Research Shared Activity for Tools and Methods - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theResearch Shared Activity for Tools and Methods. Answer: Evaluating Research Tools and Methods The management research article chosen for critical evaluation of research tools and methods are The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees attitudes and behaviors by Kehoe and Wright (2013). This activity elaborates analysis of primary and secondary methods undertaken in this research study. Analysis of Primary Research Methods According to Kehoe and Wright (2013), the primary research method employed is survey. For assessing affective commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour, Likert-scale survey was conducted. This method helped in the psychometric measurement of beliefs, opinions and attitudes of the employees (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson 2012). The employees were also asked to state the number of days they were not present in the last calendar year which is an open-ended question. It is analyzed that to answer this question, multiple choice questions could have been provided where participants could have provided a range of days such as 0, less than 5, less than 10 and so on. The data analyzed from the primary research methods proved strong support for Hypotheses 1, 2b and no support for Hypotheses 2c (Kehoe and Wright 2013). Analysis of Secondary Research Methods The secondary research methods employed in this research study are journal articles and academic books. Scholarly articles are advantageous as it stops substandard publications. The authors Kehoe and Wright (2013) have used the process of removing poor quality work thereby saving a lot of time and money. Kehoe and Wright (2013) have ensured that the researchers are acknowledged while using secondary data in literature review and other sections of the article. However, the peer-review process can be time consuming and may not be the best sources of secondary data. Moreover, Kehoe and Wright (2013) have not used magazines and newspaper articles for collecting data about performance of employees and human resource practices. Therefore, it may be analyzed that Kehoe and Wright (2013) have employed time-consuming research methods. Also, the references used are more than five years old that makes the data less reliable. Any reference taken for the secondary source must employ article that have been published in the last five years as it gives a recent scenario of the employment and human resource practices (Corbin, Strauss and Strauss 2014). Alternative Methodologies for Data Analysis Kehoe and Wright (2013) employed intraclass correlation coefficients such as means, standard deviations, intercorrelations and alphas. Although it may be easy to compute data through measures of dispersion, but it has certain disadvantages. The results obtained may be misinterpreted. Inappropriate results may be yielded as there are different methods of computing dispersion. It cannot give an idea about the symmetricity of data. Cronbachs alpha may be employed as an alternative way to measure the relationship between employee commitment and their organizational citizenship behaviour. To gather data for null and alternative hypotheses, Cronbachs alpha may be used as it helps in measuring internal consistency. The relationship between human resource practice and affective commitment can also be measured as Cronbachs alpha is a measure of scale reliability (Kehoe and Wright 2013). Alternative Methodologies for Data Collection As analyzed in this case, primary data is collected using self-administered surveys. Alternatively, Kehoe and Wright (2013) could employ other primary research methods such as questionnaire and focus groups. Kehoe and Wright (2013) could have conducted a detailed interview to analyze the link between human resource practices and affective commitment. It is also noted that Kehoe and Wright (2013) have employed scholarly articles and academic books for secondary data collection. Magazines, newspaper articles, government publications, annual reports and other sources could have also been used for the purpose of collecting data as they are less time-consuming and easily available (Corbin, Strauss and Strauss 2014). Part 2- Choosing Data Collection Tools and Methods Rationale of Chosen Methodology The research study shall be conducted using Causal Research approach. It is conducted to analyse the cause and effect relationship between two variables (Silverman 2014). The variables for this research are employee motivation and their retention. It shall also help understand effect of employee turnover on companys overall performance. It shall include both Quantitative and Qualitative research methodology. In order to understand the reason behind employee turnover and the effect of motivation on retaining them involves qualitative aspects such as previous researches and studies on the same topic and quantitative aspects such as employee turnover data and surveys conducted in the company (Blumberg, Copper and Schindler 2014). Types of Data Collection For conducting this research, data shall be collected through primary as well as secondary sources. The data through secondary sources shall be collected in the form of researches and theories conducted and established by scholars in the past few years. These shall help in understanding the existing literature of motivation and employee retention. Further, primary data shall be collected in the form of surveys and questionnaires. The survey shall be done through the existing reports of the company and interviewing the managers to understand the working and policies practiced by the company. The questionnaires shall be filled by the existing employees at all the levels to analyse the need and type of strategies that shall be formulated to improve employee retention in the company (Creswell 2014). Sampling Strategy To conduct this research, it would be appropriate to adapt the sampling technique of data collection. The appropriate sampling technique that shall be used to survey the employees would be Simple Random Sampling (SRS). In this technique, each employee has the equal chance of being the sample and shall be representative of the entire population. In this way, no important set of employees of any department shall be left as it is non-biased in nature. The result achieved shall be inclusive of the random people in the organization (Geuens and De Pelsmacker 2017). Research Method and Tools This research aims at finding relation between employee motivation and their retention. To conduct this research, the self-reporting questionnaire will be made, which would include quantitative aspects of the survey such as number of employees leaving in a month, number of leaves taken by employees etc. Likert scale shall be used as a psychometric scale that shall allow them to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement. The results shall be analysed using SPSS software package to get comprehendible results. Similarly, questionnaire may be designed for the employees who shall be interviewed in person for 15 minutes each (Bryman and Bell 2015). Alternative Methods and Tools The alternative methods of conducting this research shall be to observe the overall environment in the organization. This would be a very long process and would need experts to observe the behaviour of various employees and analyse them without any bias. Another method of conducting this research would be through focus groups in which their opinions, beliefs and perceptions can be known. This would help probe into their minds and can help formulate better strategies to retain the employees (Kuznetsova et al. 2017). However, there is a possibility that the individuals may not be honest that may mislead the results (Babin and Zikmund 2016). Feedback to Two Colleagues Student 1 The student is conducting a research on how e-marketing helps companies in widening their market reach. The research aims at analysing the businesses of such pre and post they went online. There was also a comparison with the ones which arent present online yet. The student has not made provided clarity of research methodology that shall be chosen by him to conduct research. It is suggested to obtain financial data through reports and survey that can help in getting a clear picture of various e-platforms. The researcher shall also conduct descriptive research to analyse the growth rate of such firms (Blumberg, Copper and Schindler 2014). Student 2 The students research aims at analysing the how people in high-technology based organizations manage various projects. To conduct this research, I recommend conducting the secondary study prior to making observations and interviewing the employees at various levels. The researcher shall gain background knowledge of such companies and their workings (Zopiatis, Constanti and Theocharous 2014). Further it is advised to conduct qualitative research through open ended surveys, where employees can answer anonymously to get better results. Less expressive employees would also be able to answer questions and the result would be more representative of the entire organization in this manner (Bryman and Bell 2015). Ethical Concerns There are ethical concerns relating to primary and secondary data collection method. While conducting survey and questionnaire, it must be taken care that the participants participate of their own free will. Informed consent must be generated and they must have the liberty to withdraw from the survey at any time. Confidentiality of personal data must be maintained. Further, secondary data used for the purpose of research must be acknowledged. It must be safe from unauthorized access and destruction. The validity of the obtained data relies heavily on the ethical principles as the data shall be deemed invalid if data is obtained through unethical means (Corbin, Strauss and Strauss 2014). References Babin, B. and Zikmund, W., 2016. Exploring Marketing Research. 1st Ed. Boston, Ma: Cengage Learning,. Blumberg, B., Copper, D. and Schindler, P., 2014. Business Research Methods. 12th Ed. Europe: Mcgraw Hill Education. Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business Research Methods. 1st Ed. Oxford (Uk): Oxford University Press. Creswell, J., 2014. Research Design. 1st Ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Geuens, M. and De Pelsmacker, P., 2017. Planning and Conducting Experimental Advertising Research and Questionnaire Design. Journal of Advertising, 46(1), Pp.83-100. Silverman, D., 2014. Introduction to Qualitative Research. 1st Ed. London: Sage Publications. Tripathy, J.P., 2013. Secondary data analysis: Ethical issues and challenges.Iranian journal of public health,42(12), p.1478. Easterby-Smith, M., R. Thorpe, and P. Jackson, (2012). Management Research. 4th ed. London: SAGE Publications. Kehoe, R.R. and Wright, P.M., 2013. The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees attitudes and behaviors.Journal of management,39(2), pp.366-391. Kuznetsova, N.V., Sinitsina, O.N., Gafurova, V.M., Pavluhina, M.V., Salyaeva, T.V. and Puzankova, E.A., 2017. Motivation as Factor of Improving Efficiency of Trade Company Operations.European Research Studies,20(2), p.319. Zopiatis, A., Constanti, P. and Theocharous, A.L., 2014. Job involvement, commitment, satisfaction and turnover: Evidence from hotel employees in Cyprus.Tourism Management,41, pp.129-140. Corbin, J., Strauss, A. and Strauss, A.L., 2014.Basics of qualitative research. London: Sage.