Chambers on Methods of Inquiry

Some of Chambers' earliest works concerned the need for intellectual rigour in accounting research. Drawing from his reading in philosophy, science, organizational behaviour and economics, he determined the principles of scientific theory, enunciated these and consciously followed these precepts in developing his own theory. His 1950s and 1960s theoretical works were seminal contributions to methodological inquiry in accounting. They sought to rectify the lack of theoretical foundation in accounting thought and the observed ad hoc rules of accounting practice. While annoying many, including the doyen of U.S. accounting academe, A. C. Littleton, he practised what he preached and the theory he later developed followed closely precepts that were set out in those early methodological inquiries. He was attacked by a new wave of positive researchers in the 1970s, but a closer examination reveals they share the same ontology and epistemological proclivities. Differences arise from the different assumptions and aims of their theorizing. Their methodology is hypothetico-deductivism derived from logical empiricism. This has been shown to be a defective and moribund method for developing acceptable reliable knowledge. Despite the claims of its adherents it ignores the ideological, political and social elements that make objective, value-free theorizing impossible.