Objective: The objective of the qualifying paper is for the student to demonstrate the ability to conduct a comprehensive and generative literature review. Specifically, the student is expected to review a well-defined and substantial body of research (at least 75 articles) that spans multiple disciplines (e.g., marketing, economics, psychology, management), research paradigms, and conducted over decades. The review should: 1) lay out the importance of the domain, 2) synthesize and distill the literature in terms of an implicit or explicit framework, 3) identify research gaps and develop interesting questions worthy of investigation by a marketing scholar. The student is expected to “drive” this project, under the mentorship of the Qualifying Paper (QP) Committee. The student is solely responsible for the writing of the qualifying paper.
Guidance on writing a literature review:
- Snyder, Hannah (2019), “Literature Review as a Research Methodology: An Overview and Guidelines,” Journal of Business Research, 104 (Nov), 333-339.
- Webster, Jane and Richard T. Watson (2002), “Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review,” MIS Quarterly, xiii-xxiii.
- Galvan, Jose (2006), Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Behavioral Sciences, (3rd ed.), Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.
- McCombes, Shona (2021), “How to Write a Literature Review,” https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/.
- Pautasso, Marco (2013), “Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review,” PLoS Computational Biology, 9(7), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149.
- The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students (SAGE Study Skills Series), https://www.amazon.com/dp/1446201430/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_AW98QV3ZQY7KANY7V7RP.
QP Committee: The student must convene a QP Committee. The QP Committee should be chaired by a tenured/tenure-track Marketing faculty member who is a member of the UConn graduate faculty. The student (having consulted with the chair) must obtain the participation of two additional graduate faculty (within or outside the department) as members of the committee. The QP Committee also serves as the Advisory Committee on the student’s Plan of Study.
QP Manuscript Format: The literature review should be 20-25 double spaced pages, not including references, figures, and tables. The student can choose to format the QP using the style sheet/guide for Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, or Marketing Science.
QP Presentation: In Fall Semester, the student is expected to give a 30-minute QP presentation to the Marketing Department.
QP Timeline, Deliverables, and Deadlines: The QP timeline, deliverables, and deadlines are detailed below; failure to meet deadlines will jeopardize the student’s status in the program. Any exception to these deadlines will be by majority vote of the departmental Ph.D. Program committee and must be because of truly exceptional circumstances. Please contact the Marketing Department Ph.D. Program Coordinator with any questions.
QP Committee Decision: QP Committee decision (High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail) is determined by majority vote.
Effective for students enrolling in the Ph.D. program beginning Fall 2020.