NOTES ON THE ART OF RESEARCH MANAGEMENT (FROM THE ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT AND TACTICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH, 1971, BY RICHARD O' TOOLE - SEE NCJ-50700)

• NCJ Number: 50705
• Author(s): M R HAUG
• Date Published: 1971
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: Schenkman Publishing Co
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS INHERENT IN RESEARCH ARE REVIEWED, AND MANAGERIAL STRATEGIES ARE DESCRIBED FOR OVERCOMING THE DIFFICULTIES COMMON TO RESEARCH SYSTEMS.

Abstract

THERE ARE THREE MAJOR PHASES IN A RESEARCH PROJECT: PROBLEM FORMULATION AND DESIGN (REQUIRING A PROFESSIONAL WORK STYLE); SAMPLING, DATA COLLECTION, AND PROCESSING (REQUIRING A BUREAUCRATIC WORK STYLE); AND ANALYSIS AND REPORT WRITING (REQUIRING A PROFESSIONAL WORK STYLE). PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH MANAGEMENT DEMAND ADMINISTRATIVE BEHAVIOR WHICH IS NOT ACQUIRED IN TRAINING FOR RESEARCH. A RESEARCHER WHO IS NOT CONNECTED WITH A CENTER OR INSTITUTE WILL NEED TO EMPLOY A STAFF; IT IS SUGGESTED THAT WOMEN WITH HOUSEKEEPING AND ORGANIZATIONAL TASK EXPERIENCE BE RECRUITED FOR INTERVIEWING, CODING, AND OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. IN ORDER TO LIMIT ERRORS IN CODING, PUNCHING, TABULATING AND COMPUTING, A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE SHOULD BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A 'SKIP-TRACER' APPROACH. INDEPENDENT DOUBLE CODING, WITH CODE SHEETS VERIFIED AGAINST EACH OTHER, CAN BE USED TO MINIMIZE CODING ERRORS. A LOG BOOK SHOULD BE MAINTAINED THAT CONTAINS ALL DECISIONS CONCERNING RESEARCH PROCEDURES, DATA INTERPRETATIONS, AND CODING CATEGORY MEANINGS. COMPUTERS SHOULD NOT BE USED EXCESSIVELY, AND ERROR CORRECTION SHOULD BE LIMITED TO AVOID MISINTERPRETATION OF RAW DATA. A COMMON RESEARCH PROBLEM IS TIME RESTRICTIONS ON INVESTIGATORS. RESEARCHERS SHOULD MAINTAIN PARTIAL REPORTS, WORKING PAPERS, AND STUDY MEMORANDA AS THE PROJECT PROCEEDS SO THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO MEET A GOVERNMENT OR FOUNDATION DEADLINE. A SCHEDULE SHOULD BE CONSTRUCTED ALLOTTING SUFFICIENT AMOUNTS OF TIME TO EACH STAGE OF THE INVESTIGATION INCLUDING FINAL ANALYSIS AND REPORT PREPARATION. LONGITUDINAL STUDIES CAN BE STRUCTURED ACCORDING TO EXPERIMENTAL BEFORE-AFTER MODELS; THEY ARE DESIRABLE FOR EVALUATIVE RESEARCH AND THEORY TESTING. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS SHOULD BE STRUCTURED WITH PROVISIONS FOR CONTINUATION IF THE PROJECT IS DETERMINED TO BE WORTHWHILE. (DAG)