STEPS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS

The process of conducting research typically follows a series of steps (see Figure 2.1). The first step is the formulation of a problem or issue for study. The second step is the generation of hypotheses. The third step is designing the research, which includes selecting the appropriate research method or design. The fourth step is the actual collection of data, which is governed by the particular research design used. The fifth step involves analyses of the collected data. This leads to the final step, which involves the interpretation of results and the drawing of conclusions based on the results.

Formulation of the problem or issue

The first step in conducting research is to specify the problem or issue to be studied. Sometimes, a researcher develops an issue because of his or her inter- ests in a particular area. For example, an I/O psychologist might be interested in the relationships between worker job satisfaction and employee loyalty to the organization, or between worker productivity and the length of time that employees stay with a particular organization. Often, the selection of a research problem is influenced by previous research. On the other hand, a client com- pany that has a particular problem that needs to be alleviated, such as an extraordinarily high level of employee absenteeism, may provide the practic- ing I/O psychologist–consultant with an issue. Similarly, large organizations may have I/O psychologists on staff whose job is to study problems using social science methods to better understand the problem or to help solve it.

Generation of hypotheses

The next step in the research process involves taking those elements that the researcher intends to measure, known as variables, and generating statements concerning the supposed relationships between or among variables. These statements are known as hypotheses. In the examples of research issues given

variables the elements mea- sured in research investigations

hypotheses statements about the supposed relationships between or among variables

F I G U R E 2 . 1

Steps in the Research Process

Formulation of the Problem Generation of Hypotheses Choosing an Experimental Design Collection of Data Statistical Analyses of Data Interpretation of Results and Drawing of Conclusions

Social Science Research Methods 21

earlier, job satisfaction, worker productivity, employee loyalty, employment tenure, and absenteeism are all variables. The hypotheses will later be tested through the analysis of the collected, systematic observations of variables, better known as the collection and analysis of research data (see Table 2.1).

By testing hypotheses through the collection of systematic observations of behavior, a researcher may eventually develop a theory or model, which is an organization of beliefs that enables us to understand behavior more completely. In social science, models are representations of the complexity of factors that affect behavior. In I/O psychology, models are representations of the factors that affect work behavior.

We have all seen architects’ cardboard and plaster models of buildings and the plastic models of aircraft that can be purchased in hobby shops. These are concrete models that represent the physical appearance of the actual build- ing or aircraft. The models used in I/O psychology research are abstract representations of the factors influencing work behavior. Developing a theory and diagramming that theory are convenient ways to organize our thinking and our understanding of complex behavioral processes.

Many people who do not have an understanding of scientific research methodology have misconceptions about theories. Either they believe that theories represent the personal views of scientists, or they believe that theories represent proven facts. Neither is wholly true. Theories are important because they help us to represent the complex and often intangible forces that influence human behavior. By using a theory as a guide, I/O psychologists can develop strategies for conducting research to find support for, or against, the theory. A theory is the starting point for understanding and influencing behavior, and theories can be used as guides to improve the work world for all concerned.

Although I/O psychologists use research models to guide their investigations, models of human work behavior are also the products of research. The researcher may use an existing theory or model to develop certain hypotheses about aspects of work behavior and then test those hypotheses through research. These results

theory/model the organization of beliefs into a represen- tation of the factors that affect behavior

TABLE 2.1

Examples of Hypotheses in I/O Psychology Research

Ǧ —Š†™Š—Š’•‘”žŠŠ•†—™ŽˆŽ•†™Ž”“Ž“”—Œ†“ŽŸ†™Ž”“†‘‰ŠˆŽ˜Ž”“’†Ž“ŒŽ˜—Š‘†™Š‰™”ŽŒŠ—‘Š›Š‘˜”‹ ”‡˜†™Ž˜‹†ˆ™Ž”“ǩ”ˆŠʮˆœŠŽŒŠ—ƽȜȤȢȤǪǀ Ǧ ŽŒ—†™Š˜”‹•†ž†—Š—Š‘†™Š‰™”ŽŒ”‡˜†™Ž˜‹†ˆ™Ž”“ǯ™Ž˜˜™š‰ž‹”š“‰”“‘ž†’†—ŒŽ“†‘ —Š‘†™Ž”“˜Ž•‡Š™œŠŠ“•†ž†“‰˜†™Ž˜‹†ˆ™Ž”“ǰǩ š‰ŒŠŠ™†‘ǀƽȝțȜțǪǀ Ǧ ˜Š”‹™Š˜™˜”‹’Šˆ†“Žˆ†‘†‡Ž‘Ž™žŽ“ˆ—Š†˜Š˜™ŠŠ‹‹Šˆ™Ž›Š“Š˜˜”‹˜Š‘Šˆ™Ž“ŒŠ’•‘”žŠŠ˜‹”— ’Šˆ†“Žˆ†‘†“‰Š“ŒŽ“ŠŠ—Ž“Œ•”˜Ž™Ž”“˜ǩšˆŽ“˜žƽȜȤȤȞǪǀ Ǧ ••‘Žˆ†“™˜œ”†—Šˆ†—†ˆ™Š—ŽŸŠ‰‡ž†ŽŒŠ—‰ŠŒ—ŠŠ”‹ˆ”“˜ˆŽŠ“™Ž”š˜“Š˜˜œŽ‘‘ŠŽ‡Ž™ŽŒŠ— ‘Š›Š‘˜”‹”‡•Š—‹”—’†“ˆŠǩ†——Žˆʮ”š“™ƽȜȤȤȜǪǀ Ǧ ’•‘”žŠŠ˜œŽ™ŽŒ”‡‰Š’†“‰˜†“‰‹ŠœŠ——Š˜”š—ˆŠ˜™”‰”™ŠŽ—”‡†—Š’”—Š‘ŽŠ‘ž™” Š•Š—ŽŠ“ˆŠ”‡‡š—“”š™ǩ†—Œ†“Œƽ”—ŒŠ˜”“ƽʮ”‹’†““ƽȝțȜȜǪǀ Ǧ ˜Š’•‘”žŠŠ†ŒŠŽ“ˆ—Š†˜Š˜ƽ›”‘š“™†—ž†‡˜Š“™ŠŠŽ˜’‰Šˆ—Š†˜Š˜ǩ†ˆŠ™™ƽȜȤȤțǪǀ Ǧ “ˆ—Š†˜Ž“ŒŠ’•‘”žŠŠ˜Ǐ˜Š“˜Š”‹ˆ”“™—”‘”›Š—™Šœ”—Š“›Ž—”“’Š“™Ž˜—Š‘†™Š‰™”—Š‰šˆ™Ž”“˜Ž“ œ”—˜™—Š˜˜ǩ †ˆ˜”“ƽȜȤȣȞǪǀ

may then be used to refine the model or to create a new, “improved” model. It is through the creation, testing, and refinement of theories that advances are made in the science of I/O psychology.

Selecting the research design

Once hypotheses are generated, the researcher chooses a research design that will guide the investigation. The type of design selected depends on such things as the research setting and the degree of control that the researcher has over the research setting. For instance, a researcher may decide that he or she will conduct a study of workers’ task performance by observing workers in the actual work setting during normal working hours, in order to make the setting as “nat- ural” as possible. Alternatively, the researcher may decide instead that it would be less disruptive to bring workers into a laboratory room where the work tasks could be simulated. Different settings may require different research designs.

The researcher may also be constrained in the selection of a research design by the amount of control the researcher has over the work setting and the workers. The company may not allow the researcher to interfere with nor- mal work activities, forcing the researcher to use observational measurement of behavior or to use existing data that the organization has already collected. We shall discuss specific research designs shortly.

Collection of data

The next step in the research process involves the testing of hypotheses through data collection. The collection of data is governed by the particular research design used. However, an important concern in data collection is sampling, or selecting a representative group from a larger population for study. In most research, it is impossible to investigate all members of a particular population. For example, in pre-election polls of preferences, all potential voters cannot be surveyed. Instead, a sample is selected, and the results obtained from this sub- group are generalized to the larger population. In a large company there may be offices scattered throughout the country, so a researcher may select only certain sites to participate due to travel costs or may sample a smaller number of employees from each of several sites. The process of selection must follow strict guidelines to ensure that the sample is indeed representative of the larger population from which it is drawn. Two such sampling techniques are random sampling and stratified sampling.

With random sampling, research participants are chosen from a specified population in such a way that each individual has an equal probability of being selected. For example, to choose a random sample of 20 workers from a com- pany employing 200 workers, we would begin with a list of all workers, and using a table of random numbers or a computer program that generates random numbers, randomly select 20 workers. The concept of sampling also applies to studying behaviors from certain individuals or groups of individuals. For exam- ple, if we wanted a random sampling of a particular employee’s typical work behavior, we might study different, random 5-minute time periods throughout a typical workday or week.

sampling the selection of a representative group from a larger population for study

random sampling the selection of research participants from a population so that each individual has an equal probability of being chosen

Social Science Research Methods 23

Stratified sampling begins with the designation of important variables that

divide a population into subgroups, or strata. For example, we might want to consider male and female employees and management and nonmanagement personnel as different strata. We then randomly select a specified number of employees in such a way that our research sample mirrors the actual breakdown of these groups in the total population. For example, assume that 40% of the individuals in our total worker population are female and 60% are male, while 25% are management and 75% are nonmanagement. We would want to choose a sample that represented these percentages. Forty percent of the individuals in our selected sample should be female, and 25% should be management personnel. We may also want to ensure that the percentages of male and female managers and nonmanagers in our sample are representative of the larger population.

Both of these sampling techniques help ensure that the sample is representative of the population from which it is drawn. The random selection procedure also protects against any sorts of biases in the choice of participants for study.

Analyses of research data

Once data are gathered, they are subjected to some form of analysis for inter- pretation. Most often, this involves statistical analyses of quantitative data (i.e., data with numerical values), although data can be analyzed using qualita- tive data analysis techniques (not based on the numerical values of the data). Statistical analysis of data requires that the research observations be quantified in some way. Statistics are simply tools used by the researcher to help make sense out of the observations that have been collected. Some statistical analy- ses are very simple and are used to help describe and classify the data. Other statistical techniques are quite complex and help the researcher make detailed inferences. For example, some statistics allow the researcher to determine the causes of certain observed outcomes. A brief discussion of certain statistical analysis techniques is presented in the Appendix at the end of this chapter.

Interpretation of research results

The final step in the research process is interpretation of the results. Here the researcher draws conclusions about the meaning of the findings and their relevance to actual work behavior as well as their possible limitations. For example, imagine that a researcher decides to study the effects on work group productivity of two managerial styles: a directive style, whereby the manager closely supervises workers, telling them what they should be doing and how they should be doing it, and a nondirective, participative style, whereby the man- ager allows the workers a great deal of freedom in deciding how they will get the work task done. The researcher conducts the study on groups of directive and nondirective frontline managers who are employed at several factories that manufacture jet aircraft parts. By collecting and analyzing data, the researcher concludes that directive managers lead more productive groups. However, the researcher might want to set some limits for the use of these findings. The researcher might caution that these results may only apply to managers who are

stratified sampling the selection of research participants based on categories that represent impor- tant distinguishing characteristics of a population

supervising factory work groups and might not pertain to managers of service organizations, such as hospitals or restaurants, or to managers of salespersons. The researcher might also mention that although a directive management style appears to be related to productivity, it is not known whether it is related to other important variables, such as employee satisfaction or work quality.

In the next few sections, we will examine in depth some of the steps in the research process. First, we will examine the various research designs used to govern the collection of research data. Second, we will briefly discuss how research variables are measured. Next, we will discuss some of the problems and limitations of conducting research in I/O psychology and will consider the ways that research results and theories can be applied to the practice of I/O psychology. Finally, we will discuss rules of conduct for researchers who are studying people and their work behavior. Research methods are obviously important to practicing I/O psychologists. See the Up Close feature to learn how a knowledge of research methods can help you in your working life.