2012 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2013), "2012 Awards for Excellence", Meditari Accountancy Research, Vol. 21 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/medar.2013.58121aaa.001

2012 Awards for Excellence

Article Type: 2012 Awards for Excellence From: Meditari Accountancy Research, Volume 21, Issue 1

The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for Meditari Accountancy Research

“Developing the relevance of the accounting academy: the importance of drawing from the diversity of research approaches”

Jane BroadbentUniversity of Roehampton, London, UK

Jeffrey UnermanRoyal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK

Purpose – One of the most important considerations in any research project is a compelling research question, the addressing of which will produce socially and/or economically relevant and beneficial insights based on high-quality evidence. The purpose of this paper is to explain that each possible research question requires use of the particular research methods that will produce the high-quality evidence relevant to that question, with the nature of the evidence and the methods required varying from research question to research question.

Design/methodology/approach – This discussion paper explores and explains the role and function of interpretive accounting research advocates its adoption.

Findings – As the research method needs to be suited to the research question, any restriction imposed on the credible research methods that are considered acceptable severely limits the ability of the accounting academy to serve the needs of society and the economy by addressing the broadest possible range of research questions. From this perspective it is vital for academics to recognize that both positivist/quantitative and interpretive/qualitative methods produce high-quality credible research evidence.

Research limitations/implications – Any preconceptions within a nation’s accounting academy over the unacceptability of either positivist or interpretive research will damage the health and relevance of that academy in the longer term.

Originality/value – The paper argues that both positivist and interpretivist research are needed, drawing on notions of subjectivity, objectivity and inter-subjectivity in the context of the social construction of both accounting information and research data, and in the context of the socially constructing nature of research evidence.

Keywords – Accountancy research, Interpretive accounting research, Intersubjectivity, Methodological diversity, Skills, Social construction

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/10222521111178600

This article originally appeared in Volume 19 Numbers 1/2, 2011, pp. 7-21 Meditari Accountancy Research

Outstanding Reviewers

Charl de VilliersUniversity of Auckland, New Zealand

Abdel HalabiUniversity of the Witwatersrand, South Africa