Organizational Research Methods : A Guide for Students and Researchers

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Summary: An invaluable, practical guide for students & practitioners
Review: Organisational Research Methods is an invaluable, practical guide for both students and practitioners in the social sciences. This book is particularly unique as it provides the theoretical/academic bases for research yet translates these into practical steps for how to undertake best practice research. The authors highlight a plethora of issues that researchers themselves may not have considered, and provide constructive advice for addressing each possible problem that may arise during the course of a research project. Based on their expertise and experience as both practitioners and academics, the authors provide helpful examples throughout the book that assist the reader in applying the knowledge directly to their own project.

Taking the reader step-by-step through all stages of conducting a research project, the book begins with an introduction to organizational research, followed by steps for applying social science to the 'real world'. Readers are taken chronologically through the stages involved in a research problem, including: starting the project, project design, data collection and data analysis. The book is particularly valuable for students and practitioners as it goes beyond the traditional themes addressed in research books, and provides advice on practical issues that are rarely discussed. Such issues include: obtaining organizational access, sampling considerations, assessing performance in organizations and, of particular use to researchers relatively new to the field, how to report research findings for both academic publications and for clients. Each section is concluded with a number of key references for readers, and an extensive glossary ensures all terms are fully explicated.

Organizational Research Methods discusses both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Each method is addressed in terms of its appropriateness and usefulness for particular research questions. The ongoing question of 'What is best practice qualitative research?' is addressed through discussion of both reliability and validity measures for different qualitative techniques, with guidelines for 'how to' and 'how not to' conduct qualitative research. Discussion of quantitative techniques is clear and systematic enough to be accessible to beginners, yet sophisticated and thorough to the extent that it additionally provides valuable advice for experienced quantitative researchers and statisticians.

This book is an invaluable resource to all students and practitioners in the social sciences. Addressing each of the core areas of organizational research, the authors successfully integrate the approaches adopted in both academic research and applied organizational study. With such a comprehensive picture of research methods, readers are immediately able to adopt this knowledge and expertise to conduct best practice organizational research.