Global Perspectives on Accounting Education Volume 6, 2009, 25-45

READING AND UNDERSTANDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN ACCOUNTING: A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS
Teresa P. Gordon College of Business and Economics University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho USA Jason C. Porter College of Business and Economics University of Idaho Moscow, Idaho USA ABSTRACT The ability to read and understand academic research can be an important tool for practitioners in an increasingly complex accounting and business environment. This guide was developed to introduce students to the world of academic research. It is not intended for PhD students or others who wish to perform academic research. Instead, the guide should make published academic research more accessible and less intimidating so that future practitioners will be able to read empirical research and profitably apply the relevant findings. The guide begins by examining the importance of academic research for practitioners in accounting and next reviews the basics of the research process. With that background in place, we then give some guidelines and helpful hints for reading and evaluating academic papers. This guide has been used for several years to introduce master’s degree students to academic literature in an accounting theory class. After reading this guide and seeing a demonstration presentation by the professor, students have been able to successfully read and discuss research findings.

Key words:

Understanding empirical research, supplemental readings, importance of academic research, incorporating academic research in classroom 25

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Gordon and Porter

INTRODUCTION here has long been a communication gap between the work of academic researchers and that of practicing accountants (for example, see Sterling 1973 and Zeff 2003). For researchers, the result of this gap is frustration that carefully prepared contributions to