Getting ideas for an academic study: Ph.D. and Master’s Degree

1. Getting ideas for an academic study: Ph.D. and Master’s Degree A Presentation in the Toulouse Graduate School, University of North Texas Charles Blankson, Ph.D. Department of Marketing & Logistics, College of Business, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas

2. The nature of the Ph.D. degree • Traditionally, while the master’s degree is a license to practice, a doctoral degree is a license to teach – in a university. • The concept stems from the need for a faculty member to be an authority, in full command of the subject, right up to the boundaries of current knowledge, and be able to extend them (Phillips and Pugh, 1993).

3. The route to tenure is fraught with undulating experiences but with a view to a “soft landing” for all stakeholders involved(Assistant Professor, Faculty colleagues, Dept. Chair, Senior colleagues, Dean, Provost, Department Administrators/secretaries, computer technicians).

4. Getting ideas for Ph.D. studyThink in terms of “creating new knowledge” and/or “filling a gap in knowledge.” • Observation and interaction with subjects/objects – participant observation • Personal experience • Curiosity – work with research-active faculty (start in the first year) • Personal deduction • Purposeful reading of current business/social conundrum or challenge or interest or text book or journal articles • Media and public information on an issue (issues) • Following an expert’s study or guidelines (e.g., a well-known researcher’s or committee member’s research stream – Dr. Prybutok’s expertise in Quantitative analyses, Quality Management and the Services Industry).

5. Emerging Research Trends in Marketing By Gary L. Frazier, Editor the Journal of Marketing, USC • Marketing Manager Use of Metrics in Decision-Making. Imran Currim and Ofer Mintz (2013), “What Drives Managerial Use of Marketing and Financial Metrics, and Does Metric Use Impact Marketing Mix Performance,” JM, 77 (March). • End-Customer Inputs into New Product Development. Martin Schreier, Christopher Fuchs, Emanuelle Prandelle, and Darren Dahl (2013), “All that is Users Might not be Gold: Exploring Consumer Preferences for User Developed Products of Luxury fashion Products,” in review process at JM. • Sustainable Products and Associated Trade-offs. Ying-Ching Lin and Angela Chang (2012), “Double Standard: The Role of Environmental Consciousness in Green Product Usage,” JM, 76 (September), 125-134.

6. Emerging Research Trends in Marketing contd. • Product packaging and Its Design. • The Use of Multiple Channels by Firms. • Manufacturer, Distributor, and Retailer Pricing Practices. • The Internet and Social Marketing. • Customer Service Representatives: Behavior. • Branding and Brand Equity.

7. What kind of papers are of interest to the Journal of Marketing? • Rigorous research with actionable implications • Papers with new theoretical/substantive insights and findings • Any method • Archival data, experiments, surveys, historical methods, qualitative approaches… • Theory-based articles (but these are not easy)

8. Acceptance criteria for academic research • Interesting? – New? Non-obvious?; Change thinking/action? • Broad Appeal? – Broad appeal to scholars, managers, policy makers and so forth. • What is your passion? Understanding your passion may dictate the research topics you focus upon.

9. Getting ideas for Ph.D. study • What is the definition of the Ph.D. degree? • What are the expectations at UNT? • What is the purpose of your study? • What is (are) the theoretical foundation(s) of the area of interest • Seminal/original scholarly papers – who are the authorities? • What is the state of the literature? Who has done what? • Determination of gaps in the literature • How will you examine the research questions? • What is the research context and why is it important?

10. Getting ideas for Ph.D. study • The theoretical review, observations, consultations with experts will help you focus on particular area that has strong theoretical foundation on which to claim legitimacy. • Anchor your study within your discipline – with the purpose of increasing knowledge in your field. • The theoretical review will help you demonstrate your thorough comprehension of your field of study and be able to intelligently critique others’ study.

11. Getting ideas for Ph.D. study • The left & right (this or that) stages: • Select and refine a topic: • Look at the “limitations and future research directions of previous or current journal articles or Ph.D. dissertations” • Review the literature – be a critical reader of articles • Summarize and identify key issues/points • Write, i.e., put it on paper – write down your ideas as they occur – use a note pad. Write everyday, not every week.

12. Getting ideas for Ph.D. study • Scan your class readings from journal articles and textbooks • Draw on what you have read, seen or heard • Pick a topic that is relevant to your own ideals, life • Choose a study that you plan to publish from, at least until you are tenured – 5-6 years post Ph.D.

13. Getting ideas for Ph.D. studyDetermining gaps in the literature • Read, summarize, critique and identify key issues/points from each article read – place these in a Table format • List all references, e.g. Yadav, Manjit S. (2010), “The Decline of Conceptual Articles and Implications for Knowledge Development”, Journal of Marketing, 74(1), 1-19 (or see the journal) • For each article, identify the purpose/objectives/research questions • Conceptual framework – literature base/theory • Propositions/hypotheses or statement of aim and objectives • Research method(s) used • Results/findings • Conclusions • Now, what do you see as the gaps for research?

14. Getting ideas for Ph.D. study • Develop precise conceptual definitions for the constructs and measurements – either borrowed from the literature or DIY • Constructs are the building blocks of theory. And without well-developed conceptual definitions for the constructs, it becomes difficult/impossible to develop a coherent theory. • Without a definition, you cannot measure a concept/construct. • Avoid pseudo definitions.

15. Issues about definitions of constructs • Definitions are important (Pastrana et al., 2008); they serve as the impetus for conducting consistent research in social phenomena; positioning is no different. • “Despite the extensive research in the concept of positioning, a review of the literature indicates a level of ambiguity and inconsistency associated with the definition of the positioning. Accordingly, scholars have documented the “absence of a clear, universally accepted definition of the construct” (Kalafatis et al., 2000) and the lack of abiding themes capable of reflecting the basis of positioning frameworks in the literature (Hooley, Greenley, Fahy, and Cadogan 2001; Levitt 2002; Piercy 2005; Schultz 2006). • This quandary however, has resulted in inconsistent (and in some instances, inaccurate) conceptualization, and research in positioning” Blankson, Dai, and Boatswain (2013 – on-going study).

16. Getting ideas for Ph.D. study • Evaluate the hypotheses before designing the empirical study • Are the hypotheses clearly written? • Is each of the hypotheses falsifiable/testable? • Do any of the hypotheses involve truism or tautologies? • Are any of the hypotheses trivial to raise questions about the methodology? • Is any of the theoretical rationale provided for each hypothesis compelling? • Are there any additional theoretical arguments that would strengthen the conceptual support for the hypotheses? • Do the hypotheses to be tested represent a cohesive set? Follow typical examples in articles (or other dissertations) and adapt to suit your study. Aggressively solicit criticism of your conceptual framework.

17. Service to the academy is positively correlated with publication idea generation (r = .59, p <.01) • Review manuscripts for journals and conferences – be proactive • Networking at academic conferences is key – sit in “meet the editors session” • Work with faculty in the Department who are researching in areas of your interest – possible dissertation committee? • Engage in joint work with colleagues.

18. Designing the empirical study • Bear in mind, nothing can be done to improve the research methodology once the data have been collected. • Also, if the data are seriously flawed, no amount of re-writing of the manuscript/dissertation can overcome weakness of the methodology. So, prior to embarking upon the data collection, seek critical feedback on the research designs.

19. Pilot study-Pretest your Questionnaire • Start with a pilot study – qualitative research. • Subject your already critiqued questionnaire to rigorous pretest by experts – dissertation committee, other faculty members. • Then administer the refined questionnaire to a pre-test of say, 30 participants/respondents (e.g., students, secretaries, members of the general public, managers etc.).

20. And finally…………Dr.

24. Understanding literature review • http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/lit-review/

25. Research problem & Research Purpose • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbwxQBLrkfc&feature=player_detailpage