Introducing BA 430 A Workshop for Faculty 11/21/2009 Jim SpickardJim Spee

Schedule 9:00-9:30 – Introductions & Course Overview 9:30-10:30– Basics of Research Design break :45-11:30– Research Examples 11:30-noon – About Workshopping lunch noon-1:40 – FAQ / Discussion 2

Course Overview This course is the equivalent of a second 400 level elective in a management topic. Instead of offering 20 electives, we allow students to choose the topic and conduct research to learn more about it. Each student will conduct a full project in just eight weeks. This workshop will show you how! 3

Research Component Research is one of the best ways to get students engaged in critical thinking. Research forces them to question: –Prior research reported in their textbooks and in their literature reviews. –The data they collect. –The practices of their companies –Their ability to interpret data –The conclusions they draw. 4

Research Design Basics Six Key Concepts Effective Design Structure How to Choose a Method Types of Research 5

Six Concepts Topic Question Object Method Site Design Topic vs Question Question  Object  Method 6

Types of Design (after Isaac & Michael) Historical Descriptive Developmental Case and Field Correlational Causal-Comparative (“ex post facto”) True Experimental Quasi-Experimental Action Research 7

Core Design Structure Question  Object  Method  Data  Analysis  Conclusions 8

Choosing a Method 9

Types of Research 10

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Sample Projects Quantitative Projects Qualitative Projects Action Research Projects 12

Workshopping Facilitated Group Consultation Suggested Structure: –Core concepts first –Divide time for each participant Status report on project Group problem-solving Collective Resource Generation 13

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FAQs for BAMG430 Students Here they come! 15

How Do I Write A Concept Paper? The concept paper is just a proposal for your project. –Use Spickard’s handout “What Is a Concept Paper?” (Creative Commons license; free to distribute) –Follow the outline of the Six Key Topics handout Topic, Question, Design, Object, Site, Method. 16

How Do I Do This In Eight Weeks? Select the topic before selecting the question. –If you choose the question first, then you open up an unmanageable set of possible research topics. Choose the topic by starting with a chapter and a heading within a chapter of one of your previous textbooks. –The research questions will arise out of your topic as you apply it to a specific site –This could be a team, a company, a nonprofit, or an entire industry. 17

How Do I Start My Literature Review? Once you have your topic, you can look for the footnotes and references in the chapter or article you used in your prior class. Track down every article in the footnotes and review the references in those. Use these sources as the backbone of your literature review by looking at the key words linked to those articles. Your instructor and the reference librarians at Armacost Library can help you expand from there. 18

I Want To Use This Survey. Is That OK? Many beginning researchers want to start with a method such as a survey and work backwards. –While this might be possible, it is unlikely to work out well. Choose the method last! –See Spickard’s handout “How to Choose a Research Method” Identify the “object” of your research –See Spickard’s “Six Key Concepts” handout –You cannot choose the right methods unless you know what the “object” of your research will be and design a strategy to get there. 19

I Work In _____ Industry. What Topic Should I Choose? Your topic is driven by the books and articles which are about specific management and business functions, not a particular industry. Some topics apply more to certain industries or functions than they do to others. You are asking a deeper question, however: Do you want to study an entire industry, a company, or a team? 20

Do You Want To Study An Entire Industry, A Company, Or A Team? (continued) That choice is called “level of analysis.” If you choose a topic from economics, it is more likely that your unit of analysis will be at the industry level. If your topic is about personal motivation, your level of analysis will be much smaller, such as the individual or the team. 21

What is the Institutional Review Board? To protect human research subjects, the University has a protocol for which projects must be reviewed by a faculty committee –It is a Federal requirement that you get IRB approval for research. –You can (and should) take online training as part of your application. The Institutional Review Board ensures that researchers do not violate ethical standards that could jeopardize the people you are investigating. See IRB FAQs.pdf 22

What Kinds of Review Are There? The IRB will determine whether research is: –Exempt from IRB supervision –Requiring only expedited review –Requiring full review and supervision 23

What Kinds of Projects are Exempt? * Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices, such as: –research on regular and special education instructional strategies, or –research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, classroom management methods. * O PRR Reports: Protection of Human Subjects (Title 45; Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46). 24

More Exemptions Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, or observation of public behavior, unless –(i) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that human subjects can be identified, directly or through identifies linked to the subjects; AND –(ii) any disclosure of the human subjects’ responses outside the research could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, or reputation. Research on political candidates is not exempt. Research on federally protected privacy classes is not exempt. 25

Still More Exemptions Research involving the collection or study of existing data, documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, –if these sources are publicly available –or if the information is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that subjects cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects. Research approved by Department Heads of Federal Agencies, to examine matters of public policy 26

What Kinds of Projects Can Be Expedited? Research on individual or group characteristics or behavior : –including, but not limited to, research on perception, cognition, motivation, identity, language, communication, cultural beliefs or practices, and social behavior –or research employing survey, interview, oral history, focus group, program evaluation, human factors evaluation, or quality assurance methodologies. Collection of data from voice, video, digital, or image recordings –Either those made for research purposes –Or those collected for non-research purposes 27

What Kinds of Projects Require Full IRB Review? Studies using vulnerable populations Studies taking place internationally (particularly those with little or no provisions for protection of human subjects) Studies where information may be disclosed that could require mandatory legal reporting (e.g., child/elder abuse, drugs, etc.) Studies involving deception which raises the risk level of the subjects 28

What is NOT Covered by the IRB Rules? – 1 If it’s not “Research” –"a systematic investigation, including development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge“ –“research" generally does NOT include operational activities, such as –practice activities in medicine, psychology, social work, and public health studies for internal management purposes such as – program evaluation, quality assurance, quality improvement, fiscal or program audits, marketing studies, or contracted-for services. journalism or political polls. Unless: there is a clear intent to contribute to generalizable knowledge. 29

What is NOT Covered by the IRB Rules? – 2 If it doesn’t involve “Human Subjects” –"a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains (1) data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or (2) identifiable private information.“ Observational studies of public behavior do not involve human subjects (as defined) –When there is no intervention or interaction with the subjects and the behavior is not private including television and internet chat rooms –Also, studies based on data collected for non-research purposes may not constitute human subjects research if individual identities are not available e.g. programmatic data such as service statistics, school attendance data, crime statistics, or election returns 30

For More IRB Information Go My Redlands – Student – Student Resources – Institutional Review Board – Forms and click “Guidelines and Applications” in the box on the left. Consult “IRB FAQ.pdf” 31

Who Will Do My Quantitative Analysis? Contact your statistics instructor: –Direct aid –Advice Use simple stats features of Excel. 32

I Don’t Have Access To My Employer and Can’t Get Data There. What Can I Do? Team up with another member of the class. Work with your instructor who may have access to a research site. 33

How Many Subjects Should I Have In My Study? For statistical research, larger sample sizes result in more certainty about the results. –It is not the goal of this course to have you conduct a large scale survey. –You can always survey all (or most of) a small population –At worst, a group of subjects will work Conclusions are not valid outside the group studied You will be limited by time, so you will want to choose them wisely. For qualitative research, the key is to “saturate” the data by interviewing until you get no more new information to analyze. –See Spickard’s “How Many Subjects?” handout. 34

Resources for You “Suggested Readings on Social Research” Handouts and Other Materials posted on Blackboard Access to each of us: Library Guide at Armacost Library (forthcoming) 35

What Else Do You Need To Know?