research methods for studying groups and teams

RESEARCH METHODS FOR STUDYING GROUPS AND TEAMS t

"Going beyond the description of abs~:ract principles, Research Methods for Studying Groups and Teams uses the experience and insight of practicing researchers to help readers think about the concrete steps involved in the actual"doing" of research. As such, it is a resource for students wanting to learn about the rudiments of a wide array of different methods and for practicing researchers wishing to expand their horizons beyond their preexisting expertise. Although explicitly geared toward the study of groups, it has value for scholars interested in studying any aspect of human interaction." -Dr. Charles Pavitt, Professor, Department of Communication, University of Delaware This volume provides an overview of the methodological issues and challenges inherent in the study of small groups from the perspective of seasoned researchers in communication, psychology, and other fields in the behavioral and social sciences. It summarizes the current state of group methods in a format that is readable, insightful, and useful for both new and experienced group researchers. This collection of essays will inspire new and established researchers alike to look beyond their current methodological approaches, covering both traditional and new methods for studying groups and exploring the full range of groups in face-to-face and online settings. The volume will be an important addition to graduate study on group research and will be a valuable reference for established group researchers, consultants, and other practitioners. The essays in this volume when considered as a whole will be a contemporary interdisciplinary integration on group research methods. Andrea B. Hollingshead is Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University ofSouthern California: She has joint appointments in the Marshall School ofBusiness and the Department of Psychology and is co-director of the Annenberg Program for Online Communities Research Initiative. Professor Hollingshead's research concerns the factors and processes that lead to effective and ineffective knowledge sharing in work groups. Her research also addresses how groups collaborate and create community using communication technologies. Marshall Scott Poole is a professor in the Department of Communication and Director of the ' Institute for Computing in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His current research foci include team behavior in massive multiplayer online games, the use of information technology in emergency response, and integrating theories of small groups and social networks in the explanation oflarge, dynamically changing groups and intergroup networks.

Copyright 2012 From Research Methods for Studying Groups and Teams by Kim, Najung & Pratt, M. G./M. S. Poole & A. B. Hollingshead (Eds.). Reproduced by permission of Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a division of Informa plc.

Pll'lt edition published 2012 by Routledge 711 Third Aven'!-e, New York, N~ l 001i' Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint ~the Taylor & Francis Group, an itiforma business

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Cl2012Taylor & Francis The right of tRe 'editors to be identified as the aut!>ors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library ~Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Research methods for studying groups and teams : a guide to approaches, tools, and technologies I editors, Andrea B. Hollingshead & Marshall Scott Poole. - 1st ed. p. em. - (Routledge communication series) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Small groups--Research-Methodology. 2. Small groups-Study and teaching. I. Hollingshead, Andrea B. II. Poole, Marshall Scott,1951HM736.R47 2011 302.3'4072-dc23

This book is dedicated to the memory of Joseph E. McGrath and his profound and lasting contributions to the study of groups and research methods.

2011022519 ISBN: 978-0-415-80632-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-80633-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-80577-0 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Cenveo publisher services Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free paper by Edwards Brothers, Inc.

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Designing for Drift

1 DESIGNING FOR DRIFT Planning Ethnographic Qualitative Research on Groups

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finding key informants, asking grand tour questions, and the like are central to ethnographic studies. Moreover, what is more difficult to . describe, but no less equally important, is the "drift"- taking advantage of where the study takes you. To be able to best "catch the drift;' requires tactics, tips, and training often not found in "how to" books on ethnography (e.g., Fetterman, 1998; Spradley, 1979). Our charge is to cover those topics that are the least well covered by existing texts and articles. In this spirit, we discuss the design of an ethnographic group study including gailnng ·access, and preparing for observations and interviews. Before turning to .these topics, we first provide an overview of ethnography.

'··

Michael G. Pratt and Najung Kim

Ethnography: What it is, when you do it, and why

BOSTON COLLEGE

Ethnographic research is guided as much from drift as design, and is perhaps the source of far more failures than successes. (VanMaanen, 1979, p. '539)

As the epigraph suggests, ethnographic research may be the source of more failures than success. Clearly it would not be unique in this regard; especially if you consider that the rejection rate by top-tier organizational studies/management journals can exceed 90 percent. But as we discuss below, ethnographic research has its own unique challenges that make it a high-risk/high-reward endeavor. We think it is worth the risks. We challenge the reader to find a more engrossing, energizing, and personally world~changing methodology for studying a group -be it a small team, an organization, an occupation, or a "people." Part of its allure may be in its subject matter- better understanding the cultures of groups. Its fun may similarly derive from the engrossing nature of its methods, such as actual participation in group life and the use of broad, largely unstructured interviews. Or perhaps its appeal is in the challenge in navigating the tension John Van Maanen raises: the pull between design and drift. The design part is not that difficult to describe. In brief, to examine a group in an ethnographic fashion you have to: (a) select a research question; (b) locate a group to examine this question; (c) design your study; (d) obtain approval for your study through an Institutional Review Board (IRB); (e) gain access; (f) collect data; (g) analyze the data; and (h) write it up. Essentially, it is not that different, in abstract, to how you would approach other examinations of groups. However, as we will discuss below, how these steps are enacted in ethnographies may be unique. For example, engaging in "commitment acts" (Feldman, Bell, & Berger, 2003),

while definitions vary, at their core, ethnographies are the study of a group's culture (Fetterman, 1998; Rosen, 1991; Spradley, 1979; Van Maanen, 1979) . These groups may vary in size - from teams (Bechky & Okhuysen, 2011), to occupations and organizations (Kayser-Jones, 2002; Pratt, 2000a; Rosen, 1991 ; Van Maanen, 1973), to people living in certain. areas (Mead, 1928; Venkatesh, 2002) . Ethnographies also have specific ways of gathering data, such as participant observation and ethnographic interviews. Sorrie studies are relatively "pure" ethnographies, which typically involve long periods (e.g. , over 6 months) ofbeing "in the field" (Fetterman, 1998). To illustrate, the first author's (Mike's) study of Amway distributors was his most pure ethnography: he spent over 9 months in the field working as a distributor and interviewing other current and former distributors. In organizational research, there are relatively few ethriographies that are pure, but several which contain some ethnographic elements (e.g., Hinds & Cramton, this volume) . Mike's work, for example, often uses ethnographic interviews or some limited participant observation, such as rounding with doctors (Pratt, Rockmann, & Kaufmann, 2006) or being' involved in a nurse's dress code task force (Pratt & Rafaeli, 1997). Ethnographies should be used when you are interested in getting the perspective of the cultural participants or "informants." The term "informant" rather than "subject" (as in a lab study) or a "respondent" (as in a survey) is ·not accidental, but speaks to the nature of the researcher to the researched. Informants, as the name describes, inform you. They are the cultural experts.You are not manipulating the conditions around them as you might for a "subject;" and "respondents" are often limited to answering questions on the topics and concepts that you deem critical. In the lab and when giving surveys, you are the expert; and you have a fair amount of control over what your subjects do and the kinds of questions. they answer. Ethnography puts the researcher, who might have or be getting a PhD, into the unenviable position of often having to appear, or actually be, ignorant. Because you do not know what an informant will say or do, and where the study will "drift," you may also feel like you have very little control. For some researchers, these conditions may be enough to dissuade them from doing ethnography!


8

Michael G. Pratt and Najung Kim

Designing for Drift 9

Moreover, because you are getting the informants' perspective, and are. not testing concepts or constructs, you have ultimately to translate these understandings into ~'academese" to get published. This is both a daunting and exhilarating task. Part of the challenge is that you have to be careful not to do too much "violep:ce to experience," that is, you ~eed to translate your research in such a way; as to do justice·to how your informants' view the world. And if that is not enough · of a challenge, your results wi.ll;·be detailed and specific, but ·gored on the horn of "generalizability" (McGrath, 1982) . Thus, it is not clear whether your results .wilj be comparable to any other group. All this and y~u often have to take hundreds of pages of data and fit them into a research article of roughly 4G-50 pages in length. . High probability of failure, relatively low controt putting'yourself1nto a situation where you are not the expert, and being placed between two worlds - tl:i,at of your informants and that of your academic colleagues -where do I sign up? If you are still reading this chapter, you may have some of the criti