Despite best efforts to highlight win-win solutions for all stakeholders, the barriers for respondents from industries have been challenging. Some industries may have adversive reaction for their data to be published or known. In recent years, interesting new methods have been deployed used with mix results. Some methods may be innovative and bold. Others could have ethical issues and could fall into grey and yet to define areas.
Could you share some experiences or advice that could increase the participation of respondents in qualitative and quantitative data collection or in the development of new data collection methods from respondents from industry (general)?
In the work a group of us did with school districts, we found the same response initially. After several years of working with them on small projects, they learned to trust us and then were more open to large projects.
So, my suggestion would be to find a small, non-threatening project to work with your industry folks to show them how you work and that you can be trusted. Then go for the bigger projects
Aspects of my recently completed PhD relevant this issue. I adopt qualitative and quantitative research both to express and to deconstruct binary concepts.
My own research concerns liaising with people from varied backgrounds and positions. It related to my previous experiences within several businesses using various interviewing techniques.
Yeah, as Jim says building trust is vital. Going for small projects and then building to larger ones is definitely the way to go. Building interpersonal skills within various industries is sometimes a long term task and may involve assisting with work that is not directly connected with the researches aimed for.
Qualitative and quantitative work can have different requirements in building trust but the building of these relationships can/will assist the development of quantitative research. This assistance can help the building of trust.
My initial qualitative research assisted my initial local quantitative research which then assisted my international online quantitative research which then reinforced my later qualitative research.
The two research techniques are very different. My qualitative research was semi-structured and sometimes required my knowledge from personnel management and quality auditing. The quantitative research required awareness of the correct phrasing, the order of questions and the speed of answering them...
Sometimes, an endorsement by the correspondent industrial association may be crucial; ideally putting their logo on the questionnaire form
Having worked in hospitals and other industries, I have found that the research and/or evaluation has to be of use to those completing the form. That is, they need to understand it and get, and probably more importantly know they will get, feedback that will assist their work. There is a book by Patton on utilization evaluation, that covers the necessity of methods of obtaining buy in to research and evaluation
I agree that the individuals in an institution need to see the benefits to them. Some research is important to know that may or may not benefit a specific institution. It would be important that the name of the institution remain unknown with reassurances given to that effect. I had one graduate student who compared the span of control of female managers in a hospital with the male managers and their salaries of both groups. What she found was the men were less educated, had more help with the same span of control. the men made more money. Two hospitals were willing to cooperate with the data collection but their names were not mentioned in the report.
Individual companies are very sensitive about having any results published. However, we have found at IBI that there is no such concern regarding industry data (at least from a benchmarking standpoint; IBI has built the US's largest benchmarking database for lost time programs with 52,000 employers. We get the claims-level data from the companies that administer the programs for employers.
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