989N1 Research Methods for Accounting and Finance Assignment Brief The objectives of the course to learn how to read published a

Assignment Brief

• The objectives of the course
  • to learn how to read published articles in the field
  • to learn general skills of writing your dissertation
  • to learn how to solve real-life problems in a structural way
  • to learn how to conduct an independent research

Introduction

• Outline of the course
  • Research process
  • Research proposal and literature review
  • Inductive research and data collection
  • Deductive research and data collection
  • Types of data and descriptive statistics
  • Basics of hypothesis testing
  • Hypothesis testing, a test of association
  • Regression analysis
  • Meta-Analysis
  • Event study in Accounting & Finance

Lecture 1 Research process

• What is research?
• Features of research in Accounting & Finance
• Types of research
• The philosophical issues of research
• From the observed problem to research questions
• The process of conducting research
• Two examples

Lecture 1 Research process

What is research?

To do research is to provide an answer to a question or to find a solution for a practical problem

Management-oriented research vs. academic research

Applied (empirical) research vs. Fundamental  (theoretical) research

Quantitative vs. qualitative research

Lecture 1

Research process

• Features of research in Accounting and finance
• Social sciences
• Multidisciplinary
• Theory-led research vs Problem-centered research
• Practitioner research vs Academic research
• Positive vs Interpretive

Lecture 1

Research process

• Types of research
• Reporting: to present what it is
• Descriptive: to summarize what you observed
• Explanatory: to explain the phenomenon (theory)
• Predictive: to predict what will be

Q: think about an example, you can do research at different levels on the same topic

Lecture 1

Research process

Example: explanatory & predictive research

Productivity = Constant + a₀*Working arrangement +error

Consumption = Constant + a₁*Income + error

From explanatory research to obtain “a”,

From predictive research to forecast the level of consumption next year given the expected income in next year.

Lecture 1

Research process

• The philosophical issues of research
  • The assumption about the nature of social reality

(ontological )

• objectivism
• constructivism (subjective)

• The assumption about the nature of knowledge

(epistemological)

• positivism
• interpretivism

Q: What about the conflict between Economics and Management Science?

Q: Is it possible to combine them?