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Some Random Thoughts on the Research and Publication Process. W. Robert Knechel, Director International Center for Research in Accounting and Auditing. Starting the Research Process. “Before I was married I had three theories of child-rearing; Now I have three children and no theories”.
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Some Random Thoughts on the Research and Publication Process W. Robert Knechel, Director International Center for Research in Accounting and Auditing
Starting the Research Process “Before I was married I had three theories of child-rearing; Now I have three children and no theories”. Earl of Rochester, 1680. We call this empirical research!
Some general comments • Bad research is easier than good research. • We are all social scientists human behavior, institutions and decisions vs. gravity, genomes or gestation. • Incentives and cognitive limitations are critical to us. • Multiple methods are good: Archival, Survey, Experimental, Field study (even analytical) • Search for associations defines our research regardless of method (need to understand philosophy of science!) • Ideas, ideas and more ideas: Fruitful efforts often lie at the intersection of theories.
The Playground of Accounting and Business Economics Incentives Cognition Psychology Why do managers commit fraud? Culture/ Institutions Sociology
Selecting Methods • Theory (Suggests to us what should happen) • Empirical analysis (Tells us what actually does happen) • Field study, survey, qualitative analysis (Tells us why it happens)
Selecting/Developing a Project • What is the research issue/question? • Is it interesting (to researcher and research community)? • Does researcher possess (can obtain) the necessary skills? • Is data obtainable? • Does data fit the research question? • Will the results be interesting? To whom?
Five Limitations of Current Research • Slow (no?) advancement in the theoretical foundation of our research. • Weak or ambiguous proxies in empirical research (e.g., audit quality). • Problematic use the audit fee model. • Over-reliance on a “black box” view of the audit. • Need for innovation in experimental work.