A critical review assignment was completed for me, but taking a second look, it was written very badly for the price I paid for it. Can you assist me with tomorrow's deadline. I attached the paper t

Topic of assignment: Research studyEvaluation

Name

Research Topic

The researchers of this study are trying to answer if firms which over the years build financial flexibility before the occurrence of financial crisis are able to record superior performance during financial crisis period.

Research Methodology

The researchers in this study used statistical analysis as research methodology.

The researchers conducted the research on ten firms which were sorted into ten deciles. The placement was based on five proxies which were cash, cash and cash equivalents, short term debt, total debt and net debt.

The researchers measured financial flexibility of each firm through proxies of each of the ten firms from September 2002 to August 2007 the period before financial crisis set in. Through these features, the researchers grouped firms into ten portfolios. Firms that had the least value of the described features occupied portfolio one and those firms which had maximum values of the features took portfolio ten.

Major Conclusions

The researchers found outthat during financial crisis, firms that had high levels of debt their returns were low. This showed that during financial crisis period, firms with low financial flexibility went through tough time to finance the current needs and at same time the forthcoming projects which are profitable since it was impossible to get finance from external sources.

From the research it was found that those firms with high cash balances also did not perform well during financial crisis. Firms that anticipate doing investment in profitable projects in future always have a desire for financial flexibility. When the anticipated investment does not materialize at the time of crisis, the stock of that firm always will suffer.

The researcher concluded that precautionary savings of firms are valuable and will lead to better performance during financial crisis period. High cash balance with an expectation of investments in the near future do not add any advantage but rather lead poor returns of stock during financial crisis.

Literature Review

The literature review is reasonably organized from the first paragraph to the last paragraph. There is consistency where one idea is followed by a supporting idea from a different source. This makes the study not only rich in ideas from different sources but also shows the intensity in-depth of the research conducted by the researchers. The authors have also done good critical analysis by supporting or disagreeing with the views of the authors of the materials used with logic.Based on the time the study was conducted, majority of the literature used are of recent that range from 2000 to 2010 and a few that goes as back up to 1958.

Objectives/hypotheses

There is one clearly stated objective of the study which is to determinewhether firms which over the years build financial flexibility before the occurrence of financial crisis are able to record superior performance during financial crisis period.The objective of the research is in line with review of the literature conducted. The literature argues about firms holding cash reserves with anticipation of investing when opportunity comes against debt holding.

Ethical Standards Applied

It is ethical and a normal practice that when a research is conducted participants ought to be informed the nature of the study, there confidentiality assured and be protected from any harm that may arise as a result of participating in the research. The researchers in this study may have followed the ethical standard procedures but they did not record about the ethical standards procedures on the study.

Operational Definitions

Operational definitions aim at making the reader of research work able to understand what is the research all about. This is achieved through defining all terms, theories and concepts used in the study. The study highlights key wards used in the study on the first page but there are no definitions where the highlights of terms are made. Definitions and explanations of the key words appear inside the context where the words are used. Definitions of theories and concepts that are used in the study are not documented. Generally, a research study highlights alphabetically all the terms, concepts and theories chapter one of the research study.

Methodology

The researchers in this study clearly stated the design to conduct the research. The study was conducted on ten firms which were sorted into ten deciles. The placement was based on five proxies which were cash, cash and cash equivalents, short term debt, total debt and net debt. The researchers measured financial flexibility of each firm through proxies of each of the ten firms from September 2002 to August 2007 the period before financial crisis set in. Through these features, the researchers grouped firms into ten portfolios. Firms that had the least value of the described features occupied portfolio one and those firms which had maximum values of the features took portfolio ten. Reliability, validity of the design and pilot study are not documented that they had been conducted.

Data Analysis/Results

The researchers used descriptive statistics to conduct analysis of data collected. When conducting a descriptive study, it is appropriate to usedescriptive statistics and therefore method is justified.

Discussion

The discussion of the study is well done since the conclusion flows in a logical way and there is a link between the data collected and the review of literature. The conclusion also sums up what the study is talking about including the topic of research. Usually the recommendation is given by the researcher on the areas to be investigated in the future studies but in this study, the recommendation from the researchers is lacking.

References

Academic research should recognize the resources used to build the study. This is done through provision of a list of all the books, reports, journals and other media that were used. The reference of this study contains a list of all materials that were used and it is well written.

Conclusion

On the basis of all the elements of evaluation of a research study, the article under review is well researched and meets the standards of an academic paper.

Bibliography

Iwan M., Yves B., and Claude L.(2013),“Financial flexibility and the performance during the recent financial crisis”.International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 23

Michael C., Patricia C. and Frances R. (2007)“Step-by-step guide to critiquing research”.British Journal of Nursing. Vol. 16, No II