Research Fundamentals

Research Fundamentals

Meagan Stanley

BSHS/435

May 9, 2016

Dr. A. N. Session

Research Fundamentals

Research is an important part of the human service profession. Conducting research allows professionals to find services for clients and continue learning throughout their career. Before conducting research it is imperative that individuals understand how to properly research a topic. Professionals must also know what type of research will best suit their needs. To effectively conduct research individuals must understand, the scientific method, quantitative and qualitative research methods. Along with understanding these methods, professionals must also understand how these apply to the field of human services.

In the book Research Methods for Managers (2010) Gill and Johnson analyze several methods of performing research work. To illustrate the use of multi-method research approach, they highlight a study by Todd Jick in 1979. Jick sought to understand the effects that news of a merger was going to have on the employees. He did this because he understood that mergers typically create anxiety amongst employees. The research therefore aimed at discovering the sources and symptoms of employee stress and the effect that this will have on the new organization’s operations. The study used methodological triangulation whereby different differing techniques apply in the same survey. Jick uses quantitative and qualitative methods. The research found that the lack of communication from upper management caused anxiety amongst employees as they remained unsure of their fate. (Gill and Johnson 2010).

Qualitative methods used included the development of questionnaire, surveys and observations. On the other hand, quantitative techniques included an anxiety thermometer. The scientific method includes the techniques that are used in explaining an unknown phenomenon. Moreover, it is utilized in the acquisition of new knowledge and integrating the new information with what was previously known. This method starts with an observation which was the stress in employees and development of a hypothesis (Cresswell 2013). The theory, in this case, was that organizational changes cause stress on employees. To test his hypothesis, Jick decided to apply some methods to collect data because of the complexity of the issue at hand. One of the techniques he decided to employ was interviews. Additional methods he applied included: projective test, interaction with employees, observation of worker behavior.

These techniques all had their advantages and their disadvantages, so Jick decided to find a way to combine all these methods so as to obtain maximum valuable data from employees. The methods that he settled on were surveys that were given to random members of the workforce; then he conducted semi-structured interviews. These interviews were also granted to supervisors and the management to determine their opinion of particular employees.  Additionally, data was obtained from non-obtrusive methods and non-participant examination including materials from the archives. For instance, an ‘anxiety thermometer’ was developed by the use of information from the files (Gill and Johnson 2010).