On the afternoon of June 24, 2019, Professor Li Zhizhen from Northern Illinois University was invited by our school to give a lecture entitled "Behavioral Accounting Research: Current Status and Future" in the second classroom of MBA. The lecture was presided over by Sun Wengang, the deputy dean of the School of Accounting. The 2018 master of the School of Accounting and some teachers listened to the lecture. Professor Li Zhizhen is mainly dedicated to research on forensic accounting and fraud detection technology. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Publication Committee of the FA (Forensic Accounting) Department of the American Accounting Association and the associate editor of the Journal of Forensic Accounting Research.
Professor Li first briefly introduced his study experience and research direction (Deception detection / Forensic accounting), and then introduced topics related to fraud and academic journals. Next, she focused on the related content of behavior research. Professor Li believes that behavioral research is a systematic analysis and investigation of human behavior. It can be divided into two levels, the micro level such as personal characteristics and personality, and the macro level such as group relationships and social systems. Based on different data collection methods and research objectives, research types can be further divided. For example, it can be divided into primary research and secondary research according to different data collection methods, and can be divided into Qualitative research and Quantitative research according to the processing methods of collected data. The research objectives can be divided into Descriptive research, Relational research and causal research. Through specific examples, Professor Li explained the characteristics of different types of research in detail, and analyzed the accounting behavior.
In the research process, the first step is problem interpretation. If a problem can be clearly stated, half of it is solved. Professor Li said that literature review is the key to clarifying the research problem, and the current research field can be learned through literature review The gaps in the research field may be found, and the influencing factors that lead to inconsistent conclusions (Mix findings) shall be further studied, and the moderator or mediator among them may be discovered. After clarifying the problem, the main task in the next step is to construct the problem (Constructs), including both conceptual construction and measurement method construction. By analyzing the question "Is intelligence related to happiness?", Professor Li explained in detail The key points in Constructs. At the same time, Professor Li also analyzed the factors that a good research should have, the characteristics of different research designs, and the issues that should be focused on in experimental research. At the end of the lecture, Professor Li introduced her current research direction and content, explained and expanded the problems in the research process in detail, answered the questions of the students and teachers one by one, and had a profound exchange with everyone.
This lecture allowed teachers and students to understand a "unfamiliar" and familiar research field—behavioral accounting research. At the same time, it allowed everyone to fully understand the beginning and end of the research process, especially the steps and difficulties of experimental research, which expanded the students Our research ideas and methods help students to combine existing knowledge with new fields and create new thinking sparks.
