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Question 1

Chapter 15. A spuious relationship exists when there appears to be a real relationship between two vaiables

Answer 1

false
A spurious relationship exists when there appears to be a relationship between two variables, but the relationship is not real: it is being produced because each variable is itself related to a third variable.

Question 2

Chapter 15. A null hypothesis stipulates that two vaiables are related in the population – for example there is a relationship between age and voting intentions in the population from which the sample was selected.

Answer 2

false
A null hypothesis stipulates that two variables are not related in the population— for example, that there is no relationship between gender and visiting the gym in the population from which the sample was selected.

Question 3

Chapter 15. A Chi-Square test allows us to establish how confident we can be that there is a relationship between the two vaiables in the population.

Answer 3

True
The chi-square (χ2) test allows us to establish how confident we can be that there is a relationship between the two variables in the population.

Question 4

Chapter 16. SPSS stands for “Statistical Package for the Social Science”

Answer 4

true
SPSS, which is short for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, has been in existence since the mid-1960s and over the years has undergone many revisions, particularly since the arrival of personal computers.

Question 5

Chapter 16. What is the advantage of using SPSS over calculating statistics by hand? Name all advantages.

A It equips you with a useful transferable skill.
B It reduces the chance of making erors in your calculations.
C Many researchers use SPSS as it is a recognised software package.
D It provides better understanding of the statistical techniques applied duing the research.

Answer 5

Correct answers: ABC
Many researchers use SPSS as it is a recognised software package.
It reduces the chance of making errors in your calculations.
It equips you with a useful transferable skill

Many quantitative data analysts use SPSS or an equivalent statistical software package. Such tools are widely regarded as being much faster and more efficient than mental arithmetic, as they can generate huge volumes of complex statistical data within seconds. If you prepare a probability sample, SPSS can help you to produce high-quality results. It might be however less transparent on the content of statistical techniques compared to manual calculation.

Question 6

Chapter 16. The SPSS Data Editor consists of two views, the Data Viewer and the Numeical Viewer3

Answer 6

false
The SPSS Data Editor. This is the sphere of SPSS into which data are entered and subsequently edited. It is made up of two screens: the Data Viewer and the Variable Viewer. You move between these two viewers by selecting the appropriate tab at the bottom of the screen.

Question 7

Chapter 16. The SPSS Data Viewer is the spreadsheet into which your data are entered.

Answer 7

True

Question 8

How is a variable name different from a variable label?
A It is shorter and less detailed.

B It is longer and more detailed.

C It is abstract and unspecific.

D It refers to codes rather than variables.

Answer 8

A ) It is shorter and less detailed.

Clicking the tab on the bottom of the Data Editor screen will switch the programme to the ‘Variable View’. You are limited to eight characters for the variable name, so there is a limit on how you can express the variable for the purposes of SPSS calculations. However, you can enter a longer and more meaningful name as a variable label. SPSS will use the label for all printed output. An example within the Gym dataset would be reasons. A variable label provides a more detailed description of what this means, and serves as a memo to oneself: for example: reasons for visiting gym.

Question 9

Missing values are when you do not have data for a particular variable when entering a case, you must specify how you are denoting missing values for that variable.

Answer 9

True

Missing values are when you do not have data for a particular variable when entering a case, you must specify how you are denoting missing values for that variable.

Question 10

When cross-tabulating two variables, it is conventional to:

A)
represent the independent variable in rows and the dependent variable in columns.

B)
assign both the dependent and independent variables to columns.

C)
represent the dependent variable in rows and the independent variable in columns.

D)
assign both the dependent and independent variables to rows.

Answer 10

Correct answer:
C) represent the dependent variable in rows and the independent variable in columns.
It is conventional to represent an inferred relationship between two variables in this way, because it makes tables easier to read. Typically this is done when you feel you can make a claim of causality, so that a change in the independent variable produces a change in the dependent variable. Similarly, when producing a bar chart or scatter-plot, you should assign the independent variable to the x axis (to produce columns) and the dependent variable to the y axis (to produce horizontal readings).

Question 11

To generate a Spearman’s rho test, which set of instructions should you give SPSS?

A
Analyze; Crosstabs; Descriptive Statistics; Spearman; OK

B
Graphs; Frequencies; [select variables]; Spearman; OK

C
Analyze; Compare Means; Anova table; First layer; Spearman; OK

D
Analyze; Correlate; Bivariate; [select variables]; Spearman; OK

Answer 11

Correct answer: D
Analyze; Correlate; Bivariate; [select variables]; Spearman; OK

Spearman’s rho is a test of correlation, so we should expect to find the SPSS function under ‘Analyse’ – ‘Correlate’. Selecting ‘Bivariate’ opens up the “Bivariate Correlations” dialog box and allows you to generate a coefficient to show the strength of the relationship between variables you selected.

Question 12

How would you print a bar chart that you have just produced in SPSS?

A
In Output Viewer, click File, Print, select the bar chart and click OK

B
In Variable Viewer, open bar chart, click File, Print, OK

C
In Chart Editor, click Descriptive Statistics, Print, OK

D
In Data Editor, open Graphs dialog box, click Save, OK

Answer 12

Correct answer: A
In Output Viewer, click File, Print, select the bar chart and click OK

This is a straightforward way of printing your bar chart as a piece of “output” from SPSS. If you do not specify which things you want to print from the output summary box on the left of the screen, SPSS will print all of the graphs and tables in the Output Viewer. You can also locate a printer ‘icon’ like you have seen in many other computer programmes, which will open a ‘Print dialog box’. SPSS will warn you that your output has not been saved if you try to close the Output Editor. If that should happen, save your output as a file (SPSS gives you many types to choose from) and decide later on which material you want to print (and even which programme to print from).

Question 13

Qualitative research takes a deductive view of the relationship between theory and research, where the latter is tested by the former.

Answer 13

false

Most obviously, qualitative research tends to be concerned with words rather than numbers, but three further features are particularly noteworthy: an inductive view of the relationship between theory and research, whereby the former is generated out of the latter.

Question 14

The epistemological position of qualitative research could be best described as interpretivist.

Answer 14

true

an epistemological position described as interpretivist, meaning that, in contrast to the adoption of a natural scientific model in quantitative research, the stress is on the understanding of the social world through an examination of the interpretation of that world by its participants.

Question 15

The ontological position of qualitative research

could be best described as objectivist

Answer 15

false

an ontological position described as constructionist, which implies that social properties are outcomes of the interactions between individuals, rather than phenomena ‘out there’ and separate from those involved in their construction.

Question 16

Which of the following is not a main research
method associated with qualitative research?

A
Ethnography

B
Focus Groups

C
Content Analysis

D
Qualitative Interviewing

Answer 16

C) Content Analysis

The following are the main research methods associated with qualitative research. Ethnography/participant observation. While some caution is advisable in treating ethnography and participant observation as synonyms, they refer to similar approaches to data collection in which the researcher is immersed in a social setting for some time in order to observe and listen with a view to gaining an appreciation of the culture of a social group. Qualitative interviewing. This is a very broad term to describe a wide range of
interviewing styles. Moreover, qualitative researchers employing ethnography or participant observation typically engage in a substantial amount of qualitative interviewing. Focus groups. Language-based approaches to the collection of qualitative data, such as discourse and conversation analysis. The collection and qualitative analysis of texts and
documents.

Question 17

Purposive sampling is a form of probability sampling.

Answer 17

false

Purposive sampling is a non-probability form of sampling.

Question 18

The goal of purpose sampling is to sample cases/participants in a strategic way, so that those sampled are relevant to the research questions that are being posed.

Answer 18

true

Question 19

Which of the following is not a purposive sampling approach?
A
Theoretical sampling

B
Snowball sampling

C
Opportunistic sampling

D
Cluster sampling

Answer 19

Cluster sampling D

The following is a list of some prominent types of purposive sample that have been identified by writers such as Patton (1990) and Palys (2008): 1. Extreme or deviant case sampling. Sampling cases that are unusual or that are unusually at the far end(s) of a particular dimension of interest. 2. Typical case sampling. Sampling a case because it exemplifies a dimension of interest. 3. Critical case sampling. Sampling a crucial case that permits a logical inference about the phenomenon of interest—for example, a case might be chosen precisely because it is anticipated that it might allow

a theory to be tested. 4. Maximum variation sampling. Sampling to ensure

as wide a variation as possible in terms of the dimension of interest. 5. Criterion sampling. Sampling all units (cases or individuals) that meet a particular criterion. 6. Theoretical sampling. 7. Snowballsampling. 8. Opportunistic sampling. Capitalizing on opportunities to collect data from certain individuals, contact with whom is largely unforeseen but who may provide data relevant to the research question. 9. Stratified purposive sampling. Sampling of usually typical cases or individuals within subgroups of interest.

Question 20

Theoretical sampling is a form of purposive sampling associated with a qualitative data analysis approach known as grounded theory.

Answer 20

true
One form of purposive sampling is theoretical sampling, advocated by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Strauss and Corbin (1998) in the context of an approach to qualitative data analysis they developed known as grounded theory.

Question 21

In theoretical saturation, the researcher acknowledges that they need to collect more data to substantiate the categories they’ve identified.

Answer 21

false
In grounded theory, you carry on collecting data (observing, interviewing, collecting documents) through theoretical sampling until theoretical saturation has been achieved. This means that successive interviews/observations have both formed the basis for the creation of a category and confirmed its importance and there is no need to continue with data collection in relation to that category or cluster of categories

Question 22

Snowball sampling is:

A
All of the below

B
A form of convenience sampling

C
Not a random sampling approach

D
A method where a researcher makes contact with a small group of people and uses them to make contact with others.

Answer 22

all of the below

Question 23

At the outset of any qualitative research project, the researcher should be able to determine how many people should be interviewed.

Answer 23

false
One of the problems that the qualitative researcher faces is that it can be

difficult to establish at the outset how many people will be interviewed if

theoretical considerations guide selection.

Question 24

In most Business Research, saturation is claimed, justified and explained.

Answer 24

false

If saturation is the criterion for sample size, specifying minimum or maximum sample sizes is pointless. Essentially, the criterion for sample size is whatever it takes to achieve saturation. The problem is that, as several writers observe (e.g. Guest et al. 2006; Mason 2010), saturation is often claimed but not justified or explained (Bowen 2008).

Question 25

Chapter 18. Why is an ethnographic study unlikely to use a probability sample?

A
Because the aim of understanding is more important than that of generalization.

B
Because the researcher cannot control who is willing to talk to them.

C
Because it is difficult to identify a sampling frame.

D
All of the above.

Answer 25

D) all of the above

Ethnographic research tends to rely on convenience or snowball sampling, because the ethnographer can only glean information from whoever is prepared to talk to them. The shifting population of such groups also makes it difficult to map out the sampling frame from which a probability sample could be selected. However, as a qualitative research design, it is generally seen as more important for this technique to lead to interpretive understanding than to statistical generalisation.

Question 26

Ethnography and participant observation are easy to distinguish.

Answer 26

false

Definitions of ethnography and participant observation are difficult to distinguish.

Question 27

Ethnography denotes the practice of writing about (choose one option):

A
People and organisations

B
People and cultures

C
People and machines

D
People and religion

Answer 27

B) people and cultures

Since the 1980s the popularity of organizational culture as a concept has meant that ethnographic methods have enjoyed something of a revival within business and management research. Ethnography, which denotes the practice of writing (graphy) about people and cultures (ethno), has provided researchers with an obvious method for understanding work organizations as cultural entities.

Question 28

In ethnography, gaining access to the social setting is one of the least difficult steps.

Answer 28

false

One of the key and yet most difficult steps in ethnography is gaining access to a social setting that is relevant to the research problem in which you are interested.

Question 29

Which of the following would not typically be considered a data collection source in an ethnographic study?

A
Observation

B
Questionnaire

C
Interview

D
Documents

Answer 29

B) questionarrie

Question 30

It is considered unethical to use friends, contacts or colleagues to gain access to conduct ethnographic research in an organization

Answer 30

false

Use friends, contacts, colleagues, academics to help you gain access; provided the organization is relevant to your research question, the route should not matter.

Question 31

Negotiation of access will always finish once you have made contact and gained an entrée to the organisation.

Answer 31

false

Negotiation of access does not finish when you have made contact and gained an entrée to the organization. You still need access to people.

Question 32

Which of the following is not a concern that group members may have about an ethnographic researcher?

A
That they are there to spy on the employees

B
That anything they say to them will get back to the bosses

C
That they are sent by a competitor

D
That they have a criminal record

Answer 32

D) That they have a criminal record

There are various concerns that group members may have, and these will affect the level of ongoing access that you are able to achieve. People will have suspicions about you, perhaps seeing you as an instrument of top management (it is very common for members of organizations to believe that researchers are placed there to check up on them or even to mistake them for other people). For example, Freeman (2000) found that her research access was halted because of fears that she was a corporate spy, sent by a competitor organization to poach members of the workforce. People will worry that what they say or do may get back to bosses or to colleagues. Van Maanen (1991a) notes from his research on the police that, when conducting ethnographic research among officers, you are likely to observe activities that may be deeply discrediting and even illegal. Your credibility among police officers will be determined by your reactions to situations and events that are known to be difficult for individuals. If they have these worries, they may go along with your research, but in fact sabotage it, engaging in deceptions, misinformation, and not allowing access to ‘back regions’

Question 33

Which of the following can you do to smooth the path of ongoing access in an ethnographic study? Please select all that apply.
A
Pretend to be somebody you are not

B
Play up to your credentials

C
Pass loyalty tests

D
Bribe your participants

Answer 33

C Pass loyalty tests
B Play up to your credentials

here are four things you can do to smooth the path of ongoing access: • Play up your credentials—your past work and experience; your knowledge of the organization and/or its sector; your understanding of organization members’ problems—and be prepared for tests of either competence or credibility. • Pass tests—be non-judgemental when things are said to you about informal activities or about the organization; make sure information given to you does not get back to others, whether bosses or peers.

Question 34

Going native refers to when an ethnographer loses their sense of being a researcher and becomes wrapped up in the world view of the people they are studying, to such an extent that they are willing to engage in unethical behaviour.

Answer 34

true

Question 35

Which of the following is not a category of field notes for an ethnographic study?

Answer 35

billed notes

Some writers have found it useful to classify the types of field notes that are

generated in the process of conducting an ethnography. The following

classification is based on the similar categories suggested by Lofland and

Lofland (1995) and Sanjek (1990). Mental notes: particularly useful when it is inappropriate to be seen taking notes. Jotted notes (also called scratch notes): very brief notes written down on pieces of paper or in small notebooks to jog one’s memory about events that should be writ- ten up

later. Lofland and Lofland (1995: 90) refer to these as being made up of

‘little phrases, quotes, key words, and the like’. They need to be jotted down

inconspicuously, preferably out of sight, since detailed note-taking in front

of people may make them self- conscious. Full field notes: as soon as

possible, make detailed notes, which will be your main data source.

Question 36

Postmodernism can be seen as the stimulus for the linguistic turn in the social sciences. The linguistic turn is based on the idea that language shapes our understanding of the world.

Answer 36

true

Question 37

Auto-ethnography involves writing the study exclusively from the position of others and the researcher tries as much as possible to exclude themselves from the account.

Answer 37

false

One of the ways in which more reflexive, narrative forms of ethnographic writing have been cultivated is through the emerging cross-disciplinary genre of auto-ethnography. This relates to the interest of anthropologists in

auto-anthropology (Strathern 1987), which is an autobiographical form of

research that is concerned with researching settings where the cultural

backgrounds of the observer and observed are shared. Auto-ethnography involves the writing of a highly personalized text in which the personal is related to the cultural and the political in a way that claims the conventions associated with literary writing.

Question 38

Which of the following is not a difference between qualitative and quantitative interviewing?

A
The approach is less structured in qualitative research

B
The approach is generally less rigorous in qualitative research

C
In qualitative research, rambling or going off-topic is often encouraged

D
Qualitative research tends to be more flexible and sensitive to context

Answer 38

The approach is generally less rigorous in qualitative research B)

Qualitative interviewing is usually very different from interviewing in quantitative research in a number of ways. The approach tends to be much less structured in qualitative research. In quantitative research, the approach is structured to maximize the reliability and validity of measurement of key

concepts. It is also more structured because the researcher has a clearly

specified set of research questions that are to be investigated. The structured interview is designed to answer these questions. Instead, in qualitative research, there is an emphasis on greater generality in the formulation of initial research ideas and on interviewees’ own perspectives.

In qualitative interviewing, there is much greater interest in the interviewee’s point of view; in quantitative research, the interview reflects the researcher’s concerns. This contrast is a direct outcome of the previously mentioned one. For example, Ram (1994) describes his qualitative interviewing style as owing little to the ‘textbook’ approach, which ‘exhorts the interviewer to remain aloof while seeking to extract information from the respondent’ (1994: 32), as it would have been ‘absurd and counter-productive’ to assume this degree of social distance from family and friends whom he had known for years. In qualitative interviewing, ‘rambling’ or going off at tangents is often encouraged—it gives insight into what the interviewee sees as relevant and important; in quantitative research, it is usually regarded as a nuisance and discouraged. In qualitative interviewing, interviewers can depart significantly from any schedule or guide that is being used. They can ask new questions that follow up interviewees’ replies and can vary the order of questions and even the wording of questions. In quantitative research, none of these things should be done, because they will compromise the standardization of the interview process and hence the reliability and validity of measurement. As a result, qualitative interviewing tends to be flexible, responding to the direction in which interviewees take the interview and perhaps adjusting

the emphases in the research as a result of significant issues that emerge in

the course of interviews. By contrast, structured interviews are typically

inflexible, because of the need to standardize the way in which each

interviewee is dealt with. In qualitative interviewing, the researcher wants rich, detailed answers; in quantitative research, the interview is supposed to generate answers that can be coded and processed quickly. In qualitative interviewing, the interviewee may be interviewed on more than one and sometimes even several occasions. In quantitative research, unless the research is longitudinal in character, the person will be interviewed on one occasion only.

Question 39

A totally unstructured interview would be considered poor research practice in the social sciences.

Answer 39

false

Qualitative interviewing varies a great deal in the approach taken by the interviewer. The two major types were mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. The almost totally unstructured interview. Here the researcher uses at most an aide-mémoire as a brief set of prompts to him or herself to deal with a certain range of topics. There may be just a single question that the interviewer asks, and the interviewee is then allowed to respond freely, with the interviewer simply responding to points that seem worthy of being followed up. Unstructured interviewing tends to be very similar in character to a conversation (Burgess 1984). Dalton (1959) refers to the importance of ‘conversational interviewing’ as the basis for his data collection strategy. These are not interviews in the usual sense, but a series of broken and incomplete conversations that, when written up, may, according to Dalton, be ‘tied together as one statement’ (1959: 280). Conversational interviews are characterized by being precipitated by events. In some instances, these were prompted by Dalton, who asked managers at the end of an important meeting an open-ended question like ‘How did things go?’, but in others they were simply the result of overheard exchanges in shops or offices.

Question 40

n either an unstructured or semi-structured interview, the interview process is likely to be flexible.

Answer 40

true

Question 41

What should you not do in the preparation of an interview guide?

A
Develop questions which demonstrate how much you know about the area in questions

B
Create order in the topic areas

C
Ask leading questions

D
Record “facesheet” information of a general kind

Answer 41

A) Develop questions which demonstrate how much you know about the area in questions

Question 42

Kvale (1996) has proposed 10 criteria of a successful interviewer. Which of the following is not one of them?
A
Gentle

B
Steering

C
Critical

D
Confrontational

Answer 42

D) Confrontational

Kvale (1996) has proposed a list of ten criteria of a successful interviewer.

1. Knowledgeable: is thoroughly familiar with the focus of the interview; pilot interviews of the kind used in survey interviewing can be useful here.
2. Structuring: gives purpose for interview; rounds it off; asks whether interviewee has questions.
3. Clear: asks simple, easy, short questions; no jargon.
4. Gentle: lets people finish; gives them time to think; tolerates pauses.
5. Sensitive: listens attentively to what is said and how it is said; is empathetic in dealing with the interviewee.
6. Open: responds to what is important to interviewee and is flexible.
7. Steering: knows what he or she wants to find out.
8. Critical: is prepared to challenge what is said—for example, dealing with inconsistencies in interviewees’ replies.
9. Remembering: relates what is said to what has previously been said.
10. Interpreting: clarifies and extends meanings of interviewees’ statements, but without imposing meaning on them.

Question 43

Identify two types of questions, as recommended by Kvale (1996). Please select all that apply.

A
Awkward questions

B
Difficult questions

C
Probing questions

D
Indirect questions

Answer 43

Probing questions

Indirect questions

The kinds of question asked in qualitative interviews are highly variable. Kvale (1996) has suggested nine different kinds of question. Most interviews will contain virtually all of them, although interviews that rely on lists of topics

are likely to follow a somewhat looser format. Kvale’s nine types of question

are as follows.

1. Introducing questions: ‘Please tell me about when your interest in X first began’; ‘Have you ever . . . ?’; ‘Why did you go to . . . ?’
2. Follow-up questions: getting the interviewee to elaborate his or her answer, such as ‘Could you say some more about that?’; ‘What do you mean by that . . . ?’; ‘Can you give me an example . . . ?’; even ‘Yeeees?’
3. Probing questions: following up what has been said through direct questioning.
4. Specifying questions: ‘What did you do then?’; ‘How did X react to what you said?’
5. Direct questions: ‘Do you find it easy to keep smiling when serving customers?’; ‘Are you happy with the amount of on-the-job training you have received?’ Such questions are perhaps best left until towards the end of the interview, in order not to influence the direction of the interview too much.
6. Indirect questions: ‘What do most people round here think of the ways that management treats its staff?’, perhaps followed up by ‘Is that the way you feel too?’, in order to get at the individual’s own view.
7. Structuring questions: ‘I would now like to move onto a different topic.’
8. Silence: allow pauses to signal that you want to give the interviewee the

opportunity to reflect and amplify an answer.

9. Interpreting questions: ‘Do you mean that your leadership role has had to

change from one of encouraging others to a more directive one?’; ‘Is it fair to

say that you don’t mind being friendly towards customers most of the time, but when they are unpleasant or demanding you find it more difficult?’

Question 44

Interviews in the social sciences are rarely transcribed, it takes too long and is cumbersome to do.

Answer 44

false

n qualitative research, the interview is usually audio- recorded and transcribed whenever possible

Question 45

Telephone interviewing is more commonly used in qualitative research than face-to-face interviewing.

Answer 45

false

Telephone interviewing is quite common in survey re- search. However, it has not been used a great deal in qualitative research. It is likely to have certain benefits when compared to face-to-face qualitative interviewing.

Question 46

In synchronous online interviews, communication takes place in real time so that the questions posed by the researcher are answered more or less immediately by the participant.

Answer 46

true

Question 47

Which of the following is not an advantage of Skype interviewing?
A
It is more flexible

B
It reduces time and cost

C
It demonstrates the tech savviness (i.e. shrewdness and practical knowledge) of the researcher to the participant

D
It has no safety concerns for the researcher

Answer 47

C) It demonstrates the tech savviness (i.e. shrewdness and practical knowledge) of the researcher to the participant

Skype interviewing is more flexible than face to face interviewing;

There are obvious time and cost savings as the need to travel is removed;

The convenience of being interviewed by Skype may encourage people to agree to be interviewed;

There are fewer concerns about the safety of both parties in an interview situation.

Question 48

identify two disadvantages of Skype interviewing. Please select all that apply.
A
Technological problems

B
Cyberbullying (i.e. the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature)

C
Cancellation more likely

D
Data privacy concerns

Answer 48

A) Technological problems

C)Cancellation more likely

Question 49

In a life history interview, the participant discusses the totality of their life experience in a relatively unstructured manner.

Answer 49

true

The life history interview is associated with the life history method, where

it is often combined with various kinds of personal documents such as diaries,

photographs, and letters. This method is also referred to as the biographical

method. A life history interview is a kind of unstructured interview covering

the totality of an individual’s life. It documents ‘the inner experience of

individuals, how they interpret, understand, and define the world around them’

(Faraday and Plummer 1979: 776).

Question 50

In feminist research, a hierarchical relationship exists between the researcher and the participant

Answer 50

false

Instead of this framework for conducting interviews, feminist researchers advocate one that establishes:

• a high level of rapport between interviewer and interviewee;
• a high degree of reciprocity on the part of the interviewer;
• the perspective of the women being interviewed; a non-hierarchical relationship.

Question 51

There are limits to the amount of time that participant observers can devote to being away from their normal routines. Consequently, participant observation does not usually extend much beyond two to three years in duration.

Answer 51

true

Question 52

A focus group is a form of group interview in which there are several participants (in addition to the moderator/facilitator); there is an emphasis in the questioning on a fairly tightly defined topic.

Answer 52

true

The focus group method is a form of group interview in which there are several participants (in addition to the moderator/facilitator); there is an emphasis in the questioning on a particular fairly tightly topic; and the accent is upon interaction within the group and the joint construction of meaning.

Question 53

In business and management research, a focus group was a way of helping individuals to define problems and work together to identify potential solutions

Answer 53

true

In management and business, early use of the focus group technique was also seen as a way of helping individuals to define problems and work together to identify potential solutions (Hutt 1979). The dynamics of group discussion could lead individuals to define business problems in new and innovative ways and to stimulate creative ideas for their solution

Question 54

Which of the following is not a use for a focus
group?
A
So people could be interviewed in an unstructured way about their experience

B
To allow a researcher to understand why people feel the way they do

C
To allow individuals to bring to the fore issues they may deem important

D
To allow individuals to express themselves in a conventional one-to-one interviewing

SUBMIT ANSWER

Answer 54

D) o allow individuals to express themselves in a conventional one-to-one interviewing

Question 55

The results of focus groups are usually easily generalizable.

Answer 55

false

However, the use of focus group methods in market research has attracted its fair share of controversy. Some researchers have suggested that it is a weaker method than, say, experiments or surveys (to name two research approaches that are common in market research). The most frequently mentioned problem is the perceived lack of generalizability—results are not always a reliable indicator of the reactions of the wider population.

Question 56

There is a great deal of consensus on how many focus groups should be done.

Answer 56

false

How many groups do you need? There is a good deal of variation in the numbers of focus groups that are used in any particular study, with the norm being somewhere between twelve and fifteen. However, much lower numbers are not uncommon. Chan et al. (2012) conducted focus group research into the management of stress among expatriate Hong Kong

construction professionals in mainland China and held just six groups. Four were from different parts of mainland China, one was a group of Hong Kong professionals who had repatriated from China, and one was group of Hong Kong professionals without expatriate experience.

Question 57

Research that investigates language in qualitative research is generally considered constructionist in orientation.

Answer 57

true

This type of research is broadly constructionist in orientation, hence language is not seen as reflective of what goes on in an organisation; instead, it is a way of constructing particular understandings of phenomena.

Question 58

Which of the following is not a feature of discourse analysis?

A
Not just speech

B
Contextual understanding

C
Codification of practices

D
Sensitivity to what is unsaid

Answer 58

C) Codification of practices

Main features of discourse analysis: 1. Not just speech;

2. Contextual understanding;
3. Resists codification;
4. Sensitivity to what is unsaid.

Question 59

Which of the following are characteristics which apply to discourse analysis? Please select all three features that apply.

A
Reading the detail

B
Looking for rhetorical detail

C
Cross referencing discourse studies

D
Do not looking for accountability as it is impossible to achieve

Answer 59

A) Reading the detail

B) Looking for rhetorical detail

C) Cross referencing discourse studies

Question 60

In critical discourse analysis, the role of language as a power resource is studied.

Answer 60

true

Critical discourse analysis is principally concerned with capturing and analysing how language is used in specific socio-historical contexts in order to generate particular effects. It also emphasizes the role of language as a power resource. Critical discourse analysis draws on the writings of the social theorist Michel Foucault (1974, 1979, 1980), whose work uncovers the representational properties of discourse as a vehicle for the exercise of power. Foucault draws attention to the disciplinary practices that enable particular versions of subjectivity to be constructed in different sociocultural moments, and the role of language within this.

Question 61

Narrative analysis is an approach to the analysis of language, which sees people as tellers of stories about their lives or events around them.

Answer 61

true

Narrative analysis is an approach to the elicitation and analysis of language that is sensitive to the sense of temporal sequence that people, as tellers of stories about their lives or events around them, detect in their lives and surrounding episodes and inject into their accounts.

Question 62

Rhetoric concerns the study of language as a means of communication and persuasion within management and organisation.

Answer 62

true

Question 63

Which of the following are the basic assumptions of conversation analysis (CA), as outlined by Heritage (1984, 1987). Please select all 3 assumptions that apply.

A
Talk is unbounded

B
Talk is structured

C
Talk is forged contextually

D
Talk is grounded in data

Answer 63

B Talk is structured

C Talk is forged contextually

D Talk is grounded in data

Question 64

Conversation analysis is only concerned with the analysis of face-to-face talk rather than mass media discourse.

Answer 64

false

Conversation analysts study talk in a range of institutional settings, such as television news interviews, courtroom trials, clinical interaction, etc.

Question 65

Personal documents such as diaries and letters can be used as data within a qualitative study.

Answer 65

true

Personal documents such as diaries and letters may be used as the primary source of data within a qualitative study or alternatively as adjuncts to other methods, such as interviews or participant observation.

Question 66

Representativeness is generally not an additional concern for personal documents.

Answer 66

false

Representativeness is an additional concern for these materials. Surviving historical documents are relatively few in number, and they have been preserved only in relation to the most influential of companies, such as Cadbury, Unilever, or the Ford Foundation. Therefore, such historical documents are likely to be biased in terms of the organizations they represent. A further problem is the selective survival of documents like letters. Why do any survive at all and what proportion are damaged, lost, or thrown away? The question of meaning is often rendered problematic by such things as damage to letters and diaries, and the use by authors of abbreviations or codes that are difficult to decipher.

Question 67

In case study and ethnographic research, documents can provide the researcher with valuable background information about the company and its history.

Answer 67

true

Question 68

Newspapers and magazines are generally not used for business or management research as they are not considered academic enough.

Answer 68

false

Newspapers, magazines, television programmes, films, and other mass media are potential sources for business and management study.

Question 69

Which of the following is not a method for interpreting documents qualitatively?

A
Semiotics

B
Qualitative content analysis

C
Regression analysis

D
Historical analysis

Answer 69

C Regression analysis

Three possible approaches of how to interpret documents qualitatively are: qualitative content analysis; semiotics; and historical analysis. In addition to these, discourse analysis has been employed as an approach for the analysis of documents.

Question 70

Semiotics is the science of words and their meaning.

Answer 70

false

Semiotics is invariably referred to as the ‘science of signs’. It is an approach to the analysis of symbols in everyday life and as such can be employed in relation not only to documentary sources but also to all kinds of other data because of its commitment to treating phenomena as texts.

Question 71

Historiography is the study of the historical method. Historiography has been widely discussed in business research

Answer 71

false

With few exceptions, historiography has unfortunately not been widely discussed in business research

Question 72

Qualitative analysis is iterative, in that there is an interplay between collection and analysis of data.

Answer 72

true

Question 73

According to Ryan and Bernard (2003), when searching for themes we should look for what?

Please select all that apply.

A
Metaphors and analogies

B
Correlations

C
Repetitions

D
Indigenous typologies or categories

Answer 73

D) Indigenous typologies or categories

C) Repetitions

A) Metaphors and analogies

Question 74

Which two authors developed the Grounded Theory?

A
Atkinson and Hammersly

B
Potter and Weatherall

C
Glaser and Strauss

D
Bryman and Bell

Answer 74

Glaser and Strauss

Question 75

Which of the following is not considered a tool of grounded theory?

A
Interpretive repertoires

B
Coding

C
Theoretical saturation

D
Constant comparison

Answer 75

Interpretive repertoires

Question 76

What are the outcomes of grounded theory? Please select all that apply.
A
Concepts

B
Categories

C
Hypotheses

D
Equations

Answer 76

Hypotheses

Categories

Concepts

Question 77

Memos are notes that researchers might write for themselves or those with whom they work concerning elements of grounded theory such as coding or concepts.

Answer 77

true

Question 78

Which of the following are not part of the

classic grounded theory sequence of analysis?
A
Open coding

B
Axial coding

C
Themes

D
Formulation of hypothesis

Answer 78

Formulation of hypothesis

Question 79

Which of the following are legitimate criticisms of grounded theory? Please select all that apply.
A
It lacks rigor and integrity

B
Theory-neutral observations are not feasible

C
It is time consuming

D
It is doubtful it results in the creation of theory

Answer 79

It is doubtful it results in the creation of theory

It is time consuming

Theory-neutral observations are not feasible

Question 80

Which of the following is not a step or

consideration in coding?
A
Code as soon as possible

B
Read through your initial set of transcripts, field notes and documents

C
Review your codes

D
Collect as much data as you possibly can

Answer 80

Collect as much data as you possibly can

Question 81

Which of the following are legitimate criticisms of coding? Please select all that apply.

A
Losing the context of what is said

B
Not as reliable as quantitative analysis

C
It results in the fragmentation of data

D
It is impossible to prove the veracity of the analysis

Answer 81

It results in the fragmentation of data

Losing the context of what is said

One of the most common criticisms of the coding approach to qualitative data analysis is the possibility of losing the context of what is said. By picking chunks of text out of the context within which they appeared, such as a particular interview transcript, the social setting can be lost. A second criticism of coding is that it results in a fragmentation of data, so that the narrative flow of what people say is lost (Coffey and Atkinson 1996). Marshall (1981) became concerned about the fragmentation of data that occurs as

a result of coding themes when she came to analyse the data she had collected based on qualitative interviews with women managers.

Question 82

The first level is basic or first-order coding. This involves identifying basic aspects of how the organizing happened. Examples include codes such as ‘changed plans’, ‘typical issues faced’, ‘support from non-local organizations’. Such coding primarily extracts and summarizes what the interviewee has said. It is therefore unlikely to get us very far analytically.

Answer 82

true

Question 83

Meta-ethnography is a method used to achieve interpretative synthesis of qualitative research and other secondary sources.

Answer 83

true

Question 84

Unlike positivists, interpretative researchers are not concerned with developing an exhaustive list of studies that might be included in a review for a meta-ethnographical study.

Answer 84

True

Question 85

Only qualitative research can focus upon the study of meaning and seeing the world through the eyes of the people studied.

Answer 85

false

Qualitative research would seem to have a monopoly of the ability to study meaning. Its proponents essentially claim that it is only through qualitative research that the world can be studied through the eyes of the people who are studied. As Platt (1981: 87) observes, this contention seems rather at odds with the widespread study of attitudes in surveys based on interviews and questionnaires. In fact, it would seem that quantitative researchers frequently address meanings.

Question 86

It is possible for quantitative research to be underpinned by a constructionist epistemology.

Answer 86

true

It was noted in Chapter 2 that one keynote of constructionism is a concern with issues of representation, as these play an important role in the construction of the social world. Qualitative content analysis has played an important role in developing just such an understanding, just as discourse analysis has in relation to the social construction of events and meanings in business leaders’ speeches and mission statements. However, it is easy to forget that conventional quantitative content analysis can also be useful in this way.

Question 87

Quantitative researchers are concerned with behaviours and don’t really take much interest

in meanings

Answer 87

false

The distinction is sometimes drawn between a focus on behaviour and a focus on meanings. However, quantitative research frequently involves the study of meanings in the form of attitude scales (such as the Likert scaling technique) and other techniques. Qualitative researchers may feel that the tendency for attitude scales to be pre- formulated and imposed on research participants means that they do not really gain access to meanings. The key point being made here is that at the very least quantitative researchers frequently try to address meanings. Also, somewhat ironically, many of the techniques with which quantitative research is associated, most notably survey research based on questionnaires and interviews, have been shown to relate poorly to people’s actual behaviour. Moreover, looking at the other side of the divide, qualitative research frequently, if not invariably, entails the examination of behaviour in context. Qualitative researchers often want to interpret people’s behaviour in terms of the norms, values, and culture of the group or organization in question. In other words, quantitative and qualitative researchers are typically interested in both what people do and what they think, but they go about the investigation of these areas in different ways. Therefore, the degree to which the behaviour versus meaning contrast coincides with quantitative and qualitative research should not be overstated.

Question 88

Survey research can often be quite exploratory in nature as opposed to hypothesis testing

Answer 88

true

A further related point is that the suggestion that theory and concepts are developed prior to undertaking a study in quantitative research is something of a caricature that is true only up to a point. It reflects a tendency to characterize quantitative research as driven by a theory-testing approach. However, while experimental investigations probably fit this model well, survey-based studies are often more exploratory than this view implies. Although concepts have to be measured, the nature of their interconnections is frequently not specified in advance. Quantitative research is far less driven by a hypothesis-testing strategy than is frequently supposed. As a result, the analysis of quantitative data from social surveys is often more exploratory than is generally appreciated and consequently offers opportunities for the generation of theories and concepts

Question 89

Quantitative research never uses words and qualitative research never uses numbers.

Answer 89

false
Even perhaps this most basic element in the distinction between quantitative and qualitative research is not without problems. Qualitative researchers sometimes undertake a limited amount of quantification of their data. Silverman (1984, 1985) has argued that some quantification of findings from

qualitative research can often help to uncover the generality of the phenomena being described. However, he warns that such quantification should reflect research participants’ own ways of understanding their social world. Similarly, Miles and Huberman (1994), whose approach is commonly used in business and management research, recommend the use of a contact summary sheet as a means of recording themes that arise during a qualitative interview. Using the interview transcript, the researcher categorizes interview responses by theme, eventually generating a single-page summary of the interview. Not only does the contact summary sheet highlight the main concepts, themes, and issues, it also provides a record of their frequency of occurrence. This technique illustrates how qualitative interview data can be analysed in a way that involves a degree of quantification. In any case, it has often been noted that qualitative researchers engage in ‘quasi-quantification’ through the use of such terms as ‘many’, ‘often’, and ‘some’. All that is happening is that the researcher is injecting greater precision into such estimates of frequency.

Question 90

It is philosophically and practically inappropriate to analyse qualitative data using quantitative analysis.

Answer 90

false

In Chapter 13, the research by Hodson (1996), which was based on the content analysis of workplace ethnographies, was given quite a lot of attention. Essentially, Hodson’s approach was to apply a quantitative research approach—in the form of content analysis—to qualitative research. This is a form of research that may have potential in other areas of business research in which ethnography has been a popular method, and as a result a good deal of ethnographic evidence has been built up. Hodson (1999) suggests that the study of social movements may be one such field; managerial fads and fashions may be yet another. Hodson’s research is treated as a solution to the problem of making comparisons between ethnographic studies in a given area. One approach to synthesizing related qualitative studies is meta-ethnography, which is a qualitative research approach to such aggregation (Noblit and Hare 1988). However, whereas the practice of meta-ethnography is meant to be broadly in line with the goals of qualitative research, such as a commitment to interpretivism and a sensitivity to the social context, Hodson’s approach is one that largely ignores contextual factors in order to explore relationships between variables that have been abstracted out of the ethnographies.

Question 91

Some qualitative researchers engage in quasi-quantification of research data.

Answer 91

true

It has often been noted that qualitative researchers engage in

‘quasi-quantification’ through the use of terms such as ‘many’, ‘frequently’, ‘rarely’, ‘often’, and ‘some’. In order to be able to make such allusions to quantity, the qualitative researcher should have some idea of the relative frequency of the phenomena being referred to. However, as expressions of

quantities, they are imprecise, and it is often di cult to discern why they are being used at all. The alternative would seem to be to engage in a limited amount of quantification when it is appropriate, such as when an expression of quantity can bolster an argument.

Question 92

One of the criticisms of qualitative research is that it is overly anecdotal.

Answer 92

true

Question 93

What are the two main arguments against the use of mixed methods research? Please

select these 2 arguments.

A
That it’s too much work

B
That research methods carry epistemological commitments

C
That quantitative and qualitative are separate paradigms

D
That researchers rarely have both skills

Answer 93

That quantitative and qualitative are separate paradigms

That research methods carry epistemological commitments

Question 94

Which of the following has not been a

focus for writers concerned with mixed methods research?
A
The priority and order through quantitative and qualitative research were carried out

B
Which method offers the superior insight into the nature of reality

C
The different types of mixed methods design

D
The purpose of doing mixed methods research

Answer 94

Which method offers the superior insight into the nature of reality

Question 95

What are the two key decisions facing those engaged in mixed methods research? Please select all 2 decisions that apply.

A
The priority decision

B
The decision of which software to apply

C
The epistemological decision

D
The sequence decision

Answer 95

The sequence decision

The priority decision

Question 96

The Explanatory Sequential Design entails the col- lection and analysis of quantitative data followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative data in order to elaborate or explain the quantitative findings.

Answer 96

true

Question 97

The idea of triangulation implies that the results of an investigation employing a method associated with one research strategy are cross-checked against the results of using a method associated with the other research strategy.

Answer 97

true

Question 98

How can qualitative research facilitate quantitative research? Please select all that apply.
A
Provides hypothesis

B
Tests hypothesis

C
Confirms theories

D
Aids measurement

Answer 98

Aids measurement

Provides hypothesis

Question 99

Which two factors have led to a rise in the use of mixed methods research? Please select all that apply.
A
A requirement by journals for different types of evidence to be presented

B
To consider research methods as techniques not rigidly determined by ontological and epistemological baggage

C
A softening of the attitudes of feminist researchers toward quantitative methods

D
More eclecticism within business schools

Answer 99

A softening of the attitudes of feminist researchers toward quantitative methods

To consider research methods as techniques not rigidly determined by ontological and epistemological baggage

Question 100

What are indicators of quality in mixed methods research? Please select all that apply.
A
Is the research competently designed and conducted?

B
Have the researchers collected as much data as possible?

C
Has the case for using mixed methods being sufficiently made?

D
The most complicated forms of quantitative analysis shall be applied to verify the theory

Answer 100

Has the case for using mixed methods being sufficiently made?

Is the research competently designed and conducted?

Question 101

Mixed methods research is rare in business research and is very difficult to publish.

Answer 101

false

Mixed methods research has become an increasingly used and accepted approach to conducting business research and in the social sciences more generally.