2012 CARMA Summer Short Courses
Hosted by CARMA at Wayne State University (WSU)
May 11 – May 19, 2012
Session One: May 11 – May 13, 2012
Short Course: “Ethnographic Methods”
Instructor: Michael Pratt, Boston College
Course Summary
The purpose of this short course is to aid qualitative researchers in designing and implementing an ethnography or a qualitative research project that includes some ethnographic elements (e.g. ethnographic interviews). The course will be comprised of three major sections: (a) designing an ethnographic study; (b) ethnographic skill building, including interviews, observation, and data analysis; and (c) writing and publishing your ethnographic research. The course will combine readings, “tales from the field” / discussions regarding the unique tensions and challenges of doing ethnographic research, and hands-on learning. Newcomers and more established researchers are welcome. If appropriate, participants are invited to bring samples of their own data to the session.
Instructor Biography
Michael G. Pratt earned his BA in psychology (Summa Cum Laude, Honors Program) from the University of Dayton, and both his MA and PhD in organizational psychology at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the Department of Management and Organization at Boston College in 2008, he was a professor of organizational behavior at the University of Illinois. He currently enjoys a courtesy appointment with the Department of Psychology.
His research is problem-centered and process-oriented, and consequently he tends to engage in cross-level research. His interests include how individuals connect with the work that they do, as well as to the organizations, professions, occupations, and other collectives in which they find themselves. Theoretically, his research draws heavily from theories of identity and identification, meaning, emotion, intuition, and culture (e.g., artifacts). Methodologically, while he has published work that utilizes lab research and surveys, much of his work is ethnographic or otherwise qualitative in nature. Questions posed by his current research include the following: “When group conflicts about interests (what groups want) change to conflicts about identity (who we are), how are such seemingly intractable conflicts resolved?” “How do organizations, that are beholden multiple stakeholders, not only create multiple identities in service of these stakeholders, but also integrate these identities into a dynamic whole?” “How can individuals and groups who experience ambivalence, transform that ambivalence into commitment, trust, creativity and wisdom?” And “how do individuals approach their work (e.g., as a vehicle for attaining money, gaining achievement, creating community, serving others, and/or honing a craft), and what difference does this make in terms of how they perform their jobs?”
His work has appeared or is forthcoming in various outlets, including the Academy of Management Annual Review, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Management Inquiry, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Management Learning, Organizational Research Methods, Organization Science, Qualitative Inquiry, Science, Small Group Research, Studies in Cultures, Organizations and Societies, and in numerous edited books. He also has co-edited a book Artifacts and Organizations: Beyond Mere Symbolism (with A. Rafaeli, 2006, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates). Dr. Pratt was a recipient of the 2007 Best Paper Award for the Academy of Management Review (with Erik Dane). He is the outgoing inaugural qualitative associate editor for the Academy of Management Journal and recently finished a term as Division Chair for the Managerial and Organizational Cognition Division of the Academy of Management.
Dr. Pratt currently teaches courses in organizational behavior, leadership, and qualitative research methods in the doctoral, masters, and undergraduate programs.
Short Course: “Qualitative Research Methods for Cross-cultural Research”
Instructor: Tine Köhler, University of Melbourne
Instructor: Tine Köhler, University of Melbourne
Course Summary
Qualitative methods for data collection and data analysis have unique strengths when it comes to cross-cultural research. They are highly suitable to capture the complexity of issues underlying cross-cultural differences, study dynamic processes and changes over time, and distinguish the influence of culture from the influence of external events and personal differences on outcome variables of interest. These methods help researchers move away from using the rather coarse descriptors of cultural differences developed at the national level (such as cultural dimension systems) to arrive at a richer, more complex, and thus, more accurate, understanding of how cultural differences affect individual and group behaviors. The current workshop will introduce several qualitative approaches to collecting and analyzing cross-cultural data including, but not limited to, ethnography, case study research, interviews, observations, and grounded theory. It will give an overview of general challenges and opportunities of cross-cultural research, while providing hands on examples of how to use the different methods effectively. Furthermore, the workshop will provide specific examples of practical challenges and strategies to manage them.
Instructor Biography
Dr. Tine Köhler is Lecturer for International Business in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on Global Teamwork and Research Methods and Statistics. Her main research interests are in the area of cross-cultural management, cross-cultural communication and coordination, group processes, trust, and motivation, qualitative research methods, meta-analysis and regression. She received her Pre-Diploma from the Philipps-University Marburg in Germany and her MA and PhD degrees from George Mason University in the US. Before joining the University of Melbourne, she worked at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group, USA) as a consultant for leadership development.
Dr. Köhler is an editorial board member of Organizational Research Methods, Academy of Management Learning and Education, and Small Group Research. She further reviews for the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management Studies, and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Science. She has published book chapters, journal articles, and papers in conference proceedings on global teamwork and research methods and statistics and has presented at various international conferences and workshops. Dr. Köhler serves on the International Advisory Board of the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA) and is a member of the Melbourne International Business Research Unit (MIBRU).
Qualitative methods for data collection and data analysis have unique strengths when it comes to cross-cultural research. They are highly suitable to capture the complexity of issues underlying cross-cultural differences, study dynamic processes and changes over time, and distinguish the influence of culture from the influence of external events and personal differences on outcome variables of interest. These methods help researchers move away from using the rather coarse descriptors of cultural differences developed at the national level (such as cultural dimension systems) to arrive at a richer, more complex, and thus, more accurate, understanding of how cultural differences affect individual and group behaviors. The current workshop will introduce several qualitative approaches to collecting and analyzing cross-cultural data including, but not limited to, ethnography, case study research, interviews, observations, and grounded theory. It will give an overview of general challenges and opportunities of cross-cultural research, while providing hands on examples of how to use the different methods effectively. Furthermore, the workshop will provide specific examples of practical challenges and strategies to manage them.
Instructor Biography
Dr. Tine Köhler is Lecturer for International Business in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on Global Teamwork and Research Methods and Statistics. Her main research interests are in the area of cross-cultural management, cross-cultural communication and coordination, group processes, trust, and motivation, qualitative research methods, meta-analysis and regression. She received her Pre-Diploma from the Philipps-University Marburg in Germany and her MA and PhD degrees from George Mason University in the US. Before joining the University of Melbourne, she worked at the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group, USA) as a consultant for leadership development.
Dr. Köhler is an editorial board member of Organizational Research Methods, Academy of Management Learning and Education, and Small Group Research. She further reviews for the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management Studies, and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Science. She has published book chapters, journal articles, and papers in conference proceedings on global teamwork and research methods and statistics and has presented at various international conferences and workshops. Dr. Köhler serves on the International Advisory Board of the Consortium for the Advancement of Research Methods and Analysis (CARMA) and is a member of the Melbourne International Business Research Unit (MIBRU).
Session Two: May 14 – May 16, 2012
Instructor: Dr. Karen Locke, College of William & Mary
Course Summary
This workshop will introduce researchers to the grounded theory approach by outlining its key operational processes and the distinguishing characteristics of the theory these processes generate. Workshop participants will take from it a) a general understanding of the logic underlying this foundational approach to qualitative research, b) a specific understanding of and practice with its operational procedures (e.g. theoretical sampling, coding forms, constant comparison, memoing etc.), c) familiarity with the grounded theory methodological literature. Participants are invited to bring samples of their own data to the session. No software is required for this course.
Instructor Biography
Karen Locke, Ph. D., is W. Brooks George Professor of Business Administration at the College of William and Mary’s school of business. She joined the faculty there in 1989 after earning her Ph. D. in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Locke's work focuses on developing a sociology of knowledge in organizational studies and on the use of qualitative research for the investigation of organizational phenomena. Her work appears in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Management Inquiry, and Studies in Organization, Culture and Society. And, she has authored Grounded Theory In Management Research and co-authored Composing Qualitative Research, both books published by Sage. Her current work continues her interest in the processes of qualitative researching and focuses on exploring and explicating their creative and imaginative dimensions. Dr. Locke also serves as an associate action editor for Organizational Research Methods as a member of the editorial board Academy of Management Journal.
Session Three: May 17 – May 19, 2012
Short Course: “Measuring and Validating Constructs Using Content Analysis”
Instructor: Dr. Jeremy Short, University of Oklahoma
Course Summary
Content analysis is a research method that uses a set of procedures to classify or categorize communication from organizationally produced texts and narratives such as CEO shareholder letters, annual reports, and mission statements. This course focuses on using content analysis to measure multidimensional constructs and assess their content, external, discriminant, and predictive validity. A particular focus will include computer-aided text analysis (CATA). The use of CATA as a content analytic method is particularly attractive because of the ability to process large samples with high speeds and reliabilities. Participants will be expected to have DICTION 6.0 Software for use during the course. Example data sets and exercises will be provided, and participants are encouraged to bring a dataset of organizational narratives with some idea of constructs that may be gleaned from such texts.
Instructor Biography
Jeremy C. Short is the Rath Chair in Strategic Management at the University of Oklahoma. His research focuses on multilevel determinants of firm performance, strategic decision processes, entrepreneurship, research methods, franchising and family business. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Management and Family Business Review, and he is also on the review boards for Journal of Business Venturing and Organizational Research Methods. His research has appeared in a number of journals including the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Organizational Research Methods, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the Journal of Management, Personnel Psychology, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Academy of Management Learning and Education, the Journal of Management Education, the Journal of Vocational Behavior, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Family Business Review. He has published a strategic management textbook titled Mastering Strategy. He has also authored a graphic novel focusing on management and entrepreneurship (Atlas Black: The Complete Adventure), and a graphic novel focusing on franchising and family business (Tales of Garcón: The Franchise Players). In addition, he co-wrote the first Harvard Business Case in graphic novel format, as well as short graphic novel works for journals such as Journal of Management Inquiry and Business Horizons.
