HR4306: Research Methods – Assessment 1 Briefing

　　代写英国essay：minimum 1500 words excluding bibliography.

　　Submission deadline: 19TH NOVEMBER 2013 (in my locked box, 2nd Floor Greenbank Building)

　　Task: The following two articles both examine the issue of HRM in small to medium organisations. However, one uses a qualitative* design whilst the other uses a quantitative** design. Read both articles and critically discuss the advantages and limitations of each approach in the context of this specific research area. Your argument should be supported with evidence from relevant literature on research methods and/or other published studies examining similar research areas.

　　*Saru, E. (2006): 4. Does HRM enhance small business performance? A case of an expert design agency. In: conference proceedings - HRM–Between Performance And Employees (Helsinki, 2006): 49-59.

　　(Note –the link is to the full proceedings you need only read pages 49-59 in the document).

　　**Urbano, D., & Yordanova, D. (2008). Determinants of the adoption of HRM practices in tourism SMEs in Spain: an exploratory study. Service Business, 2(3), 167-185.

　　Assessment Criteria:

Assessment criteria

1.    Clear identification and critique of methods

2.    Logical structure & coherent argument

3.    Use of relevant literature to effectively support the essay

4.    Appropriate use of English referencing and bibliography

　　Evaluation of Qualitative Research Method and Quantitative Research Method in HRM

　　Introduction

　　Qualitative research and quantitative research method are two methods which are of profound importance in the field of HRM. By speaking of qualitative research, it refers to an investigation of the social circumstances by various means, including statistics, mathematics or calculation in order to use these data to explain the social settings. Qualitative research is a method of research that usually centers on a certain theme to obtain some related qualitative information, such as to investigate the attitude, emotion, motive and response of consumers, or to understand the essence of a problem and the direction it’s heading for. While quantitative research is the systematic empirical investigation by various means, including statistics, mathematical data and computational material or by the technique of computation. And of quantitative research, its objective is to develop and use the theories and models of statistics and the assumptions related to the actual phenomena, of which the process of measurement is of vital importance for it connects the empirical observation with the statistical expression of qualitative method. While both the two research methods are have their advantages and disadvantages. In the following parts, both the strengths and shortcomings of qualitative research and quantitative research will be illustrated in details concerning the two methods used in the HRM research.