Overview of the Research Process Comments by Dan A. Simunic, UBC Craft of Accounting Research Workshop June 2016
Planning a Research Project Idea Research Question(s) What has already been done? Literature search: Identify key recent papers Determine fit into existing literature A high risk vs. a low risk topic
Planning a Research Project Theoretical, empirical, or combined theory plus empirical paper? Theoretical paper formal mathematical analysis Empirical paper still requires a conceptual structure (grounded in some theory) Combined theory + empirical tests not common (why?)
Planning a Research Project Empirical paper determine type and availability of data Publicly available (easier to do research?) Privately developed data base (easier to publish research?)
Performing Research Think about and develop main argument(s); grounded in a more basic discipline (economics, finance, psychology, etc.); this is hard work! Formulate hypotheses to be tested Choose appropriate testing method(s) statistical analysis of data
Performing Research Understand the data base Get to know the data Execute tests hope (at least some) null hypotheses are rejected (what if they re not?)
Some characteristics of a good paper Clear, reasonable, and interesting research question(s) Underlying theory and main arguments well thought through and well articulated, with proper connections to a basic underlying discipline, such as economics, behavioral science, etc. (i.e. a strong front end ) Non-trivial hypotheses (which need not be formally stated) that flow logically from the theory/arguments. Proper linkage to key existing literature in the area, with a discussion of how the paper fits into and extends the literature in a non-trivial way ( what s the contribution? ).
Some characteristics of a good paper For empirical work: A timely data set (public or proprietary) appropriate to the research question that is sufficiently large so that statistical tests have reasonable power. Use of state-of-the-art contemporary (not old fashioned ) methods Hopefully, at least some meaningful rejections of null hypotheses of no association
Some characteristics of a good paper Characteristics of a good manuscript: Written in a clear, straightforward (scientific) manner (we only call it literature!) Well focused on main issues (doesn t try to solve all problems at once) Paper is of reasonable length (25-35 pages is ideal) Honestly written paper neither too humble nor arrogant
Comments on the editorial process 1. Editors and referees virtually always try to be basically unbiased and fair to authors (there is no conspiracy!). But, with that said, 2. Editorial process is designed to minimize Type 2 error rate (accepting poor manuscripts) while probably committing a significant number of Type 1 errors (rejecting good manuscripts). Why? Loss function to journals is asymmetric reputation mostly harmed by Type 2 errors Easier for referees and editors to reject a paper (so don t give them an excuse to do so!) Large number of submissions
Comments on the editorial process Editorial process is conservative in that a paper that s wildly different from existing work is difficult to evaluate and may not get a fair hearing. Editorial process in major accounting journals has become tougher over time. An author who is distant from referees and editors will likely have difficulty internalizing the current social norm with respect to the acceptable level of paper quality. Therefore, it can be very difficult to publish in North American journals particularly the top tier - from abroad.
Last Thoughts The research process is challenging, but also fun and very rewarding. Research is learning by doing ; the more you do it, the better you will become at it. Publication process can be quite frustrating, but ultimately most good papers do find a home (maybe not in an A journal, however!)