(HIMA DIA NEWS) Surabaya, Tuesday, October 7, 2025 – The Accounting Doctoral Student Association (HIMAPDIA) of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Airlangga (FEB UNAIR) once again demonstrated its commitment to strengthening the academic competence of doctoral students through the Tips, Tricks, and Share (TTS) Series. The webinar, themed "Sharpening Accuracy & Strengthening Validity," was held online via the Zoom platform on October 7, 2025, from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM WIB.
This activity was attended by postgraduate students, particularly doctoral students from both UNAIR and outside the UNAIR community, as well as researchers seeking to deepen their methodological understanding of academic research.
Through this forum, HIMA PDIA strives to serve as a platform for shared learning to improve the quality of research in accounting and finance.
The TTS Series presented two expert speakers in the field of research methodology, namely Dr. Vera Oktari, SE., M.Ak., Ak., CA with the material "Unraveling Endogeneity in Research: Challenges and Solutions", and Dr. Pipin Kurnia, SE., M.Ak., Ak., CA., CSRS., CSRA., CSP with the topic "Robustness Test: Maintaining Consistency and Validity of Results". This scientific discussion was guided by Muhammad Noval, SEI., M.Si, a student of the UNAIR Accounting Science Doctoral Program, as moderator.
In her presentation, Dr. Vera Oktari emphasized that endogeneity poses a serious threat to causal claims in research. She outlined four main causes of endogeneity—omitted variables, simultaneity, measurement error, and selection bias—each of which requires specific treatment, ranging from the use of fixed effects and instrumental variables to the Heckman selection model. She emphasized the importance of researchers' ability to critically identify sources of endogeneity in research models, as no single approach can address all types of endogeneity simultaneously.
Furthermore, Dr. Vera explained that in panel data-based research, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is a powerful approach to addressing endogeneity issues, especially in dynamic panel models. This technique, developed by Arellano-Bond (1991) and Blundell-Bond (1998), allows researchers to address the use of lagged dependent variables as predictors and the assumption of endogeneity in independent variables. Therefore, a thorough understanding of Difference GMM and System GMM is crucial for selecting the approach that best suits the characteristics of the data.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pipin Kurnia highlighted the importance of robustness testing as an essential step in ensuring the consistency and reliability of research results. He emphasized that robustness testing is not merely a supplement, but an integral part of the scientific verification process, ensuring results remain stable even when small changes occur to the model or estimation method. Through various robustness checking techniques, researchers can strengthen the validity of their findings, increase confidence in the quality of their research, and increase the chances of publication in reputable international journals.
This HIMA PDIA initiative aligns with Universitas Airlangga global commitment to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education). By strengthening the methodological capabilities of young researchers, this activity contributes to target 4.7 of SDG 4, which is to ensure students acquire the knowledge and skills to support sustainable development. Furthermore, methodologically sound research contributes to the achievement of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality).
Through this activity, HIMAPDIA not only plays a role in building the capacity of individual researchers, but also helps strengthen the scientific foundation for sustainable development in Indonesia.