Fluent Essays

3Q College of Administration and Finance Sciences Assignment (1) Deadline: Saturday 16/10/2021 @ 23:59 Course Name: Accounting Research and Practi. Student’s Name: Course Code: ACCT403 Student’s ID Number: Semester: 1st CRN: 14011 Academic Year: 1443 H For Instructor’s Use only Instructor’s Name: Dr. Mohammed Arshad Khan Students’ Grade: /5 Level of Marks: High/Middle/Low Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY · The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated folder. · Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted. · Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page. · Students must mention question number clearly in their answer. · Late submission will NOT be accepted. · Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions. · All answers must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism. · Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted. Assignment Question(s): (Marks 5) Question 1: The correct and complete sequence of steps in conducting research is as follows: 1. Identify broad area, 2. Select topic, 3. Decide approach, 4. Formulate plan, 5. Collect information, 6. Analyze data, 7. Present findings. Using our Saudi Digital library (SDL) you should find two papers and determine for each paper the steps described above. [2 marks] Paper 1 Paper 2 1.The broad area of the paper 2.The topic 3.Approach used 4.Data source 5. Data analysis 6.Findings Question 2: Write a description of the research problem you propose to investigate and explain why you chose this topic. [2 marks] Question 3: What are the five categories of research methods? [1 mark] ACCT 403 Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة: الفصل األول Alawi Alshakhouri 140069328 Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Four basic levels of research: أربعة مستويات أساسية من البحث: 1. Description الوصف a. Concerned with the collection and reporting of data related to what is, or was, the case. معنية جمع البيانات واإلبالغ عن ما هو، أو كان، القضية. 2. Classification التصنيف Is still descriptive. Eases the reporting process and highlights similarities and clustering through grouping and classifying. يخفف عملية اإلبالغ ويسلط الضوء على أوجه التشابه . ال يزال وصفيا .والتجميع من خالل التجميع والتصنيف تفسير 3. Explanation التفسير a. Attempt to make sense of observations by explaining the relationships observed and attributing causality based on an appropriate theory. محاولة فهم المالحظات من خالل شرح .العالقات التي لوحظت وعزو السببية على أساس نظرية مناسبة 4. Prediction التنبؤ a. Going beyond the understanding and explaining of the prior stage. تجاوز الفهم وشرح .المرحلة السابقة Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Good research generates the sound evidence needed to overturn or revise existing theories (Smith, 2015). البحوث الجيدة تولد األدلة السليمة الالزمة لقلب أو مراجعة النظريات الموجودة These assertions will, in turn, yield to revised theories based on better evidence, so that healthy competition between rival ideas will lead to better explanations and more reliable predictions (Smith, 2015). وستؤدي هذه التأكيدات بدورها إلى نظريات منقحة تستند إلى أدلة أفضل، حتى تؤدي المنافسة السليمة بين األفكار (المتنافسة إلى تفسيرات أفضل وتوقعات أكثر موثوقية Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Two major processes of reasoning: عمليتين رئيسيتين من عمليات التفكير ● ‘deductive’ (theory to observation) ( نظرية المالحظة) االستنتاجية o Starts with theory and generates specific productions which follow from its application. يبدأ مع نظرية ويولد إنتاجات محددة التي تتبع من .تطبيقه o Predictions can be verified from subsequent observation. ويمكن .التحقق من التنبؤات من المراقبة الالحقة ● ‘inductive’ (observation to theory) المالحظة النظرية) االستقرائي) o Starts with specific observations (data) from which theories can be generated. التي يمكن إنشاء النظريات( البيانات)يبدأ مع مالحظات محددة. o A pattern may emerge from further observation and repeated testing. قد ينشأ نمط من مزيد من المالحظة واالختبار المتكرر. Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة It has been theorized that accounting practices can distort the systematic approach. .وقد تم النظر إلى أن الممارسات المحاسبية يمكن أن تشوه النهج المنهجي To help with this issue, new approaches have been developed. ،وللمساعدة في هذه المسألة وضع نهج جديد ● Interpretive perspective منظور تفسيري. o Human actions are the result of external influence. فاإلجراءات البشرية هي .نتيجة نفوذ خارجي o Fundamental emphasis on the understanding of the process. التركيز .األساسي على فهم العملية ● Critical perspective منظور نقدي o Focuses on the ownership of knowledge and the associated social, economic, and political implications. يركز على ملكية المعرفة وما يرتبط بها من آثار .اجتماعية واقتصادية وسياسية Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة From the textbook: Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Table 1.1 (continued) Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle هايزنبرغمبدأ عدم اليقين في If we are to predict the future position and speed of any particle, then we require accurate measurement of both its present position and current speed. Heisenberg did this in 1926 by shining light on a particle, and observing the resultant scattering of light in order to reveal its position. However, to determine the position of the particle accurately, an amount of light needed to be used which changed the speed of the particle in an unpredictable way: the more accurately he tried to measure position, the less accurate was the measurement of speed! إذا أردنا التنبؤ بالموقع المستقبلي وسرعة أي جسيم ، فإننا من خالل تسليط الضوء 1926بذلك في عام هايزنبرغقام . نحتاج إلى قياس دقيق لكل من موقعه الحالي وسرعته الحالية ومع ذلك ، لتحديد موضع الجسيم بدقة ، هناك حاجة . على الجسيم ، ومراقبة تبعثر الضوء الناتج من أجل الكشف عن موقعه كلما حاول بدقة قياس موضعها ، كلما كان قياس : إلى استخدام كمية من الضوء التي غيرت سرعة الجسيم بطريقة غير متوقعة !السرعة أقل دقة Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Three fundamental criteria for judging whether theory fits observation: ثالثة معايير أساسية :للحكم على ما إذا كانت النظرية تناسب المالحظة 1. Co-variation شارك في االختالف: • When no causality exists, expect the two variables to move together so that a high degree of correlation exists between two variables. ، عندما ال يوجد سبب السببية .توقع أن يتحرك المتغيران معًا بحيث توجد درجة عالية من االرتباط بين متغيرين 2. Cause prior to effect سبب قبل التأثير: • Casual link to be established, then the causal event should occur before the effect event. يجب إنشاء رابط عرضي ، ثم يجب أن يحدث الحدث السببي قبل حدث التأثير. 3. Absence of plausible rival hypothesesغياب فرضيات منافسة معقولة a. Seeks to eliminate alternative explanations of the events as being implausible. b. May only be possible in the present. قد يكون ممكنا فقط في الوقت الحاضر. Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة ● Researchers should have skepticism towards their findings and those findings of others. يجب أن يكون لدى الباحثين شكوك تجاه نتائجهم ونتائج اآلخرين. ○ Adopt a critical posture التكيف مع الموقف الحرج او النقدي ○ Question everything that is read until sufficient evidence is found to support the findings. .اطرح سؤاالً على كل ما تقرأه حتى يتم العثور على أدلة كافية لدعم النتائج ○ Researchers need to develop critical appraisal skills. يحتاج الباحثون إلى تطوير مهارات .تقييم نقدية ● Honesty and transparency is important in the reporting of findings. الصدق والشفافية مهمان .في اإلبالغ عن النتائج ○ Researchers should report everything they have done, why they did it, and how they did it. يجب على الباحثين اإلبالغ عن كل ما قاموا به ، ولماذا فعلوا ذلك ، وكيف فعلوا ذلك. ○ Doubts about the procedure should be voiced. .يجب التعبير عن شكوك حول اإلجراء Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة ● Students should not be intimidated when reading research articles. .يجب أال يتم ترهيب الطالب عند قراءة المقاالت البحثية ● Flawed articles do get published at times. يتم نشر المقاالت الخاطئة في بعض .األحيان ● Students should develop appropriate guidelines that ask the right questions to help spot flaws and omissions in research articles. يجب على الطالب تطوير اإلرشادات المناسبة التي تطرح األسئلة الصحيحة للمساعدة في .اكتشاف العيوب واإلهمال في المقاالت البحثية Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Students would want to address: يرغب الطالب في تناول: ● Why is this article interesting/important? مهمة؟/ لماذا هذه المقالة شيقة ● Are the outcomes important? هل النتائج مهمة؟ ● What motivates the authors to write this article now? ما الذي يحفز المؤلفين على كتابة هذا المقال اآلن؟ ● What is the research problem/question? السؤال؟/ ما هي مشكلة البحث ● What theory or theoretical underpins the research? ما النظرية أو النظرية التي تدعم البحث؟ ● What are the key motivating literatures on which the study depends? ما هي األدبيات المحفزة الرئيسية التي تعتمد عليها الدراسة؟ Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة ● What are the key motivating literatures on which the study depends? ما هي األدبيات المحفزة الرئيسية التي تعتمد عليها الدراسة؟ ● Which research method has been choses? ما طريقة البحث التي تم اختيارها؟ ● How has the sample been selected? كيف تم اختيار العينة؟ ● How have the questions of validity been addressed? كيف تم تناول أسئلة الصالحية؟ ● How have the results been analyzed? كيف تم تحليل النتائج؟ ● Are the conclusions and recommendations consistent with the findings? هل االستنتاجات والتوصيات متفقة مع النتائج؟ Introduction and Overview مقدمة ونظرة عامة Critique factors: عوامل نقدية: ● Interesting new insights رؤى جديدة مثيرة لالهتمام ● Importance أهمية ● Motivation التحفيز ● Problem statement عرض المشكلة ● Theoretical framework اإلطار النظري ● Motivating literatures تحفيز اآلداب ● Research method طريقة البحث ● Sample selection اختيار عينة ● Validity issues قضايا الصالحية ● Analysis تحليل ● Conclusions االستنتاجات ACCT 403 Chapter 2: Developing the Research Idea تطوير الفكرة البحثية: الفصل الثاني Alawi Alshakhouri 140069328 Alawi B. Alshakhouri 140069328 Developing the Research Idea The research sequence: تسلسل البحث: 1.Identify the broad area التعرف على المنطقة الواسعة 2.Select topic اختر الموضوع 3.Decide approach تقرر النهج 4.Formulate plan صياغة الخطة 5.Collect information جمع المعلومات 6.Analyze data تحليل البيانات 7.Present findings النتائج الحالية Developing the Research Idea Positivist tradition: التقليد الوضعي: ● Specification of a priori hypotheses. مواصفات الفرضيات المسبقة. ● Specification of a priori criteria. مواصفات معايير مسبقة. o Measure the acceptability of a hypotheses. .قياس مدى قبول الفرضيات ● Isolation and control of the variables to be investigated. عزل والتحكم في .المتغيرات التي يجب التحقيق فيها o Determination of what variable(s) will be treated as dependent. .سيتم التعامل معها على أنها تابعة( ق)تحديد ما المتغير ● Verification of the methods for measuring and the variables. التحقق من .طرق القياس والمتغيرات o Specification of which variables can be measured directly and how. .تحديد المتغيرات التي يمكن قياسها مباشرة وكيف Developing the Research Idea ● No single method of research applies in all research situations. ال توجد طريقة بحث واحدة تنطبق في .جميع المواقف البحثية ● The positivist tradition is the most prominent in accounting literature. التقليد الوضعي هو األبرز في أدبيات .المحاسبة o Non-positivist approaches have become more acceptable. .أصبحت النهج الغير وضعي أكثر قبوال Developing the Research Idea Emergence of a research topic ظهور موضوع البحث ● Choose a topic of interest to both the researcher and the supervisor when the project contributes to a doctoral qualification. اختر موضوع اهتمام لكل من الباحث والمشرف عندما … R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S I N A C C O U N T I N G M A L C O L M S M I T H SAGE Publications London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page i © Malcolm Smith 2003 First published 2003 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B-42, Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 110 017 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 7619 7146 7 ISBN 0 7619 7147 5 (pbk) Library of Congress Control Number available Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd., Chennai, India Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page ii This book is dedicated to Beth, Cedric and Alice 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page iii 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page iv Contents List of Figures xi List of Tables xii Acknowledgements xiii Preface xiv 1 Introduction and Overview 1 Theory as testable explanation 6 A critical approach to accounting research 8 2 Developing the Research Idea 16 The research sequence 16 Emergence of the research topic 20 Conceptual frameworks 24 The structure of DNA: the development of new theory 30 The Bradman problem: the development of new strategies 31 The longitude problem: implementing solutions 34 Strategic management accounting 36 3 Theory, Literature and Hypotheses 39 Sources of theory 39 Searching the literature 47 Modelling the relationship 47 Developing the hypotheses 52 Validity concerns 53 4 Data Collection and Analysis 55 Sample selection 56 Measurement issues 56 Data management 59 Descriptive statistics 60 Differences in sample means 64 Measures of association 69 Analysis of variance 73 Multivariate model building 75 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page v C o n t e n t svi 5 Research Ethics in Accounting 91 The ethics quiz 92 Informed consent 95 Ethical guidelines 97 6 Experimental Research 100 The problem statement 101 Theory and context 101 Experimental design 104 The validity trade-off 108 Quasi-experimental research 113 7 Survey Research 117 Mail surveys 117 Design and planning issues 120 Pilot testing 122 Data collection 123 Measurement error 126 Interview methods 128 8 Fieldwork 131 Case study methods 134 The qualitative analysis protocol 136 Grounded theory 139 Verbal protocol analysis 140 9 Archival Research 142 Cross-section data 143 Time-series data 144 The validity trade-off in archival research 146 Content analysis 147 Critical analysis 150 10 Supervision and Examination Processes 152 The role of the supervisor 153 Examiner profiles 159 The examination process 160 11 Turning Research into Publications 165 Why publish? 165 Where to publish? 166 What to publish? 172 How to publish? 176 Concluding remarks 179 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page vi C o n t e n t s vii Appendix 1: Ranking of Accounting Journals 180 Appendix 2: Sample Paper (1) 182 Appendix 3: Sample Paper (2) 202 References 209 Index 230 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page vii 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page viii List of Figures Figure 2.1 The research sequence 17 Figure 2.2 The positivist approach 19 Figure 2.3 Alternative research methods 20 Figure 2.4 Kolb’s Learning Cycle 25 Figure 2.5 The deductive process 26 Figure 2.6 The conceptual schema 26 Figure 2.7 Measurement issues 28 Figure 2.8 The Harvey-Jones approach to problem-solving 37 Figure 2.9 Generalised process–improvement sequence 37 Figure 3.1 Searching for construct validity 41 Figure 3.2 Voluntary disclosure and reciprocal causality 48 Figure 3.3 Intervening variables and causality 49 Figure 3.4 Non-financial focus as an intervening variable 49 Figure 3.5 Moderated causal relationship 49 Figure 3.6 Size, industry and culture moderating performance 50 Figure 3.7 Influence of extraneous variables 50 Figure 3.8 Economic conditions as extraneous variables 51 Figure 3.9 Multiple independent variables 51 Figure 3.10 Modelling the recruitment process 52 Figure 4.1 Significance of test of proportion 62 Figure 4.2 χ2-test for difference in frequencies 63 Figure 4.3 Test of significance of correlation coefficient 65 Figure 4.4 t-test for difference in means 66 Figure 4.5 t-test for paired-case difference in means 67 Figure 4.6 Mann–Whitney U-test for difference in means 68 Figure 4.7 Product–moment correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) 70 Figure 4.8 Coefficient of rank correlation (Spearman’s rho) 71 Figure 4.9 Measure of association within contingency tables 72 Figure 4.10 One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) 74 Figure 4.11 The Kruskal–Wallis multiple sample test 76 Figure 4.12 Summary of regression results for charity shops case study 82 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page ix List of Tables Table 1.1 Three alternative approaches 5 Table 4.1 Summary of significance tests by measurement level 62 Table 4.2 Measures of association by measurement level 70 Table 4.3 ANOVA summary table 75 Table 4.4 Summary of multivariate model-building methods by measurement level 77 Table 10.1 Expectations of supervisor and candidate 155 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page x Acknowledgements This book could not have been written without the help of numerous colleagues, most notably Bev Schutt and Paul Martin from the University of South Australia. Thanks are also owed to Glen Lehman, Linley Hartmann, Bruce Brown and Bruce Gurd at UniSA, and to David Russell, Ashok Patel and Elaine Harris at the Leicester Business School. However, as is normal, all errors and omissions remain the responsibility of the author. 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page xi Preface This book aims to provide an insider’s view of the research process, by focusing on actual choices made in the conduct of accounting research projects, together with a realistic perception of what might go wrong, even with careful planning. We must, however, acknowledge that no single author can be an expert in all research methods; this author is no exception. My own publications will read- ily reveal a preponderance of studies concerning experimental methods and the use of archival data; there are fewer instances of studies using survey and field study methods. It would be unwise of me to claim expertise in the implemen- tation of all such methods, so this book must necessarily lean heavily on the work of others. For the same reasons, and because of pressure of space, this book does not address issues of finance, capital markets research, or stock- price-related accounting research on the fringes of finance. Most other texts in this area are long, over-theoretical and not particu- larly user-friendly. This book aims to address these issues by adopting a prac- tical approach which takes the reader from the initiation of the research idea right through to the publication of the research findings. The intended reader- ship is wide, embracing instructors, doctoral candidates, and academics start- ing, or re-starting, their research careers. Although the focus, and examples, are mainly accounting based, much of the material will also be relevant to more general business applications, of particular interest to those pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) qualification. The practical examples employed are usually UK or Australia-based, these being the two countries in which I have extensive, current experience of teaching, super- vision and examining, but the principles should normally adapt easily to alternative environments. An early distinction between ‘methods’ and ‘methodologies’ in research is essential because the two are so often confused, or else used interchange- ably. Research methods are concerned with the technical issues associated with the conduct of research; research methodology is concerned with the philosophies associated with the choice of research method. This book is almost exclusively concerned with the former and, after Chapter 1, deliber- ately neglects the philosophical foundations of research except where refer- ence thereto is unavoidable. Chapter 2 examines the research idea, and the documentary sources which might aid their development. A number of examples, many from non- accounting environments, are used to illustrate the research sequence, and to examine research that is seeking either to improve outcomes, to explain improved outcomes through new theory, or to examine the improvement 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page xii process itself. Theoretical frameworks and research models are used extensively here to help the reader to picture the key variables and relationships under- lying their research. Theory is the focus of Chapter 3, on the basis that ‘good research is founded on good theory’. The chapter addresses the sources of the theory widely applied in accounting research, but drawn from other disciplines. In the space available it can only hope to give a flavour of the diversity which is available; indeed, it prompts us to suggest that ‘theory in accounting research’ might provide a suitable follow-up text in its own right! Recogni- tion of the importance of theory, reliability and validity as desirable charac- teristics of accounting research lead, in Chapter 4, to the issues of data collection, management and analysis necessary to conduct hypothesis testing. This chapter is unashamedly quantitative in nature, but the relative strengths of qualitative analysis are addressed in subsequent chapters. Chapter 5 addresses the increasingly important ethical considerations which underpin the conduct of accounting research, and the subsequent publication of research findings. It highlights the confusion which is still apparent among many academics as to what constitutes unethical conduct, and specifies the necessary guidelines for good practice. Chapters 6 to 9 are devoted, respectively, to the core forms of account- ing research: experimental, survey-based, fieldwork and archival. Numerous examples are used to demonstrate the relative advantages of alternative methods so that researchers can both make an informed choice and justify their pre- ferred approach. Research can be based on quantitative or qualitative methods, and both should be equally acceptable as long as the most appropriate method has been chosen. Richardson (1996, p. 4) notes that ‘work on how science really gets done’ (such as that described in Chapter 2 based on Watson, 1968) shows that even though we are in an extreme ‘positivist’ domain, inter- pretive knowledge is still important in the development of new theory. The majority of the readers of this text will likely be doctoral candidates so Chapter 10 is devoted to supervisor–candidate relationships, highlighting the mutual responsibilities of both parties to the supervision process, from the outset right up to the examination process. Publication is the natural target output of the research process, and Chapter 11 addresses the complexity of the publication process. In doing so it recognises that we are working in a dynamic process; what was once accept- able in accounting research is no longer so because of a more appropriate emphasis on research ethics; what is publishable, at all or in specific journals, changes too, both with the passage of time and the passing of particular jour- nal editors. Many journals remain very conservative in the type of research they will publish, often on the grounds that it is difficult to demonstrate that ‘new’ methods constitute ‘good’ research in the same way as the traditional methods. But this situation is changing gradually – the wider opportunities for publishing case-based research in recent years provides evidence of this. How- ever, the renewed emphasis on journal and university rankings, and associated funding systems based on the quality of publications, provides fresh difficulties. P r e f a c e xiii 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page xiii The provision of ‘acceptable journals’ listings by many universities, and the prohibition of publication elsewhere, perpetuates the position of the well- established journals, while making it extremely difficult for the editors of other journals to attract quality submissions. The opportunities for innovative new journals are also severely diminished in such circumstances. Contributions to the profession by academic accountants are generally not well regarded, either by one’s colleagues or by government bodies pro- viding funding based on publications performance, even though, arguably, the education of the potential employers of our students might be seen as an important part of our jobs. So journalistic pieces in practitioner magazines and workshops to professional audiences count for close to nought – even though the individuals concerned would never read a refereed journal or attend an academic conference. We need to exploit the available media to get our message, and the power of research findings, over to those implementing change in an unbiased way, before the consultants get in on the act! This process must be of mutual benefit to all parties, but if the practitioners feel they are being short-changed, or even used, then future collaborative efforts will be threatened. It is just such attitudes which generate the ‘them and us’ cultures leading to accusations of academics being out of touch with reality. In this context it is interesting to note the changes taking place within pro- fessional journals: there were once two such journals called Management Accounting, but now there are none, the US version becoming Strategic Finance and the UK one Financial Management. With moves to term ‘accounting’ as ‘assurance services’ it will surely not be long before some of the professional bodies themselves follow their journals with the removal of the word ‘accounting’ from their titles. Communication problems also remain. The timeliness and relevance of much of the content of the refereed literature does little more than suggest that it is written by academics, only for the consumption of other academics! Most practitioners do not have an appreciation of research methods, nor do they read the refereed literature, so important findings and recommendations often do not reach the individuals who can make sure it has the greatest impact. A number of journals have emerged with the express intention of providing readable research for practitioner audiences, but even these have tended to become more academic and less readable over relatively short time periods. This book aims to provide a treatment of research methods that will be of use to both accounting practitioners and those contemplating the conduct of research projects. Space restrictions mean that this slim volume cannot hope to tackle all of the detail of the application of different research methods, or the associ- ated intricacies of complex quantitative methods. But if its use causes one paper to be published that would otherwise have gone unpublished, then all will have been worthwhile. Malcolm Smith P r e f a c exiv 3089-prelims.qxd 4/2/03 4:42 PM Page xiv 1 Introduction and Overview • Theory as testable explanation 6 • A critical approach to accounting research 8 A number of authors (e.g., Brownell, 1995, p. 2) describe accounting researchers as ‘parasites’ who prey on the work of others to generate their findings. The term may be an overstatement, but as with most rash generali- sations it contains more than a germ of truth: accounting researchers have little theory of their own (they rely on economics, finance, psychology, socio- logy and organisational behaviour as their major sources); they have no methods of their own (they are all adapted from the natural and social sciences); and they have few instruments of their own (with many of these originating in or adapted from the organisational behaviour literature). Mer- chant (quoted in Brownell, 1995, p. 140) even suggests that organisational behaviourists are much better at developing survey instruments than their accounting counterparts. The overall aim of this book is to facilitate the conduct of applied research studies in accounting, and to do this we must recognise our reliance on work in other disciplines. To accomplish this aim, a number of subordinate objectives may be identified, all of which will contribute to the overall goal: • an understanding of contemporary research ideas in accounting, so that readers can identify and define research problems and prepare strategies for their solution; • an awareness of alternative research methods, to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate method for addressing particular research questions; • an ability to review existing research and to offer critiques of articles published in refereed journals; and • an appreciation of the ethical constraints on the conduct of accounting research. C H A P T E R C O N T E N T S Research in accounting is concerned with solving problems, investigating relationships and building a body of knowledge. Because we rely to such a great extent on prior research in the natural and social sciences to do so, this volume will take a similar approach in leaning on work in other disciplines where it helps to inform accounting research. Bennett (1991) identifies four basic levels of research: • Description – concerned with the collection and reporting of data related to what is, or was, the case. This would include means and standard devi- ations of individual variables, and correlations between pairs of variables. • Classification – still descriptive, but easing the reporting process, and highlighting similarities and clustering through grouping and classifying (e.g., through the familiar cross-tabulation facility in most basic statistical packages). • Explanation – an attempt to make sense of observations by explaining the relationships observed and attributing causality based on some appropriate theory. • Prediction – going beyond the understanding and explaining of the prior stage, to model observations in a way that allows testable predictions to be made of unknown events. We return to this structure in Chapter 4 when discussing alternative quantita- tive methods, but an early distinction between ‘explanation’ and ‘prediction’ is appropriate here, because, as in the natural sciences, we are able to make excellent predictions of accounting behaviour without the backing of a sound underpinning theory. Bankruptcy prediction modelling provides an excellent example. A number of researchers (e.g., Altman, 1968; Taffler, 1983) have developed models that have proved very successful in identifying ‘distressed’ companies – those companies that will fail in the short term. These models are statistically excellent but the theory underpinning their content, in terms of the ratios to be used and the variables they represent, is extremely weak; the essen- tial problem is that such theories as we have (e.g., Blum, 1974; Myers, 1977; Scott, 1981) do not generate very good predictive models! Good research generates the sound evidence needed to overturn or revise existing theories. These assertions will, in turn, yield to revised theories based on better evidence, so that healthy competition between rival ideas will lead to better explanations and more reliable predictions. Two major processes of reasoning, ‘deductive’ (theory to observation) and ‘inductive’ (observation to theory), are important for theory construction and observation testing. Inductive reasoning starts with specific observations (data) from which theories can be generated; a generalisable pattern may emerge from further observations and repeated testing for compliance. The natural sciences, for example astronomy, provide numerous examples of inductive reasoning, thus Hawking (1998) provides a number of fascinating examples of theories revised, or still in question, with implications for the progress of accounting research. However, he notes that generalisations made on the basis of induction R e s e a r c h M e t h o d s i n A c c o u n t i n g2 can never be regarded as ‘certain’, since just one contrary instance can cause them to be overturned: • Big Bang versus Steady State. From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s two competing theories were prominent in offering alternative explanations of the origins of the universe. The ‘Big Bang’ theory recognised a singular event as causing an ever-expanding universe in which matter (notably galaxies) becomes continuously more widely dispersed. The ‘Steady State’ theory, attributed to Bondi, Gold and Hoyle, on the other hand, suggested that matter was continuously being created to fill the gaps between exist- ing galaxies. They argued that the universe had no beginning, and had been forever expanding, with new matter being created out of apparently empty space. The Steady State theory importantly provided testable hypotheses in suggesting that the universe should look the same at all times and from wherever it was viewed. But surveys of radio waves in the early 1960s showed that sources were more numerous in the past, and that there were many more weak (distant) sources than strong (close) ones. Further, microwave radiation studies in 1965 demonstrated that the universe did not have a common density – it had been much denser in the past. These observations provided disconfirmations of the Steady State theory, causing its abandonment. • Newton’s Laws of Physics. New theory emerges when a new observa- tion arises which does not correspond with existing theory. Once the tech- nology permitted accurate observations of the planet Mercury to be made, it was clear that there were small differences between its observed motion and that expected under Newton’s Theory of Gravity. Einstein’s general theory of relativity matched the observed motions of the planet in a manner that Newton’s theory did not, providing confirmation for the new theory. • The Wave Theory of Light. We can attempt to explain the behaviour of light in terms of its being composed of either ‘waves’ or ‘particles’. Each view produces a plausible explanation of behaviour – both of which are needed to affirm existing properties – but they are incompatible explanations which cannot exist simultaneously. New theories are required (possibly those associated with parallel universes) for a complete understanding of the incompatibility. Deductive reasoning, on the other hand, starts with the theory and proceeds to generate specific predictions which follow from its application. The pre- dictions can be verified, or otherwise, from subsequent observation. For example, in his seminal paper, Healy (1985) used agency theory to develop a bonus hypothesis which could be substantially verified through observations of how managers manipulated their accounting earnings to optimise their short-term bonus performance. I n t r o d u c t i o n a n d O v e r v i e w 3 However, such a strict division of reasoning processes is not always helpful because interdependencies almost always exist: induction will usually imply some knowledge of theory in order to select the data to be observed (a common criticism of grounded theory advanced in Chapter 8); deduction will be dependent on the selection of the initial hypotheses for testing. Even without such problems, the scientific position of ‘objective measure- ment’ has come under repeated attack, in both natural and social sciences, because the act of observation is itself ‘theory-laden’ and influenced by the motives and preferences of the observer. For example, Hopwood (1987), in management accounting, and Hines (1988), in financial accounting, argue that accounting helps to create the ‘facts’ that it is supposedly reporting. More radi- cal approaches (e.g., Tinker and Niemark, 1987) suggest that accounting dis- torts practice in a systematic manner. Such concerns have aided the development of new approaches: an interpretive perspective and a critical perspective. • An interpretive perspective – From an interpretive perspective, human actions are the result of external influences. These actions have both inten- tions and reflections, and take place within a structure of rules which binds the participants. The task of the researcher goes beyond measure- ment to developing an understanding of the situation. To do this effec- tively, active participation, rather than detached observation, may be required. Since the ‘action’ may be interpreted ambiguously when taken out of context, this perspective places the fundamental emphasis on the understanding of the process. In an accounting context, Arrington and Francis (1989) provide an example of this approach. • A critical perspective – The critical approach expands on the scope of the interpretive approach by focusing on the ownership of knowledge and the associated social, economic and political implications. An empirical approach is criticised on the grounds that the research process is value-laden, and that the acquisition of knowledge provides the opportunity to oppress those being researched. In an accounting context, Tinker (1980) provides an example of this approach. Table 1.1 summarises the differences in research assumptions, process and outcomes associated with each of these three major approaches. Kuhn (1970) suggests that researchers are concerned with problem-solving within a single framework of widely accepted beliefs, values, assumptions and techniques. This shared framework, or view of the world, he termed a paradigm, so that a ‘paradigm shift’ corresponds with some revolution where the existing framework and theories can no longer cope with the volume of disconfirming evidence. Kuhn neatly illustrates such a shift by reference to a simple psychology experiment: Subjects viewed cards from a deck. The deck included some unusual cards, including black hearts and red spades, but the subjects were not informed in R e s e a r c h M e t h o d s i n A c c o u n t i n g4 I n t r o d u c t i o n a n d O v e r v i e w 5 Positivist Interpretive Critical 1. What is the approach modelled on? Classical investigation founded in the physical sciences. 2. What does it assume about reality? Reality is unitary and it can only be understood by empirical and analytic methods, i.e., the scientific approach. 3. What is the foundation of data? Disciplined rules for observation. 4. How is observation done? Through clear and unambiguous rules which are not modified by the setting and are totally independent of it. 5. What is generated? Evidence and generalisable laws which are not affected by contexts and have nothing to do with the way in which they were discovered in the first place. Objectivity depends upon the removal of error and bias which is related specifically to the logic of observation and measurement. 6. What interests are inherent? Prediction and control, technically exploitable knowledge, and explanation. 7. What values are inherent? Science and scientific knowledge are inherently value-neutral. Historical, literary and existential studies in which the subjective understandings of subjects are significant. There are multiple realities which require multiple methods for understanding them. Meanings are the basis of data: meaning precedes logic and fact. Through the social, linguistic and cognitive skills of the researcher. Knowledge which is dependent on the process of discovery. The integrity of the findings depends upon the quality of the social, linguistic and cognitive skills of the researcher in the production of data analyses and conclusions. Understanding at the level of ordinary language and action. Discovering the meanings and beliefs underlying the actions of others. Science and scientific knowledge have both to be interpreted in terms of values they represent. Marxist and interpretive studies which focus on the insights and judgements of the subjects. There are multiple realities which are made problematic through distorted communication. Meanings are found in language and social behaviour and they precede logic and fact. Interpretive methods, plus critical self-reflection concerning the grounds of observation. Knowledge which falls within the interpretive framework, but which also serves the purposes of assisting personal liberation and understanding, and emancipation from forces constraining the rational independence of individuals. Interpretive interests and those which underliey other forms of inquiry. Radically …