Week 71 (24.8.08)

Learn

The credibility of research findings (Chapter 5, Pg 149, Research Methods for Business Students)

Reducing the possibility of getting the answer wrong means that attention has to be paid to two particular emphases on research design: reliability and validity.

That is why good research design is important.

Reliability

Refers to data collection techniques or analysis procedures will yield consistent findings.
4 threats to reliability:

1. Subject or participant error: You should choose a more "neutral" time when employees may be expected to be neither on a "high", looking forward to the weekend, nor on a "low" with the working week in front of them.
2. Subject or participant bias: Elaborate steps can be taken to "ensure the anonymity"of respondents to questionnaires. Care should also be taken when analysing the data to ensure that your data are telling you what you think they are telling you.
3. Observer error: Three of us conducting interviews with potential for at least three different ways of asking questions to elicit answers.
4. Observer bias: There may have been three different ways of interpreting the replies!

Validity

Refers to whether the findings are really about what they appear to be about. This potential lack of validity in the conclusions was minimised by a research design that built in the opportunity for focus groups after the questionnaire results had been analysed.

6 threats to validity:

1. History: If the research is conducted shortly after a major product recall this may well have a dramatic, and quite misleading, effect on the findings.
2. Testing: If the operators believe that the results of the research may disadvantage them in some way, then this is likely to affect the results.
3. Instrumentation: In the above example, if the telesales operators may have received an instruction that they are to take every opportunity to sell new policies between the times you tested the first and second batches of operators. Consequently, the calls are likely to last longer.
4. Mortality: This refers to participants dropping out of studies, ie a year-long management development programme.
5. Maturation: In the earlier management development example above, it could be that other events happening during the year have an effect on their management style.
6. Ambiguity about causal direction: This is particularly difficult issue. Eg: What was not clear about was whether the poor performance ratings were causing the negative attitude to appraisal or whether the negative attitude to appraisal was causing the poor performance ratings.

Unlearn

NIL.

Relearn

Able to criticise study design more effectively. Cautious about the threats of study reliability and validity for my own research design in BAP.