The Centre for Accounting, Business, and Finance (CABF) parked under the Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) organised a webinar titled “Designing Effective Quantitative Research in Social Science” on 2 July 2024 via Microsoft Teams. The talk successfully attracted a total of 310 participants.

The key speaker was Universiti Sains Malaysia Senior Lecturer of the Graduate School of Business Dr Ooi Say Keat.

The talk aimed to equip participants with a holistic approach to conducting rigorous and impactful quantitative research, from conception to completion. It highlighted the essential skills researchers need to ensure their research framework is methodologically sound, relevant, and valid.

Dr Ooi started the talk by drawing on the importance of crafting quality academic papers in the current scholarly environment which has become increasingly competitive. He stressed that today’s research ecosystem has led to a change in research aptitude among researchers, especially when publishing in high-impact journals. The intense pressure to produce quality empirical research and publication fulfilment are incommensurate. Hence, researchers must equip themselves with a proper mindset and constantly acquire new skills and knowledge to perform or sustain.

Throughout the rest of the talk, Dr Ooi also shared valuable insights and experience with participants on the systematic approach to quantitative research, from the formulation of clear research questions and hypotheses, selection of appropriate methodologies that align with objectives, rigorous sampling strategies for representativeness to the intricacies of instrument design and reporting.

In a nutshell, Dr Ooi advised the researchers to stay attentive towards the latest developments in the research community and culture to consistently produce quality and impactful research instead of focusing on quantity.

The talk ended with an insightful Q&A session and a group photograph session.