HRM499 Notes PDF

SU1 HR Research Systematic investigation that advances knowledge by promoting development of organisations and employees or by developing solutions to HR-related problems Pure Research Aims to increase knowledge ​ Gain new knowledge ​ Establish causes ​ Assess relationships between variabl...

SU1 HR Research Systematic investigation that advances knowledge by promoting development of organisations and employees or by developing solutions to HR-related problems Pure Research Aims to increase knowledge ​ Gain new knowledge ​ Establish causes ​ Assess relationships between variables ​ Ongoing investigation ​ Academic orientation Applied Research Provide information for decision-making ​ Problem solving ​ Predicting effects ​ Concern for action ​ Constrained by time and costs ​ Client orientation Research Quality Quality of research refers to increased new knowledge and accurate and useful information for decision-making Quality of research depends on researcher’s knowledge and skills, and the research process Research Process 1.​ What to research and why - Review literature, develop objectives and RQ 2.​ Data collection (who, when, how) - Develop research plan by designing, sampling, methodology, procedures, and measures) 3.​ Analyse the data and answer the RQs - Process and analyse the data 4.​ Interpret and share the findings with others to use - Write quality report 1  SU2 Language of Research ​ Theoretical ○​ Defines abstract ideas (constructs) that are not directly observable (eg. happiness) ​ Empirical ○​ Measures and tests those constructs using data and variables Probabilistic ​ Suggests associations between variables Causal ​ Suggests a cause-and-effect relationship between variables ​ Determines whether one or more variables affects an outcome Descriptive ​ Describes an existing phenomenon Relational ​ Explores how different variables are connected or associated ​ Looks for patterns or trends in data 2  SU3 Purpose of Literature Review ​ Understand the known and unknowns of the topic ​ Evaluate what is known ​ Clarify and justify the value of research ​ Develop and refine RQ ​ Anchor research to a theory or model ​ Get ideas for research design and writing ​ Find reliable and valid measures and scales to use Effective Writing in a Literature Review ​ Chronological ○​ Used when you want to show how ideas or methodology have progressed over time ​ Thematic ○​ Based on themes or theoretical that are important in understanding the topic Research Approach ​ Deductive (Quantitative) ​ Determines cause and effect ​ Starts with a broad theory ​ Tests different hypotheses ​ Inductive (Qualitative) ​ Discovers and describes constructs/phenomena, meanings, relationships ​ Based on empirical data gathered from interviews ​ Develop a theory Types of Data Qualitative Quantitative Purpose Exploratory in nature Tests hypothesis to confirm or predict an outcome Data Words, texts, visuals Numbers Data collection Interviews, Focus group discussions, Surveys, Experiments Observations Sample size Smaller, Specific (30 people) Larger, Representative, Random (300 people) Analyses Interpretative, Finding themes Statistical inferences Findings Holistic, Less generalisable Precise, Generalisable 3 Research Objectives Specific statements that indicate key issues that must be focused on in a research project. Construct ​ Cannot be observable nor directly measured ​ An abstract idea (skills, attributes, abilities) Variables ​ Helps to measure the constructs ​ Independent variables ○​ The Cause / Influence ​ Dependent variables ○​ The Effects / Results of influences ​ Conceptualise VS Operationalise ○​ Conceptualise ​ Definition of a construct (eg. happiness) ○​ Operationalise ​ How to measure the construct (eg. no of times a person smiles in a day) Formulation of Hypotheses ​ Null ○​ No significant differences ​ Nondirectional alternative ○​ Significant difference ​ Directional ​ XX experienced more/less XX 4  SU4 Research Ethics Values, principles, and standards that guide the conduct of individual researchers, including the design and implementation of studies and the reporting of findings. Nuremburg Code ​ Voluntary consent ​ Benefits outweighs risks ​ Participants can terminate participation at any time Belmont Code (Basic Ethical Principles) ​ Respect for Persons ○​ Treat participants as autonomous agents ○​ Do not treat them as a means to an end ○​ They can choose for themselves ○​ Extra protection from marginalised communities ​ Beneficence ○​ Do not physically or psychologically harm participants ○​ Maximise benefits and minimise risks ​ Justice ○​ Treat people fairly ○​ Fair sharing of burdens and benefits of the research Deception Deliberate misleading or providing missing information to participants to hide the real purpose of the study. Principles of HR Research Ethics 1.​ Anonymity 2.​ Confidentiality 3.​ Data storage 4.​ Dignity and well-being 5.​ Conflict of interest 6.​ Informed consent Institutional Review Board (IRB) Protect human participants from physical or psychological harm by reviewing research protocols and related materials. 5  SU5 Reliability Measures consistency of results across ​ Time ○​ Test-retest reliability ○​ If the SAME participants do the SAME questionnaires, the results should be similar ​ Demonstrates that the construct and variables (measure) are stable ​ Items ○​ Internal consistency ○​ Whether the items (questionnaires) measure the same construct (ie. If construct is on happiness, then items (different questionnaires) must be able to yield similar results) ○​ Can use Cronbach’s Alpha to determine this ​ Raters ○​ Inter-rater reliability ○​ The raters have similar perceptions that influence the way they answer the questions Validity ​ Face Validity ○​ Does it look like it is measuring what it needs to measure? ​ Content Validity ○​ With reference to the conceptual definition of the construct, do the questionnaires cover all major aspects of it? ​ Criterion Validity ○​ How well the measure correlates with relevant outcome criteria ○​ Concurrent validity ​ When criterion is measured at the same time as the construct ○​ Predictive validity ​ When the criterion is measured at some point in the future ​ Construct Validity ○​ Does the test measure the particular attribute that it claims to measure? ​ How to assess: ​ Rating by SME ​ Convergent validity: Strong positive correlation with measures of the same construct ​ Divergent validity: Weak or no relevant correlation with irrelevant constructs *A test can be reliable but not valid (ie. having consistent results but may not be measuring what it is intended to measure) 6 Sampling Aim to make inferences about a general population. Sampling Technique ​ Probability sampling (random selection of participants) ​ Non-probability sampling ○​ Quota sampling ​ Setting percentages for a certain demographic (40% male, 60% female participants) ○​ Purposive sampling ​ Specific participants with unique experiences that are important to the investigation ○​ Snowball sampling ​ Getting participants to recommend others to participate 7  SU6 Nature of Qualitative Data ​ Never really ‘objective’ ​ Influence of researchers’ values, attitudes, and beliefs ​ About actions ​ Understanding how and why things happen Qualitative methods used when ​ Little knowledge about a particular phenomenon ​ Research context is poorly understood ​ Phenomenon cannot be quantified ​ ‘Native point of view’ is important to understand the phenomenon Importance of Qualitative Research ​ Answers the WHY ○​ Emphasis on interpretations and meanings that people attach to social and personal phenomena ​ Fosters deeper understanding ○​ Sensitive issues can be explored more deeply ​ Improves quality of quantitative measures ○​ Info collected from quantitative data can help build more relevant ideas Types of Qualitative Data 1.​ 1-to-1 interview 2.​ Focus group discussion 3.​ Ethnography 4.​ Personal diaries 5.​ Observations Qualitative Methods ​ Interviews ○​ Individual experience ○​ Time-consuming and laborious ○​ Focuses on a single opinion ​ Focus groups ○​ Group norms and experiences ○​ Time and cost-effective ○​ Discovers variety of opinions in a population Qualitative Research Process 1.​ Formulate RQ 2.​ Identify research methodologies 3.​ Identify participants (sampling) 8  4.​ Design interview guide 5.​ Collect data ○​ Pre-interview ​ Develop interview guide ​ Allow for flexibility in structure of question s ○​ During interview ​ Briefing and consent form ​ Follow up survey to fill in demographic ​ Debrief ​ Incentives ○​ After interview ​ Secondary selection if needed ​ Decide if data saturation has reached to stop recruitment ​ Transcribe audio ​ Code ​ Write-up findings 6.​ Transcribe audio data 7.​ Data management 8.​ Choose a coding method to sieve out important information 9.​ Analyse and interpret code 10.​Write report Sampling Considerations ​ Heterogeneous sampling ○​ Horizontal sampling ​ Same situation experienced by different departments (ie. marketing, HR, finance) ○​ Vertical sampling ​ Same situation experienced by top to bottom of hierarchy (top, middle, bottom) ​ Data saturation ​ To cease interviews when new cases are not value-adding to the investigation Ethical Considerations ​ Participants’ privacy and confidentiality ​ Informed consent ​ Recording subject to their approval ​ Recording useful for focus groups for note-keeping ​ Build trust ​ Ability to terminate participation at any time ​ Findings to be shared with participants when research is done 9  SU7 Processing Qualitative Data ​ Password protect audio files and transcriptions ​ Label with a code to represent name, organisation, and other characteristics ​ Transcribe as detailedly as possible ​ Identification through different fonts for interview questions ​ Read ​ Code ​ Reflect on what is the underlying theme ​ Repeat the steps with every transcript ​ Examine the codes and put them in themes Qualitative Data Analysis and Data Collection ​ Use properties and dimensions derived from comparing incidents or cases to generate insight ​ Compare within a category ​ Compare with theories (are they aligned with other literature reviews?) ​ Write memos from your analysis / Narrate storyline to explain the phenomenon Coding ​ Process of categorising excerpts in qualitative data to find themes and patterns ​ Allows for easier retrieval of information since similar data units are categorised accordingly ​ Open codes ○​ Descriptive ○​ Surface level ○​ Anything insightful ​ Axial codes ○​ Relationship between categories and sub-categories ​ Themes ○​ Reflects higher level of abstraction and interpretation Types of coding ​ Deductive ​ Inductive Quality of Qualitative Data ​ Trustworthiness of data ○​ Peer debrief (team of researchers interpret the data the same way?) ○​ Member checkers (return data to the PARTICIPANTS to check for accuracy) ​ Triangulation ○​ Use different sources of data to support / complement the primary data ​ Applicability 10 ○​ Does the finding offer new explanations or insights to develop policies, change practices, and make informed decisions? 11