Basics of Academic Research in Business

August 26, 2015

LEARNING OUTCOMES Understand business academic research writing

requirements

Use APA writing and referencing style

Discuss knowledge, theory, construct, variable, factor, indicator

Develop a simple research model

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APA citation style for academic research Established by the American Psychological Association Rules and conventions for documenting sources used

in a research paper. Used for in-text citations and Reference list Sources:

Cornell University: https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/apa

Publication Manual of the APA: http://www.apastyle.org/manual/

Internet source citation: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2010/11/how-to-cite-something-you-found-on-a-website-in-apa-style.html

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APA style In-text source citation

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Single author: author’s last name and year at appropriate point Example 1: According to the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989) Example 2: Davis (1989) argues that perception is the key factor …

Multiple authors: authors’ last names and year Example 1: As suggested by Simon and Welsh (1999) Example 2: Gathering intelligence is the first phase of decision making

(Simon & Welsh, 1999)

APA style Reference list

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Order: Entries should be arranged in alphabetical order by authors' last names.

Authors: Write out the last name and initials for middle and first names. Use an ampersand (&) instead of the word "and" when listing multiple authors of a single work. e.g. Smith, J. D., & Jones, M.

Titles: Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title or subtitle, and any proper names that are part of a title.

Pagination: Use the abbreviation p. or pp. to designate page numbers of articles from periodicals that do not use volume numbers, especially newspapers. These abbreviations are also used to designate pages in encyclopedia articles and chapters from edited books

Example:Davis, F., Bagozzi, R., Warshaw, P. (1989). User acceptance of technology: A comparison of two theoretical models.

Management Science, 35 (8), 982-1003.Ginzberg, M. J. (1981). Early Diagnosis of MIS Implementation Failure: Promising Results and Unanswered Questions.

Management Science. 27, 459-478.

APA style Reference list

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Knowledge and Theory Knowledge – What we know to be true or to have been proven

– Theoretical or practical understanding of a subject

Question: What are the main sources of knowledge?

Theory – A set of assumptions, propositions, or accepted facts that attempts to provide a ... rational explanation of cause-and-effect relationships among a group of observed phenomenon.Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/theory.html

Theories are formulated to challenge and extend existing knowledge

Example: Surveys have shown that 60% of workers earning low salaries with high job freedom are very satisfied with their job. A theory could be that the impact of Salary on Job Satisfaction depends on the level of Job Freedom

7Job

SatisfactionSalary

Job Freedom

What is a Research model or Research framework?

“Conceptual framework [that] guides research by providing a visual representation of [relationships between] theoretical constructs (and variables) of interest.” Source: http://web.stanford.edu/group/ncpi/unspecified/student_assess_toolkit/conceptualModels.html

“Collection of interrelated concepts… [that] guides your research, determining what things you will measure, and what statistical relationships you will look for.” Source: http://www.analytictech.com/mb313/elements.htm

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Types of variable Variables – Also called Factors or Constructs are phenomena or facts whose values can

be “measured” and whose values can change.Examples: Social status, Job satisfaction, salary, Job freedom

Dependent variable – The variable you are trying to explain or predict. The variable that depends on the other variables. AKA the outcome

Independent variables - AKA predictors or explanatory variables, are the factors that you think explain the variation in the dependent variable

Moderating variable – or moderator is a variable that modifies the relationship between two other variables

Indicator – What is used to measure a variable that is not directly measurable. Example 1: The following indicators may be used to measure a supervisor’s managerial status: number of people under their supervision, their annual budget, etc.Example 2: the following indicators can be used to measure social status: wealth, prestige, power, etc.

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Payroll schedule

Possible impact of IS and IQ What could be the main impact or outcome of

Information Quality and IS Quality?

_______________________________________________

Name possible indicators for that outcome.– – –

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Designing a Research framework Based on the discussion, use the sheet provided by

the instructor to design a research framework for the impact of ISQ and IQ outlining the relationships between the factors involved

Make sure that your research framework lists the main indicators that may be used to measure each of the factors involved.

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