Industrial Relations Research and Analysis

Walter Amedzro St-Hilaire

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9789813274075
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Organisational Behaviour
• Index: Business

What is the scope and what are the limits of research in industrial relations? How to develop an appropriate methodological choice according to the peculiarities of a research subject in in working relationships? What are the mechanisms convened to identify the studied reality in human resources management? From the top of his professional background and expertise, the author guides us here through the meanders of research in industrial relations and business administration.

Indeed, graduate students should find in this book the material needed, to prepare them for the labyrinth of research (from collection to data analysis), teachers and professors will find here a renewed and adapted tool (according to the use that will be made), to familiarize their students with the essential concepts to allow them to develop their own methodological considerations.

Also, general public and professionals wishing to improve their personal approach in writing and / or analyzing scientific reports will find real opportunities for personal development; because reading is largely facilitated by a synthetic style, not hesitating to give life to the words with the help of numerous illustrations.

In short, in this book, students, researchers, teachers, officials, managers, academic, general public, professional and the curious will appreciate the clear presentation of the fundamentals of research, as well as the way in which the usefulness of concepts in general is established.

Contents:

• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Introduction
• Research in Industrial Relations — Fundamentals, Key Elements, and Requirements of the Scientific Approach:
  • The Concept of Scientific Research
  • The Role and Fundamentals of Scientific Research
  • The Logic Behind Empirical Research
• Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches in Industrial Relations — the Methodological Structuring of Research:
  • The Researches Conducted by the Theory
  • The Research Aimed at Creating a Theory
  • Researches Based on the Design Approach
• The Use and Management of Quantitative and Qualitative Data:
  • The Acquisition of Quantitative and Qualitative Data in Industrial Relations
  • Introduction to Quantitative Analysis
  • The Analysis of Qualitative Data
  • Presentation of Research and Considerations on the Management of a Research Project
• General Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Appendices:
  • The Choice and Delimitation of a Research Topic
  • Examples of Qualitative Research Design Implementations
  • Tools for Implementing a Documentary Search
  • Preparing and Conducting an Interview with a Professional
  • Flow Diagram of Statistical Inference Methods

Readership: Business professionals, managers involved industrial relations, students and academics in business schools, and general public interested in industrial relations and organizational behaviour.

PART I:

RESEARCH IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS — FUNDAMENTALS, KEY ELEMENTS, AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

CHAPTER 1

THE CONCEPT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

1THE CONCEPT OF “SCIENCE”

Before looking at the concept of scientific research, it is important to understand the concept of science. The word science can be associated with the word knowledge and likened to the “expertise given by knowledge.” However, the concept of “science” is a general abstraction that encompasses a more complex multidimensional reality. Indeed, as the philosopher of science Ernest Nagel recalls in his work, The Structure of Science: Problems in the Logic of Scientific Explanation:

“The words ‘science’ and ‘scientific’ […] are labels for the purpose of identifying, continuing to operate, or for their intellectual products, and they are often used to signify traits that distinguish those products from other things.” (Nagel, 1979, p. 2)

With the many facets of the term, there is no single definition of science. The New Little Robert explains the science as the “whole of the works of sciences; exact, universal and verifiable knowledge expressed by law.” Science, thus presented, refers to a particular body of concrete knowledge of human and natural phenomena, acquired through experimentation, analysis, or introspection. This definition is not consensual, however. According to the American astrophysicist Carl Sagan, science refers rather to the means of producing this type of knowledge:

“Science is a method rather than a body of knowledge.” (Sagan, 1979, p. 82)

This vision of science is somewhat similar to that of the famous physicist Albert Einstein. For the latter, science is a reasoned and objective examination of the facts observed, based on experimentation and allowing logical structuring of thought:

“Science is the attempt to make the chaotic diversity of our sense of experience, corresponds to a logically uniform system of thought. In this system, it is necessary to be correlated with the theoretical structure in such a way that the resulting coordination is unique and convincing.” (Einstein, 1940, p. 487)

The American anthropologist Joseph Campbell, on the other hand, sees science as a system of temporary suppositions and tentative anticipations which, as long as they resist the tests of refutability, make it possible to explain reality to the best of the state of knowledge on the subject and the greater or lesser effectiveness of the instruments available at a given moment:

“Science does not claim to be true in any absolute sense. It cannot be expected to be final. It is a tentative organization of the working hypotheses.” (Campbell, 1972, p. 15)

For its part, Loren C. Eiseley, another American anthropologist, sees science primarily as a purely socio-cultural phenomenon, an institution that works to improve human knowledge or technologies. This institution rests, above all, on the systematic observation of the natural world, experimentation, and reasoning. He defines it in these terms:

“Science among us is an invented cultural institution, an institution not present in all societies, and one that can be counted upon from human instinct. Science exists only within a tradition of constant experimental investigation of the natural world.” (Eiseley, 1973, pp. 18–19)

According to Quebec sociologist and anthropologist Marc-Adélard Tremblay, science must be understood in its multidimensional measure. He sees in science an integrated system of empirical knowledge about a particular object, a system governed by a set of specific norms, and inseparable from the professional practice (i.e., disciplines) it engenders. He writes:

“Science is essentially an effort to obtain knowledge of reality that is rigorous and can be systematized and interpreted. As a result, this knowledge can be judged objective because it comes from a methodology that obeys the requirements (canons and processes) of science. Finally, science becomes externalized in particular professional activities.” (Tremblay, 1968, p. 17)

Far from being exhaustive, these few definitions illustrate the plurality and complexity of conceptions associated with the concept of science. This cannot be conceived (and therefore defined) by a single category. According to the epistemologist Alan Chalmers, to conceive “science” as a category presupposes that the different domains of knowledge must be situated either inside or outside this category, which is not the case:

“There is no general account of science and scientific method to be had that applies to all sciences at all historical stages in their development.” (Chalmers, 1999, p. 247)

According to the author, rather than analyzing the scientific status of a given area of knowledge, it is better to analyze it according to its goals, the means used to achieve them, and the degree of success that these means achieve. Because, as he points out:

“At any stage in its development, a certain number of specific methods will have to be met, specific methods and methods of measurement that represent the current state of play as far as the realization of the aim is concerned. Each individual item in the web of entities will be subject to revision in the light of research.” (Chalmers, 1999, p. 168).

Thus, a science will designate a discipline (or a field of study) defined by three concomitant criteria, namely:

(i)A real and explicit object of study (phenomena, people, groups, systems, etc.)

(ii)Clean and organized concepts

(iii)An explicit research methodology

2THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE

To use the definition of science as stated by the New Little Robert, the sciences are: “Set(s) of knowledge, studies of universal value, characterized by a specific object (domain) and method, and based on verifiable objective relationships” (The New Little Robert of the French language, 2012 edition).

2.1Object Study

The sciences are defined above all by an object, which is at the base of their statements. The object that a science deals with is an element of reality (e.g., man, nature, society, thought, a linguistic system, economic trends, etc.), whose existence is determined and which is clearly identified.¹

Depending on their object of study, it is possible to categorize the sciences. Although there are several ways to group them together,² we can distinguish between formal and empirical sciences. The formal sciences have for their object, the deductive and rigorous study of axiomatic systems and abstract entities. Their object of study is therefore conceptual. They bring together mathematics, logic, and computer science. For their part, the empirical sciences focus on the study of concrete objects related to a reality empirically accessible by sensory experience. They include two major families: natural sciences and industrial relations.

The natural sciences are studied, the different facets of nature, natural phenomena, inanimate objects, and living beings. They include among others physics, chemistry, geology, biology, astronomy, and ecology. As for the social sciences, they apply scientific reasoning to the study of social structures and various aspects of organizational life, individual or collective, past or present. They include disciplines such as anthropology, history, geography, sociology, psychology, political science, economics, linguistics, education sciences, etc.

It is important to note, however, that if the object of study of a science is relatively simple to define and if the various sciences are distinguished from each other by their object, the definition of the boundaries of the field covered by a discipline does not is not always accurate and precise. As a result, several disciplines admit overlaps with other disciplines. This phenomenon is perfectly illustrated by the emergence of multidisciplinary branches such as quantum chemistry, biochemistry (where chemistry crosses respectively physics and biology), astrophysics (branch of astronomy interested in physics and properties celestial objects), or bioinformatics (which lies at the borderline between biology and computer science).

2.2A Universal and Structured Content Around the Object of Study

A science must bring knowledge produced by systematic³ means of investigation and clearly explained. This knowledge integrates into a coherent whole, around the object of study. They must be able to be justified and validated, independently of the person carrying out the validation. In other words, the knowledge provided must be objective, rigorously defined and (to the extent possible) unequivocal.

Another property of scientific content is its universal character. From the scientific point of view, all places of space and time are equivalent, so the knowledge provided by science helps to formulate theories and produce general laws, applicable anywhere.

2.3A Goal

The sciences are engendered by the desire to find an explanation to the facts. Also, their general purpose is the organization and classification of knowledge on the basis of explanatory principles (Nagel, 1979). For science, every phenomenon is the necessary consequence of simultaneous conditions. It is therefore based on determinism. The explanation of the facts goes through the characterization of their generating conditions or mechanisms allowing their occurrence:

“The sciences seek to discover and to formulate in general terms, the conditions under which the various occurrences occur, the statements of such determining conditions being the explanations of the corresponding happening.” (Nagel, 1979, p. 4)

However, a distinction commonly made opposes, according to their respective aims, the basic sciences and the applied sciences. The basic sciences focus on the acquisition of new knowledge about the world and the progression of theoretical knowledge (e.g., astronomy). Applied sciences produce, above all, knowledge that enables the practical application of knowledge to the solution of concrete problems (e.g., medicine).

Despite this distinction, there is no real cleavage between these categories. Depending on the context, many disciplines may be basic as well as applied (e.g., biology, psychology, or anthropology). In addition, the basic and applied sciences form a continuous and interactive system. Thus, applied sciences learn from the basic sciences. In the same way, the obstacles encountered by the applied sciences in the application of knowledge often open the way to new discoveries in the basic sciences.

2.4An Appropriate and Explicit Method

In order to shape its content and evolve it, each science uses a precise, explicit, systematic research method that is adapted to the purpose of science, as well as to the analysis of phenomena of interest. This method is defined around a specified aspect of the object of study, and is distinguished from any other kind of quest for knowledge by the objectives and the means it implements, according to the rules and requirements of the science, to achieve these goals: it is scientific research. It is intended to update systematic and verifiable explanations, that is, demonstrable by observable and/or measurable facts. Since they aim at the acquisition of objective knowledge, the research protocols put in place try to overcome, as much as possible, any bias of a practical or personal nature.

The research protocols are very varied. In their quest for knowledge, several disciplines use experimentation (e.g., physics, biology, chemistry). They then construct and control an experimental device reproducing certain conditions of reality and certain aspects of the phenomena under study. In doing so, they distinguish or isolate certain properties of the subjects studied and discover the repetitive patterns of dependence between these properties. Consequently, the verification of the explanations passes by the reproducibility of the results. However, for other disciplines, the nature of the objects of study does not meet the requirement of reproducibility, or create an experimental environment of substitution (e.g., economy, history, geography, astronomy). These disciplines have their own verification criteria and then practice research protocols based on observation, modeling or numerical simulation.

Regardless of the type of research protocol adopted, science obeys the following basic principles of modern science (see Tremblay, 1968; Tremblay and Perrier, 2006; Del Baso and Lewis, 2007):

• Objectivity: Objectivity is based on doubt and continually questions acquired knowledge. Regardless of their personal opinions, prejudices, convictions, or other similar biases, researchers are required to remain objective in each phase of their work, that is to say, to maintain neutrality in the face of facts, will not be rejected or accepted without a systematic and rigorous critical review.
• Empirical verification: Scientific knowledge comes from the study of the real world. A scientific theory must be validated by observations demonstrating the correspondence or equivalence between theory and established facts.
• Transparency: Conceptual and methodological tools, experimental conditions, observations, logic of reasoning, as well as the results of research, are described in a clear, rigorous and sufficiently detailed manner to allow independent observers to repeat observations, to verify or critically evaluat...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I Research in Industrial Relations — Fundamentals, Key Elements, and Requirements of the Scientific Approach
• Part II Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches in Industrial Relations — the Methodological Structuring of Research
• Part III The Use and Management of Quantitative and Qualitative Data
• General Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Appendix 1 The Choice and Delimitation of a Research Topic
• Appendix 2 Examples of Qualitative Research Design Implementations
• Appendix 3 Tools for Implementing a Documentary Search
• Appendix 4 Preparing and Conducting an Interview with a Professional
• Appendix 5 Flow Diagram of Statistical Inference Methods