ACC8000 Research in Accounting Practice Assignment 1, Semester 1, 2018: Due 16 April 2018
____________________________________________________________________________________ Weight: 20%, Expected words (excluding references) 1500-1700
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Question 1
a. What is plagiarism and why is it important for you to avoid it?
(3 marks)
b. When should an in-text reference be used in an assignment or report?
(3 marks)
c. The following excerpt is from page 7 of the book “How to succeed at your studies”, published by Good Books Ltd, Melbourne, 2018 and written by W. Done:
University study is like attending a smorgasbord restaurant. There are many very helpful resources available to students. However some students are like the person at a smorgasbord restaurant who is expecting waiter service. To have a good experience at a smorgasbord restaurant, you need to get out of your chair. You need to go and view the food on offer and after viewing all the food determine which dishes you will choose. You need to serve yourself. You then return to your table and eat your meal. To have good success at university use the resources available on the study desk for your course and those available on the university’s website. You’ll find the study desk has links to various resources to help with your assignments and further your knowledge. Doing the activities provided will also add to your knowledge and help in assignment preparation. Don’t be like the person sitting at the restaurant table wondering why they are hungry.
(i) Paraphrasing information from question 1.c. and demonstrate the use of in-text referencing. (1.5 marks)
(ii) Write a short paragraph which incorporates one direct quote using a portion of the information shown at 1.c. and use in-text
referencing. (1.5 marks)
d. Lyn Daff, Paul de Lange and Beverley Jackling published an article in the journal Issues in Accounting Education, in August 2012. The article was titled: A Comparison of Generic Skills and Emotional Intelligence in Accounting Education. It was published in volume 27, number three, on pages 627-646. Show how this article would appear in a bibliography using Harvard referencing.
(3 marks) Question 2
Super Clean Products manufactures robotic vacuum cleaners. It has been selling a standard model for three years and in the last 12 months introduced a deluxe model. Super clean has been keeping records of customer warranty claims. The introduction of the deluxe model has increased sales to the point where sales of both products are similar.
As sales have increased there has been an increase in warranty claims. The production manager would like to know if the average number of warranty claims per month differs between the standard and deluxe models. A new timekeeping system has recently been introduced for workers of the production lines to help determine how much time workers spend working on each of the two models.
The production manager would like to find out the workers’ views about problems they encountered in using the new system.
a. Based on the above scenario draft an exploratory research question.
(4 marks)
b. Based on the above scenario draft a causal research question.
(4 marks)
c. Based on the above scenario draft a descriptive research question.
(4 marks)
Question 3
Explain the deductive approach to research and inductive approach to research. Also include in your answer an explanation about how these approaches align with positivism and constructionism (ensure you use in-text references to your sources and include your references in your bibliography list at the end of your assignment).
(8 marks)
Question 4
Fred Fantastic works in the university library and he has been asked to prepare a survey about students’ use of the library services. Fred has drafted two questions. One question aims to determine how often students visit the library and the other question aims to determine students’ reasons for visiting the library. Carefully review the questions and response choices commenting on any problems you see in their design.
a. How often do you visit the library?
At least several times a week
A few times a month
Not very often
I have not visited the library
Once or twice
(5 marks)
b. What services do you use when you visit the library?
The online catalogue
The meeting rooms
I usually borrow books
I return books
Other
(5 marks)
Question 5
Define the following terms (ensure you use in-text references to your sources): a. independent variable
b. dependent variable
c. control variable
(3 x 3 marks = 9 marks)
Question 6
Read the article by Wang and Calvano (2015), and answer the following questions:
a. List the models’ independent variables.
(3 marks)
b. List the models’ dependent variables.
(3 marks)
c. Consider H1. Identify and explain whether the hypothesis has been written as directional or nondirectional.
(3 marks)
d. Consider H1. Identify and explain whether the hypothesis has been written in the null or alternate format.
(3 marks)
e. Consider H3. What does the word “interact” mean in the way it has been used in the hypothesis?
(4 marks)
f. The study used “treatment and control groups”. What is the purpose of using treatment and control groups?
(4 marks)
g. This study used a “posttest-only” design, what does this mean?
(4 marks)
h. What are the disadvantages of using a posttest design compared to other experimental designs?
(4 marks)
i. The experiment was conducted over several weeks, what potential problems might arise from conducting the experiment over this period that may effect the validity of the experiment?
(4 marks)
j. The study uses measures adapted from prior studies. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using measures from prior studies?
(4 marks)
k. Identify the control variables used in the study.
(3 marks)
l. Summarise the study’s findings in answering the question “Does gender effect the ethical decisions of business students?”
(6 marks)
m. Wang and Calvano (2015) refer to the meta-analysis of Waples et al. (2009). What is the purpose of a meta-analysis?
(4 marks)
End of assignment questions
Bibliography
Wang, L & Calvano, L 2015, 'Is business ethics education effective? An analysis of gender, personal ethics perspectives, and moral judgement', Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 126, no. 4, pp. 591-602.
Waples, EP, Antes, AL, Murphy, ST, Connelly, S & Mumford, MD 2009, 'A meta-analytic investigation of business ethics instruction', Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 87, no. 1, pp. 13351.