Gillian Symon

Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research

Promoting New Research Practices in Organizational Research - Gillian Symon and Catherine Cassell Using Interviews in Qualitative Research - Nigel King Electronic Interviews in Organizational Research - Stephanie J Morgan and Gillian Symon Life Histories - Gill Musson Critical Incident Technique - Elizabeth Chell Repertory Grids - Catherine Cassell and Susan Walsh Cognitive Mapping in Organizational Research - Seonaidh McDonald, Kevin Daniels and Claire Harris The Twenty Statements Test - Anne Rees and Nigel Nicholson Qualitative Research Diaries - Gillian Symon Stories in Organizational Research - Yiannis Gabriel and Dorothy S Griffiths Pictorial Representation - David R Stiles Group Methods of Organizational Analysis - Chris Steyaert and Ren[ac]e Bouwen Participant Observation - David Waddington Analytic Induction - Phil Johnson Critical Research and Analysis in Organizations - Kate Mackenzie Davey and Andreas P D Liefooghe Hermeneutic Understanding - John McAuley Discourse Analysis - Penny Dick Talk-in-Interaction/Conversation Analysis - Dalvir Samra-Fredericks Attributional Coding - Jo Silvester Grounded Theory in Organizational Research - Hannakaisa L[um]ansisalmi, Jos[ac]e-Maria Peir[ac]o and Mika Kivim[um]aki Using Templates in the Thematic Analysis of Text - Nigel King Using Data Matrices - Sara Nadin and Catherine Cassell Preserving, Sharing and Reusing Data from Qualitative Research - Louise Corti, Paul Thompson and Janet Fink Methods and Strategies Historical Analysis of Company Documents - Michael Rowlinson Ethnography - John D Brewer Case Study Research - Jean Hartley Soft Systems Analysis - Susan Walsh and Chris Clegg Reflections and Update Action Research and Research Action - Frank Heller A Family of Methods Co-Research - John Bennington and Jean Hartley Insider/Outsider Teams for Organizational Research The Future Conference - Fran Ryan

The coordination of work activities: cooperation and conflict in a hospital context

An understanding of the ways in which work coordination is achieved in practice is essential to the development of effective CSCW technologies. However, previous studies are limited in their focus on small, self-contained work groups. In this analysis of work coordination in a hospital context, a broader perspective was adopted, allowing examination of activities across time, group and location. The use of a relevant structured methodology and a focus on deviations from formal procedures enabled the consideration of a range of contextual factors in interaction: Important aspects of work coordination to emerge included: status influences on the effectiveness of working practices; the social and political uses of information; conflicts between work goals and between motivations for coordinating activities; the role of informal practices; and the use of formal procedures to regulate inter-group relations. The implications of these issues for CSCW design in the hospital context are illustrated.

Information and communication technologies and the network organization: A critical analysis

Recently, it has been suggested that we are witnessing the emergence of post-bureaucratic forms of organization, including the ‘network’ organization. The emergence of such new forms is seen to be closely tied to developments in the provision of computer-based technologies. In this paper, assumed links between new ways of organizing and new technologies are critically assessed, through an analysis of the empirical and theoretical literature. This analysis reveals a more complex picture than is usually presented and highlights weaknesses in some of the underlying conceptualization. In particular, it is not clear that new technologies are either able to support the new ways of working envisaged or that they herald a transformation in working practices. In conclusion, it is argued that insightful and useful research questions are waiting to be addressed by occupational psychologists who adopt a more critical and analytical perspective.

The role and status of qualitative methods in management research: an empirical account

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a piece of empirical work that investigates the current role and status of qualitative research within the management field.Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 45 in‐depth qualitative interviews with members of a range of different stakeholder groups, including: journal editors; qualitative researchers; Doctoral Programme Leaders; practitioners; and those who fund qualitative management research.Findings – The findings suggest that there is considerable variety in definitions of qualitative research; that there are still a number of issues surrounding the status and credibility of qualitative research within the field; and there is a need for greater access to researcher training in this area.Practical implications – The paper is of practical interest to qualitative researchers in that it details some of the issues surrounding publishing qualitative work.Originality/value – The paper presents original empirical work in this field.

Defining qualitative management research: an empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of research which explores how the concept qualitative management research is variably constructed and defined by those who have a direct interest in, and influence upon, important aspects of qualitative management research.Design/methodology/approach – Information was gathered through the use of semi‐structured interviews conducted with 44 individuals who were drawn from four observer‐identified types of “expert” informant who were taken to generally represent key groups of stakeholders in the conduct, evaluation and dissemination of qualitative management research. Interview data from these individuals were analysed though an iterative process using the NVivo software package to inductively generate definitional categories and explore aspects of their interrelationships.Findings – From data analysis it was apparent that there are eight different, but often interrelated, ways in which interviewees define qualitative management research. The ph...

Learning to be a Qualitative Management Researcher

Conducting management research underpins management learning and education—therefore how the management researcher or practitioner learns research skills is an important issue to be addressed. This paper focuses upon the skills, knowledge and practices required to conduct qualitative management research, and the learning processes that go into their development. A total of 45 in-depth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the field. From an analysis of the interview data, the types of skills and knowledge required for the production of good qualitative research were identified, and the learning processes and practices associated with those skills were critiqued. It is argued that the processes by which we learn to do qualitative research, and become effective qualitative researchers, involve both the learning of appropriate skills and knowledge and their use and conceptualization through three types of research practice: reflection, reflexivity and phronesis. The implications of the analysis for management learning are presented.

Taking qualitative methods in organization and management research seriously

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the new journal and outline the rationale and aims and objectives of Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal (QROM).Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers why there is a necessity for a journal like QROM, outlines the scope of the new journal, and introduces the articles in the first issue. An invitation for further contributions to the journal is also given.Findings – There is still a need for an outlet that both provides a showcase for the diverse range of qualitative techniques in use and promotes high quality qualitative research.Originality/value – This paper is of use to those new readers of the journal, and those who wish to submit to the journal, in that it clearly outlines editorial policy and processes.

Constructing identity and participation during technological change

The organizational practice of user participation in IT system development remains problematic. Two of the major issues identified are establishing the most effective strategy and selecting the most appropriate user representatives. Opinions on these issues vary according to theoretical perspective and empirical evidence does not provide definitive solutions. Taking a social constructionist perspective, this longitudinal case study of a contested technological change process allowed the exploration of organizational talk about user participation over time. In particular, we focus on differing and changing constructions of ‘the user’ and ‘effective participation’. We argue that claims about who represented an appropriate user and what was an appropriate participative strategy varied across time and fulfilled particular political functions. We conclude that issues identified as problems in the literature on user participation may rather be manifestations of the political and socially constructed nature of organizations.

Qualitative methods in management research: An introduction to the themed issue

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to introduce the themed issue about qualitative research in the business and management fieldDesign/methodology/approach – The paper considers some issues about how to define the term “qualitative research”, and then introduces each of the papers in the themed issue.Findings – The contents of this themed issue demonstrate the insights that qualitative research can make into the management field.Originality/value – A large amount of interest was generated in the themed issue. As a consequence, Emerald Publishing Group are launching a new journal which specifically focuses on qualitative research in this field.

Neglected perspectives in work and organizational psychology

In this editorial we suggest that work and organizational psychology has tended to overlook the insights to be gained from ‘alternative’ perspectives such as interpretivism, critical theory and postmodernism, in favour of a focus on more normative and positivist studies of organizational life. While paradigmatic conformity is argued by some to have the benefit of providing a coherent knowledge base, we argue that it may also lead to an overly restrictive viewpoint and constrained practices. In any case, such a focus may be partly a default option rather than a conscious choice, fostered by assumptions of what constitutes ‘good’ research which may not be appropriate to (and even discriminate against) other perspectives. As a consequence, this special section aims to illustrate the insights to be gained from adopting such ‘alternative’ perspectives on topics of contemporary interest to work and organizational psychologists, such as retention of women in the workforce, collaborative (cross-agency) work, advanced technological change and stress at work.