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YORK UNIVERSITY

HUMAN RESOURCES RESEARCH METHODS

AK/ADMS 4420 (A)

SUMMER, 2013

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

PROFESSOR / Dr Amanda Shantz /
OFFICE HOURS / 1 hour after class and by appointment (room 230, Atkinson Building)
LEARNING GOALS /
  1. Recall and explain key concepts, frameworks and approaches to research methods in HRM
  2. Develop research questions and testable hypotheses
  3. Report in written form the results of a research study
  4. Use the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for data analysis, and interpret output
  5. Communicate your point of view in writing; work collaboratively in a team environment; effectively give and receive feedback; and exhibit strong project management and organizational skills

COURSE WEBSITE / The course website is on Moodle. Lecture slides and course materials are posted on the website the evening before the upcoming class. Course assessment information is also posted on Moodle. Please check the site, as well as your yorku email address, regularly.
CLASS SCHEDULE & VENUE / Mondays and Wednesdays from 8.30am-11.30am
ACW 203
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK / Field, Andy. (2013). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics: And Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘N Roll (4th edition). London, UK: Sage.
PLEASE NOTE: / University is closed on May 20 (Victoria Day)
Last date to drop course without receiving a grade: May 31
If you have a laptop, please bring it to class. You will be expected to run SPSS (a statistical software) starting on the second session and onwards.
This course is very fast paced. Unless you are going to attend every class, you will miss a lot and we will not have time to go back to the previous chapter and SPSS session.
The due dates for the various assessments are provided in the course schedule. The due dates are non-negotiable. It is your responsibility to manage your time productively. So if you know you are going to have assignments clashing: (a) Develop a study and assignment/project plan, (b) Start your assignments early, (c) Eliminate distractions in your life, and (d) Stick to your daily plan (It is that simple!).
A penalty of 20% will be applied to an assignment/assessment that is handed in late on that day, 40% if it is two days late, 60% if it is three days late, 80% if it is four days late, and 100% after four days.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In order to play a role in the success and long-term survival of an organisation, human resource management (HRM) professionals must have the knowledge, skills and abilities to acquire, analyse, and interpret data. HRM professionals are increasingly being asked to take a seat in the boardroom; they are required to facilitate the accomplishment of organisational goals, set priorities, adopt prudent strategies, handle risks effectively, and manage their resources. In order to do so, HRM professionals must apply careful scientific methods and be able to use proven analytical tools and techniques. It is imperative that sound research be used to evaluate and solve HRM problems.

Survey research is one of the most important areas of measurement in HRM. This is because the careful and appropriate use of survey data can provide a reasonable basis for HRM decision-making. Although there are myriad data collection and analytical tools that HRM professionals can use, the present course focuses on survey research. This is because it is one of the most popular data gathering techniques in organisations today. It also provides us with a platform to perform some statistical analyses that are used to analyse data collected by other means (e.g., content analysis in qualitative research, experiments).

This course serves learners who have no or limited background in HRM research. The aim is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and insights into HRM research, with an emphasis on survey design. Learners will be introduced to methodological concepts, and will be required to work in teams to write a report on an HRM-related topic, using data that was sourced from a real organisation. Learners will also be asked to demonstrate their knowledge independently in two in-class tests.

COURSE ASSESSMENT

Your overall course grade is meant to assess your academic performance inside and outside of the classroom (relative to the course materials). The assessment tools used do not measure your overall potential as a person nor do they assess your overall intelligence or worth. A variety of assessment/grading tools were designed to assess your knowledge, skills and achievement of the course objectives; they are presented in the table below, then each of them is described briefly in the sections that follow.

Assessment / Marks % / Due Dates
Team Project / 35 / Mon June 10
Peer Evaluation / 5 / See course roadmap
In-class test 1 / 25 / Mon May 27
In-class test 2 / 35 / Wed June 12

TEAM PROJECT

This team assignment will give you an opportunity to join forces with some of your classmates to develop a research question and hypotheses, and then test those hypotheses using data that was collected via a survey from a real organisation, PlasticCo (name has been changed here for confidentiality purposes). Your team is required to explore an aspect of organizational behaviour/human resource management that interests you and is relevant to PlasticCo.

Your study should be analytical and issue-oriented, not merely descriptive. You should adopt the position of a management consultant, endeavouring to understand PlasticCo and provide an analysis of its problems and recommended interventions and solutions.

The team project is a major portion of the course and what you will get out of it. You should therefore begin thinking about your research questions and hypotheses, and begin working on the project as soon as your team has been formed (Monday May 13).

The topic is open as long as it involves an analysis of an aspect of organizational behaviour/human resource management, and there are measures in the existing dataset that correspond with your research topic. Find information about PlasticCo and the existing dataset on Moodle. It is very important that you focus your analysis on one core issue. Papers that attempt to do too much typically lose their focus and receive lower marks. Also try to do something creative and interesting to you, and contact me to discuss your ideas for topics if you are uncertain.

Your team needs to submit a maximum 18-page (double-spaced, Times New Roman; including everything except appendices, 2.5 inch margins around) report for your project that is worth 35% of your grade. The final report should include the following, in this order:

  • Title page (1 page)
  • Introduction (1 – 2 pages)
  • Focused Literature Review with Research Questions (4 – 5 pages)
  • Sample (1/2 page)
  • Methodology (including measures) (2 pages)
  • Findings (3 - 4 pages – if you show tables/graphs, then put them in an appendix)
  • Limitations of research (1 page)
  • Recommendations (1 page)
  • Appendices (this is for tables, graphs, figures, tables etc. only; not counted in page count)

More information on this assignment is on Moodle.

PEER EVALUATION

Teams are often more efficient and effective than individuals working alone. As a result, teams are increasingly prevalent in organizations and educational settings. In this course, we take a particular approach to teamwork by leveraging software developed by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers in the USA. Our approach to teams is distinctive for two reasons:

First, rather than choosing your own teammates, you will be assigned to a team. The assignment of teams, however, is not random. Instead, in the first week of class, you will be sent a link to an on-line survey that will ask you questions related to your (1) weekly schedule (2) preference for weekend meetings, (3) your commute to campus, (4) your experience using SPSS, and (5) your commitment to this course. The software automatically assigns you to teams so that your team members share similar or different characteristics from one another. In doing so, you can reap the benefits of working in a diverse team, while “curing those omigod-not-another-group-class” blues. Teams will be announced on Monday May 13.

Second, you will provide feedback to your teammates via another survey. You will be asked to complete an instrument called the “Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness” (CATME), which was developed to measure effective team membership. You will rate yourself, as well as your team members, along 5 broad categories at 2 points during the semester. The 5 categories are: (1) contributing to the team’s work, (2) interacting with teammates, (3) keeping the team on track, (4) expecting quality, and (5) having relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities. The ratings you assign to yourself, and to your team members count for 5 per cent.

There can be difficulties in coordinating team activity. To help your team stay "on track,” it is important that each individual has assignments that are due at regular intervals during the semester. This is difficult if you assign one person to do the introduction, another one to collect information, one person to analyze information and to write your results, and one person to put the whole package together. You can tell how well the first people are working out, but you cannot tell how the final people are doing until it is much too late! Teams are responsible for their internal management but I will be available for consultation if difficulties persist.

IN-CLASS TESTS

There will be 2 in-class tests. The first will be held on May 27 (worth 25%) and the second on June 12 (worth 35%). The first test covers all material from May 6-May 15 and the second is cumulative, albeit with a heavier focus on the second half of the course. The tests will require you to not only remember information, but also to use it to solve problems in a rigorous manner. Hence, it is important that you not only focus on learning the material, but also on applying it. More information about the in-class tests is on Moodle and will be discussed in class.

COURSE ROADMAP

Date / Topic / Chapter[1] / Due…
Mon May 6 / Introduction to research methods / 1
Wed May 8 / Generating research questions & Survey design / 2
Mon May 13 / The SPSS Environment & Meet your team / 3 / Team Maker Survey
Wed May 15 / Exploring assumptions and Creating Scales / 5
Mon May 20 / Victoria Day – no class
Wed May 22 / Exploring Data with Graphs and Correlations / 4 & 7
Mon May 27 / In-class test 1 / n/a
Wed May 29 / T-tests and ANOVAs / 9 & 11 / Peer Evaluation Survey 1
Mon June 3 / Linear Regression and Multiple Regression / 8
Wed June 5 / Moderation, mediation and more regression / 10
Mon June 10 / A qualitative research primer[2] / See Moodle / Group Assignment[3]
Wed June 12 / In-class test 2 / n/a / Peer Evaluation Survey2

ScHRM policy onDeferred Exams:

- The deferred Exam will be closed book, cumulative and will include all subjects/topics of the textbook.
- Deferred exams are not necessarily in the same format as the exam written by your section of the course.
- The format for deferred exams is not released in advance.
- Access to a course website will not be given. Please save your lecture notes / presentation slides.

[1] Students are required to read the assigned chapter(s) in advance of class

[2]This is an online lecture. It will be available to view on Moodle by Monday June 10.

[3]Submit to the office of HRM, ground floor Atkinson, before 4.30pm (when the office closes).