10 Task 6: Write Your Research Summaries
Christina Page and Lesley McCannell
Learning Objectives
By the end of this task, you will be able to:
- Integrate information from external sources and course material
- Use your research notes to create a research summary
Integrate information from external sources and course material
Now that you have found your articles, you will need to apply a reading and note-taking strategy in order to create effective research summaries.
- Read the abstract first. The abstract is the summary at the beginning of the article. Check to see that it is relevant to your topic. If the abstract is not helpful, it is unlikely that the article will be useful to you. Move on to another article to avoid wasting time, and to find the best possible articles for your research summaries.
- Read the whole article for understanding. Skim where needed in order to understand the main points. AVOID selecting quotations out of context. You may wish to read with a partner. After reading, identify:
- What are the key points in this article? Write these down, or type these into a file on your computer. Highlighting or underlining is not enough, and can lead to accidental plagiarism. Write all of the key points in your own words. This will help you later when you write your research summary and integrate research into your paper.
- How does this information relate to the case study?
- Write the research summary that includes:
- Your summary of the information in the resource
- Your description of how this will contribute to your deliverable.
Example Research Summary
Cooper, S.E., Nieberding, A.O, & Wanek, R. (2013). Successfully restructuring an executive leadership team: A case study in change management. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 65 (2), June, 2013. pp. 164-175. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2080/10.1037/a0033610
The first article describes a case study involving the executive leadership team during a period of change in the organization when roles and responsibilities at the top of the organization were restructured. An interesting feature of this article is that it includes a case study and the Chief Executive Officer’s first perspective about how change was implemented based on the recommendation and guidance of two consultants with varying perspectives. The consultants worked closely with the leadership team and involved the application of two organizational consultation methods: Schein’s process consultation and a change management framework.
The article describes Schein (1998) Process Consultation as “the creation of a relationship that permits the client to perceive, understand, and act on process events that occur in the client’s internal environment in order to improve the situation as defined by the client” (Schein, 1998, p. 20) and the change management framework.
The change management framework was applied to address resistance to change in organizational settings. The key elements of managing resistance to change may include alterations in (a) strategy, (b) structure, (c) work design, (d) human resources (HR) practices, and (e) management and informational systems (Cummings & Worley, 2009). A key to the consultative process was that an organic rather than a mechanistic design was attempted in an effort to help the organization have a strategy that was innovative, a structure that was flat, lean, and flexible; work design that included enriched jobs and self-managed teams; human resources involvement in selecting and supporting good talent; and management and information systems with high employee involvement, as well as open, inclusive, and distributed information (Cummings & Worley, 2009).
The articles goes on to present the case study from the framework of the generic four stages of consultation – entry, diagnosis, implementation, and disengagement. The framework provided a common view for the consultants and the CEO. Each stage was defined, the process of choosing and applying the organizational consultation methods were discussed, and the outcomes identified.
Finally, the article provides the CEO’s first person perspective and lessons learned that include seven themes that emerged as a result of the consultative process, guidance, and recommendations related to organizational change and restructuring. The first theme was the importance of taking the time needed to create a clear consultation contract. The second theme was the importance of obtaining and maintaining support for the goals and processes of the consultation from those with power in the organization, the CEO in this case. The third theme was the importance of obtaining buy-in from all the clients (stakeholders) involved in the project. The fourth lesson learned was the need for the consultations to develop deep trust with the key client groups – the executive cabinet and the larger leadership team. The fifth key factor was the willingness to change the consultation focus as priorities and situational consulting needs shifted. The sixth element to the success was to find consultants that both fit the knowledge and skills required by the consultation and where the work styles of the two consultants blend in a productive manner. Lastly, the final lesson learned was the deliberate inclusion of reflective practices before, during, and after each consultation.
