Research Limitations


Before we come to the discussion and interpretation of the three studies, we should acknowledge the weaknesses of the approach chosen here. All three studies produce their own problems. The study of the Irish IS/IT professionals has to contend with the problem that its sample size is relatively small and that it is unclear whether the results are representative of the population of Irish IS/ IT professionals. It also chose a quantitative approach to a question that may be better researched using qualitative techniques. The second study has to contend with the problem that its research subjects were computing students who may have specific views on technology, which are not generally applicable . Another objection might be that students are not relevant respondents, because they are immature and lack work experience. To some degree, these objections are justified. However, a considerable number of our students, at least in their final year of studies, did have working experience. Furthermore, the study is only one piece of evidence and, therefore, only serves to underline our point that surveillance is not seen as a problem. We believe that for this purpose, the study is valid. The final study was an in-depth qualitative investigation. As such, it is hardly possible to do it justice in the confines of this chapter. What we present here are just the most important results, which we ask the reader to accept. Finally, there is the problem of the coherence of the studies. They were designed independently and originally aimed to answer different research questions. They use different methodologies and research philosophies. In this chapter, they have been reproduced to raise a different problem, which was not their starting question. The combination of these limitations means that we cannot scientifically prove anything with our research. However, this weakness of our empirical research is also its strength. There is an unexpected result that all three of them have in common; namely, that respondents are generally less concerned about surveillance than we initially assumed. The fact that this result surfaced in three completely different pieces of research indicates that there may be an underlying pattern worth exploring. This is all we are using our empirical research for in this chapter. For the rest of the chapter, we will explore how the findings can be explained and which consequences they can have.




Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace. Controversies and Solutions
Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace: Controversies and Solutions
ISBN: 1591404568
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 161

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