The purpose of this article is to inform researchers about and encourage the use of longitudinal designs to further understanding of human resource development and organizational theory. This... Show More

The purpose of this article is to inform researchers about and encourage the use of longitudinal designs to further understanding of human resource development and organizational theory. This article presents information about a variety of longitudinal research designs, related statistical procedures, and an overview of general data collecting approaches, covering their strengths and weaknesses. The article also serves as a reminder of the importance of alignment between the research purpose, questions and methodology while highlighting the benefits of using multiple methods. Finally, importance of research replicability in the context of longitudinal inquiry is stressed.

Single subject design (SSD) research is a quantitative approach used to investigate basic and applied research questions. It has been used for decades to examine issues of social importance such as... Show More

Single subject design (SSD) research is a quantitative approach used to investigate basic and applied research questions. It has been used for decades to examine issues of social importance such as those related to general and special education strategies, therapeutic approaches in mental health, community health practices, safety, and business practices, to name a few. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reader to the structure and function of SSD research, concepts of internal and external validity related to this methodology, and data analytic tactics used to evaluate SSD research. Additionally, several designs are described along with examples from the applied literature to illustrate the approach.

Mixed methods research (MMR) is increasingly becoming a popular methodological approach in several fields due to the promise it holds for comprehensive understanding of complex problems being... Show More

Mixed methods research (MMR) is increasingly becoming a popular methodological approach in several fields due to the promise it holds for comprehensive understanding of complex problems being researched. However, researchers interested in MMR often lack reference to a guide that can explain the key issues pertaining to the paradigm wars influencing MMR, different objectives of MMR, choice of MMR designs, and articulation of research questions in MMR. This paper addresses that gap through providing a peek into these issues through illustrative examples. This brief introduction to MMR is meant to encourage readers to delve deeper into the MMR literature and make informed decisions in designing and implementing MMR studies.

Q methodology is a method to systematically study subjective matters such as thoughts and beliefs on any given topic. Q methodology can be used for both theory building and theory testing. The... Show More

Q methodology is a method to systematically study subjective matters such as thoughts and beliefs on any given topic. Q methodology can be used for both theory building and theory testing. The purpose of this paper was to give a brief overview of Q methodology to readers with various backgrounds. This paper discussed several advantages of Q methodology that makes it attractive to researchers and practitioners who are interested in understanding different perspectives or behavioral patterns toward any given topic, its distinct position as a methodology, and how it fits into the qualitative—mixed—quantitative continuum. The paper further used two research studies as applications to demonstrate how to perform a Q methodological study, involving the following steps: development of the Q sort statements; selection of the P set (participants); Q sorting; and analysis and interpretation of Q sorts.

This paper presents best practices for conducting survey research using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Readers will learn the benefits, limitations, and trade-offs of using MTurk as compared to... Show More

This paper presents best practices for conducting survey research using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Readers will learn the benefits, limitations, and trade-offs of using MTurk as compared to other recruitment services, including SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics. A synthesis of survey design guidelines along with a sample survey are presented to help researchers collect the best quality data. Techniques, including SPSS and R syntax, are provided that demonstrate how users can clean resulting data and identify valid responses for which workers could be paid.

Organizational structures are comprised of an organizational culture created by the beliefs, values, traditions, policies and processes carried out by the organization. The work-life system in which... Show More

Organizational structures are comprised of an organizational culture created by the beliefs, values, traditions, policies and processes carried out by the organization. The work-life system in which individuals use work-life initiatives to achieve a work-life balance can be influenced by the type of organizational culture within one's workplace, for example a structured, rigid culture in which employees are afraid to ask questions versus a flexible, open culture where discussion is encouraged. Grouping methodologies such as cluster analysis or latent class analysis can be used to create typologies of organizational culture. The focus of this paper is to deconstruct the common methodology of cluster analysis used to identify typologies of organizational culture in the NSCW Study and the NOS Study, which set out to identify the impact of organizational culture on the use and existence of work-life benefits for individuals and organizations, respectively (Munn, 2012). The paper discusses the cluster analysis methodology in detail as well as another grouping methodology – latent class analysis - as a means to understanding the place of organizational culture in work-life research. The theoretical contributions of using cluster analysis to create typologies of organizational culture and the implications for workforce research are discussed.

Multivariate techniques are increasingly popular as researchers attempt to accurately model a complex world. MANOVA is a multivariate technique used to investigate the dimensions along which groups... Show More

Multivariate techniques are increasingly popular as researchers attempt to accurately model a complex world. MANOVA is a multivariate technique used to investigate the dimensions along which groups differ, and how these dimensions may be used to predict group membership. A concern in a MANOVA analysis is to determine if a smaller subset of variables may be used in the classification functions without any loss of explanatory power when precision of parameter estimates or parsimony needs to be addressed (cf. Huberty, 1984; Huberty & Olejnik, 2006). One way to address these concerns is through the use of all possible subsets. However, not all common statistical packages easily facilitate this analysis, and the analysis can be a weekend project (Huberty & Olejnik, 2006). As such, the purpose of the current paper is to examine and demonstrate R and SPSS solutions to conduct an all-possible-subsets MANOVA, including all-possible-subsets factorial MANOVA.