We are excited to congratulate the following authors for winning the Organizational Research Methods 2017 Best Paper Award. This year two papers tied for Best Paper! Below are the abstracts of each article. Please note that the full articles will be free to read for a limited time.
Congratulations Jose M. Cortina of George Mason University, Jennifer Green of George Mason University, Kathleen Keeler of George Mason University, and Robert J. Vandenberg of the University of Georgia.
Below is the abstract from the award winning article, “Degrees of Freedom in SEM: Are We Testing the Models That We Claim to Test?“ in which their research processes and findings are briefly introduced.
Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been a staple of the organizational sciences for decades. It is common to report degrees of freedom (df) for tested models, and it should be possible for a reader to recreate df for any model in a published paper. We reviewed 784 models from 75 papers published in top journals in order to understand df-related reporting practices and discover how often reported df matched those that we computed based on the information given in the papers. Among other things, we found that both df and the information necessary to compute them were available about three-quarters of the time. We also found that computed df matched reported df only 62% of the time. Discrepancies were particularly common in structural (as opposed to measurement) models and were often large in magnitude. This means that the models for which fit indices are offered are often different from those described in published papers. Finally, we offer an online tool for computing df and recommendations, the Degrees of Freedom Reporting Standards (DFRS), for authors, reviewers, and editors.
Congratulations Thomas Roulet of King’s College London, Michael Gill of the University of Bath, Sebsatien Stenger of the Institut Superieur de Gestion, Paris, and David Gill of the University of Nottingham.
You can find the abstract from their outstanding article, “Reconsidering the Value of Covert Research: The Role of Ambiguous Consent in Participant Observation“ below, in which the authors briefly explain their research methods and introduce their interesting results.
In this article, we provide a nuanced perspective on the benefits and costs of covert research. In particular, we illustrate the value of such an approach by focusing on covert participant observation. We posit that all observational studies sit along a continuum of consent, with few research projects being either fully overt or fully covert due to practical constraints and the ambiguous nature of consent itself. With reference to illustrative examples, we demonstrate that the study of deviant behaviors, secretive organizations and socially important topics is often only possible through substantially covert participant observation. To support further consideration of this method, we discuss different ethical perspectives and explore techniques to address the practical challenges of covert participant observation, including; gaining access, collecting data surreptitiously, reducing harm to participants, leaving the site of study and addressing ethical issues.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication!
Meet the ORM editorial team! Click here to view their bios.
Degrees of Freedom Photo attributed to Free Photos.
Observation Photo attributed to Free Photos.
