EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 3 ! Career management 161
4.1.3. Research causes
The analysis on the promotion opportunities for the different statutes showed that a gender
gap in the promotion opportunities between the male and female staff exists. This
urged the researchers to find the possible causes of that gap.
Two different sources are distinguished. One can research the policy (structures, procedures,
documents) of the organization regarding career management. Another possible
source is the personnel itself: which lacunas are there between policy and practice? How
do the employees perceive promotion opportunities within the organization? And is there
a difference in perception between male and female personnel members?
4.1.3.1. Personnel
When surveying your employees, you need to bear in mind three aspects: ‘what’ is asked
‘from whom’ in ‘what way’?
‘What’ is the research question, drawn from the problem definition, i.e. the items you will
question.
‘In what way’ is the method that will be used. Herzog 188 makes a distinction in the classification
in the way items are administered or by their physical format (see figure 14).
Figure 14: Types of surveys classified according to Herzog
“Structured responses, commonly known as closed or multiple-choice responses, are
those in which the respondent must choose among alternatives supplied by the researcher.
Unstructured responses, commonly known as open or free responses, are those
in which the respondent may say or write anything. Structure is desirable when consistency
across situations is important. An unstructured approach is desirable when explora-
188 Herzog, T. R. (1996). Research Methods in the Social Sciences. HarperCollins College Publishers, 378
p.