Interesting Discussion My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

BradM said:

Also, while it's recognized that the Web is more accepted in Academia as an acceptable cite, I would think you should find some textbooks, handbooks to quote these individuals.

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I have just started my Masters level degree and so correct citing and referencing is VERY fresh in my mind. They are hammering it into us that if we don't use it correctly we loose marks, and yours does not appear to use a recognised style (Ours is Harvard APA).

I scanned your paper so I cannot comment on Grammar and spelling, but one point I did want to make is as BradM did: Your reference list almost exclusively reads like a tribute to Wikipedia! Although Wiki is a good resource I would never make it a substantial foundation to any piece of work. Academics make you work for information!

One idea is to use something like Wiki to build you Key word list and then do searches of more academic material using these key words. You must have some kind of access to hard copy or online journals? These are your best bet especially if they are peer reviewed journals, as they have certain amount of integrity and are not as openly available for any "Tom, Dick or Harry" to edit and claim to be an expert on!!!!!

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

Manix said:

One idea is to use something like Wiki to build you Key word list and then do searches of more academic material using these key words. You must have some kind of access to hard copy or online journals? These are your best bet especially if they are peer reviewed journals, as they have certain amount of integrity and are not as openly available for any "Tom, Dick or Harry" to edit and claim to be an expert on!!!!!

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This is good advice; all universities have libraries and reference librarians who will help in tracking down source material. The peer-reviewed literature in the area of interest to the OP is mostly lacking, and it should be OK to cite mass-market primary sources in the absence of relevant academic literature. Wikipedia should be avoided like the plague as a primary source, and should never be directly cited in a research paper, under any circumstances. As Manix says, it can be used to develop a research strategy, but citing it as a primary source is research paper suicide.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

Wes Bucey said:

Wes:
This report presents a broad overview of the views of leading Quality gurus about Quality Management. I highlight the key points of each guru and compare each against the others to determine if any one of them presents a complete model for quality management. In addition, I compare the points of those gurus with the general management model of our course study guide.

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Inappropriate and inconsistent capitalization.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

On the general subject of citations and references, you need to provide links in the text to the references at the end, so the reader knows which reference is being use to support each individual citation. For example, there is no direct reference to your quotation of Wes, so it's not possible to know where it came from without perusing the entire list of references. One reason that this is important is that sometimes writers will engage in what has become known as "quotemining," which is the scurrilous practice of taking quotes out of their original context in order to make it seem like the source is saying something supportive of the writer's thesis when a reading of the source material might indicate otherwise.

The generally accepted practice is to use a superscript number keyed to the list of references at the end of the paper. For example:

"The PDCA cycle is a breakthrough idea that can be used in any organisation regardless of size"[sup](1)[/sup] as stated by Wes Bucey, CEO of Windsor Hamilton Organization.

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Using the superscript reference, one should be able to go to the reference list, find #1, and see the source of the quotation or reference.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

Anna, what grade level is this project for? Is this Masters level, Freshman level, etc.?

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

That reminds me.... as far as citations-

It's important to find out what style your teacher/professor (or the journal you are submitting to) uses. There are different styles, and they are all thoroughly valid, depending on the audience.

One small, tiny plug here. One product to look at is EndNote. It integrates with Word. I use it all the time. The hardest part is loading it all in there, but most of the academic search engines have direct citations that drop right in.

The beauty is the program will revise the citation style, should it be necessary. Anyway, pretty cool program if you do much writing.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

anna1986 said:

hi,

I have just finished my assignment and got a D

Can you tell me whats wrong with it? I have a week to resubmit it.

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Hello Anna,

Glad you came to The Cove Forums. Your work is now being reviewed by "Masters" in the quality field including contributors to The Cove who have truly outstanding writing skills. No, it's not me... Take their advice serious, update your paper and you'll end up with an A+. Let your fellow students know about this great source. We do not see enough students to whom we can pass on the quality torch.

Good luck Anna.

Stijloor.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

Jim Wynne said:

And one more thing, in passing--you've committed the egregious literary offense of Apostrophe Abuse in such forms as "guru's." This is a hanging offense in some states, so you might want to pay a visit to the Apostrophe Protection Society for some guidance.

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Amen. My daughter and I are long distance admirers of this society. However, when I wrote "70's and 80's" I might have ruined my chances of membership.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

Jennifer Kirley said:

Amen. My daughter and I are long distance admirers of this society. However, when I wrote "70's and 80's" I might have ruined my chances of membership.

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Nah, it's like church--sinners are welcome.

Re: My Class Assignment on Quality Assurance Gurus for Your Review - Help needed

Jim Wynne said:

And one more thing, in passing--you've committed the egregious literary offense of Apostrophe Abuse in such forms as "guru's." This is a hanging offense in some states, so you might want to pay a visit to the Apostrophe Protection Society for some guidance.

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Is there a society for comma abuse? I call those people CommaKazes.