Research Models, Data Analysis - Essay Example

? Psychology Topic1: Resistance to change In today’s society, change dictates most organizational dynamics and resistance is a major response to change. Naturally, individuals tend to feel insecure in the face of change hence they rush to maintain the status quo. Therefore, no matter whether change is objective, small, or major, change managers must anticipate some resistance. Resistance to change shows in various ways from lack of cooperation, poor implementation of procedures among others. Thus, it is important to understand the reasons why people resist change so that managers should plan strategies that would reduce resistance (Harvey & Broyles, 2010). One major reason behind resistance to change is when the individual sees the change as a threat and that they stand a chance of losing rather than gaining. This means that the change affects the job security of such individuals. Similarly, people resist change when they cannot see any reward that comes with it. Here the employees feel that the reward to the employer is effecting the change. Employees also fear the unknown especially when they know very little about the change. When there is an environment of mistrust definitely, the employees would resist the change (Jeffrey &Laurie 2010). However, others resist change as a political strategy to prove that the decision is either wrong or unpopular. Resistance to change could be both beneficial and detrimental. Resistance is a form of feedback that provides information that could not be accessed by other means. It enables managers to adjust specific aspects of the change in a useful way for the organization. However, resistance to change also reduces workers’ optimism and disrupts the normal working environment leading to inefficiency (Harvey & Broyles, 2010). The employees resisting change cause disorder and a combative attitude among the coworkers. This in turn causes greater unrest among the staff. Topic 2: Team development Human history is the story of people working together to achieve a common goals from medieval times to pre-independence states. The modern concept of work in most organizations between the 19th and 20th century and has since evolved to incorporate teamwork as its central element. Team building is an essential part of the smooth running of an organization therefore, it is important to learn how to best facilitate it (Dyer & Dyer 2013). The main factor that facilitates team building is to develop effective leadership skills. This involves taking into consideration the need of each employee as well his or her unspoken feelings. For effective team development, the leader should ensure that there is trust among the team members. This ensures that the team members work together and share information freely. Similarly, for effective team building the team leader should delegate some problem solving tasks to the team members so that they feel incorporated into the team activities as well. For the team to bond better, the team should develop team values and virtues that would help in the evaluation of team performance (Maddux & Wingfield 2003). The team should at least have its own definition of success. No organization can function without rules. The leaders are tasked with creating rules that govern the conduct of all group members. This involves simple directives like punctuality and meeting deadlines. Every team requires a consensus decision more often than not therefore it is important to establish certain parameter for reaching a consensus. Healthy team development requires effective leadership as the determinant of its productivity therefore leadership remains the core value of a good team (Dyer & Dyer 2013). Proper coordination and cooperation within the team is the best way to ensure better productivity levels within a team therefore it plays the biggest role in the success of an organization. Topic3: Mixed Method Strategies Mixed methods research creates designs that are more effective in answering research questions in contrast with traditional quantitative research that gives a menu of designs from which students select (Axinn & Pearce 2006). The mixed research model consists of eight steps. These include collection and analysis of data, determining the appropriate mixed design method and interpreting the data. Figure 3 discusses all o f these steps. It shows arrows leading from the primitive steps to the advanced steps indicating the interactional processes. Figure 2 shows the mixed-method designs in four cells showing the qualitative, concurrent, and sequential and quantitative analysis of data. My area of interest is human resource and I believe that sequential transformative research model would best address the research question for several reasons. First, it describes and reports quite easily making collection and delivery of data interesting (Burke Johnson & Anthony, 2004). Similarly, it can generalize qualitative data making it easier to understand. Sequential transformative research methods also provide a transformative framework for the research topic. This is essentially the very aim of most human resource researches that seek to breakdown a wide range of information according to the dynamics of organizations. However, this method also has some limitations including the amount of time required; mixed method strategy of research incorporates both quantitative and qualitative analysis therefore it consumes more time. This also means that there would be a problem in resolving problems between different levels of data. It is also difficult to decide when to continue with sequential designs. Notwithstanding, the sequential transformative method is the best research method for this particular study as long as the degrees of evidence are equalized and the researcher is precise about when to proceed with sequential designs (Tashakkori, 2003). The sequential transformative method helps in collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. It also helps in the integration of data into the interpretation phase. It is also more applicable to human resource because it analyses theoretical perspectives best. Topic 4: Overcoming Weaknesses in Research Mixed research involves a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative research techniques and approaches. Mixed research method is expansive and a more creative form of research. Sequential transformative method offers more details than individual qualitative or quantitative methods (Creswell, 2003). It addresses theoretical perspectives from different levels leading to a more detailed analysis of the data than individual qualitative or quantitative method. Similarly, it helps to overcome certain weaknesses of single designs as well as complement its strengths. Sequential transformative method also helps to explain and interpret data in a more comprehensive and detailed manner. The method is also extremely useful in cases where unexpected results appear from a previous study. Single designs may not comprehensively deal with such discrepancies (Burke & Anthony, 2004). Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie (2013) illustrate the seven data analysis stages that mixed methods like sequential transformative design apply. First is data display that involves the pictographic display of data through graphs, matrices, and charts. This is followed by transformation of data where qualitative data is converted to narrative data. Then there is data correlation that involves linking the qualitative and quantitative data. The next stage is data consolidation where the two sets of data are combined to create new data sets and variables. The data is then integrated into either coherent form or in separate sets. Then follows the legitimization stage where the trustworthiness of the subsequent interpretations of data is validated. These various steps explicate the thorough analysis that data goes through following the mixed data methods. Conclusively, therefore, the sequential transformative design together with other mixed data analysis methods outweighs by far the single design methods (Creswell & Plano, 2011). References Topic 1 Harvey, T. R., & Broyles, E. A. (2010). Resistance to change: A guide to harnessing its positive power. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Jeffrey D. Ford &Laurie W. Ford. (2010) Stop Blaming Resistance To Change and Start Using It. Critical Path Consultants. Published in Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 24-36, Topic 2 Dyer, W. G., Dyer, J. H., & Dyer, W. G. (2013). Team building: Proven strategies for improving team performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Maddux, R. B., & Wingfield, B. (2003). Team building: An exercise in leadership. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Learning. Topic 3 Axinn, W. G., & Pearce, L. D. (2006). Mixed method data collection strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. R. Burke Johnson and Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie. 2004. Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher 33: 14. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X033007014. Tashakkori, A. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.: Sage Publ. Topic4 Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.: Sage Publ. Creswell, J. W., & Plano, C. V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. R. Burke Johnson and Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher 33: 14. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X033007014 Tashakkori, A. (2003). Handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. Thousand Oaks, Calif. [u.a.: Sage Publ. Read More