Isabelle's research dilemma

Isabelle was very thoughtful. She had a puzzled look on her face. The dilemma she had was one

experienced by many students in conducting research for a dissertation. Her research was

concerned with managers and how they coped with pressure in the workplace. She particularly

wanted to find out the coping strategies they used. This required consideration of theory and

method and whether the research would have practical relevance. After her preliminary reading

around the topic she decided that it was necessary to engage in both the world of theory and the

world of practice and that the problems addressed would develop out of the interaction between

these two worlds.

Theory in management could be seen as problematic, because for some researchers management

is not a discipline. It is perceived as multidisciplinary with many of its early practitioners receiving

their training in the social sciences (Pettigrew, 2001). Isabelle thought this could be advantageous in

that it enables management research to gain new insights that may not be obtained through several

disciplines separately. She also considered that a topic on pressure and coping could be

understood at a few levels of analysis from an individual to a structural level. In doing this she would

be considering theoretical ideas and attempting to perceive them in real life as well. It also meant

looking at them anew which would provide some imaginative and original insights for her

dissertation.

Isabelle found that more traditional research on managing pressure focused on positivistic

approaches with an emphasis on being scientific and rigorous. This approach often uses

quantitative methods with an emphasis on measuring and the use of factor analysis. Researchers

hope this allows them to find statistical correlations between two variables and demonstrate some

relationship between sources of pressure and possible physical, psychological or even physiological

outcomes, if coping strategies were not successful. Research of this kind can be found in the work

of Sadri and Marcoulides (1997) and Wheatley (2000).

Isabelle decided she would not use this approach. She felt that several students' dissertations had

already used this approach and she wanted to get away from statistical analysis and examining

pressure on managers. She also thought that this traditional research ignored the manager's

perceptions which could prove to be important in understanding how the manager coped with

pressure. The more traditional approach seems to perceive the individual as passive and playing

little part in making and constructing his/her reality. However, people working in organisations do

have histories, futures and expectations and pursue their individual goals. For example, long-term

sources of a person's distress may be traced back to experiences at work many years before. To

study this would require Isabelle to use a different method. She could study the turning-points in the

lives of her participants over time that might give insight into why they took particular decisions and

the consequences of making those decisions.

She thought of including life stories and family histories for a holistic approach to her research

(Miller, 2007). This holistic viewpoint manifested itself in two ways. Firstly, biographical data range

across time. Hence, the data will indicate 'where the area of interest is either the effect of change

across time, historical events as these events have impinged upon the individual, or his or her

movement along their life course' (Miller, 2007:74).

Secondly, she is looking to collect data that will bridge between social structure and the individual.

Social structure is a complex concept in which there was some disagreement among social

scientists. But it can be understood to mean a relative enduring pattern of social arrangements

within a particular society, group or social organisation. Thus social structures may constrain the

individual's behaviour and expectations. Discussing your biography means telling about the

constraints and opportunities, and turning-points that were available in the past and how one dealt

with them. The biographical approach is about the intersection between the individual and social

structure. In conducting such research Isabelle knew she had to deal with complex issues with thesubject-matter and the method she wanted to adopt. The relationship between the interviewee and

interviewer is central to this type of research. She felt she had the emotional maturity to manage the

process. Most importantly she felt that the research was rigorous, systematic and relevant to

managers in the workplace.

References

1. Pettigrew, A.M. (2001). British Journal of Management. Management Research after Modernism.

Vol.12, pp. 61-70.

2. Miller, R.L. 2007.Researching Life Stories and Family Histories. London: Sage Publications.

3. R. Wheatley, (2000), Taking the Strain. A Survey of Managers and Workplace Stress. Institute of

Management: London.

4. Sadri, G. and Marcoulides, G.A. (1997). An Examination of Academic and Occupational Stress in the

USA. International Journal of Educational Management, 11(1):32- 43.

Michael Savvas, Aberystwyth Universit

QUESTIONS

1.1 Formulate a research question for this study. (4)

1.2 Write down three objectives that would operationalise the research question. (6)

1.3 Based on Isabelle's thinking about her research, indicate and motivate the predominant

philosophical paradigm according to which she should design this research? (5)

1.4 Which research approach would best fit this study and why do you say so? (5)

1.5 Which data collection methods would be most suitable to use to address the research objectives

that you have identified in 1.2 above? Motivate why they would be appropriate for this research

project. (10)

1.6 Based on the data collection methods that you would apply in this research, what methodological

choice would you identify for this research and why do you say so? (4)

1.7 What research strategy would you follow for the research choices you have made for Isabelle's

project and motivate your answer? (4)

1.8 What time horizon choice would you suggest for this study and why? (2)

1.9 Correct the list of references. (10)