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Philosophies and tradition of accounting research

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  • Pankaj Kumar Baag

    (Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode)

  • Kavitha P

    (Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode)

Abstract

The tendency to follow the masses without any rationale is an in born tendency of human beings and researchers are not different in this regard. Many a times when a researcher encounters question like why is he doing the research in a particular manner, he struggles to convince himself and the others with his reasons. Research philosophies that explain how people perceive reality and how they go about acquiring understanding of the reality helps the researchers to have a clarity regarding where he is positioned in the research domain and the reason why he is there. The paradigms which follow common set of assumptions provides the researcher a feeling of Belongingness to a group of people who have similar approach. Hence it is very important for a researcher in any domain to have a basic understanding of the research philosophies and paradigms of his domain. We in this paper examine the different paradigms in accounting research by analyzing the different research philosophies. We also provide an overview of how these paradigms have evolved in the management accounting research and financial accounting research. This paper will help the young researchers in the accounting domain to have an overview of the various philosophies and paradigms that will guide them in finding relevant research questions and in choosing the right research design that is appropriate for addressing the question.

Suggested Citation

  • Pankaj Kumar Baag & Kavitha P, 2017. "Philosophies and tradition of accounting research," Working papers 260, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    • Handle: RePEc:iik:wpaper:260
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    research philosophies; financial accounting research; Accounting.;
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