Studies that search for and fill gaps in literature produce trivial or incremental and often boring contributions to knowledge.
An essential requirement for PhD research and getting a manuscript published in a top-tier academic journal is demonstrating novel and significant contributions to knowledge. Problematization research offers excellent opportunities for demonstrating theoretical, contextual, artefactual, and empirical contributions.
Problematization research involves questioning, exposing, and resolving flaws, weaknesses, puzzles, tensions, and contradictions in the received body of knowledge.
Specific skills are required for problematizing research, generating associated research questions, and developing and presenting relevant theoretical and empirical approaches to investigating such questions.
Workshop Schedule
Day 1 of this workshop will cover problematization research in general. Participants will apply the lessons learned to problematize their proposed research and generate relevant research questions for constructive feedback from their peers and the workshop facilitators.
Day 2 will help participants develop skills for formulating problem statements, developing theoretical arguments, and writing contribution statements for theory-testing research questions that involve:
- Linear and curvilinear direct relationships
- Two-way and three-way moderation relationships
- Complementary versus substitutive configurational relationships
- Simple, serial, competing, and parallel mediation relationships
- Moderated mediation relationships
Day 2 will end with guidelines for writing the main sections of a typical quantitative-based empirical research manuscript for rigor and relevance.
Who will benefit?: PhD students, early career researchers, and other researchers seeking to learn something new and valuable to enhance their chances of publishing in high impact journals as determined by the Academic Journal Guide. To ensure high degree of interactivity, only 25 to 30 participants would be accepted. Hence early application is encouraged.
Venue: In-person only at KNUST School of Business
Date: April 12-13, 2024
Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day
Requirement: All participants must submit one research question (not more than 30 words), which they will work on during the workshop. Interested participants should submit and register here: bit.ly/0412workshop
Registration: The cost of this workshop (including registration, refreshments and learning materials) will be fully covered by the CARISCA Center at KNUST. However, participants must cover their transportation and lodging expenses. To enhance inclusiveness, stipend to cover the cost of lodging on the KNUST campus is available for female and PhD student applicants.
Application Deadline: April 10, 2024.
Facilitators: Dr. Dominic Essuman (University of Sheffield, UK); Prof. Nathaniel Boso (KNUST, Ghana); Prof. Henry K. Mensah (KNUST, Ghana); Prof. David Asamoah (KNUST, Ghana); Dr. Emmanuel Annin (Kumasi Technical University, Ghana)