Re-read the very first paper assigned in this course:

Jack R. Meredith, Amitabh Raturi, Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah & Bonnie Kaplan, "Alternative Research Paradigms in Operations," Journal of Operations Management, Volume 8, Number 2, 1989, pp. 297-325.

(It is acknowledged that the photocopy of this paper managed to "slice off" the words at some margins. A new copy is being ordered through interlibrary lending.)

Also re-read the following:

Allen S. Lee, "Reviewing a Manuscript for Publication," Journal of Operations Management, Volume 13, Number 1 (July 1995), pp. 87-92 (available on the world wide web at http://www.management.mcgill.ca/homepage/Leean/Referee.htm).

When writing your paper, be sure to state the task at the beginning of the paper.

Your Task:

The editor of a management journal has sent you a manuscript to review. It is "Alternative Research Paradigms in Operations." (Although, in reality, the paper is already published and the names of the authors appear, pretend that the paper is not yet published and that the reviewing process is "double blind.") Your job is to write up a review of the paper. Because the editor is a famous and influential person, you see this as an opportunity to impress the editor (and then, in future, to ask her to write you a letter of recommendation, whether for a job or for your tenure case). In your review, you will make a recommendation (accept for publication; reject; conditional acceptance; major revisions) as well as provide a rationale for your recommendation.

In your review, do the following:

• Follow some (not necessarily all) of Lee's suggestions for how to review a manuscript.
• Be sure that your review includes a critique of how the authors (Meredith et al.) describe, explain, and/or classify different research methods. This review must also include your comments on where you agree and disagree with the authors (and, where you disagree, this review must explain why).
• You must offer commentary on what the authors (Meredith et al.) would need to do in order to improve their paper.

Obviously, When writing up your review, you should take advantage of what you have learned, and the positions you have developed, as a result of taking the research methods course.

This assignment is due on Wednesday, July 2. It should be graded by July 11.