Two key and enduring challenges face the field of management and organisation studies, namely its fragmented nature and the challenge of applicability of findings to policy and practice. Organisations are ambiguous, complex, socially constructed systems that cannot be well understood from a single perspective. If understanding, both of problems and of solutions, is to guide action, the diversity and richness produced by fragmentation has to be viewed and harnessed as a strength rather than a weakness, using this diversity to create generative synergies. The purpose of the module is to provide a holistic and pluralistic perspective on review research as a distinctive form of inquiry within scholarly practice research that can harness the strengths of the field of management and organisation studies. In addition to taking stock of knowledge in a domain, the review process has generative potential, allowing us to reinterpret research, make new connections between themes, or view the literature through a different lens or perspective. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to develop, frame and ground the focal phenomenon of interest within the existing intellectual landscape by both engaging with and problematising existing knowledge and scholarship and frequently crossing conceptul thresholds, a process that is also interconnected with a deep understanding of the professional practice of the doctoral candidate.

Multiple and diverse purposes of review research; generative, problematising and design-oriented approaches to synthesis; literature review design decisions; mobilising reflexive pre-understanding; problematising assumptions underlying established theory; developing alternative assumption grounds; phenomenon development and conceptual development; generating research questions; grounding/framing the research within the existing knowledge base.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: Compare and contrast the multiple and diverse purposes of review research, with a specific focus on generative, problematising and design-oriented approaches as they relate to the scholarship of practice Explicate considerations for literature review design and justify design choices Plan and conduct a literature review as a form of scientific inquiry Leverage and mobilise reflexive pre-understanding systematically in order to problematise the assumptions underlying establised theory, and develop an alternative assumption ground Generate and establish a new and novel phenomenon to conceptualise their problem in practice Generate research questions and ground/frame/position the research within the existing knowledge base

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: N/A

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: N/A

This module brings the learner into the early stages of their specific research project by enabling them to engage with existing knowledge, interrogate and problematise same, develop their focal phenomenon, and finally to conduct a literature review. It will be taught in a highly experiential manner, with practical examples, peer-review, exemplars, writing exercises, group presentations and self-reflection, all designed to realise a highly interactive and engaging learning experience. With regard to graduate attributes, this will support the ability of our graduates to be articulate, in that they will build expertise in synthesising, problematising, questioning, integrating and presenting reviews of various literatures. The disposition of inquiry when engaging with literature will be encouraged through the framing of review research to be generative and creative in synthesising extant knowledge in novel ways. Producing reviews of a body of knowledge must also be done in a responsible manner, ensuring there is rigour and robustness in the design of a review and that the findings or models derived from review research are authentic and representative.