Formulating a Research Question PDF

Course structure i. Foundations ii. The empirical research process 1. Research question, theory, and hypotheses 2. Research design 3. Sampling and measurement 4. Data collection 5. Hypotheses testing 6. Dissemination iii. Research ethics...

Course structure i. Foundations ii. The empirical research process 1. Research question, theory, and hypotheses 2. Research design 3. Sampling and measurement 4. Data collection 5. Hypotheses testing 6. Dissemination iii. Research ethics Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 38 Learning goals of this module § Learning goals – … learn how to identify and formulate research questions – … utilize different sources of academic papers – … write thorough and concise literature reviews – … compare different academic journals – … understand and define theory – … know the peer review process – … assess the quality of academic journals § Readings – Trochim, W., Donnelly, J. P., & Arora, K. (2020). Research Methods: The Essential Knowledge Base. Chapter 1 Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 39 Research question § Research question: a clear and concise inquiry that you aim to answer through your research § Examples of research questions in business and economics – Technology: What are the determinants of firms’ adoption of artificial intelligence? Does the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) harm product innovation? – Marketing: Does influencer marketing enhance sales? How effective are targeted advertisements in influencing buyer behavior? – Finance: How do higher interest rates affect financial markets? What are the determinants of asset prices? – Accounting: What is the impact of accounting standards on financial reporting and decision-making? How do accounting practices vary across countries and cultures? Ø Research question for this course: Does money make people happy? Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 40  TUM School of Management Technische Universität München Question to you § How can we identify a research question? A. Start from practice: try to explain a phenomenon B. Start from the literature 1. Conflicting results: previous studies yield different results 2. Boundary conditions: document additional assumptions of a theory 3. Increase specificity: test if theory is applicable in a specific context 4. Entirely new phenomena: completely unstudied 5. Suggestions for future research Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 41 Criteria for choosing research questions § Relevant: it is of importance to your audience § Novel: it has not been addressed before, or only in a limited way § Interesting: it raises curiosity or attention (e.g., by raising a new explanation or harmonizing conflicting findings) Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 42 Formulating the research question: question word § Do/Does…? – Yes/no answer (e.g., by resolving conflicting hypotheses) § What…/How…? – Understanding the process § Why…? – In-depth search for a cause § To what extent…? – Measure or compare an effect magnitude Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 43 Formulating the research question: broad vs. narrow § Key problem: too broad vs too narrow – Broad questions lead to superficial research or may be impossible to address in one study – Too narrow research questions are likely to be less interesting for your audience § Evaluate your research question by narrowing it down on – Example: Does money make you happy? Does income increase life satisfaction? Does annual income increase emotional well-being? Does annual income increase emotional well-being in the UK? narrow Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 44 Formulating the research question: unit of analysis § Who is observed? – Industry/country/economy/culture >> firm >> individuals >> brain § What is investigated? – Processes, decisions, behavior, … – Inputs, outputs, transformation, … § What is not observed? – Key assumptions Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 45 Formulating the research question: context § Consider the setting in which the research question is examined § Example: money and happiness – Facets: income, real-estate, lottery-win – Aspects of the topic: social, psychological, ethical – Time span: historic, past five years – Place: global, India, Germany vs. US Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 46 Checklist for choosing research questions Capability: Is it feasible? Appropriateness: Is it worthwhile? üIs the topic something with which you are really fascinated? üDoes the topic fit the specifications üDo you have, or do you develop and meet the standards set by the within the project time frame, the examining institution? necessary research skills to üDoes our research topic contain undertake the topic? issues that have a clear link to üAre you reasonably certain of theory? being able to gain access to data üAre you able to state your you are likely to require for this research question(s) and topic? objectives clearly? üIs the research topic achievable üDoes the research topic match within the available time? your career goals? Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 47 Reviewing existing literature § Textbooks or handbooks – Current – Reputed author, editor, publisher, journal § Forward search from a seminal paper – Identify the papers that have cited the seminal paper § Review articles – Some journals publish extensive literature reviews, e.g. Journal of Management, Academy of Management Annals § Hit-or-miss-search – Search engines (Google Scholar) – Databases (Web of Science, Scopus) – Journals or journal collections (EBSCO, JSTOR, …) Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 48 Literature review: the conversation metaphor § Who is talking? § What are they talking about? § Where are they? § When were they talking? § What has been said so far, what not? § What would they be interested in? § What do you have to add? Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 49 Search tools: Web of Science Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 50 Search tools: Google Scholar § For quick and broad searches, Google Scholar can be useful – Difference: Google indexes a broad set of research sources – Before using make sure to be logged into TUM-VPN Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 51 Evaluating research quality based on rankings § Journal rankings – Criteria: impact factor (and similar measures) – Lists or baskets: FT50, UT Dallas Ranking, VHB Ranking Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 52 Journal rankings in business: FT50 Ranking § The Financial Times publishes a ranking of the top 50 scientific journals in business Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 53 Journal rankings in business: VHB JOURQUAL Journal JQ3 JQ2 Votes A+ A B C D The Journal of Finance A+ A+ 152 93,4% 2,6% 3,3% 0,7% 0,0% Science A+ A+ 265 91,7% 6,8% 1,1% 0,4% 0,0% American Economic Review A+ A+ 120 91,7% 5,8% 2,5% 0,0% 0,0% Journal of Financial Economics A+ A+ 122 89,3% 6,6% 4,1% 0,0% 0,0% The Review of Financial Studies A+ A+ 110 87,3% 9,1% 2,7% 0,9% 0,0% Journal of Marketing Research A+ A+ 191 83,2% 13,1% 2,1% 1,0% 0,5% Econometrica A+ A+ 256 82,0% 12,1% 3,9% 2,0% 0,0% Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) A+ A+ 563 81,2% 14,4% 2,8% 1,4% 0,2% Journal of Marketing A+ A+ 219 80,8% 14,6% 3,7% 0,9% 0,0% Journal of Political Economy A+ A+ 184 79,3% 14,1% 4,3% 2,2% 0,0% Information Systems Research (ISR) A+ A+ 163 78,5% 16,0% 3,7% 1,8% 0,0% Administrative Science Quarterly (ASQ) A+ A+ 468 78,0% 17,7% 3,6% 0,2% 0,4% Academy of Management Review (AMR) A+ A+ 518 76,8% 15,4% 5,2% 1,7% 0,8% Operations Research A+ A+ 117 76,1% 17,9% 5,1% 0,9% 0,0% Management Science A+ A+ 722 75,8% 20,6% 2,6% 1,0% 0,0% Journal of Consumer Research A+ A+ 175 75,4% 18,9% 5,7% 0,0% 0,0% Accounting Review A+ A 192 74,5% 17,7% 4,7% 3,1% 0,0% Marketing Science A+ A+ 172 74,4% 19,8% 4,7% 1,2% 0,0% Journal of Accounting and Economics A+ A 158 73,4% 20,9% 3,8% 1,3% 0,6% Journal of Accounting Research A+ A 171 66,1% 28,1% 3,5% 1,8% 0,6% Organization Science A+ A 188 65,4% 30,9% 2,7% 1,1% 0,0% Management Information Systems Quarterly (MISQ) A+ A 201 65,2% 27,4% 4,0% 3,0% 0,5% Excerpt from Jourqual 3 (2015) by the VHB (Association of German Business School Professors). Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 54  Technische Universität München See exercise session “Literature review” Characteristics of a theory A scientific theory is a system of propositions that collectively present an explanation of a phenomenon given a set of assumptions, and that can be tested through derivable hypotheses. Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 56 Propositions § A proposition is a causal statement linking two constructs § A construct is an abstract conceptual entity Proposition 1 Construct A Construct B Theory Proposition.. Construct... Construct... Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 57 Constructs Captures essential properties and characteristics Avoids tautology or circularity Definition As narrowly as possible, but still relevant and generalizable Constructs usually are not universal but specific to a Scope context (e.g., the unit of analysis, research setting) condition Contextual conditions have to be defined too No construct is an “island” Semantic Constructs always have relationships to other relationship constructs and the phenomena they represent Construct, definition, scope conditions, relationships Logical are coherent Consistency “Everything makes sense” Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 58 Hypotheses § A hypothesis is a testable statement derived from the proposition Proposition Theory Construct A Construct B Hypothesis Observation Variable A Variable B Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 59 Reasoning: deduction vs induction Deduction Induction Theory Observation Hypothesis Pattern vs. Tentative Observation hypothesis Confirmation Theory Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 60 Importance of theories § Provide meaning § Allow for prediction § Generalization § Permit intervention § Learning § Innovation and survival Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 61 Theory and truth § Theory = truth? – Popper: we can never know something is true – Theory only mirrors our current understanding – Theory is considered truth as long as it has not been proven false – We must allow for “falsifiability”: every theory can potentially be wrong Sir Karl Popper § Accepted theories encompass corroborated causal conjectures http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Karl_Popper.jpg/468px-Karl_Popper.jpg Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 62  TUM School of Management Technische Universität München Question to You § What are examples of theories that have seen a substantial revision, or have been proven wrong over time? Theories of the universe Geocentric universe Heliocentric universe Elliptical orbit Milky way … Utility theory / rational decisions Homo economicus Behavioral economics … Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 63 Theoretical progress § Key to creating knowledge is theoretical progress § Evaluating progress – Falsifiability – Accuracy: precision of predictions – Generalizability: range of explained phenomena – Parsimony: number of assumptions (Occam’s Razor) – Similar: fewer “auxiliary hypotheses” § Theoretical progress is enabled by: – Peer review – “Standing on the shoulders of giants” – “Bold” conjectures – Replication – Improvement in methods, measures, and measurement http://www.whygamesmatter.com/comics/2011-10-10-ShouldersOfGiantsFINAL.jpg Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 64 Peer-reviews § Before publication in scientific journals, research has to undergo a peer-review – Expert-based, qualitative assessment – Expert(s) (i.e., the reviewer) composes a written report (= review / referee report) § Goal of peer-reviews – Reviewer's act both as gatekeepers–ensure that poor quality research is not published – Reviewers act as value-adders § Different degrees of blindness – Single-blind – Double-blind Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 65 Peer-reviews: process Start Submit Editor’s Send out Reviews Paper desk for review? Reject Revision Revision work invited Accept Author Editor(s) Reviewer Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 66 Peer-reviews: criteria for evaluation § Methodological quality – Appropriateness of research design (fit between research question, method, conclusions) – Fit between measures and construct – Statistical analysis – Interpretation of data, fit to conclusions – Correlation/causation, biases § Theoretical quality – Theoretical contribution (amount of value added, generalizability, appropriate for journal audience) – Thoroughness of arguments – Practical contribution (relevance) Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 67 Questions Professorship for Innovation & Digitalization (Prof. Dr. Jens Förderer) 68