Level Issues in Research

Just read an excellent article about the level issues in the OB research. This article focuses on the level of theory, measurement, and statistical analysis, so it can be applied not only in the OB field but also other research areas as well. I strongly recommend people to read it, especially for those are interested in doing social level research. It’s so important to ensure the conformity on the level of your theory, data collection, and statistical analysis; otherwise, your findings and conclusion might be very problematic.

Klein, K.J., Dansereau, F. & Hall, R. (1994) Level Issues in Theory Development, Data Collection, and Analysis. Academy of management review. 19 (2). 195-229.

Everyone sees the same thing != No Customization??

I enjoyed the class activities on Wed, especially the IBM social computing study. The six claims give me a chance to reflect what I have learned in the social computing class. However, it seemed everyone (including me) had a little doubt about the first claim: No Customization. Therefore, I took a little time thinking about this claim after the class, and I finally got it.

I believe the reason that the IBM holds this claim in the social computing research group is that you don’t have the control power on most things, other people, and the context in our real social world. Clearly in a personal or privacy setting, you can customize almost everything to the way you like it to be, such as your office, your room, your appearance, etc.

However, in a social setting which involves other people, you can only control your own behaviors and potentially use that to influence others. For example, if you are in the classroom, you cannot arrange the room the way you want it to be without considering others.

But I think this is a little extreme to put “no customization” in their claim. It seems the most important component in this claim is “everybody sees the same thing” even though each one of the members may interpret it differently. Indeed, if everyone sees different things, there is increasing danger of mis-communication.

But to make sure everyone sees the same thing doesn’t necessarily needs to forbid customization. When considering different levels of social worlds, the group should have the power to create the world/settings for more effective work. For example, in the real world, I can move the chair around the way I like it. What if someone in my team doesn’t like it, he can move somewhere else too. Eventually there will be a balanced setting that everyone accepts, but everyone still gets to see exact the same thing.

In conclusion, in social settings, to make sure everyone sees the same thing is very important, but to some degree, no customization is not a necessary principle to achieve it. Therefore, I would only keep “everyone sees the same thing” in the first claim.