Auditing in Theory

1. Identify the literature:a.Familiarize yourself with the online database (Google Scholar, HKR library system, etc.)b. Search for literature using the keywords for your topic. You will need to experiment with your search such as different combinations of keywords, or limiting your search results to only titles, abstract or expand to entire article. c.Identify 6-8 articles besides the assigned reading material. Try to get articles published in good journals and with high citation rate.
2. Organize the literature:a.General overview of the articles: skim through the articles and identify the research aim, theoretical lens and conclusions. At this stage, focus on reading the abstracts. b. Group the articles: categorize the articles based on subtopics, theories, methods and conclusions. Note that it will be useful here to use some sort of Excel or table system
   to help stay organized. It is most likely that each article will stride across multiple categories. c.Summarize the papers with your own understanding. Note the strength, weakness or any special emphasis you may identify.
3. Analyze the literature:a.Thoroughly read the articles.b. Define the key terms in the articles related to your topic. Look for possible differences in authors’ definitions. c.Identify trends (theory, methods, definitions, data, etc.), agreements or disagreements among the authors. This will require you to relate to other articles you selected as you read one of them, since the authors will not lay out the patterns for you. d. Identify gaps in the literature. This is where your own voice comes in. You can argue here why you think the gap existed.
4. Writing the review:a.Introduce the topic and its relevance to auditing. Argue why the topic is important. Describe some important landmark studies if you have them. Argue the influence of these studies.d. Then argue why rest of the literature are selected. Here you would want to avoid simply piling up the papers. e. Discuss the literature based on the hard work you have done. Provide an overviews of breakdowns for the review at the beginning.
   Separate the review based on your analysis such as the trend, agreements, disagreements, definitions, theoretical perspectives, research methods, gaps, etc. Use transitional phrases well between sections.f.Draw conclusions.
   The paper should land itself somewhere and it should be based on your analysis.
   It is important to check the coherence between your analysis and the conclusions.

Sample Solution