![Porträtt av Mats Alvesson. Foto.](/sites/ehl.lu.se/files/styles/lu_personal_page_desktop/public/2024-01/MatsAlvesson%20%281%29.jpg.webp?itok=M-58mMZ6)
Mats Alvesson
Professor
![Porträtt av Mats Alvesson. Foto.](/sites/ehl.lu.se/files/styles/lu_personal_page_desktop/public/2024-01/MatsAlvesson%20%281%29.jpg.webp?itok=M-58mMZ6)
Behind the Numbers : Questioning Questionnaires
Författare
Summary, in English
Is complex, ambiguous, and fluctuating social reality measurable? Sometimes yes, perhaps, but often not. At least not in the fairly straightforward way assumed by many researchers. This study is an ethnographic inquiry into data collection during a survey research project. Based on our observations of participants’ spontaneous thoughts and confusions as they filled in questionnaires on “leadership” and “teamwork”, we draw attention to hidden problems in much organizational research. Many respondents found measures ambiguous, irrelevant, or misleading. We (a) underline the inherently interpretative nature of research into complex organizational phenomena, (b) warn against lack of reflexivity and overreliance on existing survey instruments when we study complex social aspects of organizations, (c) identify five categories of possible problems, and (d) suggest paths towards better informed research that take context seriously.
Avdelning/ar
- Organisation
Publiceringsår
2021-01-01
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
102-114
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Journal of Management Inquiry
Volym
30
Issue
1
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
SAGE Publications
Ämne
- Ethnology
Nyckelord
- critical study
- ethnography
- leadership
- qualitative study
- quality of research
- quantitative study
- questionnaires
- research methods
- survey studies
- teams
Aktiv
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1056-4926