HC 9 Research Methods Flashcards
Steps before starting research (4)
- Definition
- Conceptualization
- Theory
- Validity
Definition
- What do people mean with terms they throw at you, like effective, stimulate etc.
- What are the characteristics of the relevant situation
- What are the managers assumptions about the concepts (implicit theory)
Why is the organization interested in this knowledge
Conceptualization
How to measure the concepts
What does theory say about these concepts
Which theory seems most relevant
What empirical evidence exist about the relationship between the concepts
Other relevant concepts?
Does management agree with your analyssis?
Is the data obtainable
Theory definition (Sutton & Shaw, 1995).
A theory is a set of testable assertions that specifies a relationship between two or more constructs, for what reasons the relationships are important, how the constructs interrelate and under what conditions the relationship is expected to be observed or not
Approaches to theory (2)
Inductive approach:
Deductive approach:
Theory types: Umbrella Theory
(eg. Behavour = (perception of) the
situation X Individual; Lewin, 1946)
3 Research types in organizations
Descriptive studies
Correlational studies
Experimental studies
Descriptive studies (4)
- Experts perceptions
- Interviews
- Case studies
- HRM reports
Correlational studies (2)
- Questionnaires
- Registration data (time sheets, sales statistics etc.)
Experimental studies (2)
- Field experiments
- Laboratory experiments
Validity (2)
Internal
- Are the measures reliable
- Are the measures related in a logical way
External
- Can the results be generalized to other groups
Validity types (6)
Content validity (non statistical)
Experimental validity
Criterion validity
Construct validity
Ecological validity
Diagnostic validity
Content validity
- Does the measure involve all sub-constructs
- Face validity
Experimental/research validity
- Does the study have a proper design and is it properly conducted
Criterion validity (3)
- Predictive validity
- Incremental validity
- Concurrent validity
- Predictive validity: Does it predicts what it should
- Incremental validity: Does it explain more the the related construct?
- Concurrent validity: Is the measurement correlated to other predictors of the same construct?