Diploma in Human Resource Management Using Information in Human Resources 5UIN 5/22/2019

Business Research- a practical definition Practical Business Research- managers have to make sense of what is going on both within their organisation and in its environment in order to take effective decisions and actions. Business Research is about the process of collecting and interpreting the information needed for this. CAMERON, S. and PRICE, D. (2009) Business research methods: a practical approach. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Business Research – an Academic Definition The ultimate goal of the research enterprise is to gather empirical evidence upon which theories concerning aspects of behaviour in organisations can be based. Buchanan et al (1988, p67)

Nature & sources of HR information/storing & presenting information Information is a critical component of any organisation. What does information allow you to do?

Nature & sources of HR information/storing & presenting information ‘Information about employees is an essential requirement for the successful operation of any business. Managements need to know what is happening to the human resources available to them, just as much as to the financial and material resources’ Cole, G.A. (1997) Put simply, information facilitates planning, monitoring and decision making in the organisation and to meet external requirements such as the provision of statistics to Government agencies. (Adapted from Cole, G.A. 1997)

Nature & sources of HR information/storing & presenting information From your own experience of working in a personnel/HR department identify what sorts of information you keep, and what uses this information has? Are the uses internal or external (can you label them?)

Information sources What information sources might be available to us in area of HR business practice?

Critical Review How do we conduct a critical review? Purpose? Summarise and evaluate text Who wrote it and when? What does the article/chapter/text say? i.e what is the main finding or key argument? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Introduction Who wrote it? When? What is the main argument or key findings? Why did you select this particular source and what research approaches did the author use to gather their information? What are the advantages and disadvantages of their approach?

Summary Present a summary of key points along with a couple of examples You could briefly explain the authors intentions and mention how the text is organised and how conducive that is

Critique Balanced discussion of strengths / weaknesses Good reviews include other sources to support your evaluation

Conclusion A short paragraph reiterating your overall opinion of the text Recommendations as to how it could have been improved/strengthened If necessary include some further explanation of your judgement

Primary and Secondary Research What is the difference between primary and secondary research? Activity ...categorise primary and secondary data from previous activity

Data Quantitative Data Data which is in the form of numbers and units. Qualitative Data Data which is in the form of descriptions and opinions. What are the benefits/drawbacks of each?

What do we mean by research methods? A research method is simply a technique for collecting data Bryman and Bell 2007

Data collection From your own experiences what methods exist for collecting data in human resources?

Selecting a research method Inductive and deductive approaches Theory Induction Deduction Adapted from Anderson, V. 2009 Research methods in HRM CIPD

Selecting a research method Deduction (theory testing) Deduction can involve the formulation of hypotheses (statements which the theory suggests would be true) Hypotheses are then operationalised such that the variables involved can be identified and measured Data is gathered and the information is used to test whether the hypothesis can be confirmed The outcome of the enquiry, as shown against the original hypotheses, is either to modify or to confirm the theory from which the hypotheses were derived Source: Anderson, V. 2009 Research methods in HRM CIPD

Selecting a research method Induction (theory building) Induction involves observation and investigation into the relationship between meanings and actions of human subjects Data is collected without prior assumptions about the categorisation and measurement The context of the situation is incorporated into the analysis process as the research seeks to understand the internal logic and purposive nature of human actions Source: Anderson, V. 2009 Research methods in HRM CIPD

Selecting a research method Induction (theory building) The outcome of the enquiry is to suggest/build a credible explanation of behaviours that have been observed There is less concern with the need to generalise although further avenues of research may be identified

Questionnaire design + = Content Structure Well-designed questionnaire Activity – Read Jasper’s questionnaire and list ideas about how you could improve upon the questions

Questionnaire design The use of language in questions Be precise and concise Use simple language Avoid jargon Avoid ambiguity Avoid double-barrelled questions Avoid negatives Types of questions: Open questions allow for quantitative data to be explored more thoroughly – ‘why’ and ‘explain’ Closed questions Yes/no questions Category choice questions Likert scales Differential scales Rank orders Source: Anderson, V. 2009 Research methods in HRM CIPD