Glossary focused observation Phase in an observation study when that are too small are likely to be of insufficient substance, the researcher focuses her or his observations on particular while those that are too hot may be so because of sensitivi- events or interactions between key informants. See also ties that may be aroused as a result of doing the research. descriptive observation, selective observation. grammatical error Error of grammar that detracts from follow-up Contact made with respondents to thank them the authority of the project report. for completing and returning a survey and to remind non- respondents to complete and return their surveys. graph Visual display that illustrates the values of one vari- able or the relationship between two or more variables. forced-choice question see closed question. grey literature see primary literature. forum see Internet forum. grounded theory (1) Including both Grounded Theory found visual image Photograph or other still image Methodology and Grounded Theory Method. (2) which already exists, is accessible to the researcher and Theory that is grounded or developed using an induc- relevant to the research. See also document visual image, tive approach. See also Grounded Theory Methodology, two-dimensional static media. Grounded Theory Method, inductive approach. frequency distribution Table for summarising data from Grounded Theory (Methodology) Research strategy in one variable so that specific values can be read. which theory is developed from data collected by a series of observations or interviews principally involving an induc- frequency polygon Line graph connecting the mid points tive approach. See also deductive approach, Grounded of the bars of a histogram or bar graph. Theory Method, inductive approach. full-text online database Online database that indexes Grounded Theory Method Data collection techniques and provides a summary and full text of articles from a and analytic procedures used in a Grounded Theory range of journals. Sometimes includes books, chapters research strategy to derive meaning from the subjects from books, reports, theses and conference papers. and settings being studied. See also Grounded Theory (Methodology). fully integrated mixed-methods research Use of both quantitative and qualitative methods throughout the research. group interview General term to describe all non-stand- See also partially integrated mixed methods research. ardised interviews conducted with two or more people. functionalist paradigm Paradigm concerned with H rational explanations and developing sets of recommenda- tions within the current structures such as why a particular habituation Situation where, in observation studies, the organisational problem is occurring in terms of the func- subjects being observed become familiar with the process tions they perform. of observation so that they take it for granted. This is an attempt to overcome ‘observer effect’ or reactivity. fundamental research see basic research. haphazard sampling Non-probability sampling procedure G in which cases are selected without any obvious principles of organisation. See also convenience sampling, non- Gantt chart Chart that provides a simple visual represen- probability sampling. tation of the tasks or activities that make up a project, each being plotted against a time line. harking Hypothesizing after results are known. gatekeeper Person, often in an organisation, who con- hermeneutics Strand of interpretivism that focuses on the trols research access. study of cultural artefacts such as texts, symbols, stories, images. See also intepretivism. general focus research question Question that flows from the research idea and may lead to several more heterogeneous sampling Non-probability purposive sam- detailed questions or the definition of research objectives. pling procedure which focuses on obtaining the maximum variation in the cases selected. See also purposive sam- generalisability Extent to which the findings of a research pling, non-probability sampling. study are applicable to other settings. heteroscedasticity Extent to which the data values for generalisation Making of more widely applicable proposi- the dependent and independent variables have unequal tions based upon the process of deduction from specific variances. See also variance. cases. histogram Diagram for showing frequency distributions Goldilocks test Test to decide whether research questions for a grouped continuous data variable in which the area are either too big, too small, too hot or just right. Those that of each bar represents the frequency of occurrence. are too big probably demand too many resources. Questions 804
Glossary homogeneous sampling Non-probability purposive sam- indexical sign Sign in which the object being signified is pling procedure which focuses on selecting cases from one inherently indicated. See also iconic sign, semiotics, sign, particular subgroup in which all the members are similar. symbolic sign. See also purposive sampling, non-probability sampling. individual person access When an individual, who is not homoscedasticity Extent to which the data values for affiliated to an organisation, is willing to provide data. the dependent and independent variables have equal vari- ances. See also variance. inductive approach Approach to theory development involving the development of a theory as a result of the hybrid access Use of both traditional access and Internet- observation of empirical data. mediated access to conduct research. ineligible respondent Respondent selected for a sample hypothesis (1) Tentative, usually testable, explanation that who does not meet the requirements of the research. there is an association, difference or relationship between two or more variables. Often referred to as H1. See also inference, statistical see statistical inference. alternative hypothesis, non-directional hypothesis, direction- al hypothesis, null hypothesis. (2) Testable proposition about inferred consent Informants, participants or respondents the relationship between two or more events or concepts. may or may not fully understand the implications of taking part but their consent to participate is inferred from their hypothesis testing Classical approach to assessing the participating in the research. The researcher assumes that statistical significance of findings from a sample. See data may be recorded, analysed, used, stored or reported also hypothesis, non-directional hypothesis, directional as she or he wishes without clarifying such issues with hypothesis. those who take part. See also informed consent. I informant error Errors that occur when informants are observed in situations that are inconsistent with their nor- iconic sign Sign in which the signifier resembles the mal behaviour patterns, leading to atypical responses. See object being signified. See also indexical sign, semiotics, also informants. sign, symbolic sign. informant interview Interview guided by the perceptions ideology see dominant code. of the interviewee. idiomatic meaning Meaning ascribed to a group of informant verification Form of triangulation in which the words that are natural to a native speaker, but which is researcher presents written accounts of, for example, inter- not deducible from the individual words. view notes to informants for them to verify the content. See also triangulation. in-depth interview see unstructured interview. informants Those who agree to be observed in partici- incommensurability Assertion that the radical humanist, pant observation or structured observation studies. radical structuralist, interpretive and functionalist para- digms contain mutually incompatible assumptions and informed consent Position achieved when intended therefore cannot be combined. See also functionalist para- participants are fully informed about the nature, purpose digm, interpretive paradigm, radical humanist paradigm, and use of research to be undertaken and their role within radical structuralist paradigm. it, and where their consent to participate, if provided, is freely given. See also deception, implied consent. independent groups t-test Statistical test to determine the probability (likelihood) that the values of a numerical initial coding see open coding. data variable for two independent samples or groups are different. The test assesses the likelihood of any difference initial sample Purposively selected initial case from which between these two groups occurring by chance alone. to collect and analyse data used in Grounded Theory. See also Grounded Theory Method. independent measures Use of more than one experi- mental group in an experiment where more than one instrument see questionnaire. intervention or manipulation is to be tested and measured. See also experiment. integer A whole number. independent variable Variable that causes changes to a inter-library loan System for borrowing a book or obtain- dependent variable or variables. ing a copy of a journal article from another library. index number Summary data value calculated from a inter-quartile range Difference between the upper and base period for numerical variables, to facilitate compari- lower quartiles, representing the middle 50 per cent of sons of trends or changes over time. See also base period. the data when the data values for a variable have been ranked. inter-rater reliability Extent which two coders agree when coding the same set of data. 805
Glossary interdiscursivity Way one discourse is introduced into interval data Numerical data for which the difference another discourse within discourse analysis. See also dis- or ‘interval’ between any two data values for a particular course analysis. variable can be stated, but for which the relative difference can not be stated. See also numerical data. interim summary Type of summary used to outline pro- gress and to aid analysis. See also document summary, interview guide Plan for conducting a semi-struc- transcript summary. tured interview containing opening comments, list of themes, questions and prompts to encourage internal researcher Person who conducts research within discussion, and comments to close it. Sometimes an organisation for which they work. See also cognitive referred to as an interview schedule, although this is access, external researcher. more appropriate to a structured interview. See also unstructured interview, semi-structured interview, internal validity Extent to which findings can be attribut- structured interview. ed to interventions rather than any flaws in your research design. See also measurement validity. interview schedule see structured interview. Internet forum Commonly referred to as web forums, interviewee bias Attempt by an interviewee to construct message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, dis- an account that hides some data or when she or he cussion groups and bulletin boards. Usually only deal with presents herself or himself in a socially desirable role or one topic and discourage personal exchanges. situation. Internet questionnaire Data collection technique in interviewer bias Attempt by an interviewer to introduce which the questionnaire is delivered online to each bias during the conduct of an interview, or where the respondent. She or he then reads and answers the appearance or behaviour of the interviewer has the effect same set of questions in a predetermined order with- of introducing bias in the interviewee’s responses. out an interviewer being present before returning it electronically. See also Web questionnaire, mobile interviewer-completed questionnaire Data collection questionnaire. technique in which an interviewer reads the same set of questions to the respondent in a predetermined order and Internet-mediated access Use of Internet technologies to records his or her responses. See also structured interview, gain virtual access to conduct research. telephone questionnaire. Internet-mediated observation Adaptation of tradition- intra-rater reliability Reliability of coding by a single al observation from oral/visual/near to textual/digital/vir- coder over time. tual to allow researchers purely to observe or participate with members of an online community to collect data. intranet-mediated access Use of an intranet within an organisation to gain access to conduct research. Internet-mediated structured observation Type of Internet-mediated observation which broadly follows the Introduction Opening to the project report, which gives approach to structured observation. See also Internet- the reader a clear idea of the central issue of concern of mediated observation, Internet-mediated participant obser- the research, states the research question(s) and research vation, structured observation. objectives, and explains the research context and the structure of the project report. interpretive ethnography Ethnographic strategy stressing subjectivity, reflection and identifying multiple meanings. introductory letter Request for research access, See also ethnography, critical ethnography, realist ethnog- addressed to an intended participant or organisational raphy. broker/gatekeeper, stating the purpose of the research, the nature of the help being sought, and the require- interpretive paradigm Paradigm concerned with the way ments of agreeing to participate. See also covering letter, humans attempt to make sense of the world around them; gatekeeper. for example, understanding the fundamental meanings attached to organisational life. intrusive research methods Methods that involve direct access to participants, including qualitative interviewing, interpretivism Philosophical stance that advocates observation, longitudinal research based on these methods humans are different from physical phenomena because and phenomenologically based approaches to research. they create meanings. Argues that human beings and See also access, cognitive access. their social worlds cannot be studied in the same way as physical phenomena due to the need to take account of investigative question One of a number of questions complexity. that need to be answered in order to address satisfactorily each research question and meet each objective. intertextuality Way a text or texts overtly or covertly bor- row from and are informed by other texts within Discourse ‘in vivo’ codes Names or labels for codes based on actual Analysis. See also Discourse Analysis. terms used by those who take part in research. 806
Glossary J lexical meaning Precise meaning of an individual word. journal see professional journal, refereed academic journal. Likert-style rating question Rating question that allows the respondent to indicate how strongly she or he agrees judgemental sampling see purposive sampling. or disagrees with a statement. K line graph Diagram for showing trends in longitudinal data for a variable. Kendall’s rank correlation coefficient Statistical test that assesses the strength of the relationship between two linearity Degree to which change in a dependent variable ranked data variables, especially where the data for a vari- is related to change in one or more independent variables. able contain tied ranks. For data collected from a sample, See also dependent variable, independent variable. there is also a need to calculate the probability of the cor- relation coefficient having occurred by chance alone. list question Closed question, in which the respondent is offered a list of items and instructed to select those that key word Basic term selected from the controlled index lan- are appropriate. guage specified by the online database to describe the research question(s) and objectives to search the tertiary literature. literal replication Replication of findings across selected multiple case studies in a case study strategy. See also case Kolmogorov–Smirnov test Statistical test to determine study, theoretical replication. the probability (likelihood) that an observed set of values for each category of a variable differs from a specified literature review see critical (literature) review. distribution. Common uses are to discover whether a data variable’s distribution differs significantly from a normal logical reasoning Process used in theory development distribution, or an alternative distribution such as that of to explain why relationships may exist based on what is the population from which it was selected. already known. kurtosis Pointedness or flatness of a distribution’s shape long-term trend The overall direction of movement of compared with the normal distribution. If a distribution is numerical data values for a single variable after variations pointier or peaked, it is leptokurtic and the kurtosis value have been smoothed out. See also moving average. is positive. If a distribution is flatter, it is platykurtic and the kurtosis value is negative. See also normal distribution. longitudinal data Set of data repeated over time usually at regular intervals. L longitudinal study Study of a particular phenomenon (or latent content Meanings in the data that may lie behind phenomena) over an extended period of time. the manifest content and so need to be interpreted or inferred. See also content analysis, manifest content. lower quartile Value below which a quarter of the data val- ues lie when the data values for a variable have been ranked. law of large numbers Samples of larger absolute size are more likely to be representative of the population M from which they are drawn than smaller samples and, in particular, the mean (average) calculated for the sample is mail questionnaire see postal questionnaire. more likely to equal the mean for the population, provid- ing the samples are not biased. management report Abbreviated version of the pro- ject report, usually written for a practitioner audience. lemmatization Removal of inflectional endings, taking Normally includes a brief account of objectives, method, categories and inflections into account, to reduce a word findings, conclusions and recommendations. to its base or ‘lemma’. manifest content Components in the data that are clearly level of access Nature and depth of access to participants visible and can be counted. See also content analysis, required and achieved. See also cognitive access, continu- latent content. ing access, physical access. Mann–Whitney U test Statistical test to determine the leverage-saliency theory Theory suggesting that single probability (likelihood) that the values of a ordinal data vari- design attributes will have different leverages for differ- able for two independent samples or groups are different. ent individuals on the decision to respond positively or The test assesses the likelihood of any difference between negatively to a request to participate in research. See also these two groups occurring by chance alone and is often non-response. used when the assumptions of the independent samples t-test are not met. matched pair analysis Used in an experimental design to match participants in an experimental group with those in a 807
Glossary control group before conducting the experiment where ran- respondent’s mobile telephone. She or he then reads and dom assignment is not possible. See also quasi-experiment. answers the same set of questions in a p redetermined order without an interviewer being present before returning it elec- matrix question Series of two or more closed questions tronically. See also online q uestionnaire. in which each respondent’s answers are recorded using the same grid. modal group Most frequently occurring category for data that have been grouped. maximum variation sampling see heterogeneous sampling. mode Value of a variable that occurs most frequently. mean Average value calculated by adding up the values of each case for a variable and dividing by the total number of cases. Mode 0 knowledge creation Research based on power and patronage, these being particularly visible in the close measurement validity see criterion validity. relationships between sponsor and researcher. median Middle value when all the values of a variable Mode 1 knowledge creation Research of a fundamental are arranged in rank order; sometimes known as the 50th rather than applied nature, in which the questions are set percentile. and solved by academic interests with little, if any, focus on exploitation of research by practitioners. mediating variable Variable that transmits the effect of an independent variable to a dependent variable. See also Mode 2 knowledge creation Research of an applied dependent variable, independent variable. nature, governed by the world of practice and highlighting the importance of collaboration both with and between member validation Process of allowing participants to practitioners. comment on and correct data to validate these. Mode 3 knowledge creation Research growing out of memo writing Key element used in Grounded Mode 1 and Mode 2 whose purpose is ‘to assure survival Theory Method during the collection, analysis and and promote the common good at various levels of social interpretation of data, which helps to facilitate and link these aggregation’ (Huff and Huff 2001:S53). stages of research and aid the development of a ground- ed theory. May also be used in other research strategies. mode effect Impact of the method used to conduct an interview on its outcome; for example, the respective method Techniques and procedures used to obtain and mode effects of face-to-face interviews, telephone inter- analyse research data, including for example question- views or electronic interviews on outcomes. naires, observation, interviews, and statistical and non- statistical techniques. moderate participation Situation where a researcher enters a research setting with the intention of taking on methodological rigour Strength and quality of the some of the attributes of being an ‘insider’ where neces- research method used in terms of the planning, data sary while maintaining other characteristics of being an collection, data analysis, and subsequent reporting; and ‘outsider’. See also participant observation, active partici- therefore the confidence that can be placed in the conclu- pation. sions drawn. See also theoretical rigour. moderating variable Variable that affects the relationship methodology Theory of how research should be under- between an independent variable and a dependent vari- taken, including the theoretical and philosophical assump- able. See also dependent variable, independent variable. tions upon which research is based and the implications of these for the method or methods adopted. moderator Facilitator of focus group interviews. See also focus group, group interview. minimal interaction Process in which the observer tries as much as possible to ‘melt into the background’, hav- mono method Use of a single data collection technique ing as little interaction as possible with the subjects of and corresponding analysis procedure or procedures. the observation. This is an attempt to overcome observer effect. See also observer effect. moving average Statistical method of smoothing out variations in numerical data recorded for a single variable mixed methods research Use of both quantitative and over time to enable the long-term trend to be seen more qualitative data collection techniques and analysis proce- clearly. See also long-term trend. dures either at the same time (concurrent) or one after the other (sequential). multi-method Use of more than one data collection tech- nique and corresponding analysis procedure or procedures. mixed-model research Combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques and analysis multi-method qualitative study Use of more than one procedures as well as combining quantitative and qualita- qualitative data collection technique and corresponding tive approaches in other phases of the research such as qualitative analysis procedure or procedures. research question generation. multi-method quantitative study Use of more than one mobile questionnaire Data collection technique in which quantitative data collection technique and corresponding the questionnaire is delivered electronically to each quantitative analysis procedure or procedures. 808
Glossary multi-organisation access Process of gaining entry into narrative inquiry Qualitative research strategy to collect multiple organisations to conduct research. the experiences of participants as whole accounts or nar- ratives, or which attempts to reconstruct such experiences multi-phase research design Research involving more into narratives. See also narrative. than two phases of data collection and analysis. See also sequential mixed methods research. narrative interview Participant focused research inter- view designed to generate storied accounts. See also in-depth multi-stage sampling Sampling design that occurs in interview, semi-structured interview, biographical interview. two or more successive stages and uses either probabil- ity, non-probability, or both types of sample selection natural data Data that are recorded from real conversa- t echniques. tions that take place in everyday, authentic situations. See also contrived data. multicollinearity see collinearity. naturalistic Adopting an ethnographic strategy in which multiple bar graph/chart Diagram for comparing fre- the researcher researches the phenomenon within the con- quency distributions for categorical or grouped discrete text in which it occurs. or continuous data variables, which highlights the highest and lowest values. naturalistic observation Type of observation conducted in a ‘real world’ location where intention is to conduct multiple line graph Diagram for comparing trends over observation without influencing the setting being time between numerical data variables. observed. See also fieldwork. multiple methods Use of more than one data collection negative cases Cases that do not support emergent expla- technique and analysis procedure or procedures. See also nations, but which help the refining of these explanations mixed methods. and direct the selection of further cases to collect data. multiple regression analysis Process of calculating a coef- negative correlation Relationship between two vari- ficient of multiple determination and regression equation ables for which, as the values of one variable increase, the using two or more independent variables and one depend- values of the other variable decrease. See also correlation ent variable. For data collected from a sample, there is also a coefficient. need to calculate the probability of the regression coefficient having occurred by chance alone. See also multiple regres- negative skew Distribution of numerical data for a vari- sion coefficient, regression analysis, regression equation. able in which the majority of the data are found bunched to the right, with a long tail to the left. multiple-dichotomy method Method of data coding using a separate variable for each possible response to an netiquette General operating guidelines for using the open question or an item in a list question. See also list Internet, including not sending junk emails. question, open question. new contacts People approached to become research multiple-response method Method of data coding using informants, participants or respondents previously the same number of variables as the maximum number unknown to the researcher. of responses to an open question or a list question by any one case. See also list question, open question. nominal data Data whose values cannot be measured numerically but can be distinguished by classifying into multiple-source secondary data Secondary data created sets (categories). by combining two or more different data sets prior to the data being accessed for the research. These data sets can nominalism Ontological position that asserts that the be based entirely on documentary or on survey data, or order and structures of social phenomena (and the phe- can be an amalgam of the two. nomena themselves) are created by social actors through use of language, conceptual categories, perceptions and N consequent actions. narrative Personal account that interprets an event non-binary pronoun Gender neutral pronoun used to or series of events, which is significant for the narra- refer to an individual or group of people. tor and which convey meaning to the researcher, and which are narrated in a sequenced way. See also narra- non-directional hypothesis Tentative, usually testable, tive inquiry. explanation of the association, difference or relationship between two or more variables. Also known as two-direc- Narrative Analysis Collection and analysis of qualita- tion hypothesis. See also alternative hypothesis, hypoth- tive data that preserves the integrity and narrative value esis, null hypothesis. of data collected, thereby avoiding their fragmentation. non-maleficence Avoidance of harm. non-numerical data All forms of data that are not numerical, for example text, voice and visual. 809
Glossary non-parametric statistic Statistic designed to be used In some research philosophies the researcher will consider with categorical data, that is when the data are dichoto- that interpretation is likely to be related to a set of values mous, nominal or ordinal. and therefore will attempt to recognise and explore this. non-participant observer Situation where researcher is observation Systematic observing, recording, description, detached from the event being observed and does not analysis and interpretation of people’s behaviour. See also share any physical or virtual proximity to those being participant observation, structured observation. observed. See also collaborative observation, complete observer, complete participant, observer as participant, observer as participant Observational role in which the participant as observer. researcher observes activities without taking part in those activities in the same way as the ‘real’ research subjects. The non-probability sampling Selection of sampling tech- researcher’s identity as a researcher and research purpose is niques in which the chance or probability of each case clear to all concerned. See also participant as observer. being selected is not known. observer bias May occur when observers give inaccurate non-random sampling see non-probability sampling. responses in order to distort the results of the research. non-response bias Bias in findings caused by respondent observer drift Occurs when the observer starts to rede- refusing to take part in the research or answer a question. fine the way in which similar observations are interpreted leading to inconsistency. non-response error Situation where non-respondents in an intended sample differ in important ways from those observer effect Impact of being observed on how people who participate in the research. See also non-response, act. See also habituation, reactivity. non-response bias. observer error Systematic errors made by an observer, as non-response When the respondent refuses to take part a result of tiredness, for example. in the research or answer a question. one stage cluster sampling see cluster sampling. non-standardised interview see semi-structured inter- view, unstructured interview. one-way analysis of variance see analysis of variance. normal distribution Special form of the symmetric distri- online first Publication of forthcoming articles online, bution in which the numerical data for a variable can be prior to them appearing in a journal. plotted as a bell-shaped curve. online form (questionnaire) see Internet questionnaire. notebook of ideas Book or equivalent for noting down any interesting research ideas as you think of them. ontology Branch of philosophy concerned with assump- tions about the nature of reality or being. See also axiol- null hypothesis Tentative, usually testable, statement stat- ogy, epistemology. ing that there is no association, difference or relationship between two or more variables. Often referred to as H0. open coding Process of disaggregating data into units in See also alternative hypothesis, directional null hypothesis, grounded theory. hypothesis. open question Question allowing respondents to give numeric rating question Rating question that uses answers in their own way. numbers as response options to identify and record the respondent’s response. The end response options, and operationalisation Translation of concepts into tangible sometimes the middle, are labelled. indicators of their existence. numerical data Data whose values can be measured opinion variable Variable that records what respondents numerically as quantities. believe about something, what they think is true or false. O opportunistic sampling Non-probability purposive sampling procedure in which new potential cases which objectivism Ontological position that incorporates the emerge unexpectedly are recognised as potential oppor- assumptions of the natural sciences arguing that social tunities and assessed as to their utility. See also purposive reality is external to, and independent of, social actors sampling, non-probability sampling. concerned with their existence. See also ontology, subjec- tivism. ordinal data Data whose values cannot be measured numerically but which can be placed in a definite order objectivity Avoidance of (conscious) bias and subjective (rank). selection during the conduct and reporting of research. orthodox case study Case study strategy which is rigor- ously defined and highly structured before the research commences, with the intention it will be operationalised in a linear manner. See also case study. 810
Glossary outlier Case or unit of analysis that has extreme values for participant observation Observation in which the a variable which may distort the interpretation of data or researcher attempts to participate fully in the lives and make a statistic misleading. activities of the research subjects and thus becomes a member of the subjects’ group(s), organisation(s) or com- overt observation Situation in which observation occurs munity. See also complete observer, complete participant, openly following agreement by intended informants to a observer as participant, participant as observer. researcher’s request. See also covert observation. participant photography Participatory data collection P technique in which informants are provided with digital cameras or asked to use their mobile phones as cameras paired t-test Statistical test to determine the probability to record their experiences or perspectives, including the (likelihood) that the values of two (a pair of) numerical freedom to choose the subject of each image they take. data variables collected for the same cases are different. See also participatory video, participatory audio. The test assesses the likelihood of any difference between two variables (each half of the pair) occurring by chance participant researcher see internal researcher. alone. participant validation see member validation. paradigm Set of basic and taken-for-granted assumptions which underwrite the frame of reference, mode of theoris- participation bias Type of bias resulting from the nature ing and ways of working in which a group operates. of the individuals or organisational participants who agree to take part in a research study. paradigmatic analysis Approach used in the analysis of visual images which explores relations between signs by participation rate Proportion of respondents invited to examining how the substitution of alternative signs for take part in an online panel survey who provide a usable one sign will alter that sign’s signified meaning in rela- response. tion to other signs. See also semiotics, sign, syntagmatic analysis. participatory audio Participatory data collection tech- nique in which informants are provided with audio record- parametric statistic Statistic designed to be used when ers to let them to record their experiences or perspectives, data are normally distributed. Used with numerical data. including the freedom to choose what to record. See also See also numerical data. participant photography, participatory video. partial response Level of response to questionnaires or participatory video Participatory data collection tech- structured interviews in which 50 per cent to 80 per cent nique in which informants are provided with video camer- of all questions are answered other than by a refusal or no as to let them to record their experiences or perspectives, answer. including the freedom to choose what to record. See also participant photography, participatory audio, video diarists, partially integrated mixed-methods research Use of video diary. both quantitative and qualitative methods at only one stage or at particular stages of the research. See also fully passive voice Voice in which the subject of the sentence integrated mixed methods research. undergoes the action of the verb: for example, ‘interviews were conducted’. participant Person who answers the questions, usually in an interview or group interview. pattern matching Analysis of qualitative data involving the prediction of a pattern of outcomes based on theoreti- participant as observer Observational role in which cal propositions to seek to explain a set of findings. the researcher takes part in and observes activities in the same way as the ‘real’ research subjects. The researcher’s Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient identity as a researcher and research purpose is clear to all Statistical test that assesses the strength of the relationship concerned. See also observer as participant. between two numerical data variables. For data collected from a sample there is also a need to calculate the prob- participant drawing Technique used in a visual interview ability of the correlation coefficient having occurred by when a participant is asked to create a drawing using chance alone. paper and pencil to represent her or his feelings about an issue, or some aspect of his or her experience and to dis- percentage component bar graph/chart Diagram for cuss this. See also visual interview. comparing proportions for all types of data variables. participant information sheet Document providing percentile One of 100 sections when data are ranked and information required by gatekeepers and intended partici- divided into 100 groups of equal size. pants in order for informed consent to be considered. personal data Category of data, defined in law, relating to identified or identifiable persons. See also sensitive per- sonal data. 811
Glossary personal entry Situation where the researcher needs to others’ preferred methods even when they differ from conduct research within an organisation, rather than rely their own. on the use and completion of self-administered, postal questionnaires or the use of publicly available secondary politically important sampling Non-probability purpo- data. See access. sive sampling procedure in which cases are selected or excluded on the basis of participants’ connections with personal pronoun One of the pronouns used to refer to politically sensitive issues. See also purposive sampling, people: I, me, you, he, she, we, us, they, him, her, them. non-probability sampling. phenomenology Strand of interpretivism that focuses on polysemy Indicating multiple meanings. See also semiot- participants’ lived experience, that is the participants’ recol- ics. lections and interpretations of those experiences, being particularly concerned with generating meanings and gain- population Complete set of cases or group members. See ing insights into those phenomena. See also interpretivism. also research population. Phi Statistic to measure association between two variables positive correlation Relationship between two variables using a scale between −1 (perfect negative association), for which, as the value of one variable increases, the val- through 0 (no association) to +1 (perfect association). ues of the other variable also increase. See also correlation coefficient. photo essay Research output that combines digital or photographic images and text to present thematic visual positive skew Distribution of numerical data for a variable representations. See also photo novella. in which the majority of the data are found bunched to the left, with a long tail to the right. photo novella Research output that combines digital or photographic images and text to present a narrative visual positivism Philosophical stance of the natural scientist account. See also photo essay. entailing working with an observable social reality to pro- duce law-like generalisations. The emphasis is on highly photoelicitation Technique used in a visual interview structured methodology to facilitate replication. where a participant is given one or more photographic or digital images to interpret. See also visual interview. post-test Outcome measurement for the dependent vari- able in an experiment. See also pre-test. photovoice Technique which involves participants using participant photography for research focusing on a social postal questionnaire Data collection technique in which concern and meeting with other participants in group dis- the questionnaire is delivered by post to each respondent. cussions to present, discuss and analyse images which they She or he then reads and answers the same set of ques- have created. See also participant photography, reflexive tions in a predetermined order without an interviewer photography, visual interviews. being present before returning it by post. physical access Initial level of gaining access to an organi- postmodernism Philosophical stance emphasising the role sation to conduct research. See also cognitive access, con- of language and power-relations that seeks to question tinuing access, gatekeeper. accepted ways of thinking and give voice to alternative marginalised views. pictogram Diagram in which a picture or series of pictures are used to represent the data proportionally. PowerPoint™ Microsoft computer package that allows the presenter to design overhead slides using text, pic- pie chart Diagram frequently used for showing propor- tures, photographs etc., which lend a professional appear- tions for a categorical data or a grouped continuous or ance. discrete data variable. practitioner-researcher Role occupied by a researcher pilot test Small-scale study to test data collection tech- when she or he is conducting research in an organisation, niques to minimise the likelihood of problems in data often her or his own, while fulfilling her or his normal collection and recording as well as allow some assessment working role. of the validity and the reliability of the data that will be collected. pragmatism Philosophical stance that argues that con- cepts are only relevant where they support action. It plagiarism Presenting work or ideas as if they are considers research starts with a problem, and aims to your own when in reality they are the work or ideas of contribute practical solutions that inform future practice. someone else, and failing to acknowledge the original Pragmatists research may vary considerably in terms of source. how objectivist or subjectivist it is. See also objectivist, subjectivist. pluralist view of research Belief that flexibility in the selection of both qualitative and qualitative methods is pre-coding Process of incorporating coding schemes in legitimate and researchers should be tolerant of questions prior to a questionnaire’s administration. 812
Glossary pre-set codes Codes established prior to data collection Q and often included as part of the data collection form. qualitative data (1) Non-numerical data or data that pre-survey contact Contact made with a respondent to have not been quantified. (2) Data derived from spoken, advise them of a forthcoming survey in which she or he written, typed or printed words and still or moving visual will be asked to take part. images that have not been quantified. See also textual data, verbal data, visual data. pre-test Baseline measurement for the dependent variable in an experiment. See also post-test. qualitative diary study Research project or part of a research project based on the use of qualitative research predictive validity see criterion-related validity. diaries. See also diary study, qualitative research diary, quantitative diary study, quantitative research diary, predictor variable see independent variable research diary. preliminary inquiry Process by which a research idea is qualitative interview Collective term for semi-structured refined in order to turn it into a research project. This may and unstructured interviews aimed at generating qualita- be simply a review of the relevant literature. tive data. preliminary search Way of searching the literature qualitative research diary Research diary created by par- that may be helpful in generating research ideas. It may ticipants writing diary entries, or audio-recording their spo- be based, for example, on lecture notes or course ken thoughts in response to pre-determined open ques- textbooks. tions at regular intervals or related to the occurrence of a particular event or activity. See also diary study, qualitative primary data Data collected specifically for the research diary study, quantitative diary study, quantitative research project being undertaken. diary, research diary. primary literature First occurrence of a piece of work, qualitise Conversion of quantitative data into narrative including published sources such as government white that can be analysed qualitatively. papers and planning documents and unpublished manu- script sources such as letters, memos and committee min- quantifiable data Non-numerical data that can be trans- utes. formed into quantitative data. primary observation Observation where the researcher quantitative data Data that can be recorded as numbers notes what happened or what was said at the time. This is and analysed quantitatively. often done by keeping a research diary. quantitative diary study Research project or part of a privacy Primary ethical concern relating to the rights of research project based on the use of quantitative research individuals not to participate in research and to their treat- diaries. See also diary study, qualitative diary study, quali- ment where they agree to participate. See also research tative research diary, quantitative research diary, research ethics, informed consent. diary. probability sampling Selection of sampling techniques quantitative research diary Research diary composed of in which the chance, or probability, of each case being a series of identical, reasonably short questionnaires that selected from the population is known and is not zero. are designed to be self-completed by each participant to enable repeated measurements to be obtained at regular probing questions Questions used to explore further intervals through the course of the diary study. See also responses that are of significance to the research topic. diary study, qualitative diary study, qualitative research diary, quantitative diary study, research diary. professional journal Journal produced by a professional organisation for its members, often containing articles of quantitise Conversion of qualitative data into numerical a practical nature related to professional needs. Articles in codes that can be analysed statistically. professional journals are usually not refereed. quantity question Closed question in which the respond- project report Term used in this book to refer generally ent’s answer is recorded as a number giving the amount. to dissertations, theses and management reports. See also dissertation, management report, thesis. quartile One of four sections when data are ranked and divided into four groups of equal size. See also lower quar- pure research see basic research. tile, upper quartile. purposive sampling Non-probability sampling proce- quasi-experiment Experimental design using an experi- dures in which the judgement of the researcher is used mental group and a control group but where experimental to select the cases that make up the sample. This can participants cannot be assigned randomly to each group. be done on the basis of criticality, extremes, hetero- See also matched pair analysis. geneity (maximum variation), homogeneity (maximum s imilarity). 813
Glossary questionnaire General term including all data collection re-coding The process of grouping or combining a vari- techniques in which each person is asked to respond to able’s codes to form a new variable, usually with less the same set of questions in a predetermined order. See detailed categories. also delivery and collection questionnaire, interviewer- administered questionnaire, online questionnaire, postal reactivity Reaction by research participants to any questionnaire, self-administered questionnaire. research intervention that affects data reliability. See also habituation, observer effect. quota sampling Non-probability sampling procedure that ensures that the sample represents certain characteristics realism Epistemological position that objects exist inde- of the population chosen by the researcher. pendently of our knowledge of their existence. See also critical realism, direct realism. R realist ethnography Ethnographic strategy stressing r2 value see coefficient of determination. objectivity, factual reporting and identifying ‘true’ mean- ings. See also ethnography, critical ethnography, interpre- R2 value see coefficient of multiple determination. tive ethnography. radical change perspective Perspective which fundamen- reductionism Idea that problems as a whole are better tally questions the way things are done in organisations understood if they are reduced to the simplest possible and, through research, offers insights that would help to elements. change the organisational and social worlds. refereed academic journal Journal in which the articles radical humanist paradigm Paradigm concerned with have been evaluated by academic peers prior to publica- changing the status quo, focusing on issues of power and tion to assess their quality and suitability. Not all academic politics, domination and oppression and emphasising the journals are refereed. importance of social construction, language, processes, and instability of structures and meanings. references, list of Bibliographic details of all items referred to directly in the text. The university will specify radical structuralist paradigm Paradigm concerned with the format required. achieving fundamental change based upon an analysis of phenomena such as structural power relationships and reflection Process of observing your own research practice patterns of conflict. and examining the way you do things. random sampling see simple random sampling. reflective diary Diary in which the researcher notes down what has happened and lessons learnt during the research range Difference between the highest and the lowest val- process. See also research notebook. ues for a variable. reflexive photography Technique where participants ranked data see ordinal data. engage in participant photography and reflective inter- views to explore their experiences. See also participant ranking question Closed question in which the respond- photography, photovoice, visual interviews. ent is offered a list of items and instructed to place them in rank order. reflexivity Self-examination, evaluation and interpreta- tion of your attitudes and beliefs, reactions to data and rating question Closed question in which a scaling findings, and interactions with those who take part in the device is used to record the respondent’s response. See research and acknowledgement of the way these affect also Likert-type rating question, numeric rating question, both the processes and outcomes of the research. semantic differential rating question. regression analysis The process of calculating a regres- ratio data Numerical data for which both the difference sion coefficient and regression equation using one inde- or ‘interval’ and relative difference between any two data pendent variable and one dependent variable. For data values for a particular variable can be stated. See also collected from a sample, there is also a need to calcu- numerical data. late the probability of the regression coefficient having occurred by chance alone. See also multiple regression rational thinking technique One of a number of tech- analysis, coefficient of determination, r2 value, regression niques for generating and refining research ideas based on equation. a systematic approach such as searching the literature or examining past projects. regression equation Equation used to predict the values of a dependent variable given the values of one or more inde- raw data Data for which little, if any, data processing has pendent variables. The associated coefficient of determination taken place. provides an indication of how good a predictor the regression equation is likely to be. See coefficient of determination. 814
Glossary regulation perspective Perspective concerned primarily rapport, to ask concise and unambiguous questions and to with the need for the regulation of societies and human listen attentively. behavior. It seeks to explain the way in which organisa- tional affairs are regulated and offer suggestions as to research notebook Notebook in which the researcher how they may be improved within the framework of the records chronologically aspects of their research project way things are done at present. such as useful articles they have read, notes of discus- sions with their project supervisor etc. and their emergent relevance tree Technique for generating research top- thoughts about all aspects of their research. Can be used ics that starts with a broad concept from which further as an analytical aid. Can incorporate a reflective diary. See (usually more specific) topics are generated. Each of these also reflective diary; self-memo. topics forms a separate branch, from which further sub- branches that are more detailed can be generated. research objectives Clear, specific statements that iden- tify what the researcher wishes to accomplish as a result of reliability Extent to which data collection technique or doing the research. techniques will yield consistent findings, similar observa- tions would be made or conclusions reached by other research philosophy Overarching term relating to a system of researchers or there is transparency in how sense was beliefs and assumptions about the development of knowledge made from the raw data. and the nature of that knowledge in relation to research. repeated measures see within-subjects design. research proposal Structured plan of a research project, occasionally referred to as a protocol or outline. representative sample Sample that represents exactly the population from which it is drawn. research question The key question that the research process will address, or one of the key questions that it representative sampling see probability sampling. will address. The research question is generally the precur- sor of research objectives. research aim Broad statement summarising the general intention or desired outcome of the research. research strategy General plan of how the researcher will go about answering the research question(s). research approach General term for inductive, deduc- tive or abductive research approach. See also abductive research Systematic collection and interpretation of data approach, deductive approach, inductive approach. with a clear purpose, to find things out. See also applied research, basic research. research design Framework for the collection and a nalysis of data to answer research question and meet research objec- researcher-completed questionnaire Data collection tives providing reasoned justification for choice of data sourc- technique in which a researcher or research assistant reads es, collection methods and analysis techniques. the same set of questions to the respondent in a prede- termined order and records his or her responses. See also research diary Systematic, participant-centred research structured interview, telephone questionnaire. method in which participants either complete daily ques- tionnaires to produce quantitative data, or create written, respondent driven sampling (RDS) Non-probability audio or audio-visual recorded entries to produce qualita- sampling procedure that is a development of snowball tive data. See also diary study, qualitative diary study, qual- sampling compensating for the sample being collected in a itative research diary, quantitative diary study, quantitative non-random way and enabling unbiased estimates of the research diary. population to be made. See also snowball sampling, non- probability sampling. research ethics Standards of the researcher’s behaviour in relation to the rights of those who become the subject of respondent Person who answers the questions, usually on a research project, or who are affected by it. See also code a questionnaire. See also participant. of ethics, privacy, research ethics committee. response bias see interviewee bias. research ethics committee Learned committee estab- lished to produce a code of research ethics, examine and response rate Total number of responses divided by the approve or veto research proposals and advise in relation total number in the sample after ineligible respondents to the ethical dilemmas facing researchers during the con- have been excluded. See ineligible respondent. See also duct and reporting of research projects. See also code of active response rate, break off, complete refusal, complete ethics. response, partial response. research idea Initial idea that may be worked up into a reverse coding Recoding the scores for negatively worded research project. questionnaire items to ensure that high values indicates the same type of response on every item. research interview Purposeful conversation between two or more people requiring the interviewer to establish reverse scoring see reverse coding. 815
Glossary review article Article, normally published in a refereed or conclusions. See also document secondary data, multiple academic journal, that contains both a considered review source secondary data, survey-based secondary data. of the state of knowledge in a given topic area and point- ers towards areas where further research needs to be secondary literature Subsequent publication of primary undertaken. See also refereed academic journal. literature such as books and journals. review question Specific question you ask of the material secondary observation Statement made by an observer you are reading, which is linked either directly or indirectly of what happened or was said. By necessity this involves to your research question. See also research question. that observer’s interpretations. S selective coding Process of integrating categories to pro- duce theory in grounded theory. sample Subgroup or part of a larger population. selective observation Stage in participant observation sampling fraction Proportion of the total population where the observer develops a selective focus on which to selected for a probability sample. concentrate future observation. See also descriptive obser- vation, focused observation. sampling frame Complete list of all the cases in the pop- ulation, from which a probability sample is drawn. self-coded question Question each respondent codes her or himself as part of the process of recording their answer. saturation see data saturation. self-completed questionnaire Data collection technique scale item Rating question used in combination with in which each respondent reads and answers the same set other rating questions to create a scale. See rating ques- of questions in a predetermined order without an inter- tion, scale. viewer being present. scale Measure of a concept, such as customer loyalty or self-memo Way of recording own ideas about research as organisational commitment, created by combining scores they occur, which may then be used as an analytical aid. to a number of rating questions. See also research notebook. scale question see rating question. self-selection sampling Non-probability volunteer sam- pling procedure in which the case, usually an individual, is scatter graph Diagram for showing the relationship allowed to identify their desire to be part of the sample. between two numerical or ranked data variables. See also non-probability sampling, volunteer sampling. scatter plot see scatter graph. semantic differential rating question Rating ques- tion that allows the respondent to indicate his or her scientific research Research that involves the systematic attitude to a concept defined by opposite adjectives or observation of and experiment with phenomena. phrases. scoping study Preliminary exploratory study undertaken as semi-structured interview Wide-ranging category of part of Systematic Review to establish whether Systematic interview in which the interviewer commences with a set Reviews have already been published and determine the of interview themes but is prepared to vary the order in focus of the literature search. See also Systematic Review. which questions are asked and to ask new questions in the context of the research situation. scratch notes Initial recording of key points from a research session that serves as an immediate and con- seminal Work that is pivotal, presenting an idea of great densed version of what has been observed, which later importance or influence. Seminal articles are likely to be needs to be worked up into a fuller, expanded account. referred to frequently. search engine Automated software that searches an semiotics The study of signs. See also sign. index of documents on the Internet using key words and Boolean logic. sensitive personal data Category of data, defined in law, that refers to certain specified characteristics or beliefs search string Combination of key words or search terms relating to identified or identifiable persons. used in searching online databases. sensitivity Level of concern on the part of a potential host search term Basic terms that describes your research organisation, informant, participant or respondent about question(s) and objectives, and is used to search the ter- the nature of a research project and use of data that will tiary literature. affect willingness to cooperate. secondary data Data that were originally collected for sequential explanatory design Mixed methods research some other purpose. They can be can be further analysed design where initial phase of quantitative data collection is to provide additional or different knowledge, interpretations followed by second phase of explanatory qualitative data collection. See also sequential mixed methods research. 816
Glossary sequential mixed-methods research Research using which social actors create partially shared meanings and both quantitative and qualitative methods that are con- realities, in other words it is socially constructed. ducted in more than one phase of data collection and analysis. See also double-phase research design, multi- social exchange theory [in relation to research access] phase research design, sequential explanatory design, Where a potential participant evaluates the benefits versus sequential exploratory design. the costs of agreeing to take part in research. sequential multi-phase design Mixed methods research social norm Type of behaviour that a person ought to design involving multiple phases of data collection and adopt in a particular situation. analysis. socially desirable response Answer given by a respond- serial correlation see autocorrelation. ent due to her or his desire, either conscious or uncon- scious, to gain prestige or appear in a different social role. shadowing Process that the researcher would follow in order to gain a better understanding of the research con- source questionnaire Questionnaire that is to be trans- text. This might involve following employees who are likely lated from another language when translating a question- to be important in the research. naire. Shapiro–Wilk test Statistical test to determine the prob- Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient Statistical test ability (likelihood) that an observed set of values for each that assesses the strength of the relationship between two category of a variable differs from a specified distribution. ranked data variables. For data collected from a sample, there is also a need to calculate the probability of the cor- sign Something that stands for (or represents) something relation coefficient having occurred by chance alone. other than itself, indicating that a sign consists of two parts: a signifier, which is the word, phrase or sound used, split infinitive Phrase consisting of an infinitive with an or image or artefact shown, and the signified, which is the adverb inserted between ‘to’ and the verb: for example, concept or meaning suggested or implied in the sign. See ‘to readily agree’. also semiotics. stacked bar graph/chart Diagram for comparing totals signficance testing Testing the probability of a pattern and subtotals for all types of data variable. such as a relationship between two variables occurring by chance alone if the null hypothesis were true. standard deviation Statistic that describes the extent of spread of data values around the mean for a variable con- signifier see sign. taining numerical data. simple random sampling Probability sampling procedure statistical inference Process of coming to conclusions that ensures each case in the population has an equal about the population on the basis of data describing a chance of being included in the sample. sample drawn from that population. single-organisation access The process of gaining entry statistical significance Likelihood of the pattern that into one organisation to conduct research. is observed (or one more extreme) occurring by chance alone, if there really was no difference in the population single-phase research design Research involving one from that which the sample was drawn. phase of data collection and analysis. See also concurrent mixed methods research. stemming Cutting off a word’s ending, to reduce it to its stem. SMS questionnaire Data collection technique in which the questionnaire is delivered as a series of SMS (short storyline Way in which the reader is led through the message service) texts to each respondent. She or he then research project to the main conclusion or the answer to reads and answers each of the texts by replying without the research question. The storyline is, in effect, a clear an interviewer being present. theme that runs through the whole of the project report to convey a coherent and consistent message. snowball sampling Non-probability volunteer sampling procedure in which subsequent respondents are obtained stratified random sampling Probability sampling proce- from information provided by initial respondents. See also dure in which the population is divided into two or more non-probability sampling, volunteer sampling. relevant strata and a random sample (systematic or simple) is drawn from each of the strata. social actors Individuals or groups who, through their actions, have the capacity to shape their world in a variety structural narrative analysis Narrative Analysis that of ways by reflecting on their situation and the choices focuses on the way a narrative is constructed. See also available. Narrative Analysis. social constructionism Ontological position that asserts structured data Data that are organised into a form that that reality is constructed through social interaction in is easy to process such as database or spreadsheet. See also unstructured data. 817
Glossary structured interview Data collection technique in which web conferencing. See also asynchronous electronic inter- an interviewer physically meets the respondent, reads view, electronic interview. them the same set of questions in a predetermined order, and records his or her response to each. synchronous Undertaken in real time, occurring at the same time. structured methodology Data collection methods that are easily replicated (such as the use of an observation syntagmatic analysis Approach used in the analysis of schedule or questionnaire) to ensure high reliability. visual images which explores relations between signs and the ways in which meanings are signified as different signs structured observation Observation method using a high are combined into structures or sequences. See also para- level of predetermined structure, often used to quantify digmatic analysis, semiotics, sign. observed behaviours. See also participant observation. synthesis Process of arranging and assembling various ele- subject directory Hierarchically organised index catego- ments so as to make a new statement, or conclusion. rised into broad topics, which, as it has been compiled by people, is likely to have its content partly censored and systematic random sampling Probability sampling proce- evaluated. dure in which the initial sampling point is selected at ran- dom, and then the cases are selected at regular intervals. subject or participant bias Bias that may occur when research subjects are giving inaccurate responses in order Systematic Review Process for reviewing the literature to distort the results of the research. using a comprehensive pre-planned strategy to locate existing literature, evaluate the contribution, analyse and subjectivism Ontological position that incorporates synthesise the findings and report the evidence to allow assumptions of the Arts and Humanities and asserts that conclusions to be reached about what is known and, also, social reality is made from the perceptions and consequent what is not known. actions of social actors (people). See also ontology, objec- tivism. systematic sampling see systematic random sampling. sufficiency [of access] Being able to negotiate adequate T access to conduct research. t-test see independent groups t-test, paired t-test. survey Research strategy that involves the structured collection of data from a sizeable population. Although table Technique for summarising data from one or more the term ‘survey’ is often used to describe the collection variables so that specific values can be read. See also con- of data using questionnaires, it includes other tech- tingency table, frequency distribution. niques such as structured observation and structured interviews. tailored design method Approach to designing question- naires specifying precisely how to construct and use them; survey-based secondary data Data collected by surveys, previously referred to as the ‘total design method’. such as by questionnaire, which have already been ana- lysed for their original purpose. target population Complete set of cases or group mem- bers that is the actual focus of the research inquiry, and symbolic interactionism Strand of interpretivism derived from which a sample may be drawn. from pragmatist thinking that sees meaning as something that emerges out of interactions between people. It focus- target questionnaire Translated questionnaire when es on the observation and analysis of social interaction translating from a source questionnaire. such as conversations, meetings and teamwork. See also interpretivism, pragmatism. teleological view View that the ends served by research justify the means. Consequently, the benefits of research symbolic sign Abstract sign which is capable of signifying findings are weighed against the costs of acting unethi- meaning to those who see it through conventional under- cally. standing. See also iconic sign, indexical sign, semiotics, sign. telephone questionnaire Data collection technique in which an interviewer contacts the respondent and admin- symmetric distribution Description of the distribution isters the questionnaire using a telephone. The interviewer of data for a variable in which the data are distributed reads the same set of questions to the respondent in a equally either side of the highest frequency. predetermined order and records his or her responses. symmetry of potential outcomes Situation in which the Template Analysis Analysis of qualitative data that results of the research will be of similar value whatever involves creating and developing a hierarchical template of they are. data codes or categories representing themes revealed in the data collected and the relationships between these. synchronous electronic interview Electronic interview conducted in real time using email, instant messaging or 818
Glossary tense Form taken by the verb to indicate the time of the three-dimensional and lived media A form of visual action (i.e. past, present or future). document data that includes architecture and clothing. See also document secondary data. tertiary literature source Source designed to help locate primary and secondary literature, such as an index, time error Error, usually associated with structured observa- abstract, encyclopaedia or bibliography. tions, where the time at which the observation is being con- ducted provides data that are untypical of the time period in textual data Qualitative data derived from written, typed which the event(s) being studied would normally occur. or printed words that are either collected as notes from interviews or observations, as written diaries and participant time series Set of numerical data values recorded for a accounts or from documents. See also qualitative data. single variable over time usually at regular intervals. See also moving average. Thematic Analysis A technique used to analyse qualita- tive data that involves the search for themes, or patterns, total response rate The total number of responses occurring across a data set. divided by the total number in the sample after ineligible respondents have been excluded. See ineligible respond- Thematic Analysis Grid (TAG) A grid for structuring your ent. See also active response rate, break off, complete note-taking as a matrix with articles listed in rows (in date response, complete refusal, partial response. order) and each column representing a separate theme. trade journal Journal produced by a trade organisation thematic narrative analysis Narrative Analysis that for its members, often containing articles of a practical focuses on the thematic content of a narrative, rather than nature related to the trade’s needs. Articles in trade jour- on the way in which it is structured. See also Narrative nals are usually not refereed. Analysis. traditional access Use of face-to-face interactions, corre- theme Broad category incorporating several codes that spondence for postal questionnaires, ‘phone conversations appear to be related to one another and which indicates or visits to data archives to conduct research. an idea that is important to your research question. transcript summary Type of summary produced following theoretical replication Realisation or replication of pre- the transcription of an interview or observation and used dicted theoretical outcomes in selected case studies in a as an analytical aid. See also document summary, interim case study strategy. See also case study, literal replication. summary. theoretical rigour Clarity and thoroughness with which transcript Written record of what a participant (or the research as reported is grounded in existing explanations respondent) said in response to a question, or what par- of how things work. See also methodological rigour, theory. ticipants (or respondents) said to one another in conversa- tion, in their own words. theoretical sampling Non-probability purposive sampling procedure particularly associated with Grounded Theory triangulation Use of two or more independent sources of Method which focuses on the needs of the emerging data or data-collection methods within one study in order theory and the evolving story line, participants being cho- to help ensure that the data are telling you what you think sen purposively to inform this. See also Grounded Theory they are telling you. Method, non-probability sampling, purposive sampling. trimmed mean Mean calculated after extreme values theoretical saturation Procedure used in Grounded (known as outliers) have been excluded. Theory Method and reached when data collection ceases to reveal new data that are relevant to a category, where two-dimensional moving media Form of moving docu- categories have become well developed and understood ment data that include films, videos, interactive web pages and relationships between categories have been verified. and other multi-media, often being combined with audio. See also Grounded Theory Method. See also document secondary data. theoretical sensitivity Sensitivity to meanings in the data two-dimensional static media Static form of visual docu- and using in vivo and researcher generated codes to guide ment data that include photographs, pictures, cartoons, theorising activity, rather than being sensitised by concepts maps, graphs, logos and diagrams. See also document in existing theory. secondary data. theory Formulation that intends to explain something Type I error Error made by wrongly coming to the deci- based on general principles that are usually independent sion that something is true when in reality it is not. of what is being explained, which may or may not have been tested. Type II error Error made by wrongly coming to the deci- sion that something is not true when in reality it is. thesis Usual name for research project reports undertaken for Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy type of access Way used to gaining access to conduct (PhD) degrees, written for an academic audience. research. See also Internet-mediated access, intranet-me- diated access, hybrid access, traditional access. 819
Glossary typical case sampling Non-probability purposive sampling variance Statistic that measures the spread of data values; procedure which focuses on selecting cases on the basis a measure of dispersion. The smaller the variance, the that they are typical or illustrative. See also purposive sam- closer individual data values are to the mean. The value of pling, non-probability sampling. the variance is the square of the standard deviation. See also dispersion measures, standard deviation. U verbal data Qualitiative data derived from spoken words uninformed response Tendency for a respondent to that are collected in the form of extended speech. See also deliberately guess where they have sufficient knowledge qualitative data. or experience to answer a question. video diarist Collaborative informant who produce a unit of data A number of words, a line of a transcript, a video diary during the use of participatory video. See also sentence, a number of sentences, a complete paragraph, participatory video, video diary. or some other single chunk of textual data or visual image that will be coded. See also code, coding. video diary Video produced by informant during the use of the participatory video data collection technique. See unitarist view of research Belief that there is, or should also participatory video, video diarist. be, one legitimate method (quantitative or qualitative) and intolerance of others’ preferred methods if they differ from video essay Research output that uses video or film to one’s own. analyse and interpret an experience, perspective or out- come. unitising data Process of attaching relevant ‘bits’ or ‘chunks’ of your data to the appropriate category or cat- videography (1) Process of recording moving images onto egories that you have devised. electronic media; (2) Ethnographic analysis of recorded video sequences. unreachable respondent Respondent selected for a sam- ple who cannot be located or who cannot be contacted. VIF see variance inflation factor. unstructured data Data that are not easy to search or virtual access Initial level of gaining access to online com- process as, in their current form, they do not follow a pre- munities to conduct research. See also cognitive access, defined structure. See also unstructured data. continuing access, gatekeeper. unstructured interview Loosely structured and informally visual aid Item such as an overhead projector slide, white- conducted interview that may commence with one or board, video recording or handout that is designed to more themes to explore with participants but without a enhance professional presentation and the learning of the predetermined list of questions to work through. See also audience. informant interview. visual data Qualitative data derived from still or moving upper quartile Value above which a quarter of the data visual images that may be created or found in many forms values lie when the data values for a variable have been including drawings, digital images and video. See also ranked. qualitative data. URL Uniform resource locator specifying where a known visual interview Participant focused research interview in resource can be found. which visual images are used to elicit interviewee accounts and interpretations and stimulate dialogue. See also V autodriving, participant drawing, photoelicitation. validity (1) Extent to which data collection method or volunteer sampling Non-probability sampling procedures methods accurately measure what they were intended to in which participants are volunteered or self-select to be measure. (2) Extent to which research findings are really part of the research rather than being chosen. See also about what they profess to be about. See also construct snowball sampling, self-selection sampling. validity, criterion related validity, ecological validity, face validity, internal validity, measurement validity, predictive W validity. web log see blog. variable Individual element or attribute upon which data have been collected. Web questionnaire Data collection technique in which the questionnaire is delivered electronically to each variance inflation factor (VIF) Statistic used to measure respondent’s email address. She or he then reads and collinearity. See collinearity. answers the same set of questions in a predetermined order without an interviewer being present before return- ing it electronically. See also online questionnaire. 820
Glossary weighting Process by which data values are adjusted to within-subjects design Experimental design using only reflect differences in the proportion of the population that a single group where every participant is exposed to the each case represents. planned intervention or series of interventions. See also experiment, between-subjects design. within-individual level analysis Analysis conducted at the level of an individual person’s responses in a research study word cloud Visual representation of the relative frequency where data are repeatedly collected from each participant, of occurrence of words and/or phrases in text, in which such as in a quantitative diary study. See also between persons the frequency is represented by the font size, or occasion- analysis, quantitative diary study, quantitative research diary. ally, the colour. 821
Index Note: Page numbers in bold refer to glossary entries 50th percentile See medians alpha coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha), B 518, 796 A background to research, 56–7 alternative hypothesis, 191, 796 bar chart/graph, 583, 797 See also mul- abduction, 155–6 ambiguity about causal direction, 215 abductive approach, 796 American Psychological Association tiple bar chart/graph; percentage component bar charts; stacked critical review, 153 (APA) style, 109, 786, 787 bar chart/graph deductive approach and, 158 amount, as rating type, 527 base periods, 622, 797 empirical knowledge, 156 analysis of variance (ANOVA), 615, 796 basic research, 9, 797 inductive approach and, 158 analysis stage, ethics, 272–6 behaviour abstract, 714, 796 analytical focus, 643 observing online, 379 literature sources, 95 Analytic Induction, 664–5, 796 researchers, 460 project report, 714 annotating, 104 variables, 512, 513, 797 publications, 715 anonymised data, 276, 278–80, 796 beneficence, 259, 797 utility of articles, assessing using, 103 anonymity, 249, 261, 270, 273, 737–8, between persons analysis, 797 Academy of Management between-subjects design, 192, 797 796 bias Journal (AMJ), 34 ANOVA See analysis of variance interview, 449 access, 11, 232–4, 796 interviewee, 447, 449 (ANOVA) measurement, 366–7 difficult or costly for secondary answerability, 46 observer, 397 data, 354 appendices, 721, 796 participant, 214 application, 796 participation, 448 ethics, 263–76 applied research, 10, 796 researcher, 214 Internet-mediated, issues associated appropriateness, 29–31, 454, 455 bibliographic details, 108–9, 797 archival research, 195–6, 797 bibliography, 108–9, 797 with gaining, 240–3 Argos.co.uk, 73 abbreviations, 788 levels of, 235 assessment criteria, 739 referencing in, 786, 787 organisational, 389 assessment differences, 607–15 big data, 341, 351, 797 strategies to gain, 243–52 assessors’ requirements, Big Mac Index, 565–6 sufficiency, 237 biographical interview, 797 traditional, issues associated with meeting, 54–5 blogs, 240, 259, 797 associated variables, 610–11 books, 86, 88 gaining, 234–40 asynchronous electronic interviews, bookshops, 98 types of, 234 Boolean logic, 97, 797 accounting practices and research, 151 476–478, 797 box plots, 591, 797 Action Research, 201–4, 723–4, 796 attitude variables, 514, 797 brainstorming, 38, 92, 797 active participation, 796 attribute questions, 513 break-off, 302, 797 active response rates, 303, 796 audio-recordings, 418–420 Brexit, 129 active voice, 737, 796 broker, 235, 797 See also actual sample size, 304–5 interviews, 463, 466–7 gatekeeper ad hoc surveys, 342, 345, 796 transcriptions, 466–7, 645 browsing, 98 adjusted minimum sample size, 790 authenticity criteria, 217 bulletin boards, 240, 259 advertising, 661, 663 author–date systems, 771–86 business audience, 750–1 ageing society, social entrepreneurs, authority, critique of, 76 buy-to-let investors, 5 autocorrelation, 624, 797 332–3 autodriving, 480, 797 aggregations, 354 availability sampling See convenience agreement, as rating type, 527 aim See research aim sampling axial coding, 206, 669, 673, 797 axiology, 134, 797 822
Index C cognitive access, 236, 798 continuous and regular surveys, 342 coherence, 55 continuous data, 570, 800 capability, 27, 30, 31 cohort studies, 350, 352, 799 contrived data, 446, 800 CAPI See computer-aided personal inter- collaborative observation, 387–8, 799 control groups, 192, 800 collection of data See data controlled index language, 800 viewing (CAPI) collinearity, 621, 799 control variables, 191, 800 CAQDAS See computer-aided qualitative combined studies, 188–9 convenience sampling, 318, 324, communication practices, 385 data analysis software (CAQDAS) comparative approach, 712 797, 800 cases, 577, 797 comparative data, 352 convergent interviews, 440–1, 800 comparative proportional pie charts, convergent validity, 517, 800 data collection corporate social responsibility, 34 relationships between cases, 597 596, 799 correlation, 615, 800 weighting cases, 580–1 comparing and contrasting, 104 correlation coefficients, 615, 800 comparisons, constant See constant costs and benefits analysis, 367–8 negative, 659 costs, interviewing issues, 465 case studies, 196–9, 724–6, 797 comparisons coverage, 361–2, 800 categorical data, 567, 570–3, 797 compiled data, 341, 799 covering letters, 536–8, 800 categorising data, 654, 690, 798 complete observer roles, 386, 799 covert observation, 383, 800 category questions, 521–3, 798 complete participant roles, 384, 799 covert research, 271, 800 CATI See computer-aided telephone complete refusal, 302, 799 Cramer’s V, 610, 800 complete response, 303, 799 creative thinking techniques, 31–2, interviewing (CATI) computer-aided personal interviewing causality, 48, 798 35–8, 800 causal relationship, 798 (CAPI), 510, 799 credibility, 217 census, 292, 342, 521, 798 computer aided qualitative data analysis central limit theorem, 300, 798 Internet-mediated observation, central tendency measures, software (CAQDAS), 18, 638, 413–14 691–4, 797 599–600, 798 computer-aided telephone interviewing interview and, 451 changing definitions, secondary data (CATI), 309, 510, 799 researchers, 251–3 conclusions, 719–20, 799 credit unions (CUs), 227–8 and, 355 concurrent embedded design, 799 criterion-related validity, 517, 800 chat rooms, 259, 798 concurrent mixed methods research, criterion validity, 215, 800 checking data for errors, 580 182, 799 critical approach, 76–7 ChemCo, 136 concurrent triangulation design, 182, 799 critical case sampling, 318, 322, 800 China’s online music world, 357 conference proceedings, 90 critical discourse analysis, 680, 800 chi square tests, 609–12, 798 confidentiality, 249, 258, 261, 270, critical ethnography, 201, 800 chronological approach, 712 275, 799 critical incident, 457–8, 800 clarity, 733–7 confounding variables, 191, 799 critical incident technique, 457, 800 classical experiments, 191–2, 798 connotative sign, 685, 799 Critical Management, Studies (CMS), classic approach to observational consent, 265–6 forms, 268, 269, 799 139, 156 research, 383–4, 798 inferred, 266 critical realism, 147–8, 800 closed questions, 459, 519, 798 informed, 265, 266 critical reflectivity, 29 cluster sampling, 313, 798 nature of, 266 critical reviews of literature See code, 653, 798 consent form, 268, 269, 799 codebooks, 572–6, 798 constant comparisons, 206, 799 literature, reviews codes of ethics, 254, 259, 798 construct, 799 Cronbach’s alpha, 518, 800–1 coding, 206, 670–3, 798 construct validity, 517, 799 cross-cultural research, 511 consultancy report, 730–1, 799 cross-posting, 544, 801 axial, 206, 669, 673 contacts, personal, 445 cross-sectional research, 212, 801 data, 532–3, 570–6, 578–9, 653–6 content cross-tabulation, 593, 801 focused, 206, 669, 672–3 analysis, 573–4 cultural reflexivity, 449–50 with gerunds, 798 brief summary of, 109 initial, 206, 669–72 project report, 731–4 D open, 206, 669–72 validity, 517, 799 pre-coding, 533 content analysis, 573–4, 683, 799 data, 49, 801 schedules, 404–7, 798 contextual data, 352, 463, 799 analysis, 15, 261 selective, 206, 669, 673 contingency table, 593, 800 ethics, 272–6 template, 662, 798 continual revision, 738–9 qualitative see qualitative data Template Analysis, 660–4 continuing access, 236, 800 quantitative see quantitative data coefficient of determination See regres- questionnaires, 505–10 sion coefficient coefficient of multiple determination, 616, 798 coefficient of variation, 602, 798 823
Index data (Continued) abductive approach, 158 divergent validity, 802 anonymised, 278–80 critical reviews, 78, 153 diversity and inclusion, OilCo, 23–4 categorising, 654 inductive approach and, 158 documentary research, 195–6 checking for errors, 580 qualitative analysis, 665–6 document secondary data, 345–9, 802 cleaning, 801 deliberate distortion, 366, 801 document summaries, 649, 802 coding, 532–3, 570–6, 578–9, 653–6 delivery and collection questionnaires, document visual data, 802 collection, 17 DOI See digital object identifiers (DOI) email use during, 270 506, 548, 801 dominant codes, 686, 802 ethics and, 268, 270–2 Delphi technique, 39–40, 801 double-phase research design, 182, 802 interactive nature of data analysis demographic variables, 512, 801 draft of report, 738 and, 640–1 denotative sign, 685, 801 Durbin–Watson statistic, 624, 802 Internet-mediated observation, deontological view, 253, 801 408–14 dependability, 217, 413–14 E measurement bias, 366–7 observation, 404–7 interview, 449 East Coast rail, 679 participant, 394 dependent variables, 190, 512, 597, 801 ecological validity, 396, 802 questionnaires, 510–16 derivatives, use of, 630–2 EDA See exploratory data analysis (EDA) using video, 415 descriptive data, 569, 801 effect size index, 608, 802 videography, 414–24 descriptive observation, 393, 801 electronic interviews, 476, 802 condensation, 690 descriptive research, 187–8, 801 electronic questionnaire, 802 confidentiality, 258, 261 descriptive statistics, 597–602, 801 electronic textual data, 647–8 developing, revising and applying descripto-explanatory studies, 188, 801 elements, 292, 802 codes, 656 design elite person access, 235, 802 display and analysis, 690–1, 801 email(s) eliciting further, 683 mixed-method, 184 familiarisation, 652 research see research design data collection, use during, 270 fragmentation, 643 determination, coefficient of See regres- interviews, 478, 802 informed consent, 260–1 requesting access, 248 integrity, 643 sion coefficient embedded mixed methods research, laws, 279 deviant sampling See extreme case management, 258, 261, 280, 801 184, 802 matrices, 577, 801 sampling emergent case study, 198, 802 personal, 276–8 diagrams, 49 See also bar charts; box employee experiences of remote primary see primary data protection, 276–8 plots; histograms; line graphs; w orking, 700–2 and public opinion, 177 pictograms; pie charts; scatter encyclopaedias, 92–3 qualitative see qualitative data graphs/plots engaged research, 142 quality dialogic interviews, 439–40, 801 English Riviera images, 689 interview and, 447–51 diaries entrepreneurs, 138, 686 issues, 396–9, 407, 412–14, 417– electronic, 242 epistemology, 133, 148, 803 18, 420, 423–4 reflective, 12–15, 19, 650–1 error(s) lack of control over, 354 video, 414 quantitative see quantitative data diary study, 482, 801 checking for, 580 recording, 395–6 dichotomous data, 569, 801 grammatical, 736–7 reduction, 643, 801 dictionaries, 92–3 informant, 407 requirements table, 514–16, 801 digital data trail, 339–40 observer, 396–7 sampling, 645, 801 digital marketing, observing, 379 participant, 214 saturation, 315, 801 digital news media, 27 researcher, 214 secondary see secondary data digital object identifier (DOI), 109, 771, 802 time, 407 types, 567–70 directional hypothesis, 608, 802 Type I, 608–9 visual, 683 direct participation and observation, Type II, 608–9 394, 802 ethical considerations, 55 databases, 99–100 direct realism, 147, 802 ethical issues, choice of topic, design and Data Protection Act, 278 disability guidelines, 794–5 debriefing, 271, 801 discourse analysis, 677–81, 802 gaining access, 263–8 deception, 259, 266, 801 discoveries, unforeseen, 352–3 ethics, 232–4, 803 deciles, 601, 801 discrete data, 570, 802 deduction, 153–4 discriminant validity, 517 access gaining stage, 263–8 deductive approach, 51, 801 discussion groups, Internet, 240 analysis stage, 272–6 discussions, 33, 92, 717–18, 802 checklist, 275–6 dispersion measures, 601–2, 802 codes of, 254, 259 dissertations, 33, 802 data collection stage, 268, 270–2 distortion, deliberate, 366 defining research ethics, 252–6 distribution of values, 591–2, 596–7 824
Index general categories of, 256–9 focused interview, 803 HARP See Heightening your Awareness principles for recognition and over- focused observation, 393–4, 804 of your Research Philosophy focus groups, 442, 467–472, 803 (HARP) coming or minimising, 257–9 follow-up, 804 reporting stage, 272–6 forced-choice questions, 519, 804 Harvard system, 109, 771–87 research design, 212–13, 263–8 forecasting, 619–20, 624 audio CDs and downloads, 784 at specific stages of research process, formality in observation, 382 blogs, 780–1 forums See Internet, forums books, 780–1 263–76 found visual image, 804 brochures, 779 ethnicity guidelines, 793–4 frequency, as rating type, 527 bulletin boards, 780 ethnography, 199–202, 726, 727, 803 frequency distributions, 583, 804 chapters in books, 773–4 European Union, tackle fake news, 356 frequency polygons, 588, 804 conference papers, 782–3 evaluation, 104–7, 739, 803 FTSE 100 index, 623 course materials, 784–5 fulfilment, 29–31 datasets, 782 data display and analysis, 690–1 full text online databases, 95, 804 diagrams, online, 781–2 discourse analysis, 681 full-text searches, 96 dictionaries, 774–5 explanation building, 666 fully integrated mixed methods research, discussion lists, 781 Grounded Theory, 674 DVDs, 783 Narrative Analysis, 677 183, 804 emails, 781 pattern matching, 666–8 functionalist paradigm, 140, 804 films, 783–4 secondary data sources, 360–8 fundamental research, 9, 804 See also government publications, 776–7 Template Analysis, 663–4 journals, 777–8 Thematic Analysis, 660 basic research letters, 781 visual analysis, 681–90, 688, 690 magazine articles, 778 evaluative research, 188 G media releases, 779 event variables, 514, 803 newspapers, 778–9 evidence See literature, reviews gain access, 243–52 online diagrams, 781–2 existing contacts, 245–7, 803 process of, 245 online teaching materials, 784–5 experiential data, 803 press releases, 779 experiential meaning, 532, 803 Gantt chart, 58–59, 804 radio programme, 783 experimental groups, 192, 803 gatekeeper, 235, 804 reference books, 774–5 experiments, 190–3, 803 gender, 737, 792–3 reports, 775–6 explanation building, 666, 803 general focus research questions, 44, 804 television programme, 783 explanatory research, 188, 803 generalisability, 450–1, 804 See also video downloads, 783 exploratory data analysis (EDA), 581, 803 web forums, 780–1 exploratory studies, 186–7, 803 external validity websites, 780 external researcher(s), 219, 238–9, 803 generalisations, 154 Wikis, 780 external validity, 193, 216, 803 gig economy, 301 extreme case sampling, 318, 321–2, goal setting, 709–10 hedge fund decision making, 385 Goldilocks test, 43, 804 Heightening your Awareness of your 801, 803 grammar, 532, 736 grammatical errors, 736–7, 804 Research Philosophy (HARP), F grand theories, 52 161–4 graph See line graphs; multiple line hermeneuticists, 149 fabrication, 270, 803 hermeneutics, 148, 804 face-to-face interviews, 442, 472–3 graph; scatter graphs/plots heterogeneous sampling, 318, face-to-face questionnaires, grey literature, 83, 804 See also primary 321, 804 heteroscedasticity, 621, 804 506, 522, 549 literature hierarchy of data measurement, 569 face validity, 541, 803 Grounded Theory, 205–9, 668–74, highest and lowest factual variables, 512, 803 values, 583, 593 fairness, researchers, 257 726–8, 804 histograms, 585, 587, 804 false assumptions, 218–19 group interviews, 18, 442, 467–472, 804 historical review, 79 falsification, 270, 803 homogeneous sampling, 318, familiarisation, data, 652 H 321–2, 805 familiarity, 243 homoscedasticity, 620, 805 feasibility, 55, 237–8, 803 habituation, 271, 398, 804 hybrid access, 234, 242, 805 fieldwork, 389, 803 handbooks, 92–3 hypothesis, 49, 146, 805 filter questions, 533, 803 haphazard sampling, 318, 324, 804 alternative, 191 financial crisis, 37 Harking, 176, 804 null, 191, 608 findings, reporting See project report harm testing, 608, 658, 805 focused coding, 206, 669, 672–3, 803 avoidance of, 257, 260 causing, 260 825
Index I integrity of researchers, 257 opening comments, 456–7 interconnectivity, 46 preparation for, 451–5 iconic sign, 684, 805 interdiscursivity, 679, 806 questions, 457–60 ideas interests of researchers, 32–3 researchers’ appearance, 455–6 interim summary, 648–9, 806 scheduling, 465 notebook of, 35 inter-library loan, 104, 805 informal interview, 441 see also research ideas internal researchers, 219, 239–40, Internet-mediated, 442 ideology, 805 journalism, 435 idiomatic meaning, 531, 805 271, 806 links to the purpose of research and images internal validity, 193, 215, 517, 806 analysing as visual data, 683 research strategy, 442–444 from English Riviera, 689 threats to, 215 logistical issues, 465 of identity, 686 Internet non-standardised, 443 as visual representations, 687–8 one-to-many, 441 implied consent, 799 access, issues associated with gaining, one-to-one, 441 importance, 49–50 240–3 participants and interview modes, 443 incommensurability, 143 preparation for, 451–5 incremental access, 236, 251 addresses for selected CAQDAS resource issues, 465 independent groups t-tests, 613, 805 developers, 694 semi-structured, 437–8, 444–7 independent measures, 192, 805 independent variables, 190, 512, 597, 805 bibliographic details, 108 checklists, 455, 464 in-depth interviews See interview(s); ethics, 254–5 conducting, 455–64 focus groups see focus groups data quality issues, 447–51 unstructured interview forums, 804 management of, 465–7 indexes, 95 group see group interviews opening comments, 456–7 indexical sign, 684, 805 information gateways, 100 preparation for, 451–5 index numbers, 602, 622, 805 netiquette, 262, 542 questions, 457–60 individual person access, 235, 805 questionnaires, 309, 506, 542, 544–6, researchers’ appearance, 455–6 induction, 154–5 scheduling, 465 inductive approach, 51, 153, 805 577, 580 structured, 437, 506 searching, 98–102 telephone, 442 abductive approach, 158 secondary data gateways, 343–4 advantages, 474 critical reviews, 78 Internet forums, 408, 806 disadvantages, 473–4 deductive approach and, 158 Internet-mediated vs. face-to-face, 472–3 ineligible respondents, 303, 805 access, 234, 806 strategies, 474–6 inference, statistical, 300, 805 observation, 378, 380, 408–14, 806 themes, 453 inferred consent, 266, 805 questionnaires, 540–8 transcribing, 647 informal interview, 441 semi-structured, 18 two-to-many, 442 informants, 380, 390 structured observation, 409, 806 types of, 436–42 audio recordings, 419 Internet-mediated interviews, 442, 476–8 unstructured interview, 441 errors, 407, 805 asynchronous electronic interviews, visual, 442, 479–82 interview, 805 interviewee bias, 447, 449, 806 verification, 397, 398, 805 476–478 interviewer bias, 447, 449, 806 videography, 416 synchronous electronic interviews, 478 interviewer-completed questionnaires, visual images, 421 Internet questionnaire, 806 information interpretive ethnography, 200–1, 806 506, 806 gateways, 100 interpretive paradigm, 141, 806 interview schedule, 806 provision to interviewees, 452–4 interpretivism, 148–9, 806 intranet-mediated access, 234, 806 information sheet, 266, 267 inter-quartile range, 601, 805 intra-rater reliability, 806 informed consent, 258, 265, 266, inter-rater reliability, 805 introductions, 714–15, 806 intertextuality, 679, 806 introductory letters, 249, 806 799, 805 interval data, 569, 806 intrusive research methods, 237, 806 initial coding, 206, 669–72, 805 intervening variables, 659 investigative questions, 514, 806 initial reading, 92–3 interview(s), 240, 434–6 ‘in vivo’ codes, 655, 806 initial sample, 669, 805 data quality issues, 447–51 instant messaging, 234 ethics, 17, 270 J institutional repositories, 102 face-to-face, 442 instrument, 503, 805 focus groups see focus groups jargon, 735 instrumentation, 215 group, 442, 467–472 jigsaw puzzle, 637 integers, 570, 805 guides, 453, 806 journalism, 435 integration of ideas, 41 in-depth, 9, 438–41, 444–7 integrative review, 78 checklists, 455, 464 conducting, 455–64 data quality issues, 447–51 management of, 465–7 826
Index journals, 84–8, 807 evaluating literature, 77, 104–7 memos to self, 650 judgemental sampling, 321, 807 forms of, 78–9 memo writing, 206, 808 note taking and referencing, 107–9 metasearch engines, 100 K obtaining, 102–4 method, 4, 57–8, 808 plagiarism, 115 methodological review, 79 Kendall’s rank correlation coefficient process, 75–6 methodological rigour, 808 (Kendall’s tau), 616, 807 systematic, 110–1 methodology, 4, 642, 717, 808 scanning, 98 middle-range theories, 52–3 key words, 691, 807 secondary, 83 minimal interaction, 398, 808 knowledge creation sources, 83–90 missing data, coding, 576 tertiary see tertiary literature (mis)understanding terminology, 458 Mode 0, 7, 808 mixed methods, 181, 183 Mode 1, 7, 808 sources Mode 2, 7, 808 sufficiency, 107 complementarity, 185 Mode 3, 7, 808 value of, 105–7 confidence, 185 knowledge, level of, 452 locations diversity, 185 Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, 605, interview, 454 facilitation, 185 for writing, 709 focus, 185 612–13, 807 logical reasoning, 807 generalisability, 185 kurtosis, 591, 807 logic leaps, 218–19 initiation, 185 logistical issues of interviewing, 465–7 interpretation, 185 L longitudinal data, 807 problem solving, 185 longitudinal secondary data, 342, 348, qualitative research design, 184–6 language recognition and use, organisational discourse analysis, 677–81 364–5 non-discriminatory, 792–5 longitudinal studies, 212, 352, 807 research, 186 suitability, 250–1 long-term trend, 624, 807 research design, 181–6 translating questions, 529, 531–2 lower quartile, 601, 807 triangulation, 185 lowest and highest values, 583, 593 mixed methods research, 183, 808 latent content, 573, 807 lurking, 259, 410 mixed-model research, 808 law of large numbers, 300, 807 mobile questionnaire, 506, 808 layout, quantitative data, 577–80 M modal groups, 599, 808 leading questions, 460 mode effect, 808 learning journal, 13 mail questionnaires See postal moderate participation, 385, 808 lemmatization, 96, 807 questionnaires moderating variables, 191, 512, 808 letters moderators, 471, 808 management consultants, fieldwork modes, 599, 808 covering, 536–7, 536–8 access, 286–7 mono method qualitative studies, introductory, 249 levels of access, 235, 807 management report, 720, 721, 179, 808 Leverage-Saliency Theory, 236, 807 731, 807 mono method quantitative studies, lexical meaning, 531, 807 libraries, literature, 102–4 manifest content, 573, 807 178, 808 likelihood, as rating type, 527 Mann–Whitney U test, 807 mortality (withdrawing from Likert-style rating, 523, 807 marketing strategies, 210 linear-analytic approach, 712 matched pair analysis, 192, 807–8 studies), 215 linearity, 620, 807 matrix moving average, 624, 808 line graphs, 588, 589, 807 See also multicollinearity, 621, 809 data, 577–80 multi-method qualitative studies, 179, m ultiple line graph questions, 528, 808 link terms, 97 spreadsheet data, 578 180, 808 listening skills, 460–1 maturation, 215 multi-method quantitative studies, list questions, 520–1, 807 maximum variation sampling, 321, 808 literal replication, 198, 807 178, 808 literature See also heterogeneous sampling multi-organisation access, 234, 809 mean, 599, 808 multi-phase research design, 182, 809 abstracts as sources, 95 measurability, 46 multiple bar chart/graph, 593, 809 exploring relevance using, 36–7 measurement bias, 366–7 multiple-dichotomy method, 579, 809 primary, 83 measurement validity, 214, 361, multiple line graph, 595, 809 quotations from, 735–6 multiple methods, 178, 189, 809 relevance of, 105 517, 808 multiple regression analysis, 618, 809 reviews, 72–3, 72–5, 800, 807 median, 599, 808 multiple-response method, 577, 809 media, scanning, 35 multiple-source secondary data, 341, drafting, 112–4 mediating variables, 191, 512, 808 member validation, 218, 808 342, 348–51, 364–5, 809 multi-stage sampling, 296, 325, 809 827
Index N case studies, 428–430 P dimensions, 380–90 narrative, 210, 809 ethics and, 271 paired t-test, 613, 614, 811 Narrative Analysis, 674–7, 809 non-participant, 386–7 paradigm, 140, 143–4, 811 Narrative Inquiries, 209–11, 809 observer roles, 388–9, 392, 402–3, paradigmatic analysis, 685, 811 narrative interview, 809 paradigms, research, 138–44 Narrative Research project, 728–30 408–9 parameters of literature search, 91, 96 National Aeronautics and Space participant, 378, 381, 390–9 parametric statistics, 603, 811 researcher role during, 382–8 partially integrated mixed methods Administration (NASA), 350 structured, 378, 400–7 National Health Service (NHS), 256 using videography, 415–18 research, 183, 811 natural data, 446, 809 observational data, 415 partial response, 302, 811 naturalistic observation, 389, 809 observational settings, 388–90, 392, participant(s), 811 negative cases, 659–60, 809 negative correlation, 615, 809 404, 410 -as-observer roles, 384–5, 811 negatively skew, 591, 809 observer-as-participant roles, bias, 214 netiquette, 262, 542, 809 difficult interviewees, 461 new contacts, 246, 809 385–6, 810 drawing, 481, 811 new insights, 352–3 observer bias, 397, 810 error, 214 newspapers, 88–9 observer drift, 397, 810 information sheet, 266, 267, 811 NHS See National Health Service (NHS) observer effect, 397–9, 810 observation, 378, 380, 381, 390–9, nominal data See descriptive data observer error, 396–7, 810 nominalism, 137, 809 one-stage cluster sampling, 313 See also 393–4, 811 non-binary, 737, 809 photography, 414, 811 non-directional hypothesis, 608, 809 cluster sampling researcher, 239–40, 811 non-discriminatory language, 792–5 one-to-many interviews, 441 validation, 218, 811 non-maleficence, 259, 809 one-to-one interviews, 441 participation, 258, 260 non-numerical data, 809 one-way analysis of variance, 615, 810 participation bias, 448, 811 non-parametric statistics, 603, 810 online behaviour, observing, 379 participation rate, 811 non-participant observer, 386–7, 810 online communities, 412–13 participatory audio, 414, 811 non-probability sampling, 296, online databases, 95, 99–100 participatory research, 449–50 online first, 786, 810 participatory video, 414, 811 315–24, 810 online public access catalogues passive analysis, 259 non-random sampling See non- passive voice, 737, 811 (OPAC), 95 past events, 215 probability sampling online questionnaires, 810 See also past project titles, 33 non-refereed academic journals, 84 past tense, 737 non-response, 546 Internet questionnaires; web pattern(s) questionnaire matching, 666–8, 811 bias, 302, 810 ontology, 133, 810 recognising, 690 error, 237, 810 OPAC See online public access cata- Pearson’s product moment correlation non-standardised interviews, 443, 810 logues (OPAC) non-text materials, 348 open coding, 206, 669–72, 810 coefficient (PMCC), 616, 811 normal distribution, 591, 810 opening comments, interview, 456–7 percentage component bar charts, 593, normality testing, 603–7 open-mindedness, 257 notebook of ideas, 35, 810 open questions, 458–9, 519, 520, 810 594, 811 notebooks, research, 12–15, 650 operationalisation, 45, 154, 810 percentiles, 601, 811 note taking, 107–9 opinion variables, 512, 513, 810 permanence of data, 353 null hypothesis, 191, 608, 810 opportunistic sampling, 323, 810 personal contacts, 445 numerical data, 569, 576, 613–14, 810 ordinal data, 569, 810 See also personal data, 276–8, 811 numeric rating question, 810 ranked data personal entry, 237, 812 numeric rating scale, 525 organisational access, 389 personal pronouns, 737, 812 numeric referencing systems, 786–8 organisational analysis, 140–3 personal safety, 273 organisational benefits, 250 phenomenologists, 149 O organisational concerns, 249 phenomenology, 148, 812 organisational readiness, 353 Phi, 612, 812 objectivism, 134–7, 810 organisation-based document secondary philosophical assumptions objectivity, 810 data, 347 organisation-provided topics, 41 mixed methods, 181 critique of, 76 orthodox case study, 198, 810 qualitative research design, 179 researchers, 268 outcomes, potential, symmetry of, 30 quantitative research design, 176–7 observation, 18, 378–80, 810 outliers, 599, 620, 811 photo-elicitation, 479, 812 overall suitability, 361–2 photo essay, 687–8, 812 overt observation, 383, 811 photo novella, 687, 812 828
Index photovoice, 482, 812 probability sampling, 296–314, 813 deductively based, 665–6 physical access, 235, 812 sample size, 299–302 preparation of data for analysis, pictograms, 585, 586, 812 sampling frame, 297–9 pie charts, 589, 812 See also compara- techniques, 305–8 644–8 Thematic Analysis, 651–60 tive proportional pie charts probing questions, 459, 813 transcribing, 644–8 pilot testing, 540–2, 812 professional journals, 84, 813 diversity and analytical implications, plagiarism, 115, 812 progress summaries, 648–9 planning project report, 706–8, 813 638–40 quantitisation of, 183 literature search, 90–4 abstract, 714 technique selection considerations, project report, 741–5 alternative structures, 722–30 pluralist view of research, 181, 812 appendices, 721 641–4 politically important sampling, assessment criteria, 739 qualitative diary study, 485–6, 813 business audience, 750–1 qualitative interviews, 196, 491–2, 813 322–3, 812 conclusions, 719–20 qualitative research design, 179–80 polysemy, 685, 812 content organisation, 731–4 qualitative research diary, 813 population, 294, 812 discussions, 717–18 qualitise, 183, 813 positive correlation, 615, 812 dividing the work, 732–3 quality positively skew, 591, 812 ethics, 272–6 positivism, 144–7, 812 introduction, 714–15 data see data postal questionnaires, 506, 543–4, length, 730 research design, 213–19 literature reviews positioning, 715–16 quantifiable data, 813 See also 546–8, 812 methodology chapters, 717 poster presentations, 745–7 poster presentation, 745–7 n umerical data Post-it® notes, 3 previewing chapters, 733 quantitative data, 813 postmodernism, 149–50, 812 recommendations, 721 post-tests, 192, 812 references, 720–1 analysis, 15, 564–7 potential outcomes, symmetry of, 30 slide presentation, 741–5 checking for errors, 580 PowerPoint™, 812 structuring, 712–30 descriptive statistics, 597–602 practitioner researchers, 219, 271, 812 summarising chapters, 733 entering data, 580 pragmatism, 150–1, 812 tables, figures and visual images, examining relationships, differences precise suitability of secondary data, and trends using statistics, 721–2 602–24 363–7 titles, 732 exploring and presenting data, pre-coding, 533, 812 visualisation, 733–4 581–97 preconceived ideas avoidance, 55–6 writing styles, 734–9 saving data, 580 predictions, 49 prompt card, 522 predictive validity, 517, 813 proportions, comparison of, 593–4 checking, weighting cases, 580–1 predictor variable, 813 proposing type questions, 460 content analysis, 573–4 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic propositions definition, 567 research, 659 layout, 577–80 Reviews and Meta Analyses testable, 658–60 qualitisation of, 183 (PRISMA), 111 pure research, 9, 813 See also basic types of, 564–7, 571 preliminary inquiries, 40, 813 quantitative diary study, 483–5, 813 preliminary search, 35, 813 research quantitative research design, 175–8 presentation, 18 purpose quantitative research diary, 813 oral, 18, 741–7 quantitise, 183, 813 poster, 18 data presentation and, 354–5 quantity questions, 528, 813 project report, 741–7 literature reviews, 77–8 quartiles, 601, 813 pre-set codes, 573, 813 questionnaires, explaining, 536–40 quasi-experiments, 192, 813 pre-survey contact, 244, 813 research question(s) pre-tests, 192, 813 coding, 532–3 previewing, 104 disadvantages of secondary data, designing for questionnaires, 518–33 project report chapters, 733 353–4 further answers to, 460 primary data, 338, 813 See also in-depth interviews, 438–41, 443, interview(s); observation; interview and, 442–5 questionnaire(s) purposive sampling, 318, 321–3, 813 445, 457–60 primary literature, 83, 813 order and flow in questionnaires, primary observation, 813 Q PRISMA See Preferred Reporting Items 533–4 for Systematic Reviews and Meta qualitative data, 636–8, 813 semi-structured interviews, Analyses (PRISMA) analysis, 15 privacy, 258, 260, 813 aids, 648–51 445, 457–60 sensitive, 458 specific and closed, 459 translating into other languages, 529, 531–2 829
Index questionnaire(s), 18, 503, 512, 814 reductionism, 154, 814 process, 11–12 administration, 547 refereed academic journals, 84, 814 strategies see research strategies choice of, 506–10 references, 49, 61, 108, 720–1, value of, 10 closing, 537–40 research aim, 44–5, 815 constructing, 533–40 786–8, 814 research approaches, 151–8, 815 deciding on data to be collected, referencing, 107–9 mixed methods, 181 510–15 referencing styles, 771–88 qualitative research design, 179 delivery and collection, 542–9 reflection, 13, 814 quantitative research design, 176 ethics, 274 reflective diary, 12–15, 19, 650–1, 814 research design, 815 Internet, 542, 544–6 choice and coherence, 173–5 introducing, 537 See also research notebooks concurrent embedded, 184 layout, 536 reflexive photography, 482, 814 concurrent triangulation, 182 main attributes of, 507–8 reflexivity, 13, 26–7, 814 ethics, 212–13, 263–8 occasions of use, 505 regression analysis, 618, 814 mixed methods, 181–6 overview of, 505–10 regression coefficient, 798 multi-phase, 182 pilot testing, 540–2 regression equation, 620, 814 nature of, 186–9 purpose, explaining, 536–40 regular surveys, 342 qualitative methods, 179–80 reliability, 516–18 regulation perspective, 139, 815 quality, 213–19, 216–18 SMS, 546 relationship(s) quantitative methods, 175–8 telephone, 548–9 requirements and questionnaires, 510–12 translation techniques for, 532 cause-and-effect, 618 researchers’ roles, 219–220 types of, 506 observer roles, 383, 388 sequential explanatory, 182 validity, 516–18, 540–1 recognising, 656–8 sequential exploratory, 182 visual presentation of, 534–6 significant, assessment for, 607–15 single-phase, 182 wording, 529–31 strength of, 617 research diary, 815 use of social networks and online advantages, 487 quota sampling, 317–21, 814 design and conduct, 488–9 quotations from literature, 735–6 shopping, 409 issues associated with, 487 relevance, 46 qualitative diary study, 485–6 R quantitative diary study, 483–5 exploring using literature, 36–7 researcher(s) radical change perspective, 139, 814 gap, 8, 9 appearance at interviews, 455–6 radical humanist paradigm, 142, 814 of literature, 105, 106 audio recordings, 418 radical structuralist paradigm, 142, 814 trees, 37, 93–4, 815 behaviour, 460 random number tables, 308 reliability, 213–16, 815 credibility, 251–3 random sampling, 814 Internet-mediated observation, fairness, 257 integrity, 257 numbers, 791 413–14 interests, 32–3 See also simple random sampling; interview, 449 objectivity, 268 questionnaires, 516–18 open-mindedness, 257 stratified random sampling; secondary data, 363–6 personal preferences, 35–6 s ystematic random sampling structured observation issues, 407 personal safety, 273 range, 601, 814 threats to, 214 researcher role during, 382–8 rank correlation coefficients, 616 religious tourist observation, 428–430 roles, 219–220 ranked data, 569, 612–13, 814 remote working practices, 700–2 safety, 262 ranking question, 523, 814 repeated measures, 193, 815 See also strengths, 32 rating question, 523–7, 534, 814 videography, 415–16 ratio data, 569, 814 within-subjects design visual images, 421 rational thinking technique, 31, 32, 814 report researcher bias, 214 raw data, 341, 814 researcher-completed questionnaire, 815 reactivity, 271, 814 ethics and, 272–6 researcher created video, 415–16 reading, critical, 104–5 of findings see project report researcher error, 214 realism, 135, 147–8, 814 literature sources, 87–8, 90 research ethics committees, 256, 815 realist ethnography, 200, 814 project report see project report research ideas, 31, 815 recent events, 215 purpose and data presentation, 354–5 generating, 31–8 re-coding, 576, 814 See also consultancy report; manage- refining, 39–41 recommendations, 721 research proposal development, recording ment report interviews, 461–4, 466–7 reports as sources, 87–8, 90 42–53 note taking and referencing, 107–9 representative sample, 302, 314, 815 representative sampling, 297, 815 representativeness of samples, 313, 314, 325, 612–13 research, 815 business and management, 6–11 clear account of, providing, 247–9 nature of, 4–6 830
Index research interviews See interview(s) reverse scoring, 815 disadvantages, 353–5 research notebooks, 12–15, 650, 815 review, 72–5 evaluating sources of, 360–8 research objectives, 45, 815 likely availability, 356–8 content, 79–80 locating, 358–9 in research proposals, 57 of literature see literature online databases with potential, 341 writing, 44–7 project reports, positioning in, 715–16 searching for, 355–9 purpose of, 77–8 suitability, 360–7 importance of theory in, 45–53 reading, adopting critical perspective types of and uses in research, 341–51 research onion, 129–30, 174 secondary literature, 83–90, 816 research paradigms, 138–44 in, 104–5 secondary observation, 816 research philosophy, 17, 130–8, 143–4, research questions, chapters selective coding, 206, 669, 673, 816 selective observation, 393, 816 167–9, 815 i nforming, 716 self-coded question, 528, 816 for business and management, 131–2 structure, 80–3 self-completed questionnaires, 502, 506, qualitative research, 642 review articles, 34, 816 research population, 295–6 review questions, 104, 816 539, 816 research proposals, 53–61, 815 rhetoric, critique of, 76 self-memos, 650, 816 first draft case study, 65–8 risk evaluation, 259 self-selection sampling, 318, 323–4, 816 need for, 54–6 risk management controls, 630–2 semantic differential rating question, structure, 56–61 road injury accidents, 619–20 research question, 815 Russian doll principle, 44 526, 816 expressing your topic, 42–4 seminal theories, 76, 816 literature review chapters S semiotic analysis, 683–8 semiotics, 683, 816 informing, 716 safety of researchers, 262 semi-structured interviews, 437–8, 443, in research proposals, 57 samples, 292–4, 816 writing, 42–4 816 See also interview(s) representativeness, 313, 314, 325, sensitive personal data, 277, 816 importance of theory in, 45–53 612–13 sensitive questions, 458 research strategies, 189–90, 815 sensitivity, 249, 816 sampling, 17, 292–4 sentences, 734–5 Action Research, 201–4 fraction, 309, 816 sequential explanatory research archival research, 195–6 frame, 297–9, 816 case studies, 196–9 need for, 294–5 design, 182, 816 documentary research, 195–6 non-probability see non-probability sequential exploratory research ethnography, 199–202 sampling experiments, 190–3 overview of techniques, 296–7 design, 182 Grounded Theory, 205–9 probability see probability sampling sequential mixed methods research, interview links to, 442–4 theoretical see theoretical sampling Narrative Inquiries, 209–11 182, 817 qualitative research design, 180 saturation, 469, 816 sequential multi-phase design, 817 quantitative research design, 178 data, 315 serial correlation, 624, 817 surveys, 193–5 theoretical, 207 shadowing, 40, 817 research topic, 26–9 Shapiro–Wilk test, 605, 817 good, characteristics of, 29–31 scale items, 528, 816 sign, 683, 817 research ideas, generating and scale questions See rating questions significance testing, 602–24, 817 scales, 523, 528–9, 816 signified, 683 refining, 31–41 scanned documents, 647–8 signifier, 817 research proposal development, scanning literature, 98 simple random sampling, 308–9, 817 scatter graphs/plots, 597, 816 simplicity, 734–7 42–53 scheduling in-depth and semi-structured single-organisation access, 234, 817 topic choosing, 62 single-phase research design, 182, 817 resource requirements, 351 interviews, 465 size resources, 60 scientific research, 153, 816 interviewing issues, 465–7 scoping study, 110, 816 minimum, calculation, 789–90 respect scratch notes, 395, 816 non-probability sampling, 315–17 lacking, 260 search engines, 98, 816 probability sampling, 299–302 for others, 257 searches, 33–5 slide presentations, 741–5 respondent driven sampling (RDS), SME winning new business, 346 conducting, 94–104 SMS questionnaires, 546, 817 323, 815 planning, 90–4 snap shot secondary data, 342 respondents, 303, 380, 506, 545, 815 search strings, 97, 816 snowball sampling, 318, 323, 817 response bias, 447, 815 search terms, 91–2, 94–7, 816 social actors, 135, 817 response rate, 302–5, 815 search tools, 98–102 social constructionism, 137, 639, 817 restarting writing sessions, 710 secondary data, 17, 338–41, 816 social exchange theory, 250, 817 retroduction, 156 advantages, 351–3 reverse coding, 815 831
Index socially desirable response, 509, 817 surveys, 193–5, 818 theoretical replication, 198, 819 social media survey secondary data, 342–6, 818 theoretical review, 78–9 suspense approach, 713 theoretical rigour, 819 relationship with online shopping, 409 symbolic interactionism, 391, 818 theoretical sampling, 207, 323, 819 for research, 374–6 symbolic interactionists, 149 theoretical saturation, 207, 819 social networking, 102, 362 symbolic sign, 685, 818 theoretical sensitivity, 208, 819 social norm, 253–4, 817 symmetric distribution, 591, 818 theory, 47–8, 819 sociological paradigms, 140–3 symmetry of potential outcomes, source questionnaire, 532, 817 definition, 47–8 Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient 30, 818 development, 50–2 synchronous electronic interviews, theory-building approach, 712–13 (Spearman’s rho), 616, 817 theory development specialised search engine, 100–1 478, 818 approaches to, 152–8 specification, 54 syntagmatic analysis, 685, 818 qualitative research, 642 specificity, 46 syntax, language, 532 thesauruses, 92–3 specific questions, 459 synthesis, 739, 818 theses, 33, 90, 819 spelling, 736 systematic random sampling, three-dimensional and lived media, split infinitives, 736, 817 stacked bar chart/graph, 596, 817 309–11, 818 347, 819 staff behaviours at Fastfoodchain, 401–2 systematic review, 79, 110–1, 818 time staff research interests, 32–3 systematic sampling See systematic standard deviation, 601, 817 errors, 407, 819 standardised interviews, 443 r andom sampling gaining access, 243–5, 251 statistical inference, 300, 817 horizon, choosing, 212 statistical significance, 609, 817 See also T interviews and, 445–6, 465 timescale and research proposal, significance testing table(s), 582, 583, 818 statistics contingency, 593 58–60 data requirements, 514–16 for writing, 709 descriptive, 597–602 frequency distributions, 583 time series, 819 examining relationships, differences random sampling numbers, 791 timing of writing, 709 title, 56, 732 and trends using statistics, tailored design method, 504, 818 topics for research See research topic 602–24 target population, 295, 818 total response rate, 303, 819 significance testing, 602–24 target questionnaires, 532, 818 totals, comparisons of, 596 stemming, 97, 817 techniques trade journals, 84, 819 storylines, 733, 817 traditional access, 234–40, 819 strategic flexibility, 97 qualitative research design, 180 tradition, critique of, 76 stratified random sampling, quantitative research design, 178 transcription, 644–8 311–13, 817 teleological view, 254, 818 transcript summary, 649, 819 strengths of researchers, 32 telephone interviews, 442 transferability, 217, 413–14, 450–1 Structural Narrative Analysis, advantages, 474 transparency, 46 676–7, 817 disadvantages, 473–4 trends structure vs. face-to-face, 472–3 comparing, 595 in observation, 382 strategies, 474–6 examining, 622–4 in participant observation, 393–4 telephone questionnaires, 506, 534, showing, 588–9 structured data, 341, 817 triangulation, 218, 819 structured interviews, 437, 443, 818 548–9, 818 reason for using mixed methods See also interview(s) Template Analysis, 660–4, 818 structured methodology, 154, 818 tenses, writing, 737, 819 design, 185 structured observation, 378, 380, 381, terminology in interviews, 458 trimmed mean, 599, 819 399–407, 818 tertiary literature sources, trust, in interviews, 458 subject directories, 100, 102, 818 t-test, 613, 614, 818 subjectivism, 137–8, 818 94, 358, 819 two-dimensional moving media, subject/participant bias, 818 testable propositions, 658–60 substantive theories, 52–3 testing, 215 347, 819 sufficiency, 818 text, 786–7 two-dimensional static media, of access, 237 of literature, 106, 107 referencing in, 771–85 347, 819 summarising text data, 342, 638, 819 two-to-many interviews, 442 effective reading, 104 Thematic Analysis Grid (TAG), 112–4, Type I errors, 608–9, 819 project report chapters, 733 Type II errors, 608–9, 819 supplementary information, 109 122–5, 819 type of access, 819 Thematic Analysis to qualitative data types of theoretical contribution, 52–3 typical case sampling, 318, 322, 820 analysis, 651–60, 819 Thematic Narrative Analysis, 675–6, 819 theme, 819 832
Index U confounding, 191 visual representation, 687–9 control, 191 voluntary participation, 258, 260 understanding, testing, 461 dependent see dependent variables volunteer sampling, 318, 323–4, 820 unforeseen discoveries, 352–3 independent see independent Uniform resource locator (URL), 820 W uninformed response, 509, 820 variables unitarist, 181 individual, exploring and presenting, web-based questionnaires See Internet, unitarist view of research, 820 questionnaires unitising data, 820 583–92 units of data, 653, 820 intervening, 659 web logs See blogs unmeasured variables, 361–2 mediating, 191, 512 web pages, 261 unobtrusiveness, 351 moderating, 191, 512 web questionnaire, 242, 324, 506, unreachable respondents, 303, 820 predicting value from one or more unstructured data, 341, 820 542, 691, 820 unstructured interviews, 441, 805, 820 other variables, 618–22 weighting, 580–1, 821 questionnaire, 512 withdrawal from participation, 258, 260 See also interview(s) types of, 191, 512–14 within-group design, 193 upper quartile, 601, 820 variance, 615, 820 within-individual level analysis, 821 URL, 108–9 variance inflation factor (VIF), 621, 820 within-subjects design, 193, 821 variation, coefficient of, 601 word cloud, 585–7, 821 V verbal data, 638, 820 work-life balance (WLB), 555–8 video diary, 414, 820 writing, 706–8 validation, 218 video essay, 687, 820 member, 218 videography, 202, 820 back-up copy, 711 participant, 218 advantages, 416–17 goals, 709–10 data quality, 417–18 location, 709 validity, 213–16, 820 informant created video, 416 outline structures, 710 content, 517 researcher created video, 415–16 project report see project report external see external validity VIF See variance inflation factor (VIF) reading by friends, 711–12 internal see internal validity virtual access, 242, 820 reflective essays, 739–40 Internet-mediated observation, Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), 340 reports for different audiences, 730–1 413–14 visual aids, 744, 820 research proposals, 53–61 interview and, 451 visual analysis, 681–2 restarting sessions, 710 measurement, 214 evaluation, 688, 690 sessions, 710, 711 participant observation issues, 396–9 overview, 683 styles, 734–9 questionnaires, 516–18, 540–1 semiotic analysis, 683–7 time for, 709 secondary data, 363–6 use of images, 687–8 undertaking, 708–12 visual data, 638, 683, 820 value of literature, 105–7 visual images, 421–424 Y values, 596–7 analysing to elicit further data, 683 variable(s), 49, 577, 820 visual interviews, 442, 479–82, 820 YouTube secondary data, 349 visualisation, project report, 733–4 comparing, 593–7 visualising consumption, 495–7 833
RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS STUDENTS EIGHTH EDITION “This accessible and clearly written textbook provides a comprehensive and in-depth treatment of philosophical, methodological and ethical aspects of conducting business and management research. Illustrative case studies drawing on published research studies are used throughout and readers are given multiple opportunities to consolidate their learning through review and discussion questions, quizzes, and other exercises. At the end of each chapter a case study takes the reader through the realities and practicalities of applying the knowledge to a specific student research project. This will be an invaluable guide for all students seeking to understand and undertake business and management research.” Professor Natasha Mauthner, Newcastle University With over 400,000 copies sold, Research Methods for Business Students, is the definitive and market-leading textbook for Business and Management students conducting a research-led project or dissertation. The fully revised 8th edition answers key questions such as: ✔ How do I choose my topic and design the research? ✔ How do I collect and analyse my data? ✔ Why is research philosophy relevant to my research? ✔ When and what do I need to write? With the 8th edition you will discover: • Fully updated chapters incorporating visual methods throughout, detailed insights on drafting the critical literature review, the latest EU data protection regulations, using audio recordings and visual images in observation research, collecting data using diaries, the use of online survey tools, and preparing and presenting an academic poster • New cases using up-to-date scenarios at the end of each chapter • Boxed examples throughout of research methods in the news, from student research and in published management research • A glossary of clear definitions of over 700 research-related terms • Practical guidance and opportunities for checking your learning and self-reflection to enable you to progress your own research • Detailed chapters on choosing your topic, critically reviewing the literature, understanding philosophies, research design, access and ethics, secondary data, data collection methods and analysis techniques and writing about and presenting your research • Teach yourself guides to research software available at www.pearsoned.co.uk/saunders with practice data sets About the authors Mark NK Saunders is Professor of Business Research Methods and Director of Postgraduate Research Programmes at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. Philip Lewis was a Principal Lecturer and Adrian Thornhill was a Head of Department, both at the University of Gloucestershire. Cover image: © Mark N. K. Saunders, Kinsol Trestle Bridge, Vancouver Island, Canada. www.pearson-books.com
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