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Using Mixed Methods Research to Build Organizational Community (308533)

Keywords: qualitative research, mixed methods, survey analysis, survey methods

Surveys are a powerful tool for organizations conducting internal qualitative research, however organizations that exclusively rely on surveys to gauge employee sentiment miss an opportunity to gain rich insight and build stronger employee relationships. The inclusion of a qualitative data collection phase in the standard survey approach - taking the form of small focus groups or one-on-one interviews - is a low-cost addition to the research process that benefits both the employee and the employer. The merging of qualitative insight with quantitative precision helps both to ensure that survey questions reflect true existing sentiment, and to refine the potentially nebulous questions inherent to qualitative research. In addition to greater survey precision and data validity, this two-phase mixed method approach engenders decreased respondent fatigue, greater respondent investment in the research, and strengthened intra-organizational relationships. This research will demonstrate the mixed analysis methods used to conduct qualitative research at the organizational level, and how a two-phase structure has been adapted to both build and sustain organizational community over time.