UGBS Department of Accounting Hosts a 2-Day Qualitative Research Seminar
The Department of Accounting at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) organised a 2-day qualitative research seminar to equip researchers with knowledge on publishing in high-impact journals. The seminar was held at the UGBS Graduate Campus from 10th to 11th October 2024 and was open to all interested participants, with a focus on MPhil, MBA, PhD, and other postgraduate accounting students. Prof. Christine Gilbert from Université Laval, Quebec, Canada, was the Guest Educator for the seminar.
The seminar was moderated by Dr. Emmanuel Tetteh Asare, Department of Accounting, UGBS. He welcomed attendees and encouraged them to fully engage in the sessions for their academic and professional growth. He gave a brief overview of last year's seminar and introduced Prof. Gilbert to the audience.
Prof. William Coffie, Head of the Department of Accounting, also addressed the participants, noting the importance of qualitative research in the field of accounting. He stated that students and faculty had gained substantial knowledge from past seminars and that the addition of qualitative research would enrich their academic experience.
Prof. Gilbert shared her research journey, with an emphasis on her passion for critical accounting research. She delivered a presentation on "What is Critical Accounting Research," explaining that it involves socially constructed, subjective, interdisciplinary, and critical thinking approaches to accounting. According to her, Accounting can also be accountability, governance, annual reports, and calculative practices. She further elaborated on how to excel as a critical accounting researcher, offering useful tips for building research projects, including the importance of identifying key documents, formulating research objectives, and understanding research contributions. Her session featured an interactive discussion where participants engaged with the materials presented.
On the second day, Prof. Gilbert focused on "Crafting Qualitative Critical Accounting Research for High-Impact Journals." She covered different methodologies: quantitative, behavioural, and qualitative while highlighting the qualitative approach. Her discussions touched on interviews, data collection and analysis, trustworthiness, generalisation, and the coherence between theory and methodology. She also shared her checklist as a research paper reviewer and advised participants to pay attention to innovation, storytelling, and proper referencing in their research.
“The theoretical lens should be appropriate and well-defined; interpret terms that are intellectually charged with meanings.” She noted. She provided guidance on how to formulate research contributions and steps to take before submitting papers to academic journals. She also shared her published works, which participants had received prior to the seminar for discussion.
Prof. Mohammed Amidu, Department of Accounting, urged participants to continue attending such seminars since it is relevant to their academic programmes. Dr. Asare then spoke about handling rejection from journal reviewers and the significance of persistence in research. He encouraged attendees to participate in future seminars to enhance their research skills.
Dr. Mawuena Akosua Cudjoe, Department of Accounting, also contributed to sharing insights for better understanding. She later expressed gratitude to Prof. Gilbert, the faculty present and the students for making the seminar successful. Other faculty members present were Dr. Teddy Ossei Kwakye, Dr. Emerald E. S Welbeck, Dr. Mohammed Zangina Mankannah Isshaq and Dr. Micheal Effah Asamoah.