Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research

This text offers a broad, overall description of qualitative research with the objective of facilitating the greater integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in organizational research. The book provides a look at the methods and tactics of qualitative research for both generating and testing management theories. It includes guidelines for deciding whether to use qualitative methods and overviews of four specific research designs. It describes how qualitative data is collected and analyzed and when and how to quantitatively analyze qualitative data. The author articulates the critical roles for reliability and validity and, in the final chapter, offers conclusions and recommendations for writing articles that report qualitative studies. The book is appropriate for courses intended to introduce students to qualitative methods, for those traditional quantitative researchers interested in expanding their research methodology base, and for those interested in gaining additional insight to understanding which methods to use in future research.