Ensuring Alignment of the Unit of Analysis with Doctoral Research: Implications for Business Practice

QUESTION

Respond to colleagues’ posting in the following way:

  • Extend or constructively challenge your colleagues’ work.

POSTING

  • Describe the importance of ensuring the unit of analysis aligns with the doctoral research purpose.

Jornet and Damsa (2021) note the importance of ensuring the unit of analysis aligns with your doctoral research as it represents what is being analyzed. This information will be used to draw conclusions or distinctions in my doctoral research. This will also allow this researcher to capture the proper characteristics and purpose for the analysis and to be capable of saying something at the conclusion of the research (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019).

  • Explain the broader implications of selecting the incorrect unit of analysis on the practice to business.

Implications such as confusion will occur, and the unit of analysis will lead to undesirable results and the results will not be valid (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019). Also, inadequate results lead to time loss, cost, and ethical problems for the research study (Serdar, Cihan, Yücel, & Serdar, 2021).

Calculating the sample size is an essential step in a research study. The sample size affects the hypothesis, and the study design, while statistical power is the probability of correctly rejecting the null hypothesis. (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019). Based on the data the researcher can reject the null hypothesis with a certain degree of confidence. (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019).

The unit of analysis refers to the who and the what the researcher is analyzing. Therefore, since my doctoral study will be analyzing if and how many human resource professionals have experienced biases within their selection and interview processes, the unit of analysis would be sufficient for this particular research project.

References

Bougie, R. & Sekaran, U. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Jornet, A., & Damşa, C. (2021). Unit of analysis from an ecological perspective: Beyond the individual/social dichotomy. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction31(Part B). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2019.100329

Serdar, C. C., Cihan, M., Yücel, D., & Serdar, M. A. (2021). Sample size, power and effect size revisited: simplified and practical approaches in pre-clinical, clinical and laboratory studies. Biochemia Medica31(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.11613/BM.2021.010502

 

Please note that for each response you must include a minimum of one appropriately cited scholarly reference.

 

ANSWER

 Ensuring Alignment of the Unit of Analysis with Doctoral Research: Implications for Business Practice

In the field of doctoral research, ensuring that the unit of analysis aligns with the research purpose is of paramount importance. As emphasized by Jornet and Damsa (2021), the unit of analysis represents what is being analyzed and forms the foundation for drawing conclusions and making distinctions in the research. This essential aspect of research methodology allows researchers to capture the relevant characteristics and purpose of the analysis and, ultimately, contribute meaningfully to the body of knowledge in their respective fields (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019).

Selecting the incorrect unit of analysis can have broader implications on business practice. As noted by Bougie and Sekaran (2019), such a misalignment can lead to confusion and produce undesirable results, rendering the research findings invalid. This not only wastes valuable time and resources but can also result in ethical dilemmas, as it may inadvertently influence decision-making processes based on faulty data (Serdar et al., 2021). It becomes evident that the unit of analysis forms the very bedrock of a study’s integrity, and any deviation can have far-reaching consequences for businesses.

An essential factor to consider when determining the unit of analysis is the relationship between the chosen unit and the sample size, and its impact on statistical power. The sample size plays a critical role in research design, as it directly influences the hypotheses being tested (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019). Statistical power, on the other hand, represents the probability of correctly rejecting the null hypothesis based on the data at hand (Bougie & Sekaran, 2019). Larger sample sizes generally lead to increased statistical power, allowing researchers to make more confident and reliable conclusions from their data.

For the proposed quantitative study on biases within the selection and interview processes among human resource professionals, the chosen unit of analysis appears appropriate. Since the research question focuses on understanding the experiences of individual HR professionals, the unit of analysis should be at the individual level. This approach will enable the researcher to gather detailed insights into the perceptions and encounters of each participant, offering a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.

In conclusion, aligning the unit of analysis with the doctoral research purpose is crucial for the success and validity of any research study. A well-defined unit of analysis allows researchers to draw meaningful conclusions and make relevant distinctions, contributing significantly to the knowledge within their field. Conversely, selecting an incorrect unit of analysis can lead to undesirable outcomes, such as invalid results and ethical concerns. As researchers aim to improve business practices, careful consideration of the unit of analysis and its relationship with the sample size and statistical power is essential for conducting rigorous and impactful studies.

 

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