Call for Papers, Posters, Round Table Proposals, Practitioner Contributions and Product Demonstrations





Each year the European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies (ECRM) provides a forum to meet and exchange views on our lives as researchers and academics, with others who understand the world in which we live. Over a few days, with those impassioned with all that is and could be methodology, we hear the words ‘paradigm’, ‘mixed methods’, ‘research strategies’ and many more, both in the formal sessions and later around meal tables and elsewhere. For many participants this conference has become an eagerly awaited stop on the personal voyage of discovery that is ‘research’. The next port of call for the ECRM 2011 will be CAEN, Normandie, France.

The conference committee is attracted by both theoretical and practical papers on many subjects, as well as by innovative ideas and experiences. We are also interested in case studies that demonstrate how research strategies have been applied and the lessons learned. We welcome contributions on many topics, presenting a range of scholarly approaches. theoretical and empirical papers employing qualitative, quantitative and critical methods are eagerly awaited. Action research, case studies and work-in-progress/posters are welcomed approaches. PhD Research, proposals for roundtable discussions, non-academic contributions and product demonstrations based on the main themes are also invited.


Submission details are given below. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

General topics:

§ Projective techniques


§ Scales development and constructs measurement

§ Methods for Ensuring Survey Research Quality


§ The use of qualitative and quantitative research methods

§ Theoretical and empirical research


§ IT adoption research

§ Economic research


§ Design-oriented research

§ Evaluation research


§ Dissertation development process

§ Developing research proposals


§ Research design and triangulation

§ Getting academic papers accepted by journals


§ Theory development

§ Concept verification


§ Research supervision

§ Research protocols


§ Research ethics

§ Research questions


§ Reflexivity

§ Field-work


§ Problem solving

§ Reflective practice


§ Usability scale implementation

§ Data structuring


§ Experimental procedures

§ Replication logic


§ Codes of conduct

§ Human subjects


§ Conjoint analysis, cluster analysis and segmentation

§ Business and management education


§ The role of Paradigms in business and IS research

§ Mutual research designs


§ Interpretative theory

§ Paradigmatic divide


§ Researcher roles

§ Focus groups


§ Marketing research

§ Mixed designs


§ Design research

§ Intercultural research


§ Agent based approaches in business research

§ Research in the Middle East


§ Delphi method

§ Case study research method


§ Action research

§ Computer modelling and simulation


§ Visual methodologies

§ Online research methods


§ Relativist approaches to qualitative research.

§ Use of self-research and autobiographies as a means of undertaking and reporting research


§ Research teaching within 21st century higher education institutions

Researching Sensitive issues:

§ Confidentiality and ethics


§ Ethnicity

§ Race


§ Gender

§ Age


§ Disability

§ Sexuality


§ Ill-health

§ Mental health


§ Stress

§ Relationships at work


§ Intimacy

§ Bullying


§ Emotions in organisations

§ Ideology


§ Propaganda

§ Union membership


§ Whistle blowing

§ Trust and distrust


§ Honesty

§ Work and home life balance


§ Superstitions

§ Belief and disbelief


§ Faith

§ Religion and cultural practices.


§ Ethnography and the Risky Workplace

In addition to the main call for papers, submissions are welcomed to six mini-tracks: Teaching Research Methods and Methodologies; Project Management; Mixed Methods Research Design; Research Methods in Cross Cultural Management; Exploring the Visual in Research Methodologies and Researching Research Informed Teaching.


Academic Paper submissions
Papers should address one of the topics listed in this call for papers and can describe a wide range of research including empirical or theoretical studies. In addition, philosophical papers presenting an argument and papers presenting a process that has been developed and is now ready for wider use are welcome. In all cases concepts and underlying principles should be emphasised, with enough background information to orient any reader who is not a specialist in the particular subject area original. The work should not have been published elsewhere and should not be intended to be published elsewhere during the review period. See the submission details given below.

Work in Progress/Posters
Researchers are invited to submit current projects which are either at the proposal stage or are work in progress. In the first instance you should submit an abstract describing the project. If your abstract is selected you will be asked to produce a short positioning paper of no more than 2000 words (including abstract, keywords, references). The paper will be double-blind peer reviewed and if accepted will be published in the conference proceedings. Presentation of the work at the conference will take the form of a Poster. Posters will be on display for the duration of the conference and there will be a timetabled slot for contributors to stand by their posters so that participants can come and discuss the research.

PhD Research
Doctoral Candidates are invited to submit papers describing their research. To be eligible, it is necessary for the paper to be produced to a publishable academic standard and papers will be subject to the same criteria and processes as research papers. However the final results of the research may not have been fully completed and interpreted. Wherever possible, PhD papers will be grouped together for presentation at the conference and there will be a discussion to provide constructive feedback on the work.

Case study submissions
Case study submissions should be written to publishable standards. Case studies will be subject to the same criteria and the processes as research papers.

Non-Academic Contributions
The conference committee welcomes contributions from individuals and organisations working in the field. These contributions can take the form of a presentation or a demonstration. In the first instance an abstract should be submitted describing the work to be presented. If the abstract is selected you will be asked whether you wish to produce a paper, a poster or just give a presentation. You will need to register for the conference to have a confirmed timetabled slot.

Round Table Proposals
The Programme Committee invites topical subjects to be proposed for discussion. In the first instance an abstract describing the proposed topic should be submitted. If selected the convener will be given a timetabled slot for the round table and will be expected to register to attend the conference.

Product Demonstrations and Exhibitor Opportunities
If you are contributing to the conference in any of the above categories you can also request the opportunity to give a product demonstration. If you would like to exhibit and/or demonstrate a product at the conference we suggest that you apply for one of our exhibitor packages.

Submission details:

Abstract details:


All submission types require an abstract in the first instance. The Abstract should be a minimum of 300 and no more than 500 words including up to five keywords and keyphrases to be received by 29 November 2010. Please read the Abstract Guidelines before submitting.

Submission:


Online via the submission form. Please ensure that you complete all relevant sections of the form, including the conference track the abstract is intended for, the proposed title for the paper, the full names (first name and surname, not initials) and email addresses of all authors and a postal address and telephone number for at least one contact author. Please indicate clearly if the contact author is not the lead author.

Full paper:


Only required after acceptance of abstract and not to be more than 5,000 words including abstract, keywords and references. Submission date will be no later than 17 January 2011. Please read the style guidelines document. Papers should be submitted as .doc or .rtf file attachments by email to the Conference Manager, Julia Hawkins with the paper submission checklist and copyright form.


Publication opportunity

Papers presented at the conference will be published in the conference proceedings. ECRM Proceedings have an ISBN and are listed in the Thomson ISI Index Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings (ISSHP/ISI Proceedings) and the Thomson Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings (ISSHP). Papers will also be considered for publication in a special issue of the Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods. The latest issue of the journal is available to read online.