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University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Organizational Leadership Ph.D. Program
Research in Organizational Leadership – ORLD 620-0101 (#2182)
Hazel Hall 1012
Spring 2013
Todd Matthews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Coordinator, ORLD Program
Office: 1106 Spaulding Hall
Phone: (410) 651-8361(O)
Email: tmatthews@umes.edu
ORLD Educational Model
The ORLD program utilizes the cohort model: students who begin their doctoral journey the
same semester, follow the same schedule of courses until they reach their electives and the
dissertation stage. The cohort model is a powerful pedagogical tool that allows students to
pursue the core of the Ph.D. courses at the same pace and facilitates the development of a
multidisciplinary knowledge base in organizational leadership. Through the cohort model,
students are able to reinforce each other by sharing face-to-face and e-learning experiences. The
ORLD program intends to develop and equip students for lifelong learning.
The Ph.D. Program in Organizational Leadership (ORLD) is based on a blended educational
model that uniquely combines face-to-face classes during two weekend sessions with intermittent
online delivery of instructional materials and integrative assignments. The program emphasizes
student autonomy and self-directed learning in the development of a scholarly understanding of
organizational leadership theory, research, practice, and application.
Course Description
ORLD 620 is about learning to apply research methodologies by being actively and pragmatically
engaged in the research process. The course builds on ORLD 610, ORLD 611, ORLD 612- 614 (as
well as the sequence of content courses ORLD 601- 604) and is designed to advance students’
research skills and competencies necessary to conduct scholarly research in organizational
leadership and help foster preparation to conduct dissertation research. ORLD 620 is an
application-oriented course that requires students to apply their knowledge of quantitative and
qualitative research methods and use bivariate and multivariate statistics or qualitative coding
procedures to design and carry out a quantitative or a qualitative research project. It is based on
the premise that doctoral students need hands-on experience conducting a research project from
A to Z prior to embarking on dissertation research. It is also based on the premise that second
year doctoral students in the final semester of formal course work have fairly well defined
dissertation topics that can be tested empirically.
In contrast to ORLD 610 and ORLD 611 which were instructor-led courses, ORLD 620 is a
student-led, application-driven course. It requires a thorough review of ORLD 610, 611, and 612614 inclusive of all textbooks and additional required readings listed in the syllabi of the
respective courses. In addition, students are expected to be well grounded in theories of
organizational leadership and understand the role of theory in both quantitative and qualitative
research.
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Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
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Formulate sound research questions and apply appropriate research designs
Derive theory-based research hypotheses in quantitative research
Develop theory inductively using a qualitative research design
Design and conduct a quantitative leadership study from initial conceptualization, data
collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and discussion
Analyze and interpret quantitative data using SPSS output
Design and conduct a qualitative leadership study from initial conceptualization, data
collection, data analysis, data interpretation
Analyze and interpret qualitative data
Be fluent in the terminology of quantitative and qualitative organizational leadership
research
Effectively communicate quantitative and qualitative research concepts
Critically evaluate your own research and that of other organizational leadership
scholars
Conduct research that satisfies standard social scientific ethical principles in research
with human participants
Attendance and Participation
Punctual attendance is expected in all face-to-face classes and in any online sessions. Participation
means that students come to class having completed the assigned readings and have prepared
discussion questions based on their understanding of the assigned readings.
Requirements
This syllabus should be regarded as a contract that may be subject to change with proper
notification. Each assignment is designed to incorporate readings, discussion, and students’ real
life experiences. Due dates for assignments are set, so please mark your calendars. Late
submissions will only be accepted under extenuating circumstances and with prior approval.
In-class learning activities must be submitted on time and cannot be made up.
Course Requirements
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4.
IRB Training – Certificate
IRB Application
Quantitative or Qualitative Concept Paper
Quantitative or Qualitative Research Project
(5%)
(10%)
(25%)
(60%)
ORLD 620 requires the completion of one high quality original research project to provide
students with an opportunity to test their research competencies and review the knowledge
acquired in previous research and statistics courses.
IRB Training with Certificate
Due: Friday 2/15
Each ORLD doctoral student must complete the IRB training prior to completing a research
study/dissertation. Each ORLD 620 student must complete the training and submit a copy of the
certificate by Friday 2/15. Information on the IRB training and the link to start it is available at
https://www.umes.edu/IRB/Default.aspx?id=19064.
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IRB Application
Due: Sunday 2/24
IRB approval is NOT required by UMES for students who do a study as part of a class
assignment. However, if the data will be used for a future publication, presentation or project
that reaches beyond ORLD 620, then IRB approval is required prior to the gathering of data. If
you are CONSIDERING using the data for a subsequent project, you should complete an IRB
application. Anticipate a minimum of 2 weeks (likely longer) before receiving approval. The
directions and application are available at https://www.umes.edu/IRB/Default.aspx?id=19002.
For the purposes of ORLD 620, each student must complete an application for your study. The
application does not need to be submitted to the IRB office for approval, but must be submitted
to the instructor. AGAIN, if you intend to use this data / study for the purpose of publication or
presentation, then the IRB application MUST be submitted to the IRB office for approval.
Research Project (Quantitative OR Qualitative): You will do EITHER a quantitative or
qualitative paper in this course. Directions for the option you select follow:
Quantitative Concept Paper
Due: Friday 3/15
Preparation of a 5-page concept paper for the quantitative organizational leadership study. Some
Quantitative Research methods include: (1) Survey design; (2) lab experiments; (3) field studies;
(4) quasi-experimental designs; and (5) longitudinal studies. The concept paper must include the
following elements:
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Introduction
Initial review of major theory from which the research hypothesis is derived
Hypothesis statement postulating a directional relationship between IV and DV (if you
have more than one IV, you need to state the hypothesis for each relationship)
Description of sample (the data must be collected in an organization other than the
organization sponsoring the student’s dissertation research): instruments should be
included
Method section which should justify the choice of chosen methodology appropriate to
address research questions
Proposed data analysis
Timeframe for data analysis and completion of the quantitative study
Quantitative Research Project
Due: May 5
This project requires the design and execution of a small study that tests the bivariate
relationships described in your concept paper. The quantitative study should be grounded in a
single theory; a comprehensive (but brief and well written) review of the theory is expected.
More specifically, this project must meet the following requirements:
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Data must be collected in an organization other than the student’s’ employing
organization or the company that will sponsor the student’s dissertation research
The research hypothesis must be postulated based on the principles of the hypotheticodeductive method
Description of sample should include participants, data collection procedure, and
instruments/measurements
Constructs of interest must be operationalized using existing reliable and valid measures
which must be included as appendices
The minimum sample size is 50 (higher N is strongly encouraged when possible)
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Statistics must include (as appropriate) descriptive statistics, intercorrelations, Cronbach
α, OLS or logistic regression (more advanced statistics are encouraged but not required)
The data must be depicted graphically and translated into verbal description
The research report must follow the format of a published quantitative leadership study
Appendices that include copies of the instruments, IRB certificates and other pertinent
information
For the quantitative study, use one of the emergent leadership theories (i.e., authentic, ethical,
complexity, spiritual, or servant leadership theory) for which standardized, reliable, and valid
instruments are available.
The paper should be about 20 pages in length not including references, title page, appendices,
and exhibits.
Qualitative Concept Paper
Due:
Friday 3/15
Preparation of a 5-page concept paper for the qualitative organizational leadership study. Some
Qualitative Research Methods include: (1) case study; (2) content analysis; (3) narrative analysis;
(4) ethnography; (5) grounded theory; (6) phenomenological, etc. The concept paper must include
the following elements:
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Introduction
Philosophical assumptions underlying the proposed qualitative study (ontology,
epistemology, axiology)
Research question(s)
Organizing conceptual frameworks
Description of proposed method
Data collection and content of the interview protocol
Proposed data analyses
Timeframe for data analysis and completion of the qualitative leadership study
Qualitative Research Project
Due: May 5
This project requires the design of a small qualitative interview study based on the following
stipulations:
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A research question that can be uniquely and best examined using a qualitative
interviewing design
Data must be collected in an organization other than the students’ employing
organization or the organization that will sponsor the student’s dissertation research
The interview protocol must be designed using a reputable interview format
The interview protocol must consist of at least 10 questions
The minimum sample size is 10 research participants
The coding must be based on a reputable coding system
The data set must include the audio taped responses of the ten research participants, the
transcribed interviews, codes, themes and pattern, and supercodes
The research report must reflect a format adhered to in published qualitative empirical
studies
Appendices that include copies of the instruments, IRB certificates and other pertinent
information
The paper should be about 20 pages in length not including references, title page, appendices,
and exhibits.
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Grading Scale
This course is not graded on a curve. The assignments will be combined using a weighted average
grading scheme with the corresponding weights given below.
90--100
80-89.99
70–79.99
60-69.99
Below 60
=A
=B
=C
=D
=F
Submission Guidelines
All written assignments MUST be typed and should be submitted via the Blackboard system.
Note that you should develop a contingency plan in case of computer problems (i.e., backing up
files on another computer); computer breakdowns are not an excuse for late submissions. As a
backup, you should send a copy to my UMES email account (tmatthews@umes.edu) from YOUR
UMES account – emails from other addresses may be filtered through junk mail and not get
through, so use YOUR UMES account to be safe!
The files should be named in the following manner:
Last name-ORLD620-assignment
For example: Matthews-ORLD620–quantconceptpaper
Plagiarism
Plagiarizing materials without giving credit where credit is due is a major offense which will
result in termination from the program. The ORLD program uses several software programs to
check for plagiarism. See the ORLD position on plagiarism on the ORLD website.
Required Texts
Loseke, D. (2013). Methodological Thinking: Basic Principles of Social Research Design. Sage.
Morgan, S., Reichert, T., Harrison, T. (2002). From Numbers to Words: Reporting Statistical Results for
the Social Sciences. Allyn and Bacon.
Machi, L., & McEvoy, B. (2012). The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success. Corwin.
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association. American Psychological Association.
Various articles (see schedule below)
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Weekend 1 (February 1-3) –
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 (Research background):
5:30-6 P.M.
Opportunity for program/general questions
6-7 P.M.
Syllabus review/discussion of course requirements
7-7:15 P.M.
Break
7:15-8 P.M.
Idea/topic formulation
8-9 P.M.
Literature review
9-9:15 P.M.
Break
9:15-10:30 P.M.
Experiential discussion of research process
Readings:
 Machi and McEvoy (entire book)
 Loseke (entire book - especially Chapters 2, 3, 5-8)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2 (Quantitative Methods):
9-10:30 A.M.
Review of Quantitative Methods
10:30-10:45 A.M.
Break
10:45-12:15 P.M.
Review of Quantitative Methods continues
12:15-1:30 P.M.
Lunch break (on your own)
1:30-3 P.M.
Discussion/deconstruction of selected Quantitative studies
3-5 P.M.
Work on project formulation/literature/design
Readings:
 Review materials from ORLD 611-614 as needed
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 (Qualitative Methods):
9-10:30 A.M.
Review of Qualitative Methods
10:30-10:45 A.M.
Break
10:45-12:15 P.M.
Review of Qualitative Methods continues
12:15-1:30 P.M.
Lunch break (on your own)
1:30-3 P.M.
Discussion/deconstruction of selected Qualitative studies
3-5 P.M.
Work on project formulation/literature/design
Readings:
 Review materials from ORLD 610 as needed
 Gephart, R. 2004. Qualitative research and the Academy of Management Journal. Academy of
Management Journal, 47(4): 454-462.
 Bansal, P. & Corley, K. 2012. What’s different about qualitative research? Academy of
Management Journal, 55(3): 509-513.
 Graebner M. E., Martin J. A. & Roundy, P. T. 2012. Qualitative data: Cooking without a
recipe. Strategic Organization, 10(3): 276-284.
In between sessions–
Required to have at least one working meeting of 30 minutes length (or more) between student
and faculty (by Friday April 12) – can be f2f, phone, Skype
Readings:
Morgan et al. (entire book)
APA Manual (as needed to properly format references and citations)
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Weekend 2 (April 26-28) – NO FRIDAY (26th) session
SATURDAY April 26 (Working Session):
9 A.M.-12 P.M.
Collective Working Session (small groups of N=2)
12-1:30 P.M.
Lunch break (on your own)
1:30-5 P.M.
One on one meetings (15-20 minutes) with faculty (times will be
scheduled in advance with you)
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 (Qualitative Methods):
9 A.M.-12 P.M.
Conference-style presentation of papers (15 minutes per student)
12-1 P.M.
Lunch break (on your own)
1-5 P.M.
Conference-style presentation of papers (15 minutes per student)
continues