Research and statistics play a huge role in organizational psychology research. There are an abundance of research tools and means of accumulating and determining statistics in organizational psychology. This article will discuss the roles of research and statistics in organizational psychology.
Research and statistics play a large role in the studies of organizational psychology. There are many methods of research and statistics used to determine information and answers to the many questions posed by organizational psychologists. When collecting data, researchers must be aware of several issues that can affect the validity of their research. Generalizing information across differing organizations can commonly lead to mistakes (Britt & Jex, 2008). Research methods vary and should be used to suit the questions at hand.
Many research methods exist in organizational psychology. Archival data, a method of organizational psychology research, represents "any form of data or other records that are compiled for purposes that are independent of the research being conducted;" the common use of this form of research stems from its abundance (Britt & Jex, 2008, Ch. 2). Survey methods are popular means of research in organizational psychology along with observational studies. These common means of research help researchers determine information about employees in a business setting.
Statistics reflect important parts of organizational research; they also help researchers determine variables to base their data analysis and means of measuring information gathered. Descriptive statistics use the mean of information to determine central tendencies and dispersion; to calculate the mean all answers are added up and divided by the total number of answer to gather an average (Britt & Jex, 2008). Meta-analysis has become recently popular in organizational psychology, and it "involves the quantitative summary of research findings and is typically used in research domains where a considerable number of studies have been conducted" (Britt & Jex, 2008, Ch. 2). Statistics play an important role in organizational psychology research, but these methods have issues that must be considered. Statistical power reflects the strength of statistical information based on several factors such as sampling size and effect size (Britt & Jex, 2008). Research and statistics play a key role in organizational psychology, and they must be used correctly to present valid results and information.
Research and statistics are a key component in organizational psychology, and they are used to determine and analyze data. These tools are used to greatly increase the effectiveness and success of an organization.
Reference
Britt, T. W., & Jex, S. M. (2008). Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach (2 ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.
