IRP 806 RESEARCH METHOD IN EMPLOYMENT RELATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

FRANCIS C. ANYIM PhD

FCIPM, FNIM, FABS, FCAI

Department of Employment Relations and

Human Resource Management, Faculty of

Management Sciences, University of

Lagos.

E-mail: fanyim@unilag.edu.ng; chucksanyim2004@yahoo.com

Tel No: 08033468317, 08078008008

CHAPTER

TWO(CONTINUATION)

1. ACKNOWLEDGING SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

Works of other people reviewed must be

acknowledged. The researcher should not

pretend that borrowed ideas are his. In fact, the

more works you acknowledge, the more regard

you are accorded for having read widely.

You may quote directly or paraphrase. The

rule about quotations demands that any

quotation that occupies more than four lines may

be entered without quotation marks but should

be centralized or indented and typed single –

spaced.

2. STYLES OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

There are many ways of acknowledging sources of works

consulted in the process of conducting a research. The key

thing is that the researcher must be consistent.

In reporting an author’s contribution in the text of your

work, the American Psychological Association (APA) style

requires that author’s name, date of publication and page

number of the statement being referred to are stated. The

page number should be stated if the idea, opinion or fact

being borrowed can be located in a particular page(s). but

where the idea runs through the whole work, the page

number may not be stated.

Some of the examples below are Osuala (1982), Nworgu (1991), and Asika (1991).

Example 1: Referencing at end of statement. Some of the factors cited as causes of Japan’s relatively low rate of labour turnover are status enhancement variables (Marsh and Mannari, 1971). Example 2: Referencing, Beginning of Statement. Michad (1958:17) stressed a deeper level of commitment to firm, culturally distinctive for Japan and stated that the worker, whether labourer or manager, despite potential economic advantages, is bound to remain in the company’s employment.

Example 3: Multiple – Author Referencing Used

Directly in the Text: Students of Japanese organization,

tend to be divided over the relative causal importance

of the two sets of factors. Some stress the distinctively

Japanese factor of life-time commitment norms and

values while others, such as Taira (1962, 1970), Cole

(1971) and Marxh and Mannari (1971, 19972, 1976),

give more weight to status enhancement and other

more universal factors.

Example 4: Citing Long Corporate Names: Where the

name of a corporate author is long and cumbersome,

after the first full citation, it could be abbreviated.

For example:

First Citation: (Federal Ministry of

Finance (FMF), 1981.

Subsequent citations: (FMF, 1981).

Example 5: Citing Authors with the Same Surname: If a researcher

refers to two or more authors with the same surname, the authors’ initials are included in all TEXT citations.

For example:

L.A. Nworgu (1987) and K.O. Nworgu (1982) reported that …..

Example 6 : Citing Works by the same author Published in the Same

Year: Works by the same author that were published in the same year

are distinguished by adding letters a, b, c,d, etc. to the year of

publication.

For example:

Okeke (1976a, 19776b, 1976c) made similar findings to the effect

that …..

Example 7: Citing Personal Communications,

Personal communications include letters, memos,

conversations, etc. the Citation incorporates the

surname and initials of the communicator and the

exact date as follows:

H.K. Osuji (Personal communication, September

26, 1979) has noted that …

However personal communications are not cited in

the Bibliography.

Bibliography: The method of

referencing used above has the

advantage that the researcher can

alphabetically arrange the authors’

names at the end of the report and

give fuller details about the materials

being referred to.

A bibliography is a list of all works (journals, books,

magazines, etc.) which the researcher used, whether

such works were actually referred to in the text or not.

However, project supervisors do frown at a practice

whereby a work referred to in the text is not

acknowledged in the bibliography.

A bibliography appears only once in the entire work

and at the end of the project.

In a bibliography, all the works consulted by the author

are arranged in the following order: first, journals, then

books, magazines and newspapers, and finally, other

publications.

The citation for the different categories under

the bibliography section is presented below.

Referencing for Journals/Articles with

Journals/Periodicals: the major difference

between referencing for journals and books is

that in journals, the publisher is not

mentioned.

The steps involved are:

1. Exact name of the author, beginning with the

author’s last name, the surname, before other names

or initials. Put a period after initials.

2. Title of the article published in the journal in

parenthesis. Put a comma after the title of the article.

3. The name of the journal or periodical. This should be

underlined. Put a period after name of journal.

4. Volume No. Put a comma after vol. No.

5. Serial number of the publication.

6. Date of issue or publication.

Date of publication may appear immediately after

the author’s name. The key thing is to be

consistent with whichever style adopted.

For example, Swanson, D. “dialogue with a catalogue” Library

Quarterly. Vol. NO 34, 1963.

or Swanson, D. (1963), “Dialogue with a catalogue,

Library Quarterly Vol. No. 34.

Referencing for Magazines and Newspapers. The steps are:

•Name of the Magazine or Newspaper

•Date of publication.

Articles in a Newspaper and magazine.

•Name of contributor

•Title of contribution, in parenthesis.

•Name of Newspaper or Magazine which should be underlined.

•Date of publication or issue.

For example:

Babara, W,.T. “If Asia were Clay in the Hands of the West”, Atlantic, September, 1970.

Referencing for Books.

The steps are:

•Name of author, surname first followed by

initials. Put a period after the initials.

•Title of book, to be underlined. Put a period at

the end of the name of the book.

•State place of publication. Put a colon after

place of publication.

•The Printing process or outfit.

•Date of publication

For example:

One author

Chukwuma, P. Career Education. Aba: Alhaji Printing

Press, 1963.

Two – More authors

Mention the names of all authors and follow the other steps

as above. However, when citing two or more authors in the

text of a project for the first time, mention all the names of

the authors. But for all subsequent citations in the text, state

the name of the first author and add ‘et al’.

No author Given.

Skip the stage of stating name of author and follow

other steps.

For example:

Guidelines for Writing thesis. Lagos: the University of

Lagos, 1986.

Institution, Association or the like as author

For example:

Special Libraries Association, directory of Business

and financial Services. New York: special Libraries

Association; 1963.

3. TYPES OF VARIABLE

A variable can be classified in a

number of ways. The classification

developed results from looking at

variables in three different ways

•The causal relationship;

•The design of the study;

•The unit of measurement

From the viewpoint of causation

In studies that attempt to investigate a causal

relationship or association, four sets of variables may

operate (see Figure 5):

•Change variables, which are responsible for bringing

about change in a phenomenon;

•Outcome variables, which are the effects of a change

variable;

•Variables which affect the link between cause-and-

effect variables;

•Connecting or linking variables, which in certain

situations are necessary to complete the relationship

between cause-and-effect variables.

Connecting or linking variables

(4)

Figure 5.1 Types of variable in a causal relationship

Cause Effect

Change variables (1)

Variables that affect the relationship (3)

Outcome variables (2)

In research terminology, change

variables are called independent

variables, outcome/effect variables are

called dependent variables, the

unmeasured variables affecting the

cause-and-effect relationship are

called extraneous variables, and the

variables that link a cause-and-effect

relationship are called intervening

variables. Hence:

•Independent variable – the cause

supposed to be responsible for

bringing about change(s) in a

phenomenon or situation.

•Dependent variable – the

outcome of the change(s) brought

about by introduction of an

independent variable.

•Extraneous variable – several other factors operating in a

real-life situation may affect changes in the dependent

variable. These factors, not measured in the study, may

increase or decrees the magnitude or strength of the

relationship between independent and dependent variables.

•Intervening variable – sometimes called the confounding

variable (Grinnell 1988:203), links the independent and

dependent variables. In certain situations the relationship

between an independent and a dependent variable cannot

be established without the intervention of another variable.

The cause variable will have the assumed effect only in the

presence of an intervening variable.

To explain these variables, let us take some

examples. Suppose you want to study the

relationship between smoking and cancer. You

assume that smoking is a cause of cancer. Studies

have shown that there are many factors affecting

this relationship, such as the number of cigarettes

or the amount of tobacco smoked every day; the

duration of smoking; the age of the smoker;

dietary habits; and the amount of exercise

undertaken by the individual.

All of these factors may affect

the extent to which smoking

might cause cancer. These

variables may either increase or

decrease the magnitude of the

relationship.

In the above example the extent

of smoking is the independent

variable, cancer is the dependent

variable and all the variables that

might affect this relationship,

either positively or negatively, are

extraneous variables.

Figure 5.2 Independent, dependent and extraneous variable in a causal relationship

Counselling service

(Assumed cause)

Independent variable

Marriage problems

(assumed effect)

Dependent variable

Affect the relationship

The age of the person

The extent of his her smoking

The duration of smoking

The extent of daily exercise etc.

Extraneous variables

Let us take another example. Suppose

you want to study the effects of a

marriage counseling service on marital

problems among clients of an agency

providing such a service. Figure 5.2

shows the sets of variables that may

operate in studying the relationship

between counseling and marriage

problems.

Figure 5.3 Independent, dependent, extraneous and intervening variables.

Independent variable

Mortality The extent of the use of contraceptives

Intervening variables

Fertility

Dependent variable

•Attitudes towards contraceptive use

among the population

•Level of education f the population

•Socioeconomic status of the population

•Provision and quality of health services

•Another person in the relationship

•The extent of communication between the

couple

•The couple’s motivation to improve the

situation

•The competence of the counselor, etc.

Extraneous variables

In studying the relationship between

a counseling service and marriage

problems, it is

Status and age, religion, and

provision and quality of health

services. These are classified as

extraneous variables.

In the above example, decline in mortality is assumed to

be the cause of a reduction in fertility, hence, the

mortality level is the independent variable and fertility

is the dependent variable. But this relationship will be

completed only if another variable intervenes – that is,

the use of contraceptives. A reduction in mortality

(especially child mortality) increases family size, and an

increase in family size creates a number of social,

economic and psychological pressures on families,

which in turn create attitudes favourable to a smaller

family size.

This change in attitudes is eventually operationalised in behavior through the adoption of contraceptives. If people do not adopt methods of contraception, a change in mortality levels will not be reflected in fertility levels. The population explosion in developing countries is primarily due to lack of acceptance of contraceptives.

The extent of the use of contraceptives determines the

level of the decline in fertility. The extent of contraceptive

adoption by a population is dependent upon a number of

factors. In this causal model, the fertility level is the

dependent variable, the extent of contraceptive use is the

intervening variable, the mortality level is the

independent variable, and the unmeasured variables such

as attitudes, education, age, religion, the quality of

services, and so on are all extraneous variables. Without

the intervening variable the relationship between the

independent and dependent variables will not be

complete.

Counselling service

(Assumed cause)

Marriage problems

(assumed effect)

affect the relationship

Figure 5.4. Sets of variables in Counselling and Marriage Problems

Dependent variable

Independent variable

An improvement in the couple’s economic situation

The birth of a child

Pressure’ from friends and relatives

Self-realization

Another person in the relationship

The extent of communication between the couple

The couple’s motivation to improve the situation

The competence of the counselor, etc.

Extraneous variables

In studying the relationship between a

counseling service and marriage problems,

it is assumed that the counseling service

will influence the extent of marital

problems. Hence, in the study of the above

relationship, the type of counseling service

is the independent variable and the extent

of marriage problems is the dependent

variable.

The magnitude or strength of this relationship can

be affected, positively or negatively, by a number

of other factors that are not the focus of the study.

These extraneous variables might be the birth of a

child; improvement in a couple’s economic

situation; the couple’s motivation to change the

situation; the involvement of another person; self-

realization; and pressure from relatives and

friends. Extraneous variables that work both ways

can increase or decrease the strength of the

relationships.

The example in Figure 5.5 should help you to

understand intervening variables. Suppose you

want to study the relationship between fertility

and mortality. Your aim is to explore what

happens to fertility when mortality declines. The

history of demographic transition has shown that

a reduction in the fertility level follows a decline

in the mortality level, though the time taken to

attain the same level of reduction in fertility

varies markedly from country to country.

As such, there is no direct relationship

between fertility and mortality. With the

reduction in mortality, fertility will

decline only if people attempt to limit

their family size. History has shown that

for a multiplicity of reasons people have

used one method or another to control

their fertility, resulting in lower fertility

levels.

It is thus the intervention of contraceptive

methods that completes the relationship: the

greater the use of contraceptives, the greater

the decline in the fertility level. The extent

of the use of contraceptives is also affected

by a number of other factors, for example,

attitudes towards contraception, level of

education and socioeconomic conditions.

4. DEVELOPING A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

• Examining the literature can be a

never-ending task, but as you

have limited time, it is important

to set parameters by reviewing the

literature in relation to some main

themes pertinent to your research

topic.

As you start reading the literature, you will

soon discover that the problem you wish to

investigate has its roots in a number of

theories that have been developed from

different perspectives. The information

obtained from different books and journals

now needs to be sorted under the main themes

and theories, highlighting agreements and

disagreements among the authors and

identifying the unanswered questions or gaps.

You will also realize that the literature deals with a

number of aspects that have a direct or indirect

bearing on your research topic. Use these aspects

as a basis for developing your theoretical

framework. Your review of the literature should

sort out the information, as mentioned earlier,

within this framework. Unless you review the

literature in relation to this framework, you will

not be able to develop a focus in your literature

search; that is, the theoretical framework provides

you with a guide as you read.

This brings us to the paradox

mentioned previously; until you go

through the literature you cannot

develop a theoretical framework and

until you have developed a

theoretical framework, you cannot

effectively review the literature.

The solution is to read some of the literature

then attempt to develop a framework, even a

loose one, within which you can organize the

rest of the literature you read. As you read

more about the area, you are likely to change

the framework. However, without it, you will

get bogged down with a great deal of

unnecessary reading and note-taking that may

not be relevant to your study.

Literature pertinent to your study

may deal with two types of

information:

•Universal;

•More specific (i.e local trends or a

specific program).

In writing about such information you

should start with the general

information, gradually narrowing it

down to the specific.

Look at the example in figure below:

If you want to study the relationship

between mortality and fertility, you

should review literature about:

•Fertility – trends, theories, some of the indices and

critiques to them, factors affecting fertility, methods

of controlling fertility, factors affecting acceptance

of contraceptives, and so on;

•Mortality – factors affecting mortality, mortality

indices and their sensitivity in measuring change in

mortality levels of a population, trends in mortality,

and so on; and, more importantly.

•The relationship between fertility and mortality –

theories that have been put forward to explain the

relationship, implications of the relationship.

Out of this literature review you need to develop the theoretical framework for your study. Primarily this should revolve around theories that have been put forward about the relationship between mortality and fertility.

You will discover that a number of theories

has been proposed to explain this

relationship. For example, it has been

explained from economic, religious,

medical and psychological perspectives.

Within each perspective several theories

have been put forward; ‘insurance theory’, fear of non-survival’, ‘replacement theory’, ‘price theory’, ‘utility theory’, ‘extra’ or

‘hoarding theory’ and ‘risk theory’.

Your literature review could be written

under the following headings, with most

of the review involving the examination

of the relationships between fertility and

morality:

•Fertility theories;

•The theory of demographic transition;

•Trends in fertility (global, and then

narrow it to national and local levels);

•Methods of contraception (their acceptance

and effectiveness);

•Factors affecting mortality;

•Trends in mortality (and their implications);

•Measurement of mortality indices (their

sensitivity);

•Relationships between fertility and mortality

(different theories such as ‘insurance’, ‘fear

of non-survival’, ‘replacement’, ‘price’, ‘utility’, ‘risk’ and ‘hoarding’).

5. DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

• The conceptual framework stems from the

theoretical framework and concentrates, usually,

on one section of that theoretical framework

which becomes the basis of your study. The latter

consists of the theories or issues in which your

study is embedded, whereas the former describes

the aspects you selected from the theoretical

framework to become the basis of your inquiry.

The conceptual framework is the basis of your research problem. For instance, in the example earlier cited the theoretical framework includes all the theories that have been put forward to explain the relationship between fertility and mortality.

However, out of these, you may

be planning to test only one, say,

the fear of non-survival. Hence

the conceptual framework grows

out of the theoretical framework

and relates to the specific

research problem concerning

the fear of non-survival theory.

Furthermore, after a thorough

review of the relevant literature,

the researcher should by now be

concerned with developing an

appropriate conceptual framework

for his research problem.

The development of scientific

knowledge through the research

process has been substantially

aided by the use of appropriate

theories, concepts and constructs

to elucidate and classify

relationships among observed

phenomena.

Consequently, a researcher will earn a great

deal of credibility and enhance the

acceptability of his study by stating and

explaining the conceptual base on which his

study is grounded. From his review of

literature, a researcher will have come across

many theories, models and assumptions that

may provide him with far greater insights and

clarify and enrich his framework of thinking

as far as his research problem is concerned.

Consequently, a researcher needs to

be able to fashion out appropriate

conceptual frameworks which will

guide them in formulating

appropriate hypotheses, in using

appropriate research design and in

enhancing the acceptability of his

findings.

A theory is a set of propositions that seeks to

explain interrelationship among events.

Simply put, a theory is a systematic way of

looking at phenomena. Concepts are

abstractions representing an object, a

property of an object or a certain

phenomenon. For example in political

science, words like ‘status’, ‘power’, and

‘authority’ are common concepts.

In business or social sciences,

concepts like ‘turnover’,

‘strike’, ‘absenteeism’,

‘lateness’ are all symptomatic

of the relationship between the

objects or individuals within a

particular organization.

Consequently, a researcher who is interested in

studying, for example, job dissatisfaction in a

particular organization will be interested in

assessing the link between each of the concepts

mentioned above and the level of job

dissatisfaction within the organization. Thus, his

theoretical framework will cover the network of

theories or studies that have established some

relationships between turnover and job

dissatisfaction, between strikes and job

dissatisfaction and so on.

From a given particular theoretical

framework, a researcher can develop his own

conceptual framework. Since concepts are

abstractions from reality, a researcher can

build up a network of variables and

assumptions, not necessarily from available

theories, which he considers to have some

interrelationships or some productive power

in explaining the occurrence or non-

occurrence of a particular phenomenon.

Thus, while a researcher’s theoretical framework

may be a network or set of assumptions and

propositions that logically explain the occurrence

or non-occurrence of phenomenon, a conceptual

framework may be an abstraction from existing

theories including certain assumptions or models

that the researcher may perceive as possessing

some explanatory powers in terms of enhancing

proper understanding of the influence of the

variables or their relationships with regard to an

observed phenomenon.

TOPIC: EFFECT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON WORKPLACE RELATIONSHP

FIGURE ON CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Internal -Working Conditions

-Managerial Style

-Corporate Culture

External -Economic

-Political/Legal

-Socio-Cultural

-technological

-Grievance

Procedure

-Collective

Bargaining/Negotiat

ions

-Dispute Settlement

Mechanism (DSM)

-Alterative Dispute

Resolution (ADR)

Harmonious

of

Adversarial

CONFLICT SOURCES (IV) RESOLUTION MECHANISMS WORKPLACE

RELATIONSHIP (DV)

Source: Developed by the Research (Year)

IV = Independent Variable (Cause) Change)

DV = Dependent Variable (Effect) Outcome)

THE END