Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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The first phase of the AI research process was the daily log phase (see Chapter VIII Part 1, Sections 1 and 2), in
which individuals were asked to briefly answer just four questions at the end of their work day. One issue
associated with the use of brief-answer daily logs is that limited information may have been gathered from the
process. Individuals were asked to answer just four questions, designed to take up just a few minutes of
participants’ time at the end of each work day. The short length of time with which individuals are asked to answer
could have meant that either very little information was gathered during this phase, or that the answers gained
have been superficial and lacking in detail. Furthermore, asking individuals to complete the logs at the end of the
work day has the possibility of answering ‘in the heat of the moment’, when they are still angry or upset from the
events of the day.
Despite these potential issues, it is contended that the results of the log phase, as well as precautions built
into the research process, means that the potential issues are overcome. The results of the log phase provided a
strong depth and breadth of data with respect to the daily hassles faced by individuals in their work day, meaning
the daily log approach to opening an investigation into the daily hassles within the present public sector
organisation was an ideal starting method. Also, asking individuals to complete the logs at the end of the work day
when the events are freshest in the individual's minds meant that little information will be lost due to time
degradation which may occur if answering 12 to 24 hours after the day had finished. In addition to this more
traditional diary approaches are likely to focus on aspects of an individual’s day which have not gone to plan (for
example Massey et al., 2011 looking at the impact of headache on psychological well-being; and Payne, Jones and
Harris, 2010 who looked at the impact of work stressors on intention to exercise), whereas the focus on positive
experiences and improvements effectively removes the potential for ‘heat of the moment’ reflections on the work