Mixed Methodology 1 Running Head: M6 Assignment 2

M6: Assignment 2 Mixed Methodology George Miller Argosy University

Mixed Methodology 2

Research Topic Email messages are rising on an annual basis and this deluge of email may be affe ting !rodu tivity in the managerial offi e" Purpose of the Study #he !ur!ose of the study is to identify data related to email messages and illustrate ho$ this data orrelates to affe ts on !rodu tivity" #he need for the study is three%fold: to ontinue resear h on the sub&e t be ause of the a eleration of the digital message forum format' to see if the !er e!tion of emails affe t on !rodu tivity(time management are in line $ith statisti al data and determine if the results of !revious studies $ill orrelate $ith these results or if they have hanged" Research Question #he overar hing resear h )uestion for this study is stated $hat is the !er e!tion of managers in exe utive level !ositions that managing email has on their !rodu tivity and time management and ho$ does a tual statisti al data orrelate $ith this !er e!tion* Specific Research Questions and Hypothesis #he hy!othesis stated is that managers in exe utive level !ositions vie$ email as an an hor to !rodu tivity and time management and urrent statisti s from this study $ill sho$ that the issue of email overload is gro$ing and $ill ba + u! this !er e!tion" ,!e ifi )uestions that $ill be ans$ered in some form by both )uantitative and )ualitative methods are:

Mixed Methodology 1" Ho$ mu h email is re eived in a ty!i al day* 2" .hat !er ent of the $or+day is s!e ifi to managing email* -" .hat are the issues $ith email* /" 0s email messaging a tually gro$ing or are there &ust more !eo!le utili1ing the format* 2" 0s email vie$ed as a hindran e(hel!er to !rodu tivity Methodological Approach and Rational A mixed method a!!roa h $ill be ta+en to first gather urrent statisti s of email data on a random sam!le of managers in exe utive level managerial !ositions and then intervie$ a small sam!le from the random sam!le to get a tual !er e!tions on this !henomenon" #hese statisti s $ill be analy1ed to !rove(dis!rove the hy!othesis" Sample Sample Size #he target grou! for this resear h is em!loyees in exe utive level managerial !ositions" #herefore the sam!le si1e needs to be a fair re!resentation of this !o!ulation" #here are t$o ty!es of sam!les mentioned by the textboo+ for a )uantitative study: random' $here ea h individual in the !o!ulation has an e)ual !robability of being ele ted or non!robability' $here !arti i!ants are hosen on their onvenien e(availability 34ress$ell' 2556' !" 1/78" #his resear her as!iration is to utili1e a random sam!le" A sam!le of 155 to 125 !arti i!ants is desired

Mixed Methodology / for the )uantitative !art of the study and this number is based on the literature revie$ thus far 39usiness Exe utives .aste #ime' 25158 3.aterford #e hnologies: ,urvey Reveals' 255:8 ;or the )ualitative !art of the mixed method a!!roa h 15 to 12 individuals $ith diverse ba +grounds $ill be as+ed to !arti i!ate in intervie$s se!arate from the 155 to 125" Demographic #he demogra!hi s of !ersons holding exe utive level managerial !osition an be of any ra e' gender and(or age 3of ourse they $ould tend to be at least of a ollege graduate age8" #here should be a fair re!resentation of the different genders and age grou!s 3ra e $ould not be su h a !revalent variable8" #he demogra!hi s ould have some bearing on the results of the resear h be ause $omen may manage their email a ounts better than men 3or &ust be better at time management8 or younger em!loyees may be more familiar $ith om!uters and email soft$are and so they may be better at managing an email a ount" ;inding any existing literature on these t$o areas may aid in de iding the brea+do$n of the sam!le" Population #he !o!ulation is !ersons holding an exe utive level managerial !osition" Members of this !o!ulation $ould hold !ositions in an organi1ation $here they $ould manage em!loyees $ho themselves $ere managers" #his grou! ould in lude A ademi <eans $ho manage <e!artment 4hairs of a ollege' a Regional <ire tor of #e hnology 3R<=#8 that manages lo al <ire tors of #e hnology and a 4ontroller of a om!any that manages other managers $ithin the organi1ation" 0t is almost im!ossible to determine the exa t number of the !o!ulation but it

Mixed Methodology 2 $ould be a rather large grou!" #he idea is to get a fair re!resentation of this grou! in the sam!le" #his $ould be done by the $ay the sam!le is re ruited"

Recruitment #he textboo+ identifies t$o !ro edures in a )uantitative study for obtaining a sam!le: single%stage and lustering 34ress$ell' 2556' !" 1/78" A sam!ling !ro edure is one in $hi h the resear her has a ess to the !o!ulation dire tly $hile in lustering !ro edure' the resear her first identifies organi1ations' obtains names of individuals $ithin those organi1ations' and then sam!les $ithin them 34ress$ell' 2556' !" 1/78" 9e ause of the !o!ulation being large and individually unidentifiable this resear her $ould need to re ruit utili1ing lustering" #he ideal re ruitment $ould be to obtain lists and re!orts of the target !o!ulation and then be able to sam!le these lists(re!orts" 0t may be desirable to send out a first survey to obtain a list of favorable andidates from a sele ted !ool and then from that list sele t a sam!le" #his $ould ensure that s!e ifi hara teristi s of individuals are re!resented in the sam!le and the sam!le

refle ts the true !ro!ortion in the !o!ulation of individuals $ith ertain hara teristi s 34ress$ell' 2556' !" 1/78' su h as males(females and the different age grou!s" >ot all !ersons re ruited from the first survey $ould be in luded in the se ond and those in the se ond $ould !robably not all res!ond" #he initial )uestionnaire $ill as+ individuals if they $ould be $illing to be intervie$ed on the sub&e t" =f those onsenting to an intervie$ 15 to 12 $ill be randomly set aside for the )ualitative intervie$ study and the rest $ill be in luded in the )uantitative survey"

Mixed Methodology 6 Location #he lo ation $ould be a mailed )uestionnaire(survey sent to ea h individual follo$ed by intervie$s either !erson%to%!erson' by !hone or email 3the three ty!es of intervie$s $ill be utili1ed to gather interest by !arti i!ants8" As mentioned earlier the best route $ould be to mail out a mass short survey to individuals on !ublished lists and(or re!orts to get a better idea of the sam!le !o!ulation and their $ish to !arti i!ate 3$hether this is in the survey' an intervie$ or both8" #hen mail out the main survey()uestionnaire to a random sam!le of those that re!ly to the first mailing and after the )uantitative data is gathered(analy1ed the intervie$s $ill ta+e !la e of the 15 to 12 individuals ex!ressing interest 3these individuals $ill not be !resented surveys but only intervie$ed8" Potential Difficulties #here have been several !otential !roblems identified thus far in re ruiting and a essing the target !o!ulation $ith suggested solutions" =ther diffi ulties may in lude obtaining lists(re!orts of members of the !otential target !o!ulation" Many om!anies and organi1ation ould be relu tant in giving out su h information es!e ially mailing addresses and(or email addresses" #his resear her $ould have no issue in obtaining a onvenien e sam!le but this is not the desired method it $ould be best to utili1e the random sam!le if !ossible" Mixed Method Research Design #he se)uential ex!lanatory strategy $ill be used be ause this resear h has strong )uantitative leanings" #his ty!e of design is hara teri1ed by the olle tion and analysis of )uantitative data in a first !hase of resear h follo$ed by the olle tion and analysis of )ualitative

Mixed Methodology : data in a se ond !hase that builds on the results of the initial )uantitative results 34res$ell' 2556' !" 2118" 0n this ty!e of mixed method a!!roa h $eight ty!i ally is given to the )uantitative data' and the mixing of the data o urs $hen the initial )uantitative results informs the se ondary )ualitative data olle tion 34res$ell' 2556' !" 25118" Procedure #he !ro edure $ill be a random sam!le from the target !o!ulation as stated earlier" #he random sam!le $ill be hosen utili1ing a random numbering table and the )uestionnaire $ill be mailed to and self administered by the sam!le !o!ulation 34ress$ell' 25568" #here are many .eb sites and statisti al solutions for hoosing the orre t sam!le si1e 34ress$ell' 25568" Remember the orre t sam!le si1e is ru ial to validity of the resear h results" #he !ro edure for hoosing the 15 to 12 individuals for the )ualitative !art of the survey $ill be based on the amount of individuals ex!ressing interest in intervie$s' ease of ondu ting the intervie$s and time onstraints" #hus the sam!ling $ill be not as mu h as random but for onvenien e" Ho$ever' for )ualitative resear h it is not as mu h as an issue using the onvenien e in this res!e t over the random" aria!les ;or the )uantitative resear h email is the de!endent variable and it is ordinal" #his is based on the fa tual data that $ill be olle ted on email and it $ill have a s!e ifi order $ith a set amount in the order" #he inde!endent variables are time management and !rodu tivity" #he inde!endent variables $ould be ordinal" #his is be ause $ith the ?i+ert , ale the variables are usually of ordinal ty!e" ,ome $ill also be of the ontinuous be ause of the use of intervals(ratios"

Mixed Methodology 7 0ssues $ith )ualitative resear h are timing' $eighting and mixing of data" #he issue of timing has been addressed be ause it has been determined the data $ill be olle ted first )uantitatively and then )ualitatively after the )uantitative data has been analy1ed" .eighting has also been mentioned and this is the reason for olle ting the )uantitative data first" Mixing is the !art $here the variables are more of an influen e" 0n the )ualitative resear h the variables $ill be similar but $ill be dis rete ordinal variables' $hi h are a nominal variable' but its different states are ordered in a meaningful se)uen e 3U>E,4=' n"d"8" 9asi ally the )ualitative data $ill be oded and !ut into some ty!e of order based on the oding" 4onfounds are ho$ the !arti i!ant !er eives email and its affe t on !rodu tivity(time management 3o!en%ended )uestion and the analy1ing of this data8 in orrelation to $hat their statisti s sho$ 3the analy1ing of the )uantitative data8" "nstrument #he )uestionnaire $ill be of s!e ifi fa t finding )uestions as $ell as ?i+ert , ale )uestion suffi ient to ans$er the s!e ifi stated resear h )uestions" ;a t finding )uestions $ould gather statisti s on amount of emails re eived' amount of time utili1ed managing daily email and ho$ often daily is the email a ount o!ened( he +ed" ?i+ert , ale )uestions $ould be used to gather data on items !ertaining to use of email' +no$ledge of email and management of email" #his ty!e of )uestionnaire has been utili1ed in )uantitative resear h many times and has tested validity and reliability" 9e ause this resear h $ill ans$er the )uestion ho$ are the results of this study om!arable to !revious studies' s!e ifi s of !revious studies $ill be addressed by this instrument"

Mixed Methodology 6 #he intervie$ $ill utili1e o!en%ended )uestions to orrelate $ith the ?i+ert , ale losed% end )uestions to understand the !er e!tion of the intervie$ees understanding of the resear h to!i and resear h )uestions" Data Analysis #he data an be analy1ed $ith statisti al soft$are su h as Ex el" #he reason 0 mention Ex el is be ause 0 utili1e this everyday and thus am familiar $ith it" 0 tea h advan e s!readsheet soft$are and so it $ould be familiar for me to utili1e it" Ho$ever' it may be to the resear her@s advantage to hire a statisti ian to aid in data analysis as $ell as refer soft$are that $ould fit the study better" Hiring a statisti ian $ould also hel! those resear hers $hom are not ex!erts in the mathemati al field" 0 $ould $ant to utili1e some sort of orrelation analysis bet$een the de!endent variable and the inde!endent variables" Almost all )uantitative resear h in ludes des ri!tive analysis" All )uantitative studies $ill have some des ri!tive statisti s' su h as maximum and minimum values' averages and measures of variation of the data about the average 3<es ri!tive' n"d"8" #he )ualitative data $ill be oded in some form and analy1ed as mentioned in the Aariables se tion" 9e ause validity( redibility of )ualitative resear h is mu h more diffi ult it $ill be im!erative the !ro edures for olle ting and oding the data is thorough" #he intervie$s if !erson%to%!erson $ill need to be audio ta!ed and trans ribed" #he trans ribed re ording if !ossible should be revie$ed by the intervie$ee@s for a ura y" 0f they are in $ritten form by email then the trans ri!tion is not needed" Ho$ever' if the emailed intervie$ has

Mixed Methodology 15 $holes(dis re!an ies then they should be leared u! by the resear hers $ith the intervie$ee before oding" #he oding $ill be done inde!endently from the resear hers" #onsent 4onsent $ill need to be obtained for the initial mailing of the survey to obtain the !o!ulation" #his may be from organi1ations' !rofessional membershi! lists and re!orts" #he sam!le $ill be !ulled from those that ans$er the initial survey" #his return of the initial survey $ill be the onsent for the main )uestionnaire" 0ndividuals $ill also be giving onsent on the )uestionnaire to be intervie$ed"

Mixed Methodology 11

Referen es: Adams' B" 325568" ,torage Croblems: 0nfo and !rodu tivity have &ammed the in%boxD resear h sho$s !eo!le are s!ending so mu h time shifting for old information in email ar hives that it is ausing them to fall behind on regular $or+" Bank Technology News' 16328' !" 12" Retrieved from CroEuest Argosy University =nline ?ibrary" 9usiness exe utives $aste time managing email a ording to survey by !rodu tivity ex!ert Audrey #homas' 325158" The Pak Banker [Lahore]. Retrieved from CroEuest Argosy University =nline ?ibrary" 4res$ell' B" ." 325568" Research design: Qualitative, uantitative and !i"ed !ethods a##roaches, $rd %d" #housand =a+s: ,age Cubli ations 0n " Faviani' , G Gas+in' B" 325568" .hite !a!er: ;rom email ban+ru!t y to business !rodu tivity" &y#er'((ice )olla*oration +ade ,i!#le" Retrieved from htt!:(($$$"hy!eroffi e" om(files(!df(emailHban+ru!t y"!df" >e$ survey reveals: Enter!rises and em!loyees ontinue to struggle $ith gro$ing email overload burden' 325528" PR Newswire [New -ork] " Retrieved from CroEuest Argosy University =nline ?ibrary" .niversity o( the /est o( %ngland' 3n"d"8" <es ri!tive or summary statisti s" Retrieved from htt!:((hs "u$e"a "u+(dataanalysis()uant<es "as!"

Mixed Methodology 12 .N%,)'' 3n"d"8" #y!es of variables" Retrieved from htt!:(($$$"unes o"org($eb$orld(idams(advguide(4ha!t1H-"htm .aterford te hnologies: ,urvey reveals email burden affe ts UF $or+ers !rodu tivity' 3255:8" +0 Presswire [)oventry] " Retrieved from CroEuest Argosy University =nline ?ibrary"