Applications of ‘Pitching Research’ in an Emerging Economies Research Journal: Insights and Reflections

  • Rebecca Hale University of Queensland, Australia
  • Andrew Kilner University of Queensland, Australia
  • Rebecca Nucifora University of Queensland, Australia
  • Caitlin Plath University of Queensland, Australia
  • Elvis Wu University of Queensland, Australia
  • Xinyuan Zhang University of Queensland, Australia
  • Robert Faff University of Queensland, Australia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6867-9599

Abstract

Research Question: Can we create a highly structured (but practical) abstract, which communicates the essential elements demanded by an expert scholarly reader? Motivation: A key aim of this journal is to enable “relevant information exchange and communication”. Information overload mean that readers are easily lost. Right at the start, poorly designed abstracts can fail to “hook” readers. Lost readers: is bad for authors, editors and for the journal. What’s new? While structured abstracts are not new, the “synergistic” combination of elements, combined with succinct guidance on content, is where the novelty lies. So what? Engaging readers in this way should lead to more journal activity – more reads, cites, submissions – and, ultimately, to an enhanced profile/reputation in the scholarly community. Idea: Building on Faff (2015, 2017) and Faff et al. (2017e) [“reverse engineering” and “pitch sparring”], we adapt the “Pitching Research” [PR] framework to create a structured and engaging abstract. Data: The “experimental” setting involves a sample of six high-performing non-research students, who signed up to an intense 4-week “research scholar” program over Winter 2017, at University of Queensland. Tools: The “Winter Scholars” are first taken through an “immersion treatment” on the PR framework. During this process, the students form three teams and each team is assigned an article to “spar” a reverse-engineered pitch summary-abstract. There are several iterative rounds of abstract design. Findings: The original pitch is limited to 1,000 words, an initial condensed abstract aims for 400 words and the final version is modified to 350 words. Three examples of the final structured abstract are created in Accounting, Finance and Management, providing “soft” “proof of concept”. Contribution: By creating a simple, focused and structured new abstract design adopted by this journal, we enhance the ability of the journal to meet its primary aim of enhancing “relevant information exchange and communication”. Over time, with growing use and application in this journal the reach of this contribution grows too. More generally, we argue that this novel abstract design increases awareness of the broader PR framework, helping readers and especially novice researchers better understand, describe and ultimately design their own scholarly research.

Author Biographies

Rebecca Hale, University of Queensland, Australia

Rebecca Hale is a BBusMan/BSc (Honours) student at the University of Queensland (UQ). She has a passion for learning and development and a growing interest in consulting and organizational psychology. Her research interests include; learning and development, management, inter-group relations, leadership and change management. 
Rebecca completed a Winter Research Scholarship program with UQ in 2017 and has continued her passion for research with Honours in Psychology. In 2017, Rebecca was admitted to the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law Dean’s Honour Roll for outstanding academic excellence.

Andrew Kilner, University of Queensland, Australia

Andrew Kilner is a student at the University of Queensland, studying a Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics (Honours). Andrew has experience within asset management and economic consulting. The Pitching Research program was Andrew’s first experience in academic research and he hopes to complete a thesis within the Finance Honours program through UQ Business School in 2019.

Rebecca Nucifora, University of Queensland, Australia

Rebecca Nucifora is a student at the University of Queensland. She currently studies a Bachelor of Business Management (majors in Business Economics and Human Resources) and a Bachelor of Commerce (major in Accounting). Her research interests include business risk and controls, restructuring organisations and people
management.

Caitlin Plath, University of Queensland, Australia

Caitlin Plath is a graduate of the University of Queensland where she obtained a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce. Caitlin is currently working as an analyst at Deloitte in the Assurance and Advisory team where she plans on completing her CA in the coming years

Elvis Wu, University of Queensland, Australia

Wenhao Wu is a Bachelor student at the Faculty of Business, Economics & Law. He is a
novice researcher working on the Finance area. His research interests include Banking
and Finance, Investment and Portfolio Analysis, and Risk Management.

Xinyuan Zhang, University of Queensland, Australia

Miss Xinyuan Zhang graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Commerce. During the undergraduate period, she was an exchange student in Boston College. Her research interests include market management, risk management, corporate valuation, and investment and portfolio analysis. She has had a number of internships for a variety of public and national securities institutions and cross-border banking. She will soon begin studying Applied Analytics at Columbia University with a concentration on data analytics in modern internet finance.

Robert Faff, University of Queensland, Australia

Robert Faff has an international reputation in finance research: securing 14 Australian Research Council grants (> $4 million); >300 refereed journal publications; career citations >11,000; h-index of 53 (Google Scholar). His particular passion is nurturing and developing the career trajectories of early career researchers. Robert has
supervised more than 35 PhD students to successful completion and examined 50 PhD dissertations. Building on a 35-year academic career, his latest focus is “Pitching Research” [https://ssrn.com/abstract=2462059], now gaining great traction domestically and worldwide as exemplified by: >12,200 SSRN downloads; >250 pitching talks/events; at 37 Australian universities; and spanning >50 countries.

Published
2018-09-05
How to Cite
Hale, R., Kilner, A., Nucifora, R., Plath, C., Wu, E., Zhang, X., & Faff, R. (2018). Applications of ‘Pitching Research’ in an Emerging Economies Research Journal: Insights and Reflections. Management:Journal Of Sustainable Business And Management Solutions In Emerging Economies, 23(2), 1-11. doi:10.7595/management.fon.2018.0012
Section
Articles