Applied Organizational Research Methods

Curriculum Guideline

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Course
PSYC 3301
Discontinued
No
Course Code
PSYC 3301
Descriptive
Applied Organizational Research Methods
Department
Psychology
Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
201530
PLAR
No
Semester Length
15
Max Class Size
35
Contact Hours
Lecture 3 hours per week Lab 1 hour per week
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Lab
Learning Activities
  1. Lecture
  2. Videos
  3. Group discussion
  4. Lab
Course Description
This course introduces students to research methods in applied organizational psychology and prepares them to design, implement, and report organizational research that is based on these methods. The course focuses on the most commonly employed research methods, particularly organizational surveys, and critically examines issues related to the type of data, the analysis of the data, the effective presentation of the results and the interaction with organizational stakeholders. Students will use widely available software tools to develop, design, analyze and report the results of their own applied research projects.
Course Content

The topics covered may include:

  1. Types of organizational research and research methods in organizational psychology
  2. Organizational surveys-an overview
  3. Project stages; planning, design, implementation, analysis, reporting, evaluation
  4. Consulting and engaging stakeholders
  5. The research context: auditing, quality control, organizational change, leading and lagging indicators, reporting and accountability, drivers, organizational capacity   
  6. Identifying and communicating objectives; agreeing on survey content
  7. Ethical issues in the design, administration and use of surveys
  8. Methodological issues: validity, types of error, maturation, history and instrument decay
  9. Design issues: using existing measures, longitudinal designs, benchmarking, cross organizational surveys, cross cultural surveys
  10. Creating and evaluating surveys: writing items, item types, item responses, item order, response bias, survey length
  11. Sample size and sample methods; recruiting respondents
  12. Methods for delivering surveys; online surveys and survey interviews
  13. Administering surveys; monitoring and maximizing response rates
  14. Evaluating data and preparing data for analysis; recoding data and composite measures, outliers
  15. Choosing descriptive statistics and exploratory data analysis;
  16. Sampling distributions of means and proportions; confidence intervals
  17. Correlations, Pearson’s r and eta squared
  18. Using graphical methods for analysis and presentation
  19. Interpreting the results; involving stakeholders in the discussion
  20. Presenting and reporting the findings for organizational action
  21. Evaluating the research project and the organizational response
Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course students will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate commonly used methods of applied research in organizational psychology.
  2. Consult with organizational stakeholders about the organizational objectives and outcomes of applied research.
  3. Independently design, develop and implement an applied organizational research project.
  4. Understand and make effective use of appropriate online resources for survey delivery.
  5. Use widely available software tools to analyze and present the results of applied research in organizational psychology.
Means of Assessment

Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will include some of the following: quizzes, multiple choice exams, essay type exams, term paper or research project, computer based assignments, etc. The instructor will provide the students with a course outline listing the criteria for course evaluation.

An example of one evaluation scheme:

3 quizzes – multiple choice and short answer.   50%

2 project proposals                                        20%

1 term research project.                                 30%

Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

Possible texts could include:

1)       Fowler, F.J. (2008). Survey research methods (Applied social research methods series). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. And

2)       Church, A. H., Waclawski, J., & Kraut A.I. (2001) Designing and using organizational surveys: A seven-step process. New York, NY: Jossey-Bass.  Or

3)       Edwards, J.E., Thomas, M.D., Rosenfeld, P. Booth-Kewley, S. (1996). How to conduct organizational surveys: A step-by-step guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Prerequisites

PSYC 1100, PSYC 1200, PSYC 2301