Doctoral Level RESEARCH PROPOSAL **DUE 12/6/2020 by 12 PM (EST)** PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS

Running head: DATA COLLECTION MEASURE 1

Data Collection Measure

Athenia L. Adams

Ashford University

RES7400: Research Design & Methods Quantitative (QAB2044A)

Dr. Candace Mazze

November 24, 2020

DATA COLLECTION MEASURE 2

Data Collection Measure

Research Topic: Diversity and Inclusion

Research shows that culturally diverse organizations perform better than homogeneous

organizations. Diversity in the workplace can therefore help to enhance the performance of an

organization. This research aims to assess the effects of diversity on organization performance.

Research Methodology

This research will apply the qualitative research methodology. This is because the

research aims to collect evidence of how diversity affects organizational performance. This

research methodology was the best one suited for this research because it will facilitate the

development of complex textual descriptions (Silverman, 2020). It will also help to explain

behavior and other factors that cannot be explained using quantitative research. This research

methodology will also help to explain and describe the relationship between diversity and

organizational performance. This research methodology will not only help the researcher to

determine the relationship between the variables in this research but also give a broad

explanation of the concepts and why the relationships between the variables occur (Silverman,

2020).

Data Collection

The data collection measure that will be used in this research is the participants'

observation. The observation technique that will be used is the observer as participant technique.

The researcher will immerse themselves in the daily lives of the participants. It will be like

fieldwork. In this technique, the researcher will be known and recognized by the participants and

the goals of the research will be known to the participants. There will be some interaction

between the researcher and the participants although the interaction will be limited. The

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researcher will try to remain as neutral as possible in their role (Shah, 2017). This data collection

technique was the best for this research because it will enable the researcher to interact with the

participants and assess their activities. This will enable the researcher to assess even those

activities which cannot be observed by a detached observer (Shah, 2017).

This research will be set in selected organizations that have been chosen for this research.

The researcher will conduct participant observation for three weeks in each organization. In each

of these organizations, the researcher will assess the level of diversity in the organization and the

effects of diversity on the organization's performance. Informed consent to conduct this research

will be obtained from each of the organizations before the onset of the research.

Observation Instructions

The instructions for the observations that will be made in this research include:

1. The researcher will observe the level of diversity in specific organizations.

2. The researcher will observe the measures that are in place in specific organizations to

ensure diversity.

3. The researcher will observe how diversity has been applied to teamwork and workplace

relationships.

4. The researcher will ask questions regarding diversity and how it has affected

organizational performance.

5. The researcher will also note any gaps in diversity in the selected organizations.

Observation Questions

Some of the questions that the researcher will ask the participants in this research include:

1. What do you think about diversity in this organization?

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2. Do you think diversity has been applied adequately in teamwork and workplace

relationships?

3. How has diversity affected this organization's performance?

4. What do you feel that this organization should do but has not done concerning diversity?

Data Analysis

After the data has been collected, it will be documented according to the source for easier

analysis. The data will then be reviewed to determine any errors and to understand what it

contains. The various themes in the research will be determined and assessed according to the

data collected from each organization. These include the level of diversity, measures to ensure

diversity, application of diversity, and the effects of diversity on organizational performance.

After the data has been organized into concepts, these concepts will be connected to show how

each connects with the other. Examining relationships will enable the researcher to not only give

simple descriptions of the concepts in the research but also to explain why things happen as they

do in those organizations.

In the analysis of the data in this research, the researcher will use content analysis to

determine the presence of the concepts in this research in the data gathered. The researcher will

search for concepts like measures to ensure diversity, application of diversity, and effects of

diversity. The researcher will then seek to identify how these concepts relate to each other

(Erlingsson & Brysiewicz, 2017). For example, the researcher will assess how the application of

diversity has impacted teamwork in the organization and how this has affected the organization's

performance. This is an indirect relationship between diversity and organizational performance.

The researcher will also assess the direct relationship between diversity and organizational

performance.

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The key variables in this research are diversity and organizational performance. Diversity

is the independent variable while organizational performance is the dependent variable. The

researcher will also analyze the data collected to determine gaps in the practice of diversity

among various organizations. Content analysis was the most suitable method of analyzing the

data in this research because this research seeks to determine the relationship between variables

(that is, diversity and organization performance) and this analysis method will facilitate that.

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References

Christen Erlingsson, & Petra Brysiewicz. (2017). A hands-on guide to doing content

analysis. African Journal of Emergency Medicine, 7(3), 93–99. https://doi-org.proxy-

library.ashford.edu/10.1016/j.afjem.2017.08.001

Shah, A. (2017). Ethnography? Participant observation, a potentially revolutionary praxis.

https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.14318/hau7.1.008

Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2020). Qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7RwJEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&d

q=qualitative+research+methodology&ots=LXg1H0X4-

p&sig=X2g_K1LWL7dVkYdjHls-lXxEdp0