Research Methods in Business Fall 2011 Writing Style and Ethics Dr. Stefan Wuyts Associate Professor Marketing Koç University swuyts@ku.edu.tr

Agenda On writing well Ethics in academic research

On writing well Some major themes in Zinsser’s “On Writing Well”: Writing is difficult Writing can be learned Simplify If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough (Albert Einstein)

What were your takeaways from Zinsser? On writing well What were your takeaways from Zinsser?

On writing well My takeaways Chapter Write and re-write (page 84: rewriting is the essence of writing well) 1 Don’t inflate to sound important 2 Clear thinking ~ clear writing Clutter: use brackets approach (words, sentences, paragraphs) 3 Cut length from 8 to 4 is easy, from 4 to 3 is tough 4 Writer must relax and have confidence Write for yourself (but respect journal style) 5 Writing is learned by imitation (of style) 6

On writing well Unity of pronoun and tense My takeaways Chapter Unity of pronoun and tense 8 How much do I want to cover, what point do I want to make? What single point do I want to leave in the reader’s mind? Full circle approach, link end with beginning Beginning (intro, even first paragraph): don’t count on reader to stick around 9 Each new paragraph should add solid detail First sentence of paragraph reflects core idea (see page 55), last one enables transition Look for materials everywhere (e.g. examples from business)

On writing well Avoid passive voice My takeaways Chapter Avoid passive voice 10 Write in short sentences (see page 72)

How do you structure an academic paper? On writing well How do you structure an academic paper? Respect journal style -- example of Journal of Operations Management

On writing well Structure is very important! First create structure, sequence of core ideas Then work out the parts Start each paragraph with sentence that conveys key idea Make sure transitions between paragraphs are ok

On writing well See Verhoef and Leeflang 2009: What are the arguments for H1 (page 16)? H1: The accountability of the marketing department is positively related to the influence of the marketing department within the firm

Now let’s turn to your work. On writing well Read your neighbor’s text and formulate 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses. Assume the role of a “constructive reviewer”. Now let’s turn to your work.

Ethics KOÇ STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT 4.2. Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty includes and is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, multiple submissions, and collusion, the definitions of which are stated below: 4.2.1. Cheating Cheating includes, but is not limited to, copying from a classmate or providing answers or information, either written or oral to others, in an examination or in the preparation of material subject to academic evaluation. 4.2.2. Plagiarism Plagiarism is borrowing or using someone else’s writing or ideas without giving written acknowledgement to the author. This includes copying from a fellow student’s paper or from a text or internet site without properly citing the source. 4.2.3. Multiple Submissions Multiple submission includes resubmission of the same work previously used in another course or project, without the permission of the instructor for both courses.

Ethics KOÇ STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT 4.2.4. Collusion and Impersonating Collusion is getting unauthorized help from another person such as having someone else write one’s assignment, or having someone else take an exam with false identification. Impersonating a student in an examination is also considered a grave act of dishonesty. 4.2.5. Fabrication Fabrication includes, but is not limited to, falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. 4.2.6. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty Facilitating academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, knowingly helping another student commit an act of academic misconduct (e.g., cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, multiple submissions).

Ethics Research misconduct (Titus, Wells, Rhoades, Nature 2008): The US federal definition of research misconduct: “Fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results” Plagiarism (Martin Research Policy, 2007): “Plagiarism is widely thought of as perhaps the most grievous academic crime […] because it involves the stealing of ideas or other research material from others in order to pass them off as one’s own original contribution to knowledge”

Ethics Compare Gottinger, H.W. (1993), “Estimating demand for SDI-related spin-off technologies,” Research Policy 22, 73-80. with Bass, F.M. (1980), “The relationship between diffusion rates, experience curves, and demand elasticities for consumer durable technological innovations,” Journal of Business 53, 851-867.

Ethics But plagiarism can be more subtle. Be careful: Always refer to ALL your sources (that includes any documents found on the internet); If you copy part of a previously published text, then use quotation marks (“…”) and add a page number. Use quotes sparsely, however. Default: explain everything in your own words (except if you adopt definitions or use quotes). That also applies to: theory review, description of method, limitations. You don’t have the benefit of the doubt. Don’t call your own ideas “novel” more than once!