Best practices for Organizational Change - Essay Example

Running Head: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Best practices for Organizational Change - Research Methodology Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXXXXXTutor’s Name: XXXXXXX University of XXXXXXXX Date of Submission: XX – XX – 2011 1) Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research methods. Discuss similarities and differences. The question should be based on “Best practices for Organizational Change”. Outline a research proposal using quantitative approach and one investigating the same question using a qualitative approach. Research proposal means describe the procedure using a quantitative approach and describe a second procedure using a qualitative approach. Answer: Differences and Similarities in Qualitative and Quantitative Research: As explained by Leddy and Ormrod, “the data dictate the research method”, which method to choose for the research is based mainly on the type of research and the focus of the researcher (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p.94). Qualitative research is based on a study of the attitudes and behavior and experiences of the respondents or the target audiences. Here this research method is used as a means to study attitudes, and involves a lower number of respondents. Here although the respondents are much lesser, the time spent with the respondents tends to be much longer. Qualitative research is relatively a complex style of research and requires a skillful approach (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p.95). The quantitative research on the other hand is focused on large scale surveys and research. Here the researchers can use methods like questionnaires and structured interviews (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p.94). This method involves gaining responses from more number of people however this is relatively a much quicker method than the qualitative research (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p.95). There have been a number of discussions and arguments relating to the differences among the two methods. The two methods involve a number of similar processes like the need for hypothesis and also use of literature to develop the questionnaires and the research tools (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 94). Both methods also involve the need for collection and analysis of data and each of these methods can be used either individually or combined (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, pg. 94). The method used can provide different results for each of the methods as well as when the methods are used combined with each other. Research Proposal: Considering a research question where the researcher aims at identifying the impact of the changes in the personnel development and the training and development efforts on the employees of a particular company. Here there are basically two sets of individuals who can provide the best inputs into the question, i.e. the employers and the employees. The following methodology will be used in the case of each research method: Qualitative Research: In the case of a qualitative research method, the researcher will attempt to meet or interview the employers and managers in the company. Here the interviews will be semi structured and the questions set will be open ended questions. The main reason is that this will help in better interaction with the respondents (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 94). Here it is crucial that the researcher is able to interact with the participants and also face the complexity of the situation and have a strong presence of mind and good knowledge of the subject to develop follow on questions as well. Quantitative Research: In terms of the quantitative research, the researcher will adopt the use of surveys with the employees of the company (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 95). The survey will include a list of closed ended questions and will also include the use of Likert scale, to gain a clear perspective of the responses. Here the respondents will need to classify their responses on a scale of strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly disagree. Here this will help judge the respondent’s level of agreement with the statements (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 94). Here cross tabulations, and central tendency will be used to analyze the data. 2) Using the topic “Best practices for Organizational Change”, discuss two different sampling strategies that would apply to your question. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the two strategies as they apply to your question. Answer For the best practices for organizational change, like in the case of changes in terms of the employee development plans, two different sampling methods can be used. Researching a topic involves a number of steps, of which one of the most important is the right choice of target population. Choosing a certain group of people from the population of interest and generalizing a study based on them is referred to as ‘sampling’. In the case of a psychology research ‘who’ is chosen as sample and ‘how’ the sample is chosen is a critical aspect (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p.96). In the case of the quantitative research, the company can adopt a cluster sampling. Here in the case of the above research proposal, the samples will be divided into small clusters and be sampled. There are several benefits of using this method. Firstly, the sample can be selected randomly within the company and there is no need for any lists to be developed (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 189). Also, the method can take into account a wide range of data from different members. This however does not focus on the natural characteristics like the employment history or the common issues faced within the company. The employees are clearly chosen without any common link, except that they work in the same company (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 190). The sampling technique discussed here is a probability based method. Use of the probability sampling methods is an effective means to collect data for psychology studies as it helps in reduction of the bias and also permits the researcher to develop a strong study (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 191). The probability sampling also allows the researcher to estimate the possibility of their findings and the results that they have received are different from that of the population. Since psychology is a very representative subject, the probability sampling is an apt method and choice to obtain the representative sample. In the case of the qualitative research the company can adopt a stratified sampling method. This technique of sampling involves dividing the population into two or more sub groups or strata (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 190). These groups are the one which the researchers which to consider for the representation and the research. Here in this case the research will need to classify the target population into managers and the non managers (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 190). The main focus will be on the managers to gain an insight into organizational change and the changes in the personnel development. The main advantage of this method of sampling is that it allows the researcher to only focus on the overall target market but only on one particular group (Leedy & Ormrod, 2009, p. 190). Here in this case, the managers and the top management. The main disadvantage of this method the complexity and requires careful stratification of the overall population. References Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2009). Practical Research: Planning and Design . 9th Edition: Prentice Hall. 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