1. Research Methods in Business Fall 2011 Writing Style and Ethics
Dr. Stefan Wuyts
Associate Professor Marketing
Koç University

2. Agenda
On writing well
Ethics in academic research

3. On writing well Some major themes in Zinsser’s “On Writing Well”:
Writing is difficult
Writing can be learned
Simplify
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough (Albert Einstein)

4. What were your takeaways from Zinsser?
On writing well
What were your takeaways from Zinsser?

5. On writing well
My takeaways
Chapter
Write and re-write (page 84: rewriting is the essence of writing well) 1
Don’t inflate to sound important 2
Clear thinking ~ clear writing
Clutter: use brackets approach (words, sentences, paragraphs) 3
Cut length from 8 to 4 is easy, from 4 to 3 is tough 4
Writer must relax and have confidence
Write for yourself (but respect journal style) 5
Writing is learned by imitation (of style) 6

6. On writing well Unity of pronoun and tense
My takeaways
Chapter
Unity of pronoun and tense 8
How much do I want to cover, what point do I want to make? What single point do I want to leave in the reader’s mind?
Full circle approach, link end with beginning
Beginning (intro, even first paragraph): don’t count on reader to stick around 9
Each new paragraph should add solid detail
First sentence of paragraph reflects core idea (see page 55), last one enables transition
Look for materials everywhere (e.g. examples from business)

7. On writing well Avoid passive voice
My takeaways
Chapter
Avoid passive voice 10
Write in short sentences (see page 72)

8. How do you structure an academic paper?
On writing well
How do you structure an academic paper?
Respect journal style -- example of Journal of Operations Management

9. On writing well Structure is very important!
First create structure, sequence of core ideas
Then work out the parts
Start each paragraph with sentence that conveys key idea
Make sure transitions between paragraphs are ok

10. On writing well
See Verhoef and Leeflang 2009: What are the arguments for H1 (page 16)?
H1: The accountability of the marketing department is positively related to the influence of the marketing department within the firm

11. Now let’s turn to your work.
On writing well
Read your neighbor’s text and formulate 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses. Assume the role of a “constructive reviewer”.
Now let’s turn to your work.

12. Ethics
KOÇ STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT 4.2. Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty includes and is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, multiple submissions, and collusion, the definitions of which are stated below: Cheating Cheating includes, but is not limited to, copying from a classmate or providing answers or information, either written or oral to others, in an examination or in the preparation of material subject to academic evaluation Plagiarism Plagiarism is borrowing or using someone else’s writing or ideas without giving written acknowledgement to the author. This includes copying from a fellow student’s paper or from a text or internet site without properly citing the source Multiple Submissions Multiple submission includes resubmission of the same work previously used in another course or project, without the permission of the instructor for both courses.

13. Ethics
KOÇ STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT Collusion and Impersonating Collusion is getting unauthorized help from another person such as having someone else write one’s assignment, or having someone else take an exam with false identification. Impersonating a student in an examination is also considered a grave act of dishonesty Fabrication Fabrication includes, but is not limited to, falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise Facilitating Academic Dishonesty Facilitating academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, knowingly helping another student commit an act of academic misconduct (e.g., cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, multiple submissions).

14. Ethics Research misconduct (Titus, Wells, Rhoades, Nature 2008):
The US federal definition of research misconduct:
“Fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in proposing, performing or reviewing research, or in reporting research results”
Plagiarism (Martin Research Policy, 2007):
“Plagiarism is widely thought of as perhaps the most grievous academic crime […] because it involves the stealing of ideas or other research material from others in order to pass them off as one’s own original contribution to knowledge”

15. Ethics
Compare
Gottinger, H.W. (1993), “Estimating demand for SDI-related spin-off technologies,” Research Policy 22,
with
Bass, F.M. (1980), “The relationship between diffusion rates, experience curves, and demand elasticities for consumer durable technological innovations,” Journal of Business 53,

16. Ethics But plagiarism can be more subtle. Be careful:
Always refer to ALL your sources (that includes any documents found on the internet);
If you copy part of a previously published text, then use quotation marks (“…”) and add a page number. Use quotes sparsely, however.
Default: explain everything in your own words (except if you adopt definitions or use quotes). That also applies to: theory review, description of method, limitations.
You don’t have the benefit of the doubt.
Don’t call your own ideas “novel” more than once!