21L25000 - Getting started, Lecture, 13.9.2023-28.12.2023

Submit an essay (1500-2000 words) based on your reflections of published qualitative research by 13 November 2023. Also, based on your essay, prepare a 5–10-minute presentation for the session on 15 November.

To do so, select two qualitative empirical studies that are of interest to you. Specifically, select one article published in the Academy of Management Journal and one article published in different journal on the FT-50 journal list. Send an email to Ewald (ewald.kibler@aalto.fi) by Wednesday, 1 November, where you provide and confirm the references of the two articles.

Do not repeat the article texts in your paper but try to formulate a more general understanding and critical reflection of the research, for instance by addressing the following questions for each article: 

• Why did you select these papers? Why do you find them appealing?
• How is the paper framed theoretically (the conceptual frontend)?
• What are the data like and how has it been analyzed? How are the findings presented?
• What is the main theoretical insight? And, what kind of contributions does it make to what literatures or conversations, and how?
• What did you learn in terms of how to write a qualitative research paper?
• What are the main differences (along the themes above) between the articles?
• What was difficult or unclear? Any other observations, insights or questions evoked by this inquiry regarding the process doctoral studies and writing the dissertation?