAPER
- 4n revising te term 'a'er0 you may start -y letting te first draft stay
for a 5ile.
- 2is 5ill give te 5riter enoug time to forget 5at e as 5ritten.
- Aen e is too close to is material0 te 5riter tends to overloo: a lot
of tings> li:e clarity.
- Sometimes you tin: tat your audience understands you 5ell -ut
u'on reading it again0 after not aving seen it for sometime0 you
discover tat tere are statements tat you yourself0 cannot
understand.
- 2is is te time for you to revise your 5or:.
- 3ter elements 5ic may not -e adequate are te mecanics and te
organi6ation.
- Bou migt ave -een mista:en in s'elling0 'unctuation0 voca-ulary0
and grammar. Consult te dictionary for miss'elled 5ords.
- Cind out if you used te rigt 5ord for te rigt meaning you 5is to
convey.
- Revie5 your :no5ledge of 'rase and sentence structures.
- Bou sould also evaluate te develo'ment of ideas tat you ave
5ritten in your term 'a'er.
- 4f your 'a'er 'asses tese criteria0 you are ready to 5rite a more final
draft.