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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 125

Example 6.7 The testing of a hypothesis such as: More men than women are whistleblowers,
establishes the difference between two groups—men and women—in regard to
their whistle-blowing behavior.

Example 6.8 The independence between two variables that are qualitative in nature can also
be established through hypothesis testing. Consider the hypothesis: Working the
night shift (as opposed to the day shift) is related to whether or not one is married.
A chi-square test of independence will easily provide the answer to this question.
As may be seen, in hypotheses testing the researcher goes beyond mere
description of the variables in a situation to an understanding of the relationships
among factors of interest.

Case Study Analysis
As discussed in Chapter 2, case studies involve in-depth, contextual analyses of
matters relating to similar situations in other organizations. We noted earlier that
case studies, as a problem-solving technique, are not frequently resorted to in
organizations because finding the same type of problem in another comparable
setting is difficult due to the reluctance of the companies to reveal their prob-
lems. Case studies that are qualitative in nature are, however, useful in applying
solutions to current problems based on past problem-solving experiences. They
are also useful in understanding certain phenomena, and generating further the-
ories for empirical testing.

Review of the Purpose of the Study

It is not difficult to see that in exploratory studies, the researcher is basically
interested in exploring the situational factors so as to get a grip on the charac-
teristics of the phenomena of interest. Also, pilot studies on a small scale, by
interviewing individuals or gathering information from a limited number of
occurrences, are not uncommon in exploratory research.
Descriptive studies are undertaken when the characteristics or the phenomena
to be tapped in a situation are known to exist, and one wants to be able to
describe them better by offering a profile of the factors. Hypothesis testing offers
an enhanced understanding of the relationship that exists among variables. It
could also establish cause-and-effect relationships, as we will see in the next
chapter. Hypothesis testing can be done with both qualitative and quantitative
data. Case studies are generally qualitative in nature and are sometimes used as
a tool in managerial decision making.
Methodological rigor increases as we move progressively from an exploratory
study to a hypothesis-testing study, and with this, the costs of research also
increase. As we will see in later chapters in this book, increases in sample size,
multiple methods of data collection, development of sophisticated measuring
instruments, and the like, add to research costs, though they contribute more to
testability, accuracy, precision, and generalizability.