MB871

Quantitative Research Methods

Spring  2009

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William B. Stevenson
Fulton 430B
Office Hours: Tu 1:30-2:30, Th 11-12 or by appointment
Telephone: 552-0458 E-mail: stevenw@bc.edu
Current syllabus is available at: www:http://www2.bc.edu/~stevenw

This is a course in quantitative methods of research.  We will consider how theories are developed and tested in organizational studies using experimental, quasi-experimental, and survey research designs.  

Course Requirements:

There will be written assignments, a midterm and a research project.

Grading:                               

Written Assignments

15%

Class Participation

10%

Midterm

25%

Research Project

50%

Written Assignments:   A “Written Assignment” is a short paper of 5 pages or less commenting on an article or conducting an analysis.  These papers are to be typed and double-spaced. Please remember to number your pages. People should do their own work.  Late papers will be dropped one grade for every day late.

Class Participation: Your attendance and participation are important for a mutually rewarding learning experience.  Each student will be asked to lead a “Critique” of an article during the semester. Here are the guidelines for the critique. Your participation grade will be based on your attendance and participation.

Research Project: You will develop a survey research project during the semester as a group and present your progress throughout the semester.

Required Reading:

Shoemaker, P.J., Tankard, J.W. and Lasorsa, D.L. How to Build Social Science Theories. 2004. CA: Sage. ISBN: 0-7619-2667-4 (paper)

Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D. & Campbell, D.T. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. 2002. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. ISBN: 0-395-61556-9.

DeVellis, R.F. Scale Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage (2nd edition), 2003. ISBN: 0-7619-2605-4 (paper).

Dillman, D.A. Internet, Mail and Mixed Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. (3rd edition), NY:John Wiley and Sons, 2009. ISBN: 0-4716-9868-7.

A collection of readings. Some are available online and will say "online" after the reference. Others are available from me and will say "office" after the reference.

MB 871 Quantitative Methods Schedule

I. Theory, Causality and Organizational Research

Topic

Date

Readings/Class Activities

Building Organizational Theory

 1/20

Reading:

Shoemaker: Ch. 1-3

Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. J.W. Meyer and B. Rowan. 1977. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2):340-363. (online)

Management Fads:Emergence, evolution, and implications for managers. J.W. Gibson and D.V. Tesone. 2001. Academy of Management Executive. 15(4): 122-133. (online)
Building Organizational Theory 1/27

Reading:

Shoemaker: ch. 4-7, 9

The measurement problem: A gap between the languages of theory and research by H. Blalock, ch. 1 in Methodology in Social Research. (office)

What should we do about motivation theory?: six recommendations for the twenty-first century. 2004. by Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. Academy of Management Review, 29(3): 388-403. (online)

 

Science and Social Science

2/3

Reading:

Organizational theories: Some criteria for evaluation. 1989. by Bacharach, S.B., Academy of Management Review, 14:496-515. (online)

Forms of theories, ch. 5 in A Primer in Theory Construction by Reynolds, P.D., 1971, NY: Bobbs-Merrill (office)

For Discussion:

An action research program for increasing employee involvement in problem solving. 1982. by W.Pasmore & F. Friedlander, Administrative Science Quarterly, 27:343-362. (online)

Written Assignment for Next Week:

Reformulate as axiomatic theory: Motivating Individuals and Groups at Work: A Social Identity Perspective on Leadership and Group Performance. 2004. by Ellemers et al., Academy of Management Review, 29(3):459-478. (online)

II. Methodology: Experiments and Survey Research

Experiments, Quasi-Experiments and Causality

2/10

Reading:

Shadish et.al.: ch. 1-5,8

Research Project: Proposal paragraph discussion

Written Assignment for Next Week:

From the point of view of experimental and quasi-experimental design critique OD Techniques and Their Results in 23 Organizations: The Michigan ICL Study 1973. by David Bowers , Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 9(1): 21-43. (office)

Survey Research

2/17

Reading:

Dillman, ch. 1, 2, 12

Critique:

Organizational effects of decline and turbulence by Cameron, et al., 1987. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32: 222-240. (online)

Questionnaire Design

2/24

Reading:

Dilman, ch. 3 - 6

Research Project: Proposal due
Spring Vacation 3/3  
Midterm/ survey research 3/10

Reading:

Dilman, ch. 9

Survey Implementation

3/17

Reading:

Dilman, ch. 7, 8, 13

Critique:

What bandwagons bring: Effects of popular management techniques on corporate performance, reputation and CEO pay. 2000. Staw, B.M. & Epstein, L.D. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45:523-556. (online)

Research Project: Questionnaire due

III. Measurement Theory

Concepts and Measurement

3/24

For Discussion:

Measurement of romantic love by Zick Rubin, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1970. 16(2):265-273. (online)

Reading:

Ch. 1 Overview, ch. 2 Understanding the Latent Variable, ch. 3 Reliability, ch. 4 Validity in Scale Development by DeVellis
Scale Construction 3/31

Reading:

ch. 5 Guidelines in Scale Development, ch. 6 Factor Analytic Strategies, Ch. 8 Measurement in the Broader Research Context in Scale Development by DeVellis

Structural equation modeling and its relationship to mulitple regression and factor analysis by Musil et al., Research in Nursing and Health, 1998, 21(3): 271-281. (online)

Self-categorization, affective commitment and group self-esteem as distinct aspects of social identity in the organization
by Bergami, M. and Bagozzi, R.P., British Journal of Social Psychology, 2000, 39(4):555-577. (online)

Research Project: Pretest of questionnaire due

 

Scale Construction

4/7

Reading:

Common methods biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies by Podsakoff et al., 2003, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5): 879-903. (online)

Written Exercise for next week:

SPSS: Analysis of an environmental scale

IV. New Methodologies: Network Analysis and Process Models

 

 

Network Analysis

4/14

Reading:

Intra (and inter) organizational networks by James R. Lincoln, Research in The Sociology of Organizations, 1982, 1:1-38. (office)

Social capital and social influence on the board of directors by Stevenson, W.B., and Radin, R.F., Journal of Management Studies, 2009, 46(1): 16-44. (office)

Critique:

The strategic context of external network ties. 2001. Carpenter, M.A. & Westphal, J.D. Academy of Management Journal, 4:639-660. (online)
Analyzing Social 
Processes 		4/21

Reading:

Strategies for theorizing from process data. 1999. Academy of Management Review, Langley, A. 24:691-710. (online)

Alternative approaches for studying organizational change. 2005. Organization Studies, Van de Ven, A.H. and Poole, M.S. 26(9): 1377-1404. (office)


Critique:

The social networks of high and low self-monitors: Implications for workplace performance. 2001. by Mehra, A., et al., Administrative Science Quarterly, 46:121-146. (online)

Conclusions

 

4/28

Critique:

The formal analysis of narratives of organizational change, 1998. by Stevenson, W.B. & Greenberg, D. Journal of Management, 24:741-762. (online)

Final Paper Presentation

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