Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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absenteeism and employee efficiency. Despite the theorisation of a fifth 'D' to be added to the AI cycle, the
presented research did not include an evaluative stage of the results within the research cycle. This would
therefore fall into the trap of many other change methodologies which have been criticised for the lack of an
evaluation of either the methodologies used or the interventions implemented. However, the process which the
work went through was an effective and valuable one. The results gained were implemented by the participating
organisation (see Chapter IX), with this uptake alone suggesting a potentially impactful and valuable process.
A further possible methodological issue relates to the number of participants that took part in the study, tied
in with the use of mixed methodologies. The mixed methods utilised are time-consuming and require a good
amount of researcher training (Howitt & Cramer, 2007) to ensure they are conducted correctly. Also the use of
mixed methods, as well as a relatively small number of participants during the AI cycle, means the results of the
work cannot be generalised to other organisations outside of that participating. Despite this having a quantitative
response rate of close to 70% within the participating Service, and a response rate of over 30% within the
qualitative elements, a good response rate for the participating Service 6. Also one of the main objectives of the
work was to design a local stress theory, rather than one that could be applied to other organisations, and thus the
utilisation of these methods was valuable.
2) Research Questions