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UNIT OF ANALYSIS: INDIVIDUALS, DYADS, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, CULTURES 133

data from, say, 60 individuals, and analyze the data. If we want to study group
dynamics, we may need to study, say, six or more groups, and then analyze the
data gathered by examining the patterns in each of the groups. If we want to
study cultural differences among nations, we will have to collect data from dif-
ferent countries and study the underlying patterns of culture in each country.
Some critical issues in cross-cultural research are discussed in later chapters.
Individuals do not have the same characteristics as groups (e.g., structure,
cohesiveness) and groups do not have the same characteristics as individuals
(e.g., IQ, stamina). There are variations in the perceptions, attitudes, and behav-
iors of people in different cultures. Hence, the nature of the information gath-
ered, as well as the level at which data are aggregated for analysis, are integral
to decisions made in the choice of the unit of analysis.
It is necessary to decide on the unit of analysis even as we formulate the
research question since the data collection methods, sample size, and even the
variables included in the framework may sometimes be determined or guided by
the level at which data are aggregated for analysis.
Let us examine some research scenarios that would call for different units
of analysis.

Example 6.18 INDIVIDUALS AS THE UNIT OF ANALYSIS
The Chief Financial Officer of a manufacturing company wants to know how
many of the staff would be interested in attending a 3-day seminar on making
appropriate investment decisions. For this purpose, data will have to be collected
from each individual staff member and the unit of analysis is the individual.

Example 6.19 DYADS AS THE UNIT OF ANALYSIS
Having read about the benefits of mentoring, a human resources manager wants
to first identify the number of employees in three departments of the organiza-
tion who are in mentoring relationships, and then find out what the jointly per-
ceived benefits (i.e., by both the mentor and the one mentored) of such a
relationship are.
Here, once the mentor and the mentored pairs are identified, their joint per-
ceptions can be obtained by treating each pair as one unit. Hence, if the man-
ager wants data from a sample of 10 pairs, he will have to deal with 20
individuals, a pair at a time. The information obtained from each pair will be a
data point for subsequent analysis. Thus, the unit of analysis here is the dyad.

Example 6.20 GROUPS AS THE UNIT OF ANALYSIS
A manager wants to see the patterns of usage of the newly installed Information
System (IS) by the production, sales, and operations personnel. Here three
groups of personnel are involved and information on the number of times the IS
is used by each member in each of the three groups as well as other relevant
issues will be collected and analyzed. The final results will indicate the mean