Start
Q. Do you want to collect a reasonably
small amount of data in numerical form from a large (N=30 or more) number of
respondents ? |
A. A traditional questionnaire is
probably indicated here. Keep the
questionnaire reasonably short (12-15 questions maximum) and then analyse
each question within it. |
Q. Do you want
to collect much more detailed data from a smaller number of respondents? |
A. A series of interviews may be
suggested here. Choose your
respondents with care (and not just those who will grant you an interview, or
you happen to know them socially!) For
example, interviews with six personnel officers could be chosen from large
and medium size companies in three different industries. |
Q. Do you want to investigate one
company, or department in a company, in real depth ? |
A. This calls for a case study
approach. Your case study may well
suggest further lines of enquiry in the future – do not argue that your case
study ‘proves’ a hypothesis, however! |
Start
Q. Is your data continuous e.g.
such as heights and weights? |
A. Use descriptive statistics and XY
plots |
Q. Is your data nominal or ordinal (e.g.
circling one of a series of responses to a question?) |
A. Use medians and barcharts/
piecharts |
Stage 1 |
You need to turn
your interview into text form as soon as possible. If you take
extensive notes rather than tape-record, this will make this task
easier. Be on the look-out for
particularly good quotes that illustrate your theme. |
Stage 2 |
Count and tabulate (simple bar-charts)
the number of times that particular themes occur. |
Stage 3 |
Illustrate your points with well-chosen quotations e.g. “I
found doing the production was immensely hard (2nd
year Drama student) |
Case Study
Analysis |
You will have
chosen your case study because it illustrates particular themes in the literature
particularly well – for example, it may be a case study of a sportswear
company that has dramatically increased its turnover by applying e-marketing. |
End