WHAT DO EDITORS REALLY WANT? THE PHD PROJECT ACCOUNTING DSA CONFERENCE AUGUST 6, 2011 KATHRYN KADOUS EMORY 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