Two decades of qualitative research in psychology, industrial and organisational psychology and human resource management within South Africa : a critical review

摘要

ORIENTATION : Qualitative research is marked by phenomenal growth and development overthe years.RESEARCH PURPOSE : This article aims to offer insight into the emerging qualitative methodologiesused in the fields of Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology and HumanResource Management.MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : The value of qualitative organisational research has been recognisedsince the 1970s. Regardless of its perceived value, national and international trends show agreater tendency for quantitative research.RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD : This article investigates qualitative articles (n = 242)published over two decades in the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology (SAJIP),South African Journal of Psychology (SAJP), and the South African Journal of Human ResourceManagement (SAJHRM). More specifically, a content analysis was conducted to highlight thetrends of paradigms, designs and analysis methods employed in the studies.MAIN FINDINGS : Although there seems to be a slight increase in qualitative publications overthe years, qualitative studies show a lower volume than its counterparts. The SAJIP publishedthe least qualitative articles when compared to the SAJP and SAJHRM. There is a pattern ofpreference for specific paradigms and methods in all the journals. Overall, all the journals carry a large number of articles that do not specifically state their paradigmatic alignment orthe designs they used, while some articles omits the methodology used in the studies altogether.PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : The results indicate a clear need for increased exposure toqualitative methodology, both by publishing more qualitative studies in local journals and byproviding formal training opportunities. A publication does not solely rely on authorship, butalso on a review process. Therefore certain adjustments in this process may lead to more andbetter qualitative publications in future.CONTRIBUTIO/VALUE-ADD : This article provides a critical analysis of the current trends anddevelopments in qualitative research conducted in Industrial and Organisational Psychology(IOP) research in South Africa. The study identifies dominant methodologies in use, andthereby identifies possible opportunities to expand the ‘methodological menu’ of IOP research.