Alan Bryman
Biographic Data
| ID | 247353 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alan Bryman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alan |
| FAMILY NAME | Bryman |
| SIGNATURE | BRYMAN A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Loughborough University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 75 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 656 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 69 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 6 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1974 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 15 |
Business Research Methods
Business Research Methods contains new and revised chapters on quantitative methods and visual research, while cutting-edge material on inclusivity and bias in research, feminist perspectives, and decolonial and indigenous research is also introduced. The book is composed of four parts. The first part looks at the research process. It covers research strategies and designs, as well as ethics in business research and writing up business research. …
Unconventional Methodology in Organization and Management Research
This book describes twelve unconventional methodologies in organization and management research. These include unconventional research settings and data sources, unconventional research designs and data collection methods, unconventional analytic approaches, and designs and methods that exploit new technology developments. Our aim is to encourage dialogue and experimentation with regard to the development of innovative, unconventional approaches …
‘Not another survey’
Research methods influence the nature of evidence that is collected, how that evidence is interpreted, styles of theorizing, and modes of reporting. David A. Buchanan and Alan Bryman argue that methods are not neutral. Unconventional methods give us new lenses and perspectives on traditional topics, and open up fresh lines of inquiry. The distinction between conventional and unconventional is blurred, and methodology can be unconventional on a nu…
Participant-led video diaries
Rebecca Whiting, Helen Roby, Gillian Symon, and Petros Chamakiotis develop an unconventional research design using video methods, asking participants to produce their own video diaries, a process which is then followed by narrative interviews. This approach generates multi-modal data: audio, visual, and textual, and involves adopting a qualitative perspective, and a social constructionist epistemology. This participant-led research design allows …
June 1989 and beyond
Julia Brannen is very much a pioneer of mixed methods research having organised one of the first conferences on the subject in June 1989. In this paper, I assess her contribution to the field of mixed methods research. I examine both her methodological writings on the principles of doing mixed methods research and some of her research which derives from the approach. Through this examination of the two strands of her mixed methods work, I tease o…
Doing Research in Organizations (RLE
Leadership and Organizations (RLE
In this textbook Alan Bryman provides a detailed and critical examination of the literature on leadership in organizations, giving special recognition to the needs of students of organizational behaviour and the social psychology of organizations. After an examination of the complexity of the concept of leadership, the author describes the major approaches to the analysis of leadership in organizations, including: the idea that effective leaders …
The End of the Paradigm Wars?
Mission accomplished
Taking its lead from a growing literature dealing with the research methods employed in management and adjacent disciplines and from the editors’ goal of encouraging a diversity of methodological positions in the pages of Leadership, this article reports the findings of a content analysis of the research methods employed in empirical articles during the journal’s first five years of publication. Particularly in comparison with a comparable study …
Reflections on qualitative data analysis
Advocates, Agnostics and Adversaries
The involvement of service users in the research process is becomingly increasingly required by many funders of research and is being seen as an indicator of quality in its own right. This paper provides original data from a study of social policy researchers’ views of service user involvement in research. It shows a diversity of stances which have been categorised here as belonging to Advocates, Agnostics and Adversaries of user involvement. The…
Social Scientists Meet the Media
Introduction Cheryl Haslam and Alan Bryman Section I SOCIAL SCIENTISTS 1. If You Want Publicity ... Call an Estate Agent? obert Burgess 2. The Psychologist and the Media: Opportunities, Challenges and Dangers Cary L. Cooper 3. The Sociologist as Media Football: Reminiscences and Preliminary Reflections Eric Dunning 4. Media vs. Reality? Hans J.Eysenck 5. The Research Dissemination Minefield Cheryl Haslam and Alan Bryman 6. Sex and Dinosaurs Helen…
Leadership in Higher Education
Author's draft version; post-print. Final version published by Sage available on Sage Journals Online http://online.sagepub.com
Leadership Researchers on Leadership in Higher Education
This article reports the findings of a study in which leadership researchers were interviewed regarding their experiences and perceptions of leadership in higher education institutions. In particular, the research was concerned with the types of leadership associated with effectiveness, particularly at the Head of Department level. While several forms of leadership were identified as likely to be effective and ineffective, no single type of leade…
Doing accountability
Research ethics committees (RECs) are charged with adjudicating the ethical status of research projects, and determining the conditions necessary for such projects to proceed. Both because of their position in the research process and because of the controversial nature of ethical judgements, RECs' views and decisions need to be accountable. In this paper we use techniques of discourse analysis to show how REC decision letters 'do' accountability…
Of methods and methodology
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what the term “methodology” might be taken to mean. It uses an aphorism by Howard Becker as a springboard for examining the nature of methodology, arguing that Becker's view of methodology was misleading. Design/methodology/approach There are two components. First, “insider” account of research findings concerning the nature of mixed methods research is presented. These findings derive from a conten…
Quality Criteria for Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research
This article reports some findings from an investigation of social policy researchers in the UK. The findings relate to the quality criteria that social policy researchers deem to be appropriate to quantitative research, qualitative research and mixed methods research. The data derive from an e‐survey of researchers which was followed up by semi‐structured interviews with a purposively selected sample from among those e‐survey respondents who agr…
Qualitative Research 2
Effective leadership in higher education
This article is a review of the literature concerned with leadership effectiveness in higher education at departmental level. The literature derives from publications from three countries: the UK, the USA and Australia. Surprisingly little systematic research has been conducted on the question of which forms of leadership are associated with departmental effectiveness. The analysis of the studies selected resulted in the identification of 13 form…
The quality of research evidence in social policy
Social policy researchers' perceptions of the quality of published work were explored through an online questionnaire, discussion groups and telephone interviews. While there was general agreement on some criteria of quality, there was dissension on others. For example, there were different interpretations of the concepts of 'originality', 'significance' and 'rigour' and differing perceptions of their importance. Criteria of quality deemed to be …
Barriers to Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research
This article is concerned with the possibility that the development of mixed methods research is being hindered by the tendency that has been observed by some researchers for quantitative and qualitative findings either not to be integrated or to be integrated to only a limited extent. It examines findings from 20 interviews with U.K. social researchers, all of whom are practitioners of mixed methods research. From these interviews, a wide variet…
The Research Question in Social Research
This paper addresses the role of the research question in social research. It outlines what is taken to be the conventional view in many methodological discussions, namely, that research questions guide decisions about research design and research methods. This position is taken to imply that social researchers typically take the view that research methods need to be tailored to the research questions that guide an investigation. The paper questi…
Social Research Methods, Canadian Edition
Technological Determinism
Technological determinism refers to the thesis that the path of social change is directly influenced by technological developments. As such the thesis ascribes agency to an inert object, namely technology, in human affairs and their development
Disneyization
Disneyization refers to “the process by which the principles of the Disney theme parks are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world” (Bryman 2004: 1). The term was devised by Bryman (2004) to parallel George Ritzer's (1993) notion of McDonaldization and the definition is a deliberate adaptation of that concept. Disneyization does not refer to the spread of theme parks, though that is certainly …
Integrating quantitative and qualitative research
This article seeks to move beyond typologies of the ways in which quantitative and qualitative research are integrated to an examination of the ways that they are combined in practice. The article is based on a content analysis of 232 social science articles in which the two were combined. An examination of the research methods and research designs employed suggests that on the quantitative side structured interview and questionnaire research wit…
The Debate about Quantitative and Qualitative Research
L'A. analyse le debat entre conceptions quantitative et qualitative de la recherche sociale en distinguant les deux types d'approches fondamentaux: epistemologique et technique
Barriers to Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research
This article is concerned with the possibility that the development of mixed methods research is being hindered by the tendency that has been observed by some researchers for quantitative and qualitative findings either not to be integrated or to be integrated to only a limited extent. It examines findings from 20 interviews with U.K. social researchers, all of whom are practitioners of mixed methods research. From these interviews, a wide variet…
The Disneyization of Society
This article proposes the idea of Disneyization as a complementary notion to McDonaldization. Disneyization is depicted as a process by which the principles of the Disney theme parks dominate more and more sectors of society. It is presented as comprising four aspects: theming, dedifferentiation of consumption, merchandising, and emotional labour. The empirical manifestations of these attributes are outlined. The roots of Disneyization in theorie…
Quality Criteria for Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research
This article reports some findings from an investigation of social policy researchers in the UK. The findings relate to the quality criteria that social policy researchers deem to be appropriate to quantitative research, qualitative research and mixed methods research. The data derive from an e‐survey of researchers which was followed up by semi‐structured interviews with a purposively selected sample from among those e‐survey respondents who agr…
The wild animal in late modernity
This article begins with analysis of four of the principal ‘modes of engagement’ which articulate the human/wild animal nexus: encounter; representation; presentation; and quasification. It then goes on to focus upon the zoo as a key site of animal presentation and of mass tourism. The argument is presented that the zoo in late modernity is undergoing crucial changes in its legitimating narratives. In addition, it is suggested that zoos are exhib…
From inception to reception
This article compares the complex dynamics involved in the production and reception of a newspaper article. This case study is used as the basis for a broader discussion of the encoding and decoding of meaning via the news media. The article recommends that closer attention needs to be given to the linkages between these moments in the mass communication process, and the temporal contexts within which they occur
Qualitative Research and the Study of Leadership
This article argues that the introduction of qualitative research methods into the study of leadership may improve this area of research by facilitating the introduction of a wider range of contextual variables into the investigation of leadership styles. It is also contended that such variables have the advantage of being grounded in people's experiences and are therefore more accesible to practitioners. These points are developed from the autho…
Paradigm Peace and the Implications for Quality
In this article it is shown that the paradigm wars that raged concerning the incompatibility of quantitative and qualitative research have largely subsided. In the process, discussions of epistemological and ontological issues have become less prominent. The peace that has broken out has proved to be more favourable to research combining quantitative and qualitative research than was the case during the paradigm wars. Drawing on interviews with s…
Written work
Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Scientists
From the Publisher: Most introductions to the techniques of statistical analysis concentrate on the often complex statistical formulae involved. Many students find these formulae extremely daunting, yet in practice computers are increasingly used to perform the same calculations in seconds. Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Scientists is designed as a non-technical guide, ignoring the traditional formulaic methods and introducing students to …
Research Methods and Organization Studies
Glossary of abbreviations Preface The nature of organizational research Measurement in organizational research: questionnaires and structured interviews Experimental research Survey Research Qualitative research Case study and action research Archival research and secondary analysis of survey data Structured observation, simulation, language studies and other methods of Data collection Issues in organizational research Bibliography and author ind…
Late Modernity and the Dynamics of Quasification
The themed restaurant is an example of a process of theming which is characteristic of many of the leisure experiences of contemporary society. This paper seeks to trace the origins and prototypes of the themed restaurant to provide a typology of theming devices and to offer an analysis of theming strategies. The various perspectives on theming as a cultural device are discussed, and the concept of quasification is introduced in order to advance …
Doing accountability
Research ethics committees (RECs) are charged with adjudicating the ethical status of research projects, and determining the conditions necessary for such projects to proceed. Both because of their position in the research process and because of the controversial nature of ethical judgements, RECs' views and decisions need to be accountable. In this paper we use techniques of discourse analysis to show how REC decision letters 'do' accountability…
The Research Question in Social Research
This paper addresses the role of the research question in social research. It outlines what is taken to be the conventional view in many methodological discussions, namely, that research questions guide decisions about research design and research methods. This position is taken to imply that social researchers typically take the view that research methods need to be tailored to the research questions that guide an investigation. The paper questi…
Information in the Labour Market
Becoming and Being Old
Introduction PART ONE: BECOMING OLD Property Rites? An Investigation of Tenure Change in Middle Age - Cherrie Stubbs Between Work and Retirement - Frank Laczko Becoming 'Old' in the 1980s Work-Ending - Tom Schuller Employment and Ambiguity in Later Life A Part to Play - Jonathan Long Men Experiencing Leisure through Retirement PART TWO: BEING OLD Transitions in Caring - Sara Arber and G Nigel Gilbert Gender, Life Course and the Care of the Elderl…
The Flexibility of Recruitment in the Construction Industry
Common sense views of the construction industry tend to characterise its labour market processes as haphazard, if not anarchic, and requiring reform through formalisation. In contrast, a sociological perspective might point to the possibility of an underlying rationality beneath the apparent confusion. Industry data suggest a growing degree of casualism in construction, in the sense that employers and self-employed have become a significantly lar…
June 1989 and beyond
Julia Brannen is very much a pioneer of mixed methods research having organised one of the first conferences on the subject in June 1989. In this paper, I assess her contribution to the field of mixed methods research. I examine both her methodological writings on the principles of doing mixed methods research and some of her research which derives from the approach. Through this examination of the two strands of her mixed methods work, I tease o…
Mediating Social Science
Collision or collusion? A discussion and case study of the unplanned triangulation of quantitative and qualitative research methods
In recent years there has been a growth of interest in breaking down the divisions between qualitative and quantitative research. However, although examples of multi-method studies now abound, there has been little discussion within the literature about the empirical and theoretical challenges that such eclecticism can pose. This article provides an example of a multi-method investigation into social scientists and their media relations wherein q…
Social Scientists Meet the Media
Introduction Cheryl Haslam and Alan Bryman Section I SOCIAL SCIENTISTS 1. If You Want Publicity ... Call an Estate Agent? obert Burgess 2. The Psychologist and the Media: Opportunities, Challenges and Dangers Cary L. Cooper 3. The Sociologist as Media Football: Reminiscences and Preliminary Reflections Eric Dunning 4. Media vs. Reality? Hans J.Eysenck 5. The Research Dissemination Minefield Cheryl Haslam and Alan Bryman 6. Sex and Dinosaurs Helen…
Sod off and Find Us a Boffin
Social scientists perform a multi-functional role as researcher, teacher and expert. The academic conference provides an opportunity for all these roles to be engaged and as such is a political and social site where meaning is debated and new research born. The conference is also attractive to journalists as news fodder. This article considers the relationship between journalists and social scientific organizations in the context of a professiona…
Size and the Administrative Component in Churches
Leadership in Higher Education
Author's draft version; post-print. Final version published by Sage available on Sage Journals Online http://online.sagepub.com
Size and the Administrative Component in Churches
Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Elites. Elite and Sous-Elite in the Church of England / Sociologie religieuse et sociologie des élites. Elite et sous-élite dans l' Eglise d'Angleterre
Le champ des analyses de Weber et de Durkheim détermine encore étroitement les centres d'intérêt de la sociologie des religions. Cette fidélité aux précurseurs entraîne pour bon nombre de chercheurs l'ignorance de concepts et de démarches propres à d'autre domaines de la sociologie et le désintérêt, par exemple, pour l'étude des organisations religieuses en tant que telles. Ainsi s'explique le petit nombre d'ouvrages britanniques ou américains co…
A Sociology of Organizations
Structure in organizations
A brief review of the literature notes that two styles of organizational analysis—the ‘neo‐human relations’ and ‘organismic’ approaches—criticize bureaucracy and advocate the construction of organizations in which structure is less prominent. Evidence is cited which indicates that a certain degree of structure may in fact be beneficial to organizations and their members. This is in turn linked to a discussion of three social science approaches, e…
Clergy, Ministers, and Priests
Clergy, Minister and Priests
Information in the Labour Market
The Debate about Quantitative and Qualitative Research
L'A. analyse le debat entre conceptions quantitative et qualitative de la recherche sociale en distinguant les deux types d'approches fondamentaux: epistemologique et technique
Professionalism and the Clergy
The Flexibility of Recruitment in the Construction Industry
Common sense views of the construction industry tend to characterise its labour market processes as haphazard, if not anarchic, and requiring reform through formalisation. In contrast, a sociological perspective might point to the possibility of an underlying rationality beneath the apparent confusion. Industry data suggest a growing degree of casualism in construction, in the sense that employers and self-employed have become a significantly lar…
Women and the Life Cycle
Rethinking the Life Cycle
Leader orientation and organizational transience
In spite of the increased interest in the role of situational factors as moderators of leader orientation‐performance relationships, the possible role of organizational transience as a mediating variable has been ignored. The authors used Fiedler's Least Preferred Co‐worker (LPC) Scale in a study of 39 construction site managers. It was found that these managers have a stronger task orientation than other occupational groups who are typically loc…
Leadership and Organizations
Qualitative Research and the Study of Leadership
This article argues that the introduction of qualitative research methods into the study of leadership may improve this area of research by facilitating the introduction of a wider range of contextual variables into the investigation of leadership styles. It is also contended that such variables have the advantage of being grounded in people's experiences and are therefore more accesible to practitioners. These points are developed from the autho…
Rethinking the Life Cycle
Women and the Life Cycle
The Value of Re-Studies in Sociology
This article presents the results of a partial re-study of an investigation of the religious functionary reported in Clergy, Ministers and Priests by Ranson, Bryman and Hinings (1977). The re-study reveals a mixture of both continuity and change in respect of a variety of themes that had been addressed in the earlier investigation. The article reflects on the significance of the findings for the sociology of religion (and the study of churches in…
Becoming and Being Old
Introduction PART ONE: BECOMING OLD Property Rites? An Investigation of Tenure Change in Middle Age - Cherrie Stubbs Between Work and Retirement - Frank Laczko Becoming 'Old' in the 1980s Work-Ending - Tom Schuller Employment and Ambiguity in Later Life A Part to Play - Jonathan Long Men Experiencing Leisure through Retirement PART TWO: BEING OLD Transitions in Caring - Sara Arber and G Nigel Gilbert Gender, Life Course and the Care of the Elderl…
The Long Interview
Research Methods and Organization Studies
Glossary of abbreviations Preface The nature of organizational research Measurement in organizational research: questionnaires and structured interviews Experimental research Survey Research Qualitative research Case study and action research Archival research and secondary analysis of survey data Structured observation, simulation, language studies and other methods of Data collection Issues in organizational research Bibliography and author ind…
Decision-making processes in community transport organisations
Transport services provided by voluntary organisations have grown dramatically in recent years. However, little systematic research has been undertaken on the functioning of these organisations. The aim of the research on which this paper is based was to rectify the lack of information on how decisions relating to service provision are made by such organisations - often called ‘community transport’ (CT) operators. Three organisations were selecte…
Higher Education
Higher Education: A New Framework is the new White Paper for Higher Education and was issued simultaneously with another White Paper, Education and Training for the 21st Century: The Challenge to Colleges. Together, they represent the direction of future policy for post‐16 education and training. The White Paper is a White Paper in name only: it comes in the form of a lavish, multi‐coloured brochure and at £6#lb60 for 41 pages, it cannot be consi…
Quantity and quality in social research
Performance Appraisal in UK Universities
This article presents research evidence concerning the introduction of performance appraisal in UK universities. The notion of ‘procedural compliance’ is proposed to draw attention to the implications of the largely externally imposed nature of appraisal in universities. The article reports the findings deriving from a study of appraisal in four universities. The notion of procedural compliance usefully illuminates the reactions of respondents to…
Sociology (55 works) · Social science (33 works) · Political science (30 works) · Epistemology (28 works) · Computer Science (26 works) · Psychology (26 works) · Philosophy (15 works) · Qualitative research (15 works) · Economics (14 works) · Law (14 works)