Research Methods in Academic Accounting and Finance - Assignment Example

CASE STUDIES, QUESTIONNAIRES AND INTERVIEWS Introduction Academic research requires orderly analysis into the topic of study through different materials and resources for utter conclusions and actualities. Significantly, it is a requirement for personnel in the academic institutions to be conversant with the terms ‘research’ and ‘research methods or research methodology’; some people have experience in the area but even if one does not its part of all the courses and training. Relatively, everyone establishes that for an effectual research, the right research methods should apply to make the best out of the study; moreover, they determine the kind of results one gets from their project or research topic (Remenyi 2011). The research methods one should implement depends on factors such as the topic of study, period set aside for research, the target population and the results one expects to gather at the end. Today, there are multiple research methods especially in the academic field, each having its merits and shortcomings; however, it all depends with the factors mentioned above. The classification of these methods also has relies on particular aspects; normally, there are those methods that will take a lot of time and resources while others take a few hours or days with very minimal expenses for the researcher (Gill 2008). Some of the courses such as those involving social science require research methods that entail a lot of interaction among people but for pure sciences or accounting and finance, one has a vast scope and selection of the essential research methods. Case Studies, interviews and use of questionnaires are among the most recommendable research methods for any academic study or research; all the same, it is a requirement for students to be conversant in their application, and if not, one has to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Most people argue that these methods are easy because of the common interviews on TV, case studies on books or other literature, and the questionnaires from school and almost every institution. However, if one does not include a plan for implementation and management for any of these problems, the conclusions and results are inaccurate; moreover, a lot of time goes to waste. Generally, this essay is a critical evaluation of case studies, questionnaires and interviews as research methods in academic accounting and finance literature; moreover, examples apply as part of the analysis and for the attainment of comprehensive facts and inferences. Case Studies Case studies characteristically scrutinize the chemistry of all variables providing a comprehensive cognition of an occasion; moreover, this results from the vast description and the acute assessment of a subject. The factors considered include circumstances of a situation, personnel involved and its environment; moreover, the researcher goes to higher depths in construing the implication of the data collected in relation to culture, society, in-built outlooks and drives (Krishna 2013). The basis of most research methods is asking or phrasing questions, especially those that do not rely on much evidence; however, case studies are all about why researchers ask these questions. Case Studies apply very well in situations where the researcher is in control and the context is a topic under investigation in the present day; notably, exploitation of this method in such a setting gives one a better understanding over the rest of the involved parties. Case studies application in academic financing and accounting is effectual, as this method gives new variables and queries that create the urge for extended study; normally, most people prefer statistical methods in such a field but they only deal with little quantities of traits in a group of people but a case study will deal with an entire variety. Types of Case studies Most people know case studies in a general aspect hence failing to take note of the different types that one might consider depending with the aims of their research. There are the Expressive case studies that use multiple cases of a similar occurrence for additional evidence and information on a subject; moreover, they focus on making known the essential factors to the reader. Experimental case studies take place before the actual or main research to assist in the setting of queries and selection of the measurement types as the core functions; however, this type of case study is not recommendable as the researcher faces the temptation of giving its results as the overall deductions. A Collective case study attends to the service of cumulating information from numerous locations gathered at dissimilar intervals; generally, they facilitate superior simplification with no additional expenses or time wasted (Millman 2013). Advantages of Case Studies Essentially, case studies facilitate the transfer of erudition accountability from the professor to the scholars in any academic setting because they encourage active construction; for instance, in Finance and Accounting, use of case studies assists a student in identification of the genuine difficulties as a way of recognizing the key entities and causes of these difficulties (Remenyi 2011). Moreover, this method emboldens scholars to create their personal scrutiny of the research topic, come up with solutions on their own and use the knowledge acquired from classes to analyze the different problems (Reis 2014). These are the core advantages or end-results of applying case studies in research for any student, but there are other merits acquired through experience and in the course of application. For example, after using this method, in future occasions, students have an easy time in exploration of any circumstance that requires categorizing and outlining the major influences; typically, this entails creativity, evaluation of new ideas and implementing the necessary strategies. Case studies help students both in academic and non-academic life; for instance, the scholars of Finance and Accounting related courses will know how to handle different situations once they get into the job market (Krishna 2013). The same tactics they apply in classes will form a foundation for those that they apply in boardrooms or during presentations; largely, case studies are not limited only to the use in research but also in expert settings and real-life situations. Through, reviewing past case studies students get an estimate of what they would do in similar settings or frameworks if they get to experience them. If a class has an assignment on a particular research topic, everyone uses their own knowledge and skills to make sure that they perform to their best. Application of case studies as a research method inspires the inkling that scholars can learn from each other through inquiry, comparison of ideas and questioning different theories. Essentially, scholars can deviate their individual learning by articulating queries and captivating accountability for the overall training. Disadvantages Through identifying the variable in case studies, analysis is very easy but trustworthiness and legitimacy are the key difficulties after this step; most of the researchers are required to do a lot of work in achieving this. In any research method, it is essential that the researchers prove the validity and reliability of their comprehensive interpretations; normally, this calls for the acknowledgement of techniques to handle the findings (Reis 2014). For a case study, the only way to do this is referring to results from different research methods such as interviews or questionnaires; resultantly, this affects the suppositions, which will now have a vast background. Largely, this being the main demerit and as for most of the research methods, challenges in peripheral cogency, theory rationality and consistency require keen consideration. Questionnaires Most of the researchers do not use questionnaires, and for those that do, it applies as a secondary method; naturally, this is because they require people’s response and most them do not act in their normal way (Key 1997). All the same, they are very effective especially when gathering information from many participants that would take a lot of time if one were to use interviews. Nonetheless, the information collected through the questionnaires is inadequate and depends on the scope of the questions; however, it is still expedient. The reason as to why this information can be useful is that the answers revolve around facts and opinions, which the research can exploit and analyze how they apply to make the right conclusions. However, in some cases, the questionnaire can bring the best out of research; for instance, a professor of finance and accounting might give out sample questionnaires to a few students and if after evaluation, he finds that the answers are on the right track, the next move will be giving all the students the same questionnaires. Some researchers prefer using questionnaires first and another qualitative procedure focusing on the areas whose findings were not clear in the answers on the questionnaire; however, the application procedures of this method and others depend on a person’s understanding in the field. Significantly, there are factors that finance and accounting scholars should consider before choosing questionnaires as the core research method. Firstly, the type of data one requires is a key factor; for instance, if they want less-detailed answers or opinions from the participants, the questions should be easy. However, when the topic of study is crucial, hard questions work best as they give facts and very few opinions compared to the open and amorphous questions; largely, the best thing is to include both types of questions. Secondly, the research needs to know that the participants respond to answer the questions based on their depths and levels of interpretation; generally, the researcher should not set questions in one way and expect them to answer in another way. Finally, it is essential that one establish a framework that the participants will base their answers; typically, all the participants should be aware of the subject of the research with the first question setting the pace. Considerably, there should be balance in all the questions to avoid the participants from going out of topic or breaking the uniformity as it will result to major variations in the answers Advantages of Questionnaires in Academic Accounting and Finance Unlike most research methods, questionnaires entail a lot of work, which makes the whole process lively and everyone has a role to play in contributing to the findings. Significantly, for most of the research methods, gathering much data can take a long time depending on the nature of the research; however, for questionnaires, within a short time a person collects large amounts from a large population. One is to address a large population because the researcher can acquire assistance from other people in distributing the questionnaires with no cases of distorting the information. Getting the results from questionnaires does not take a lot of time, whether the researcher does the quantifying or they use software; moreover, the analysis part of the research focuses on the objectives more than any other research method. Reflectively, while comparing results from questionnaires with other research, the researcher can also use it to establish or gauge change. Naturally, most experienced researchers encourage the use of questionnaires because they form a good foundation for the creation of new theories and the evaluation of current propositions. Disadvantages of Questionnaires Despite the multiple merits, the use of questionnaires has its shortcomings with the common being the lack of providing an utter understanding of essential aspects of the answers given i.e. one is not able to establish the feelings of the participant. The information from questionnaires lacks validity especially because the researchers focus on certain factors not considering other aspects related to the same; naturally, the scope of information under investigation is limited (Milne 1999). Additionally, there is no comprehensive way of establishing that the participants are answering truthfully; furthermore, most of them do not consider other essential factors of research while answering such as the basis of the question, the required scope of the answers etc. Humans are prone to forgetfulness hence relative information may miss out from the answers if this happens when taking the questionnaires, additionally, thoughts and other things may act as barriers for the participants answering in full context (Gill 2008). The answers chiefly rely on the interpretation of the question, which varies depending with a person’s knowledge and other factors making some of the answers irrelevant or inapplicable. When developing the questionnaire, the researcher decides on what to include and omit, hence, some of the assumptions may be wrong leading to a miss out on very essential information. Interviews Most of the researchers are conversant with interviews as they are among the major research methods especially in collection of qualitative information; naturally, this is because there are many approaches of applying them (Valenzuela 2011). For accounting and finance students, the best approach would be using the unstructured interviews because they encourage the participants to contribute more unlike the structured kind of interviews common in pure sciences. The basis for information retrieval is the most significant for almost all the research methods so all the participants should exercise their role to the maximum with the interviewees making a greater contribution. Types of Interviews Structured interviews are the least effectual types of interviews because they constitute the interviewer asking set questions verbally and the interviewee answering in a limited scope; moreover, there is minimal elaboration with no particular order for the questions (Key 1997). The interviewees are required to answer as quickly as possible to save on time and some of the responses lack a basis, especially when there is no clarification. Largely, structure interviews exercise a lot of limitation both in the types of questions asked and in responses required by the interviewers. Unstructured interviews put a little focus on organization and the interviewer does not arrange anything prior to the interviews because most of the questions asked are random with a lot of follow up depending on the answer given to the first question. Naturally, these types of interviews take a lot of time due to lack of a formal criterion to follow; moreover, the interviews require many skills and understanding on the interview’s subject (Sharp 1997). It is hard to keep track of relevant information due to the little guidance of the research topic; however, these interviews work best in situations where the topic requires vast analysis and evaluation i.e. when the research does not know anything on the topic. In semi-structured interviews, the interviewer has an estimate on what they need to ask about; however, the participants can go out of topic anytime if need be, especially when the interviewer insists on a better response to a certain question. Most academic fields apply this because of the freedom and guidance on the research topic; certainly, this method is supple compared to the structured approach that restricts application of new ideas and embellishment of information. Advantages of Interviews in Academic Accounting and Finance Unstructured and semi-structured interviews provide a platform for evaluating the research topic in depth and detail making the method effectual for account and finance (Minter 2003). Essentially, through the interviews, the participants are able to express their thought and feelings through opinions that could act as great information sources to the research. Interviews have room for follow up questions unlike other research methods, such as focus groups or questionnaires; moreover, they allow the social element for objective information. The rate at which people retort in interviews is extraordinary which facilitates the review of different points, especially from recorded interviews. Interviewees get to answer on their own basis and according to their perception of a matter without any influence like that in focus groups and sometimes in questionnaires. Disadvantages Interviews take a lot of time especially since some of them require the interviewers to repeat questions or elaborate more. Moreover, some of them are costly with expenses involving the venue, the facilitator of the interview etc. Generally, interviews gather a lot of information but it depends on factors such as the questions, attitude of the interviewer and interviewee, and the framework of the comprehensive research (Minter 2003). 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