Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
Introductory note for tutors
Most research methods tutors may find ‘session plans’ provided on textbook
websites to be intensely irritating because effective learning and teaching about
research methods depends on so many different factors, such as:

students’ levels, backgrounds and motivations

tutors’ specialisms, interests and experiences

the nature of the sessions (eg one hour per week, two-day intensive block,
occasional workshops).
This section of the website is therefore very brief. Most of the activities in the
textbook itself are self-explanatory and work well with individuals and groups, if
given an appropriate context. This part of the website offers a few ideas about
different ways (not included within the book itself) that I have tried to teach different
aspects of research methods, or ways that I know colleagues have used and they have
been kind enough to share with me.
In an ideal world this part of the website might take the form of an online discussion
forum – but that is not possible at this stage. However, I would value any
contributions to it, and if you are prepared to share your approaches to learning and
teaching some of the topics that these chapters embrace, then I would love to hear
from you at Valerie.anderson@port.ac.uk. My intention is to put any responses into
a dedicated folder, and when the site is given its annual updating it will be possible
to include them at that stage.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 1 THE NATURE OF RESEARCH IN HR
1 T he p ure /a pp li ed re s ea rc h co nti n uu m
I often tackle this by making use of current news stories (which I usually source from the
BBC news website) about different research projects. The science and environment site
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/default.stm and/or the technology site
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/default.stm usually have current examples of both
‘pure’ and ‘applied’ research that serve as an illustration and as the basis for a discussion
about differences and similarities. Alternatively, of course, it is possible to cover the
distinctions in class and then set students the task of finding examples from the news about
these items.
2 Re sea rc h i n H R
Presenting students with examples of two or more different pieces of research in HR and
getting them to identify the differences and similarities between them against the ‘components
of the research process’ often works quite well.
Two articles will usually suffice – I rarely give CIPD Management Research Report (or its
subsequent equivalents) students anything too long to read, so extracts from (say) an article
from Human Resource Management Journal (http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=09545395&site=1) that includes salient features of the introduction/basis in literature/methodology/
findings will suffice. I would expect Master’s-level students (unless they are international
students for whom reading English is a slow process) to be able to read the whole article. For
the second piece I often take a CIPD survey report from http://www.cipd.co.uk/onlineinfo
documents/surveys.htm . If I am working on extracts, I take the introduction, the methodology
(usually called the background and located near the end) and the summary findings.
Working with these enables students to:
 note that a good deal of published CIPD research is often ‘theory-free’ and does not
evaluate what is already known; in addition the survey response rates are often very
worrying (I wait for students to spot this) and it gives a great basis for a discussion of
sample selection etc
 identify different types of data-gathering processes in different research projects
 discern the different readerships for HR research
 make the point that we learn about research by reading it and critiquing it
 encounter key issues that they must confront and resolve if they want to achieve a
successful research project.
3 S ki ll s nee de d by r e se a rch er s
I have never done this (although I might try this year) but it occurs to me that some form of
checklist against which students can assess their own strengths and weaknesses as a
researcher might be useful. This list below is adapted (heavily) from the Joint Skills
Statement from UK Research Councils.




How confident are you in your skills and abilities?
Being able to recognise a problem suitable for research
Thinking critically
Being able to evaluate different theories
Being able to understand different ways of doing research in HRM











Critically analysing your own findings and those of others
Being aware of the ethical implications of doing research
Having flexibility and open-mindedness in carrying out tasks
Having self-awareness and the ability to identify your own development
needs as a researcher
Having self-discipline, motivation, and thoroughness
Accessing sources of support
Working independently and being self-reliant
Writing clearly and in a style appropriate to a research report/dissertation
Being able to develop coherent arguments
Working co-operatively with tutors, colleagues and peers, within the study
centre and the place of employment (where appropriate)
Listening, giving and receiving feedback, and responding perceptively to
others.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 2 FIRST STAGES IN THE HR PROJECT
1 C ho o s ing a t o pic
I usually find that about half of any group I am working with come with an idea about what
they want to research, and the other half do not. Encouraging a sharing of their topic ideas can
usually generate some others. Of course, if students have come with a firm view of ‘no idea’,
they are unlikely to generate one during a session and will need time to reflect, study the HR
press, review past dissertation titles, etc. For those who have got an idea, some ‘checking out’
and evaluating how feasible it might be is helpful (and I usually get the ‘no idea’ people to
help out here by making this a group or pairs exercise). The questions in the following
checklist may also be a useful vehicle for ‘idea appraisal’. (I have it as a post-session
worksheet for my international student group.)






Initial research project ideas
Proposed title/keywords for the investigation
Initial research aim (What is the central question that your research might
address?)
What research strategy might be used? (Cross-sectional? Case study?
Comparative? Action research?)
What are the main types of data that might help you to achieve your research
aim? (Qualitative? Quantitative? Both?)
Where might you obtain these data? (One organisation? More than one
organisation? A group of individuals from different organisations? Publicly
available data source?)
How might you gain access to these data? Whose permission would be
needed? What might be the best way to contact them?
2 Re sea rc h p h ilo so ph i es
Chapter 1 of the book includes a gentle introduction to ‘how we see ourselves’ as researchers,
and then in Chapter 2 the more philosophical issues associated with positivism and
interpretivism are introduced. Encouraging students to engage with these ideas is a challenge
most of the time, and whoever can find a foolproof way to do it could potentially make a
fortune. Here are some thoughts (which will never make a fortune):
a) I have heard of some tutors who encourage students to position themselves (sometimes
physically) along a line running from positivism to interpretivism and then to discuss the
‘middle’ positions. This makes it possible to include aspects of ontology, epistemology
and reasoning approaches in the discussion. Although I cannot imagine my CIPD or my
international students going along with this, it might work with more advanced
researchers.
b) When I have time within the timetable or schedule, I sometimes use video clips from
items that illustrate the different sets of assumptions about knowledge and reality. The
Matrix Trilogy contains some fertile material (but is very time-consuming and already it
seems dated – unless you are a devotee), and many detective series contain one character
that can be linked with positivism and one that can be linked with interpretevism.
Students can then discuss the underpinning ideas about reality, knowledge and values, and
the effects of these on the way that researchers work from this starting point.
c) I have heard of some tutors (this works best with Master’s-level students) who give
examples of research articles on the same topic but tackled from within different research
paradigms. Students are then able to read the articles and compare the approaches,
findings, etc.
3 Re sea rc h st ra t eg ie s
The book gives some examples of where different research strategies have been used in
practice. When there is the scope, I sometimes invite someone who has undertaken research
utilising one or another of the strategies to come along and describe what they did and why to
the students. Past students can sometimes be persuaded – and also colleagues whose expertise
is in these areas may like nothing better than to talk about their own research!
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 3 ETHICS AND HR RESEARCH
Although this is positioned towards the beginning of the book, I find I usually teach this at the
point near to which students will be submitting their research proposal – particularly if some
type of ethics statement or form is required.
1 T he co n t e xt f o r et hi c s
I often introduce this topic by using a story from the ‘topical’ news connected with an
‘undercover reporter’ (usually associated with a TV or radio documentary). These are not
difficult to find on the broadcasters’ websites. Recent examples have related to bullying in the
armed forces, care standards in the NHS, and so on. They provide a good basis for a
discussion about ethical principles – in particular, the issue of informed consent.
Ethics issues are regarded as good media topics at present and a range of radio and TV
broadcasts have covered the dilemmas involved – these also provide a good discussion starter.
2 Et h ica l s cr ut i ny
Although students frequently say they understand about ethics, when they submit an ethical
scrutiny form it becomes apparent (with my students, anyway) that they have not understood
key issues like the meaning of ‘confidentiality’ or ‘anonymity’. I have therefore decided
increasingly to ask them to review the form in class and to identify questions they would
struggle to answer in any detail. This then forms the basis for a focused discussion with the
whole group and clarification where it is needed.
3 Go o d pra ct i ce c he c kli st
I have not tried this (but I might this year). The checklist below is heavily adapted from an
excellent publication by the UK Research Integrity Office (http://www.ukrio.org.uk/home/)
and may be a useful vehicle for self-assessment and then discussion.
1
Is your research aim clearly articulated, and does it address a pertinent issue or
problem?
2 Is your research design appropriate for your research aim or principal research
question?
3 Will you have access to necessary skills and resources to carry out the
research?
4 Have you conducted an ethics ‘risk assessment’ to identify any particular
ethical issues relating to your safety and wellbeing as the researcher, the
wellbeing and rights of participants in your research, and the implications for
any organisations that may be involved?
5 Does your research have to comply with any legal or ethical requirements of
your organisation, profession or sector (eg health and social care sectors)?
6 Will your research comply with legal and good practice requirements of health
and safety?
7 Will your research have to undergo any formal ethics review or scrutiny?
8 Will your research comply with any appropriate audit or monitoring
requirements?
9 Are there any conflicts of interest relating to your research?
10 Are you following best practice for the collection, management and storage of
data?
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 4 REVIEWING AND EVALUATING EXISTING KNOWLEDGE
1 L itera t u re sea r c hi ng
This is another difficult topic to teach. Students all too frequently give the strong impression
(although in general not an accurate one) that they know all about searching, wanting you to
be aware that they ‘had a library induction once’ and that they will very quickly become
bored if you talk about database searching any more. Inevitably, after the class a few will
quietly seek you out and admit they do not know how to access any databases . . .
My own feeling is that it is best tackled using computers or in the library, working on topics
that students are already interested in. Once they have an outline research idea I give my
international students a worksheet based on the questions below to complete by a certain date.
When I collect in the worksheets I can then see which of them have actually not got beyond
books on the library shelf, which of them are too reliant on practitioner-related sources, and
which of them have mastered the referencing issues to a standard expected in a research
report or dissertation.
Initial research project literature search


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Proposed title
Main topics for the literature search
Literature sources that may be relevant (list these according to the Harvard
APA referencing system and aim for 5–10 of each of these categories):
― books
― journal articles
― information/papers from Internet sites (give the exact URL and the title
of the information source).
2 Rea di ng crit ica lly
This is also an impossible subject to teach, and is usually addressed when students submit a
draft of their literature review for comment. Where there is scope in the timetable, I
sometimes request them to take an article and critique it using the criteria/checklists in this
chapter of the book. For ‘serious’ critique I have, from time to time, used more questions –
adapted from Wallace, M. and Wray, A. (2006) Critical Reading and Writing for
Postgraduates, London: Sage.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
How does this source relate to my topic area?
What are the authors trying to achieve in writing this?
What are the authors saying that is relevant to my research?
How clear is their argument?
Are their claims supported by appropriate evidence?
What other justification is offered in support of their claims?
Do the authors define their key terms and then use those definitions
consistently?
8 What underlying values or assumptions may be guiding and influencing
what has been written?
9 How adequate is any theoretical orientation in this writing?
10 To what extent are claims supported or challenged by others’ work?
11 To what extent are claims consistent with my experience?
3 Wr iti ng a lit era t ur e rev iew
The only way to do this is to do it! However, when I teach an introduction to research
methods on a two-day block with a colleague, we often copy the literature reviews from a few
past dissertations or CIPD management research reports and then get students to work in
groups to critique what they read using the following assessment criteria.
Excellent review of the
literature. Covers an
extensive up-to-date and
representative sample of
literature drawn from a
wide variety of sources.
Moderate review of the
literature. Covers a
reasonable range of literature
drawn from some different
sources. Some relevance is
evident.
Poor review of the literature.
Uses a limited range of
sources or there might be
some missing elements or
too narrow a focus or a lack
of currency.
Clear and logical structure/
presented well/shows
relevance to the research.
The literature is loosely
focused and does not centre
on the research agenda.
Shows some relevance to the
research and research design.
No clear structure to the
literature; vague and
unfocused. The relevance
of the literature to the
research is not clear.
Highlights main theoretical
concepts and presents an
argument for the research
Illustrates a few theoretical
concepts. Argument
presented for the research is
not entirely convincing.
Few or no theoretical
concepts discussed. Leaves
reader wondering why the
literature is included.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 5 APPROACHES TO GATHERING DATA IN HR RESEARCH
This chapter of the book brings together a number of important methodological issues. Most
of the teaching activities that I use in this area are also fairly integrated and seek to enable
students to work on their skills of articulating a research aim or question, formulate research
objectives or questions, and then determine alternative research design and data-gathering
options.
1 Ca se il lu st ra t io n a p pro a c h
When teaching on a two-day block, where sometimes students do not yet know what their
topic will be, my colleague and I often use illustrative case studies which we source from
news sources such as http://news.bbc.co.uk/ or http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/
sections/news/ or http://www.hrzone.co.uk/. We choose cases based on contemporary HR
topics. Working in groups (one case illustration for each group), students are then required to
answer such questions as:
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What problem(s) can you identify from this case illustration that might be worthy of
research?
If you took a positivistic stance, what research questions might you formulate?
How might you go about getting answers to these questions (and using what methods)?
If you took an interpretivist stance, what research questions might you formulate?
How might you go about getting answers to these questions (and using what methods)?
What sorts of literature (‘body of knowledge’) might help you to formulate ideas and
develop your research? What sort of issues might be covered? And how might it be
structured?
2 K no w n t o p ic a p pro a ch
If students are already quite clear about their topic, they often find it valuable to try to
summarise their ideas, and the implications of their ideas, into note form prior to producing a
proposal or writing their draft introduction chapter/section. We use these questions which
students write up for themselves. Once they have done this, it is possible to get them to work
in small groups in which they all listen to an outline of the research plan articulated on the
sheets and then play ‘critical friend’ in terms of seeking clarification, raising questions about
data quality, and so on. This can also form the basis for an exploratory discussion (one-toone) with a tutor to clarify the idea and develop the focus.
What is your idea or your ‘big question’?
This is the basis for
your research aim
Why is it important?
 Interest for HRM generally?
 Value to organisation(s)?
 Who could use it or do further work with it?
This is the basis for
your rationale
What are the main topics for a literature search?
 What theories or theorists would underpin your
research?
 What are the debates?
This is the basis for
your literature review
What literature sources may be relevant?
 Academic sources?
Literature review
 Practitioner sources?
 Past research in organisation/sector?
How might you do the research?
 What research philosophy will underpin your study?
 What might your overall research strategy involve?
Methodology
Which methods of gathering data could you use to answer your
research question? Why not other methods?
 Where and how will you get your data?
 What will be your sampling strategy?
Methodology/sampling
Possible problems
 Access to information or to research
subjects/respondents?
 How will you gain informed consent from participants?
 Technical or resource issues?
Methodology
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 6 FINDING AND USING DOCUMENTARY AND ORGANISATIONAL
EVIDENCE
1 A na ly si ng a r t ef a ct s
I find that there is rarely time to include the use of documentary and organisational evidence
in the teaching schedule. This is a shame because it is invariably not done well by many
students and, with ethical scrutiny making access to data more difficult for many students, it
is an area that might be much more fully utilised.
Something I might try this year with CIPD students (who are mostly fixated by exams) is to
get them to content analyse a CIPD Professional Community Discussion Thread. I found one
on ‘failing exams’ which I felt would catch their attention (http://www.cipd.co.uk/community/
subjects/subject/discussion.aspx?PostID=116451) but there are many other topics and linked
threads (http://www.cipd.co.uk/community/subjects?GroupID=9).
Using such materials would be interesting because it might be possible to content analyse in a
quantitative and a qualitative way, and many issues relating to data analysis generally would
feature in this activity.
2 A na ly si ng o rg a n isa t i o na l do c u me nt s
Another approach to documentary analysis with part-time students is to ask students to bring
into class copies of the (say) training and development policy of their organisation. If you can
get a few different policies from different organisations, some useful discussion might be
possible about how you analyse the documents, what they tell you,what they do not tell you,
and so on.
3 A na ly si ng v is ua l o r no n - v er ba l a rtefa cts
A good deal of HR research focuses on the written word, and there is plenty of scope to
incorporate non-verbal materials (photographs of workplaces, etc) into an exercise on
analysis. The online site of People Management (http://www.peoplemangement.co.uk)
contains links to some of its humorous items which have both words and cartoon illustrations,
and these might form the basis for an analysis exercise (http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/
pm/sections/features-comment/humour/).
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 7 COLLECTING AND RECORDING QUALITATIVE DATA
Learning and teaching activities linked with this chapter often focus on interview design, and
it is easy to overlook issues such as sampling strategies and deciding between alternative
forms of data gathering. Something that always worries me about my students is that many of
them decide how they will gather data without much thought about whether or not it will
answer their research questions. The use of hypothetical exercises or case illustrations seems
to make no difference to this trend. As a result I mostly work with their existing ideas and
encourage a critique of their proposed method as well as a forced consideration of at least one
other realistic alternative method.
In addition the following activities can be useful.
1
To deal with the issues of sample size and sample selection I sometimes make use of
some case illustrations or hypothetical research projects in imaginary organisations (so I
can control the number of employees, their ethnicity, etc) and ask students to think about
how many participants would be appropriate and how they might be selected and
recruited.
2
To get some thought towards interview or focus group question design I ask students to
work in pairs or small groups and generate six interview questions to meet a specific
research question. The students are required to write their questions out neatly and then,
once they are ready, I display them using a visualiser or make copies of them, and the
class offers constructive critique about the strengths and weaknesses of the questions.
3
Activities around data-gathering and recording also require that data quality issues are
addressed, and with qualitative as with quantitative data I often set some examples and
ask the students to identify the implications of collecting data at different times (just after
an underwhelming pay-review process, for example) or in different contexts.
4
Although students are quite good (eventually) at explaining their sampling strategy for
face-to-face forms of data-gathering, they are often poor at justifying any sampling
strategy for gathering other forms of qualitative data (for example, from Internet
discussion forums). So when there is time, I often set an activity for them to justify their
sampling strategy for published qualitative data relating to an imaginary project.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 8 ANALYSING QUALITATIVE DATA
The difficulty of this area is that many HEIs schedule research methods sessions before any
data has been gathered – and students are rarely interested in data analysis until they actually
have some data. As a result, interest levels (and attendance) can be poor. However, HEIs that
have sufficient foresight to offer sessions spread over the duration of the dissertation or
management research report process can achieve more in this area.
The only way I have ever found of teaching the early stages of qualitative data analysis (the
data reduction stage) is by encouraging students to engage in some coding of actual (or
invented) transcripts. These activities favour students who can read fast, particularly where
full transcripts are used. The textbook contains short extracts of some invented transcripts
which I have found still generate plenty of activity and follow-up discussion.
Software demonstration is another way to show what can be achieved through different data
analysis processes, although this depends on the availability of appropriate software, and if
there is no licence for student use, it can raise expectations which then leads to
disappointment unless students are prepared to utilise a very short-term taster version of the
software or pay for a student copy.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 9 COLLECTING AND RECORDING QUANTITATIVE DATA
This aspect of learning and teaching is subject to huge variation depending on the
background, abilities, motivations and anxieties of students. Some of them are confident with
statistics, and some of them are allergic. Levels of competence can also differ hugely between
those who feel confident. I have found that to go too far with students who are not going to be
‘converted’ to the benefits of quantitative analysis beyond the most basic of descriptive
statistics leaves them (and me) even more traumatised.
Below are some approaches I have tried with different groups at different times and with
different degrees of success.
1 Da ta f ro m p u bli s he d so urc es
Survey data from the CIPD and other professional and trade bodies is often only available in
an aggregated form and access to the data sets themselves is not possible. For this reason I
suggest students visit these sites for the literature reviews but not when considering collecting
quantitative data that they will then analyse.
Where data sets are available, manipulating them is not for the faint-hearted and certainly not
for those students who are allergic to numbers. However, getting a feel for what might be
feasible, in data manipulation and analysis terms, is important for those students who are
confident and who may have to access such data. I therefore usually get them to access one of
the publicly-available data sets (usually an employment-related data set from
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/default.asp) and get students to try it out and discuss the strengths
and limitations of the data set and the implications for any research they may be interested in.
2 S urv ey d es ig n
I guess that almost everyone involved in teaching research methods has suggested that
students work individually or in groups to design their own survey (or part of a survey) on a
topic they are given, and then the products of their exercise are constructively critiqued, and
so on. This always works well and gets a good level of engagement even from the least
interested students. However, it is time-consuming and so I increasingly revert to finding a
published survey (either a printed or online survey) and ask students to evaluate it for clarity,
design, purpose, question structure, response options, analysis issues, etc. If you felt
particularly mischievous, you could might them to critique your HEI’s module evaluation
forms, if these have quantitative options. It is always very gratifying to find that almost all
surveys have areas in which they could be improved, and the exercise gives good learning
points for students. I have also (with permission) done this activity making use of
questionnaires that past students have designed, and I found that the students could relate with
the exercise very meaningfully.
3 Co di ng a nd da t a ent ry
Survey design exercises are so enjoyable that it is easy to overlook the issues of datarecording and data entry. However, when I have time, I get students to complete a short
questionnaire (on almost anything) and then they have to work out how to enter the data onto
a spreadsheet. As long as there are more than 10 students who complete a questionnaire and at
least some of them have access to Excel, the exercise can give some useful tips relating to
data entry, data cleaning and also survey design.
4 Pre se nt ing t h e da t a
I increasingly find that whatever the age or background of the students, if they are presented
with an Excel spreadsheet that contains data, they are able to utilise the ‘Charts’ options of
Excel – although they may be less informed about which charts are appropriate to which
forms of data. If you do not have a data set that has been prepared to enable students to
discuss how to (and how not to) present data, there are some excellent data sets available for
use from the STARS Project (http://stars.ac.uk/index.php) that incorporate real data sets and
scenarios to help develop teaching and learning resources for staff and students. Data and
worksheets are available in both Excel and SPSS forms (amongst others). Where it seems that
this is as far as students are likely to get, I let them stick with Excel. Where their research
questions require data analysis rather than just data description, I urge them to move to SPSS.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 10 ANALYSING QUANTITATIVE DATA AND FORMULATING
CONCLUSIONS
Learning and teaching the concepts and techniques in this chapter will vary to a wide degree
depending on the level of depth that is to be achieved and the level of interest and expertise of
students. Hands-on rather than ‘tutor input’ sessions are invariably more productive but
difficult to manage time-wise, and also require students to have access to appropriate
computers and software.
1 B a c k t o ba s ic s
Where students have a ‘low statistical threshold’ but their research questions require
quantitative data analysis, I usually start with a gentle introduction and get them to come up
with definitions of key terms and examples of their usage in practice. To assess their progress
in a light-hearted way, some form of quiz might be appropriate (but not too difficult, or you
may never see them again). Examples of quiz questions can be gathered from sites like
http://www.thecyberprofessor.com/statistics/statisticsquiz2.html if you are stuck for ideas.
When students get stuck, there are some good Internet-hosted resources they can go to for
help, such as: http://bobhall.tamu.edu/FiniteMath/Module8/Introduction.html.
2 De sc ri pt iv e st a t i st ic s
The resources that I make most use of are from the STARS Project (http://stars.ac.uk/
index.php). This includes data in SPSS format and has useful exercises and worksheets
relating to descriptive statistics as well as other inferential statistics. I quite often pair students
up for these activities, making sure that a confident person is linked with a less confident
colleague.
3 Ev a lua t i ng qua nt it a t iv e da t a a na ly si s
Although students mostly receive advice from their tutors or from another colleague about
appropriate statistical analysis processes, they rarely engage in much critique of the way that
other researchers present and analyse their data, and they often find themselves troubled when
it comes to the writing up of their own dissertation. For those students who are committed to a
good-quality analysis of quantitative data I therefore like to encourage a review of how others
have done it in journal article form. Much of the HR literature – particularly the literature
preferred by many students – does not incorporate robust quantitative analysis, but the Human
Resource Management Journal (http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0954-5395&site=1)
does feature some articles that are a useful way forward. My current favourites (for different
reasons), and both from the same journal issue, are:
Edwards, P., Sengupta, S. and Chin-Ju, T. (2009) ‘Managing low-skill workers: a study of
small UK food manufacturing firms’, Human Resource Management Journal, 19 (1): 40–58
Selmer, J. and Fenner, C. R. (2009) ‘Job factors and work outcomes of public sector
expatriates’, Human Resource Management Journal, 19 (1): 75–90.
Anderson: Research Methods in Human Resource Management
Learning and teaching options and ideas
CHAPTER 11 COMMUNICATING YOUR RESEARCH
I have never managed to teach this. For a number of different courses I schedule a session on
this topic about one month from the submission date – but the students who arrive for it are
invariably more interested in data analysis (because they have only just collected their data)
or, more worryingly, they display a sudden interest in survey design!
If I ever did manage to teach it, I would first do a needs assessment exercise (What worries
you most about the writing up process?) and further exercises, suitably tailored, would be
likely to be focused around structure and style, re-drafting and proofreading, referencing,
inserting appropriate appendices, etc.