Spears School of Business

From left, Abbey Davis, Dr. Lisa Schurer Lambert, Reba McDermott and Marjorie Erdmann attended the Southern Management Association annual conference.

 

The Southern Management Association accepted the paper “Overlooked Aspect of Measurement: Does the Content of Verbal Anchors Matter?,” which was co-authored by Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business’s Dr. Lisa Schurer Lambert and students in Cohort VII of the Executive Ph.D. in Business program.

 

The co-authors traveled to New Orleans in November to present their findings at the association’s annual conference. The co-authors include:

• Lambert, William S. Spears Chair of Business and an Executive Ph.D. faculty member. She also began her term as SMA president at the SMA annual conference;
• Truit Gray, Ph.D. in Management student;
• Abbey Davis, Ph.D. in Business Administration for Executives student and Assistant Professor of Professional Practice;
• Marjorie Erdmann, Ph.D. in Business Administration for Executives student and Director, Center for Health Systems Innovation;
• Reba McDermott, Ph.D. in Business Administration for Executives student and Executive in Residence (Instructor), Accounting for the Sam M. Walton College of Business / University of Arkansas.

According to Gray, the paper focused on measures used in surveys. In particular, the response format, which is often overlooked. Response formats used in survey questions signal to respondents what form their answers should take.

 

“Response formats are an integral component of the measure because it helps participants clarify the meaning of the question that is being asked,” Gray said. “We found that often measures are not in alignment with the conceptualization of the construct being studied and that the selection of response scale has an impact on statistics drawn from data.”

 

The research was part of a EPhd Advanced Research Practicum. Erdmann said the group was able to accomplish a lot in a short period because they each took responsibility for a portion of the project. “We were able to flush out our ideas with Dr. Lambert and learn from her research strategizing and methods thought processes.” 

 

SMA plays a vital role in the Executive Ph.D. in Business program by presenting the latest research and providing opportunities to learn new pedagogies. This year was no different.

 

“The SMA conference was so validating and motivating to hear others enthusiasm for tackling this difficult and overlooked subject, survey responses,” Erdmann said. “We can’t wait until next year.”

 

Oklahoma State University offers an AACSB-accredited Ph.D. in Business Administration for Executives degree program that allows students to earn a doctorate in three years, while continuing full-time careers. Applications are due Feb. 1, 2022, for the upcoming fall semester. Learn more: https://gradcollege.okstate.edu/application-process/index.html.