Quantitative and Qualitative: An Interactive Framework

The quantitative-qualitative debate has been revisited countless times, but a new article in Human Resource Development Review explains that the two approaches have more in common than you might think–and advocates the need for more methodological diversity in social science research. John H. Hitchcock of Ohio Univerty, Athens, and Isadore Newman of Florida International University published “Applying an Interactive Quantitative-Qualitative Framework: How Identifying Common Intent Can Enhance Inquiry” on October 17, 2012 in the OnlineFirst section of HRDR. Dr. Hitchcock and Dr. Newman kindly provided these responses about their article.

What inspired you to be interested in this topic?

We were inspired to pursue this topic by our commitment to teaching research.  It seemed obvious to us that good research is good research, and there is an overarching commonality that is inherent in all good research, and that is its trustworthiness (credibility, transparency) and its replicability. This is generally true for both qualitative and quantitative paradigms.  We feel it is important for people doing research to be aware of this and to consider research as an interactive continuum with feedback.

How do you see this study influencing future research and/or practice?

We are hoping to influence the teaching of research.  We believe this conceptualization of research as a holistic interactive process is much more productive and useful than a dichotomous – qualitative-quantitative perspective.

John H. Hitchcock is an associate professor of education research and program evaluation in the Patton College of Education and Human Services at Ohio University. He has coauthored more than 20 scholarly publications and was a coprincipal investigator of two federally funded randomized controlled trials. His primary interests are in mixed-methods research, program evaluation, culturally relevant intervention and assessment, and special education research.

Isadore Newman is the visiting scholar for the College of Education at Florida International University and he is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Akron. He has authored or coauthored more than 125 referred articles, more than 300 referred presentations, and approximately 17 books, chapters, and monographs. He was also the principal evaluator on millions of dollars in federal and state grants and was one of the founding editors of the Midwestern Educational Research Journal, editor of the Ohio Journal of Science, and was editor of Multiple Linear Regression Viewpoints Journal for 19 years.

Generational Perspectives in the Workplace

What are the broader discourses that constitute intergenerational conflict around work/life balance for professional women?

Linda Williams Favero of the University of Oregon and Renee Guarriello Heath of the University of Portland set out to answer this question and more in “Generational Perspectives in the Workplace: Interpreting the Discourses That Constitute Women’s Struggle to Balance Work and Life,” published in the October 2012 issue of the Journal of Business Communication. To see the Table of Contents, click here.

The abstract:

Employing the feminist interpretive focus group method, findings in this study demonstrate how different generational perspectives of professional women, socialized at different periods of time, intersect in the current workforce to explain conflict around work and life. In particular, the authors found conflict centers around two well-documented discourses thematic in their focus groups, which organize the way people think about work—paying one’s dues and face-time. Using interpretive focus groups to draw out the different interpretive frames of the generations, this study deconstructs the interpretations, providing a hopeful place to begin a theoretical and practical conversation that bridges the different perspectives of women across generations as they negotiate work and life. Findings have implications for organizational, work/life, and qualitative communication studies.

Read the complete article in the Journal of Business Communication, and click here to receive e-alerts about new original research that contributes to the knowledge and theory of business communication as a distinct, multifaceted field, approached through the administrative disciplines, the liberal arts, and the social sciences.

Seven Ways to Get Published in Top Journals

As qualitative research increasingly gains influence in the broader academic community, it remains a challenge to get such research published in top-tier, international journals.

Quy Nguyen Huy, professor of strategy at INSEAD in Singapore, addresses this problem from the perspective of an author and a reviewer in “Improving the Odds of Publishing Inductive Qualitative Research in Premier Academic Journals,” published in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. Click here to view the Table of Contents.

Focusing on the unique advantages of qualitative research, this commentary examines the common mistakes that lead to rejection and offers seven concrete tips to increase the odds of getting published.

Dr. Huy summarizes in the introduction:

First, I discuss the common confusion between qualitative and quantitative research, and the related expectations for each genre. Second, I discuss some of the more common mistakes made by inductive qualitative (IQ) researchers that lead to rejection by premier journals. Third, I present some of the deeper causes that may produce these mistakes. Fourth, I propose some advice that can help improve the odds of publishing IQ studies. Finally, I lay out other benefits of doing qualitative research, even if publishing it in premier journals fails.

Read the full article here. To learn more about the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (JABS), please follow this link.

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Beautiful Action in Organizations

Brett Jordan (CC BY 2.0)

They’re not always readily apparent, but they make an impact: those small moments in organizations when everything works perfectly and something beautiful is created.

A new study in the Journal of Management Inquiry (JMI) argues that researchers need to understand these moments of beauty– and the unique skills in which they are rooted–in order to advance management practice and address complex problems in the field. Steven S. Taylor of Worcester Polytechnic Institute published “Little Beauties: Aesthetics, Craft Skill, and the Experience of Beautiful Action” on May 17, 2012 in JMI. To see other OnlineFirst articles, click here.

The abstract:

Beautiful action in organizations comes from exceptional craft skill and focuses us on exceptional management skill. Beautiful management action tends to be particular and local—It may only be experienced by a single person within the organization. I call such small moments “little beauties” and offers three examples from a small organization. I conclude that little beauties provide a way to find and inquire into instances of exceptional craft skill and thus offer a Positive Organizational Scholarship approach to practice.

To learn more about the Journal of Management Inquiry, please follow this link.

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Bridging Research and Practice: Jean Bartunek Kicks Off the JABS Podcast Series

Dr. Jean Bartunek

We’re delighted to present the inaugural Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (JABS) podcast featuring Dr. Jean Bartunek, an associate editor of JABS and of the Academy of Management Learning & Education.

Dr.  Bartunek is the Robert A. and Evelyn J. Ferris Chair and Professor of Management and Organization at Boston College.  Her Bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology is from Maryville University (St. Louis), and her PhD is in social and organizational psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is a past president (2001 – 2002) and fellow of the Academy of Management.  In 2009 she won the Academy of Management’s Career Distinguished Service Award.  From 2008 – 2010 she was a visiting international fellow of the Advanced Institute for Management Research in the UK.

She has published over 125 journal articles and book chapters, as well as five books.   Her work has won “best paper” awards from JABS and Human Relations and was a finalist for a best paper award in the Academy of Management Review. She was previously a co-editor for the non-traditional research section of the Journal of Management Inquiry (1994-1997) and an associate editor of Advances in Qualitative Organizational Research (1998 – 2004).  She has also co-edited special research forums in the Academy of Management Journal (1993, 2001) and Academy of Management Review (2007, 2012).  She is currently serving as the Ethics Adjudication Chair for the Academy of Management.

Dr.  Bartunek’s commentary in the June 2012 JABS Special Issue: Studying Change Dynamics Using Qualitative Methods explains the journal’s role as a bridge from research to practice.

Click here to download the podcast, and here to subscribe on iTunes. An excerpt from the discussion:

“Who’s the audience for the articles? Who is supposed to do something about their findings?  Unlike articles in general management journals that primarily address ‘managers’ or ‘organizations,’ the articles here were definitely addressed to change agents—all kinds of them, including change managers, facilitators, politicians, university extension agents and union leaders. The fact that change agents are being addressed may not seem like the biggest news flash in world history, but it does make clear that a journal like JABS is important because it often addresses a different audience than do many management journals.”

To learn more about the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (JABS), please follow this link.

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Creating Change: Jean Bartunek on Research to Practice

somegeekintn (CC BY 2.0)

The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science (JAB) has released its June 2012 Special Issue: Studying Change Dynamics Using Qualitative Methods.

Organizational change expert Jean Bartunek, the Robert A. and Evelyn J. Ferris Chair and Professor in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, contributed her thoughts on how the research in this issue can help practitioners create change in the world. Click here to view the Table of Contents.

Dr. Bartunek wrote in her commentary, “How Qualitative Research on Change Can Contribute to Changing Practice”:

A benefit of qualitative research as opposed to quantitative research is that it focuses on local perceptions and experiences of phenomena of interest. In particular, it explicates “the ways people in particular settings come to understand, account for, take action, and otherwise manage their day to day situations” (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 7). Qualitative research also enables researchers to gain understanding and appreciation of the dynamics associated with these phenomena (Bartunek & Seo, 2002, p. 238).

By accomplishing these aims, qualitative research may be particularly helpful in suggesting implications for practice. Addressing the relevance of research to practice is particularly important in JABS, which is designed as a bridging journal between scholarly research and multiple sets of scholarly practitioners, such as consultants, human resources practitioners, and policymakers.

Read the complete commentary here. To learn more about the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, please follow this link.

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Strategy and Communication: How Does Ambiguity Arise?

Photo by romainguy (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The strategy process in organizations is a complex one involving communication across various phases and among multiple actors. From the PowerPoint slides to the staff meeting and beyond, strategy is recontextualized, and ambiguity can arise.

A new article in the Journal of Management Inquiry (JMI) uses a case-study approach to explain this process. Helle Kryger Aggerholm, Birte Asmuß, and Christa Thomsen, all of the University of Aarhus, published “The Role of Recontextualization in the Multivocal, Ambiguous Process of Strategizing” on April 23, 2012 in JMI. To view other OnlineFirst articles, please click here.

The abstract:

This paper shows how ambiguity arises across multiple strategizing activities through the presence of multiple strategic actors within and across different strategizing phases. During the authoring phase, the intentionality of the different management actor voices becomes detached from the meaning expressed in the strategy text, resulting in a decontextualized, monovocal strategy paper. In the translation phase, the study shows how the text still possesses an inherent multivocality making it impossible to talk about strategy text as an atemporal, neutral object. In the phase of interpreting the strategy, three main rhetorical positions are identified among the employees: acceptance, ambiguity and rejection, representing the multivocal interpretations of the employees interviewed. The study contributes to the ongoing discussion about the challenges and potentials of the multivocal, multicontextual nature of strategizing in organizations.

To learn more about the Journal of Management Inquiry, please follow this link.

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Using Photographs to Research Organizations

Joshua L. Ray and Anne D. Smith, both of the University of Tennessee, published “Using Photographs to Research Organizations: Evidence, Considerations, and Application in a Field Study” on December 21st, 2011 in Organizational Research Methods. To view other OnlineFirst articles, please click here.

The abstract:

Despite calls for more visual methodologies in organizational research, the use of photographs remains sparse. Organizational research could benefit from the inclusion of photographs to track contemporary change processes in an organization and change processes over time, as well as to incorporate diverse voices within organizations, to name a few advantages. To further understanding, the authors identify researcher choices related to the use of photographs in organizational research, clarify the advantages and disadvantages of these choices, and discuss ethical and other special considerations of the use of photographs. They highlight several organizational areas of research, primarily related to the management discipline, that could benefit from the inclusion of photographs. Finally, the authors describe how they used photographs in a study of one organization and specifically how their intended research design with photographs changed over the course of the study as well as how photographs helped to develop new theoretical insights. Photographic research methods represent a viable—but underleveraged—method that should be more fully incorporated in the methodological tool kit of organizational scholars.

To learn more about Organizational Research Methods, please follow this link.

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Part 4 of 5: Specific Examples that Explore “Work-Life Balance”

Today we’re continuing our special series of posts on Work-Life Balance. We hope you find the series insightful and thought-provoking.

Would you like to see work-life balance in action? Then take a look at the studies below:

Qu Xiao, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and John W. O’Neill, Pennsylvania State University, published “Work-Family Balance as a Potential Strategic Advantage: a Hotel General Manager Perspective” in the November 2010 issue of Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.

This qualitative study is an exploratory attempt to investigate hotel general managers’(GMs) perceived work–family balance/interface issues from a strategic perspective. Based on 49 in-person, in-depth, in-office, interviews with full-service hotel GMs, the authors identify current strategic issue perceptions (SIPs) of hotel GMs and explore potential relationships between these SIPs and work–family issues in the hotel industry. Findings suggest that work–family issues, including workplace flexibility, turnover, knowledge management, and career advancement are influenced by hotel culture and the GM’s management style; and when human resources are perceived as a competitive advantage by the hotel GMs, the work–family issues are indeed related to the hotel GM’s perceived strategic issues.

E. Jeffrey Hill, Sarah Allen, Jenet Jacob, Ashley Ferrin Bair, Sacha Leah Bikhazi, Alisa Van Langeveld, Giuseppe Martinengo, Taralyn Trost Parker and Eric Walker published “Work-Family Facilitation: Expanding Theoretical Understanding Through Qualitative Exploration” in the November 2007 issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources.

The problem and the solution.Work–family scholarly research is often dominated by a conflict perspective. In this study, employees of a large multinational corporation were asked to describe the positive influences of their work life on their home life and vice versa. Participants most frequently mentioned work place flexibility, financial benefits, and the ability to keep family commitments as important components of work-to-home facilitation. Supportive family relationships, psychological benefits of home, and psychological aspects of work were most frequently identified as important components of family-to-work facilitation. Implications for human resource development professionals are discussed as well as suggestions for future work–family facilitation theory and research.

See tomorrow’s post for the final installment of our look at “work-life balance.”

Most Cited Articles 2009-2010

One of the most cited articles in 2009 and 2010 in Management & Organization Studies is from Organizational Research Methods.

Herman Aguinis, Charles A. Pierce, Frank A. Bosco and Ivan S. Muslin published “First Decade of Organizational Research Methods: Trends in Design, Measurement, and Data-Analysis Topics” in the January 2009 issue.

The abstract:

The authors conducted a content analysis of the 193 articles published in the first 10 volumes (1998 to 2007) of Organizational Research Methods (ORM). The most popular quantitative topics are surveys, temporal issues, and electronic/Web research (research design); validity, reliability, and level of analysis of the dependent variable (measurement); and multiple regression/correlation, structural equation modeling, and multilevel research (data analysis). The most popular qualitative topics are interpretive, policy capturing, and action research (research design); surveys and reliability (measurement); and interpretive, policy capturing, and content analysis (data analysis). The authors found upward trends in the attention devoted to surveys and electronic/Web research, interpretive, and action research (research design); level of analysis of the dependent variable and validity (measurement); and multilevel research (data analysis). Implications for training doctoral students, retooling researchers, future research on methodology, the advancement of the organizational sciences, and the extent to which ORM is fulfilling its mission are discussed.

To learn more about Organizational Research Methods, please follow this link.

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