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Challenges in Research &

Academic Writing
Dr. Sajeet Pradhan
12th April, Tirupati
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What to study ?

General
Interest Topic
idea
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Process of Topic Selection

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

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Research Problem (Why to study?)

• By specifying a “problem”, you limit the subject matter and focus
attention on a specific aspect of study.
• What should it include:
 The problem
 A justification for the problem
 The importance of studying it for particular audiences

Source: Creswell , J (2017)

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Should the problem be Researched ?

Study the problem if your study

a) will fill a gap or void in the existing literature.

b) Replicates a past study but examines different
participants and different research sites.
c) Extends past research or examines the topic more
thoroughly
d) Gives voice to the marginalized section of the society.
e) Informs practice
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How research problem differs in

Quantitative & Qualitative Research ?

• Quantitative Approach
Explaining or Predicting relationship among
variables and differences between groups

• Qualitative Approach
Exploring or Understanding phenomenon in it’s
natural setting
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Flow of ideas in a “statement of the

problem”

Justifying
Research
Topic Research
Problem
Problem

Relating the Deficiencies in

discussion to the Evidence
Audiences

Source: Creswell , J (2017)

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Reviewing the Literature

The five steps to follow while conducting a Literature Review

• Identify the key terms (www.theorizeit.org)

• Locate Literature (Meta analysis)

• Critically evaluate and select the literature

• Organize the Literature

• Write a literature review

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Constructing a Literature Map (Source: Hovater, 2000)

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Types of Literature Review

 Thematic Review of literature

 Study-by-study review of literature

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304024722_CHARISMATIC_LEADERSHI

P_AND_RHETORIC_A_CRITICAL_REVIEW

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304024602_TWO_DECADES_OF_STUDY

ING_CHARISMA_THE_LEADERSHIP_DIMENSION

Publish your literature review

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Abusive supervision & Intention to Quit: The

Moderating Role of Neutralizers
• Meaningful Work
• Emotional Intelligence
• Positive Affect
• Perceived Coworker Support

Abusive Intention to
Supervision Quit
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How to give a good title to your research work ?

A good research paper title:

• Condenses the paper’s content in a few words (10-12
words)
• Captures the readers’ attention
• Differentiates the paper from other papers of the same
subject area

Suggestions:
• Keep it simple, brief and attractive
• Use appropriate descriptive words
• Avoid abbreviations and jargon
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How to write an interesting abstract?

1. Begin writing the abstract after you have finished writing

your paper.
2. Pick out the major objectives/hypotheses and conclusions
from your Introduction and Conclusion sections.
3. Select key sentences and phrases from
your Methods section.
4. Identify the major results from your Results section.
5. Now, arrange the sentences and phrases selected in steps 2,
3, and 4 into a single paragraph in the following sequence:
Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
6. Make sure that this paragraph does not contain
▫ new information that is not present in the paper
▫ undefined abbreviations or group names
▫ a discussion of previous literature or reference citations
▫ unnecessary details about the methods used
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How to write an interesting abstract? (Contd.)

7. Remove all extra information (see step 6) and then link your
sentences to ensure that the information flows well, preferably
in the following order: purpose; basic study design,
methodology and techniques used; major findings; summary of
your interpretations, conclusions, and implications.
8. Confirm that there is consistency between the information
presented in the abstract and in the paper.
9. Ask a colleague to review your abstract and check if the
purpose, aim, methods, and conclusions of the study are clearly
stated.
10. Check to see if the final abstract meets the guidelines of the
target journal (word limit, type of abstract, recommended
subheadings, etc.).
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Key to Keywords
Keywords are words that capture the essence of your paper. Keywords make your paper
searchable and ensure that you get more citations. Therefore, it is important to include
the most relevant keywords that will help other authors find your paper.

Here are a few tips that will help you create relevant and effective keywords for your
paper:

• Think from the point of view of the reader. What keywords would the reader search
for that would help retrieve your article?
• Keywords should ideally be phrases of 2-4 words; single word keywords are
acceptable, but they may lead to many false matches.
• Keywords should contain words and phrases that suggest what the topic is about.
• The full forms of shortened words or acronyms and abbreviations should be included
as well.
• Journals ask for anywhere between 3-8 keywords. However, it is good to have 4-5
keywords ready, and add more depending on the journal requirement.
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Identifying the GAP

• Where to look for ?

• What to look for ?
• How to build your case around the research gap ? (Discuss in Introduction)
• Explain how the gap has been bridged in discussion section.

Building my research based on other studies’ limitation:

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=manag
ementfacpub

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984307000458
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Purpose Statement, Research Questions & Hypotheses

Purpose Statement: The statement that advances the overall

direction or focus of the study.

Research Question: Those questions that narrows the purpose

statement to specific questions that researchers seek to answer.

Hypothesis: Statements in quantitative research in which the

investigator makes a prediction or conjecture about the outcome of a
relationship among attributes or characteristics.
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Examples of Purpose Statement, Research Questions &

Hypotheses

Purpose Statement: The purpose of this study is to examine the

relationship between abusive supervision and subordinate’s intention to
quit.

Research Question: Does abusive supervision affect subordinate’s

intention to quit the organization ?

Hypothesis: Abusive supervision will be positively related to

subordinate’s intention to quit.

Note:
1) Clarify what your intend to study : association or causality
2) State whether your alternative hypothesis is directional or non-
directional.
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Guidelines about writing Quantitative

Hypotheses
• State the variables in this order: independent , dependent, and control

variable

• Specify the relationship between/among the variables

• In case you are comparing the groups in your hypothesis , explicitly

state the groups.

• You may state information about the participants and the site of the

study.

• State the alternate hypothesis ether as directional or non-directional.

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Distinguish between Construct & Variable

A construct is an attribute or characteristic expressed in an abstract

way, whereas a variable is expressed in specific way.
A variable demonstrates two properties
a) Can be measured
b) It varies among individuals

Example: Operationalization of Abusive supervision (Tepper, 2000)

a) Verbal & Non verbal
b) Prolonged
c) Clear intent
d) Exclude physical contact
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The Family of Variables

• Independent Variable

• Dependent Variable

• Control Variable

• Moderating Variable

• Mediating Variable
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What participants will you study ?

Identify your
a) Level of theory
b) Level of measurement
c) Level of analysis
Source: Mathieu & Chen (2011)

Chan (1998) proposed a typology of composition models that may

guide researchers while working on theory building, data gathering,
and the measurement instruments used during multilevel studies.
a) Additive (Summing or Averaging Lower level data)
b) Direct Consensus (Rwg, ICC, ADI)
c) Referent shift consensus (http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/MD-07-2015-
0302)
d) Methods or techniques like HLM, WABA
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Specify the Population & Sample of the study

• Population
• Target population/Sampling Frame
• Sample
a) Probability Sampling- Researcher selects individuals
from the population, who are representative of that
population.
Ex: Simple random, Systematic, Stratified, Cluster
a) Non-Probability Sampling- Researcher selects individuals
because they are available, convenient and represent
some characteristic that the researcher seeks to study.
Ex: Convenience, Snowball, Maximal variation etc.
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Locate or Develop an Instrument

Check the psychometric properties of the scale

• Reliability
• Validity (Convergent, Discriminant, Face, Nomological, Predictive)

Discussing the abusive supervision scale

1) AS Scale (Tepper, 2000)

2) AS Scale (Mitchell & Ambrose, 2007)

https://media.terry.uga.edu/socrates/publications/2013/05/Mitchell
__Ambrose_2007_Abusive_supervision_and_deviance_JAP.pdf

3) AS Scale in Indonesian Context

http://repository.wima.ac.id/8297/1/Abusive%20Supervision%20Sca
le%20Development%20in%20Indonesia.pdf
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Control Variable
A control variable is a variable (Confounding variable) that effects the
dependent variable. When we "control a variable" we wish to balance its effect
across subjects and groups so that we can ignore it, and just study the
relationship between the independent and the dependent variables.
(Source: Becker, 2005)

How to conceptualize and operationalize control variables :

• Conceptual Control Variable (CCV)

• Measured Control Variable (MCV)
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Top 10 recommendations regarding the treatment of control variables in organizational research.

1. When in doubt, leave them out!

2. Select conceptually meaningful CVs and avoid proxies.
3. When feasible, include CVs in hypotheses and models.
4. Clearly justify the measures of CVs and the methods of control.
5. Subject CVs to the same standards of reliability and validity as are applied to other variables.
6. If the hypotheses do not include CVs, do not include CVs in the analysis.
7. Conduct comparative tests of relationships between the IVs and CVs.
8. Run results with and without the CVs and contrast the findings.
9. Report standard descriptive statistics and correlations for CVs, and the correlations between the
measured predictors and their partialled counterparts.
10. Be cautious when generalizing results involving residual variables.

Source: Becker et al., 2016

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Example :

For instance, in justifying why they included job experience as a CCV, Van Scotter,
Motowidlo, and Cross (2000) provided a rational explanation based on empirical
results with relevant citations:

The relationships between experience, task performance, and contextual performance are
relevant for three reasons. First, research shows that job experience explains considerable
variance in task performance. . . . Second, differences in the way that task performance and
contextual performance are related to experience provide additional support for
distinguishing between the two kinds of behavior. . . . Third, the mean correlation between
experience and contextual performance (mean r = .17) in these studies suggests that the
relationship between experience and contextual performance should not be ignored.
Therefore, Schmidt et al.’s (1988) warning that failing to control for differences in job
experience could make it impossible to detect relationships between job performance and
other variables seems relevant for this study. (p. 527)
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Collection of Data
• Collect responses at different time (time plays important role in case
of multi wave study)
• Collect from multiple sources (in order to combat single source bias)
• Tackling Self-selection bias ( Survey weights)
• How to code the responses when data collected at multiple time
points.
• Change the sequence of the questions to defeat priming effect.
• Include marker variable, Common latent factor (CLF)
• Ensure privacy, confidentiality and complete response to the survey
questions (in order to avoid missing data issue).
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Common Fallacy

Since the relationship has not been studied in Indian context therefore
we are exploring this possible association .

How to convince the audience that this study is relevant, important

and beneficial ?

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/JMP-10-2012-0314

https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=AFd1VhIAAAAJ&hl=en
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Do a Pilot Study

Conduct a pilot study using small sample.

 Sampling
Data Collection
 Initial analysis (psychometric properties)
 Look for association and direction

One can share the Pilot study with other subject matter
experts and take their suggestion and feedback .

In case needed do a midway course correction.

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Screening & Cleaning of Data

Data must always be screened to ensure the data is reliable, and valid for
testing the type of causal theory one has planned for.
• Handle Missing Data ( How to Avoid ?)
• Address outliers and other influentials (Unengaged respondent)
• Meet multivariate statistical assumptions
 Normality (Try “Transformation”)
 Homoscedasticity
 Linearity
 Multicollinearity (Check the VIF or Tolerance value; Try “ Centering or
Standardizing”)

(Source: Lyytinen & Gaskin, 2011)

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Finding appropriate statistical test

7 questions to ask in order to determine the statistical test:
1) Do you plan to compare groups or relate variables in your hypotheses or
research questions?
2) How many IV do you have in your hypothesis?
3) How many DV do you have in your hypothesis?
4) Will you be statistically controlling for the covariates in your analysis?
5) How will your independent variables be measured?
6) How will your dependent variables be measured?
7) Are your scores on your variables normally distributed?

(Source: Rudestam & Newton, 1992)

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Describe the Descriptive Statistics

What to present and how to explain what you have presented

 Mean, Standard Deviation, Intercorrelation & Reliability

 Discuss the control variables
 Look for multicollinearity between predictor variables

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S10489843070004
58
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Differentiate between EFA & CFA

EFA, traditionally, has been used to explore the possible underlying

factor structure of a set of observed variables without imposing a
preconceived structure on the outcome (Child, 1990). By performing
EFA, the underlying factor structure is identified.

Whereas, CFA is used when we want to test the measurement model or

in other words data fits the measurement model or not.

In case you are performing EFA and then CFA (which is not needed in
most cases), it’s advisable to use different data set.
Example:
https://media.terry.uga.edu/socrates/publications/2013/05/Mitchell
__Ambrose_2007_Abusive_supervision_and_deviance_JAP.pdf
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Analyzing the factor

structure of the
multi-item data

Source: Lyytinen & Gaskin, 2011

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Measurement Model (CFA)

What to report in GoF ?

 Absolute Fit Index (Chi square, GFI, AGFI, RMSEA)
 Incremental Fit Index (CFI, NFI)
 Parsimony Fit Index (PGFI,PNFI, AIC)
Confirmatory or Competing Model Strategy
 Does any other model fits the data better?
 Can these additional paths be theoretically explained?
• Discuss Convergent validity, Discriminant Validity & Reliability
• Model modification (Standardized Estimate, Modification indices,
Standardized residual)
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Structural Model

 Direct Effect
Ex: Abusive supervision (AS) has positive effect on employee’s
intention to quit (ITQ).
 Moderated/Interaction Effect
Ex: Meaningful work will moderate the positive relationship between
AS and ITQ
 Mediated Effect
Ex: Emotional exhaustion (EE) will mediate (fully/partially) the
relationship between AS and ITQ.
 Multi-group Effect
Ex: Gender will moderate the relationship between AS and ITQ, such
that the positive relationship will be stronger for females than males.
 Moderated Mediation
Ex: PCS will moderate the strength of mediated relationships between
AS and subordinate’s ITQ via EE, such that the mediated relationship
will be weaker under high PCS than under low PCS.
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Statistical Support for Hypotheses through

global and local tests
Source: http://statwiki.kolobkreations.com
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Moderation

Regression Analysis (Regression Coefficient, SE, t value, F statistics &

Coefficient of Determination, Change in R square)

 Centre or standardize the predictor variables if multicollinearity is a

concern.
 It’s better to report adjusted R square value than simple R square
value.
 The finding should be supported by simple slope method (Aiken &
West, 1991; Dawson, 2013)

Modgraph excel or Dawson Excel tool to draw the slopes:

http://www.jeremydawson.co.uk/slopes.htm

https://psychology.victoria.ac.nz/modgraph/modgraph.php
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Moderation (2 way and 3 way interaction)

Simple linear regression:

Y = b0 + b1X + ε

A two-way interaction:
Y = b0 + b1X + b2Z + b3XZ + ε

Y- Dependent Variable
X- Predictor Variable
Z- Moderator

A three-way interaction :
Y = b0 + b1X + b2Z + b3W + b4XZ + b5XW + b6ZW + b7XZW + ε

W- Moderator
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Mediation

Discuss whether it’s partial or full mediation (In many cases they
propose it in the hypothesis)

What to report ??
1) Regression (Regression Coefficient, SE, t value, F statistics, p
value)
2) Sobel Test ( Estimate value, SE, Z value, p value)
3) Bootstrapping (Mean, SE, Upper and Lower CI values)
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Moderated Mediation (Conditional Mediation)

Social Support Theory

PCS Conservation of
Resources (COR)
Theory

AS EE ITQ

Note: AS: Abusive supervision; PCS: Perceived co-worker support; EE: Emotional exhaustion;
ITQ: Intention to quit.
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Discussion of Findings

• Discuss the findings from the sample’s point of view

• If the result supports the hypothesis, one shouldn’t be repetitive by
discussing the same thing (which one has mentioned in the
Introduction and Literature Review).
• One should discuss the results (compare and contrast) with the
results of other studies (discuss regression coefficient, R square or
effect size, Control variables).
• How to discuss the result which is opposite to what one has
proposed in the beginning of the study?
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Emotional Intelligence
(EI)

Abusive Supervision Intention to Quit

(AS) (ITQ)

Hypothesis: EI will moderate the relationship between AS and subordinate’s ITQ such that the
relationship will be stronger for subordinates who are low in EI and weaker for subordinates who
are high on EI.
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How to defend finding when it doesn’t support

your proposed theory
• The first plausible explanation is the reverse buffering effect, which
indicates that when emotional intelligence is high, the positive
relationship between abusive supervision and intention to quit becomes
stronger. Several studies in organizational stress have reported of
reverse buffering effect (Glaser et al., 1999; Sullivan & Bhagat, 1992; Wu
& Hu, 2009) which explains why in certain cases even well intentioned
buffer back fires. Subordinates having high emotional maturity will
assess all possible ways to conserve the critical resources and might feel
avoidance (quitting the organization) as the best alternative to
safeguard any further depletion of critical resources.

• The second possible reason may be that individuals with high emotional
intelligence have the sagacity to discern whether the abuse from the
supervisor is a short term outburst or is a persistently prolonged abuse.
If the individual perceives that his/her supervisor won’t mend his/her
ways even if the individual manages the abuse in an emotionally
intelligent manner, then the propensity to quit the organization
(because of the supervisor) will increase.
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Limitations of the Study

Limitations of the study offers vital insights that discuss the following
aspects :
 Design issues (Cross sectional, longitudinal)
 Data collection issues (Multiple data sources, Multi-wave data
collection, Sample size)
 Analysis issues (Reverse causality, other means by which the data
can be analyzed in a more credible manner, Example, Sobel test)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S10489843070004
58
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IMPLICATION OF THE STUDY

• Theoretical Implication

 How the study will benefit the future researchers.

 Is it advancing the body of knowledge any further?
 Is it providing any new direction or instigate interest in the topic?

• Practical/Managerial Implication

 Will it bring any policy changes?

 Will corporate refer and cite this study for planning, forecasting and
strategizing ?
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Time of Psychosocial Socio-Technical

Intervention
Primary  Recruitment & Selection  Orientation Program
Process ( Identify rogue (Help new entrant
personality traits by using understand and imbibe
HDS, history of aggression) good practices)
 HR policies
(Zero abuse tolerance
policy)

Secondary  Mistreatment reduction at  HR hotlines

work by improving  Other Complaint
organizational climate Mechanism
(CREW program)
 Affirmation training

Tertiary  Counselling  Withdrawal of benefits

 Leadership Training Programs  Termination
(Role reversal, Empathy (Last resort)
training)
Authors’ Model : Sajeet Pradhan & Lalatendu Kesari Jena
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Conclusion
 The conclusion should be of few lines (maximum 10 lines) or a
paragraph.
 Reiterate what the study is about and the key outcomes.
 It generally ends with a future direction.
 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&c
ontext=managementfacpub
 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/JMP-10-2012-
0314
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304024722_CHARISM
ATIC_LEADERSHIP_AND_RHETORIC_A_CRITICAL_REVIEW
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Referencing: Citing them right

Referencing is the process of acknowledging the sources you have used
in writing your essay, assignment or piece of work. It allows the reader to
access your source documents as quickly and easily as possible in order
to verify, if necessary, the validity of your arguments and the evidence on
which they are based.

Citation: You identify sources by citing them in the text of your

assignment (called citations or in-text citations) and referencing them
at the end of your assignment (called the reference list or end-text
citations).
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Plagiarism: How to avoid?

Plagiarism is a term that describes the unacknowledged use of someone's work.
This includes material or ideas from any (published or unpublished) sources,
whether print, web-based (even if freely available) or audiovisual. Using the
words or ideas of others without referencing your source would be construed as
plagiarism and is a very serious academic offence. At the end of the day, it is
regarded as stealing intellectual property.

The following are considered forms of plagiarism:

• Passing off as your own a piece of work that is partly or wholly the work of
another student
• Citing and referencing sources that you have not used
• Quoting, summarising or paraphrasing material in your assignment without
citing the original source
• 'Recycling' a piece of your own work that you have previously submitted for
another module or course (i.e. self-plagiarism).
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Reference
Chan, D. (1998). Functional relations among constructs in the same
content domain at different levels of analysis: A typology of compositions
models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 234-246.

Cooper, H.(1984) The integrated research review: A systematic

approach. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage

Mathieu, J. E., & Chen, G. (2011). The etiology of the multilevel paradigm
in management research. Journal of Management, 37, 610-641.

Pradhan, S., & Jena, L. K. (2016) Abusive Supervision and Intention to

Quit: The Moderating Role of Neutralizers. Journal of Human Values.
22(3), 238-248.

Pradhan, S., & Jena, L. K. (2017). Effect of Abusive Supervision on

Employee’s Intention to Quit and the Neutralizing Role of Meaningful
Work on the Relationship. International Journal of Organizational
Analysis, 25(5), 825-838.
 54

Reference
Pradhan, S., & Jena, L. K. (2018). Abusive Supervision: Finding Training
solution to the Workplace Menace. Development & Learning in
Organization: An International Journal, 32(3).

Pradhan, S., & Jena, L. K. (2018) Emotional Intelligence as a Moderator in

Abusive Supervision - Intention to Quit Relationship among Indian
Healthcare professionals. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
Administration, 10(1).

Pradhan, S., & Jena, L. K. (2018). The Effects of Abusive supervision,

Emotional Exhaustion, and Perceived Coworker Support on Subordinate’s
Intention to Quit: A Moderated Mediation Study. Evidence based HRM.

Pradhan, S., Jena, L. K. & Mohapatra, M. (2018). Role of Gender on the

Relationship between Abusive Supervision and Employee’s Intention to
Quit in Indian Electricity Distribution Companies. Gender in
Management: An international journal.
 55

Reference
Pradhan, S., & Jena, L. K. (Under Review). Getting Even: A Study of
Abusive Supervision, Workplace Deviance and Intention to Quit of Indian
Entrepreneurs. International Journal Emerging Markets.
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