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CHAPTER 5

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Third Edition, 2008 Prof. M. Easterby-Smith, Prof. R. Thorpe, Prof. Paul R. Jackson. CHAPTER 5. Designing Management Research. Learning Objectives. To appreciate how research philosophies impact on research designs.

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CHAPTER 5

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  1. MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Third Edition, 2008 Prof. M. Easterby-Smith, Prof. R. Thorpe, Prof. Paul R. Jackson CHAPTER 5 Designing Management Research

  2. Learning Objectives • To appreciate how research philosophies impact on research designs. • To understand what is regarded as (good) theory within each tradition. • To be able to develop and critique research designs.

  3. The Purpose of a Research Design • Your Research Design: • is about making choices about what data will and will not be collected and what will and will not be observed; • is a statement (often written before any data is collected) which explains & justifies the data that is to be gathered, and how this will be achieved; and • explains how the data will be analysed & how this will provide answers to the central questions of the research.

  4. Quantitative & Qualitative Designs • Quantitative data is either expressed as or collected in the form of numbers. • Qualitative data is expressed mainly in the form of the written word (but not always) and is concerned with meanings. Remember: you can not necessarily tell the underlying epistemology based on the researcher’s choice of methods.

  5. Research Methodologies Mapped Against Epistemologies

  6. Positivist Research Designs • Positivist research designs are based on the assumption that there are objective truths to be discovered by correct answers to questions. • The role of the researcher, then, is to hypothesise about the nature of the world and find data that confirms or disconfirms one or more of the posited hypotheses. • Experimental& Quasi-Experimental methods are ideal for this purpose.

  7. Validity of Positivist Designs • Internal Validity – • maximizing the internal validity requires the elimination of plausible alternative explanations for any differences observed between groups. • requires the assurance that the questions asked will give the answers that are sought. • External Validity – maximizing the external validity is specifying the extent to which the study can be generalized.

  8. Relativist Research Designs • Relativist research designs are based on the assumption that there are regular patterns in human & organizational behaviour, which are often difficult to detect & to explain due to the number of factors & variables involved. • The role of the researcher here is to expose these patterns & understand how the different factors & variables relate to each other. • Different kinds of Surveydesigns are ideal to measure multiple factors simultaneously.

  9. Survey Research Design • Factualsurveys – involve collecting & collating relatively ‘factual’ data from different groups of people • Inferentialsurveys – are aimed at establishing relationships between variables & concepts • Exploratory surveys – seek to find patterns that emerge from large quantities of data Again, validity is important which is important and assured by pre-testing the research instruments .

  10. Constructionist Research Designs • Constructionist research designs are based on the assumption that perceptions of the truth will differ between individuals and is affected by their cultural and historical context. • The role of the researcher should be to establish how the different perspectives and claims for truth and reality become constructed in everyday life. • Accordingly, there is a wide range of methods to achieve this, but the main ways are narrative methods, ethnography, and action research & cooperative inquiry.

  11. Perspectives on Validity, Reliability and Generalizability

  12. Broad Based Methods • Case studies – look in depth at one, or a small number of, organizations, events, or individuals, often over time • Grounded theory :

  13. Generic Issues • Be Clear on your Unit of Analysis? • Is your Theory a Universal One or Local Knowledge? • Theory or Data first? • Is the Intention to Reduce Complexity or to Be more Holistic? • To What Extent do you Need to Verify or Falsify?

  14. Contributing to Theory • Academic Theories • Middle-range Theories • Grand Theories

  15. Further Reading • Alvesson, M. and Deetz, S. (2000) DoingCritical Management Research. London: Sage. • Boje, D. (2001) NarrativeMethods for Organizational and Communication Research. London: Sage. • Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. • Locke, K. (2001) Grounded Theory in Management. London: Sage. • Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D. and Campbell, D. T. (2002) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalised Causal Inference. Houghton-Mifflin

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