WHAT DO EDITORS REALLY WANT?

THE PHD PROJECT ACCOUNTING DSA CONFERENCEAUGUST 6, 2011

KATHRYN KADOUSEMORY UNIVERSITY

What do editors really want?

High quality, well-thought out research

…that addresses an interesting, relevant question,

and is written by authors who are diligent and knowledgeable and who respect reviewers’ time.

How do I ensure my research is high quality and well thought out?

Examine topics/questions you are passionate about.

Start the project with an interesting question.

Match methods (tools) to questions.◦ Experiments are typically best for testing a causal theory◦ Archival studies are typically best for estimation of effect

sizes◦ Archival, survey, and case studies are typically better for

description (but…)

How do I ensure my research is of high quality and well thought out?

Know the task and context◦ Increases relevance of your study◦ Increases your ability to ask good questions◦ Improves your ability to make good design choices

Get firmly grounded in theory◦ Allows you to design more successful studies

By addressing more interesting issues (process, non-intuitive effects)

By enhancing construct validity, proxy development/choice

By using appropriate methods and questions to “rule in” your explanation and rule out alternatives

How do I ensure my research is high quality and well thought out?

Build on prior research (and give that research appropriate credit) Increases the quality of your research Allows you go deeper into the problem and learn new

things

Exploit your method Don’t start collecting data until you know exactly what

you’re looking for. Be creative and thorough in design: control extraneous

variables, use clean manipulations or proxies, rule out alternatives

How can I ensure my question is interesting and relevant?

Read … a lot.◦ Read research papers in your area.◦ Read research papers in underlying areas

(psychology, economics, finance, sociology, etc.).

Write … a lot of brief proposals.◦ Ask your faculty and fellow students to read the best

ones.

Present …. a lot.◦ Take advantage of brownbags and in-house

opportunities for feedback.

How can I show that I’m diligent and knowledgeable?

Write your paper to show off your hard work◦ All elements of the study “fit” together (e.g., no

unfulfilled promises)◦ Prior relevant work is described and cited accurately◦ Disclosures regarding method and results meet the

reperformance standard◦ Statistical tests are appropriate for the data and don’t

overstate your results (I recommend this book for all doctoral students: Statistics as a Principled Argument by Robert P. Abelson, 1995)

◦ Conclusions are appropriate given the results

How can I show that I’m diligent and knowledgeable?

Write your paper like a pro. Writing is clear and precise There are no typos The paper matches the (rough) formatting of papers that

appear in your target journal

Get feedback from others with and without expertise in the area before submitting.

What can I do now to make my future papers better?

Identify topics/questions you are passionate about.

Read … a lot. Take all the statistics classes that you can. Take all the courses in your key underlying

area(s) that you can. Actively attend seminars and brownbags. Collaborate with others. Write brief summaries of ideas. Enjoy the process.

Where is experimental research in auditing headed?

Improving auditor judgment quality J/DM literature insights

Affect drives decision behavior. Individual differences are more important than

we thought for decision behavior. Decision makers have a lack of awareness of

goals for many important decisions, and so will lack insight into their process.

Auditors’ primary decision problems (lack of independence, lack of skepticism, check the box mentality) are HUMAN decision problems…

“Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.” David McCullough