Employer hiring decisions regarding individuals with disabilities

¶ … benefit the academic researcher in his/her attempts to effectively address the field of study or hypothesis in a researched dissertation. Determining which methodology would best be used is the consideration of the researcher as the design of the study is being contemplated and then initiated. In this case, determining how, why and when employers are hiring employees with disabilities, and any accompanying economic motivators or influences come under the preview of a qualitative study and a quantitative study. In other words, a mixed research methodology might best be used in this specific case.

Qualitative research gathers data based upon the participant's thoughts, ideals, perceptions motives and beliefs. Identifying those factors comes under the preview of asking open-ended questions; questions that elicit responses from the participant's based upon the perception of the situation or scenario. The researcher wishes to determine and understand the motivating factors behind employers who hire (and don't hire) individuals with disabilities in the Atlanta area. In order to accomplish the studies goals and objectives, and to answer the research questions presented in the study, the researcher must understand, and gather data on, the reasons behind the decision; such reasons can certainly be non-quantifiable, or qualitative in nature, although in this specific study there is also be a quantifiable portion to the study. Studies that deal with numbers, figures, percentages, graphs and charts are quantitative in nature and usually deal with specific analysis techniques.

Qualitative Design

The researcher for the study considered the advantages, and disadvantages, of the qualitative design as compared to the quantitative design methodology. The reasons for using a qualitative study design is that it seems to make sense that the study is seeking data that deals with the thought process behind why participants are hiring or not hiring individuals with disabilities, and the various influences that impact that decision. The thought process involves qualitative measurements and can be addressed through the use of open-ended questions. Additionally, the qualitative method of gathering data works well for the study because the researcher is comfortable using interviews, questionnaires, observing small groups of participants, and observing interactions between the participants. The qualitative methodology also allows the researcher to interact on a more comprehensive manner with the participants that helped in developing an understanding of the reasons behind the employer's choice to hire or not hire, or in their picking of one particular employee (or prospect) over another. Using a qualitative design also allows researchers to take advantage of a number of qualitative advantages such as using words and images to make a case. Qualitative components also provide the capability of telling a story based upon the perceptions and thoughts of the participant(s). Determining what knowledge senior managers have of the motivating factors for employing persons with disabilities and how well those motivating factors work during the decision process is part of the qualitative design. Additionally, the qualitative design finds the answers to whether the ADA has been effective in assisting managers in the hiring process, or if it can be improved upon.

Quantitative Design

Research design that allows for quantitative analysis and data gathering has its advantages; it allows the researcher to incorporate percentages, numbers, graphs and charts that validates (or invalidates) the research and the proves or disproves the hypothesis. Using the quantitative methodology also allows the researcher to include variables, and measuring those variables can be accomplished using universal formulas and concepts that provide validity and reliability to the study. Quantifying data usually provides specific data on a large scale basis.

Since this study is focused a number of large (and small) Atlanta businesses and the manner in which the managers hire employees, the data is much stronger since it can be quantified to some degree. Using quantitative data to discover if the managers have a false perception as to the problems presented by employing disabled individuals is easily compared to any real problems experienced by these same individuals when quantified with real numbers. Quantitative research uses numbers, percentages and mathematical equations to make its case. The advantage in using quantitative research for this study is that quantitative data provides an analysis of the data on the various misperceptions. What the research in this study discovered was that there were plenty of misperceptions being experienced by many of the managers that participated in the study.

Sampling and Recruitment

Hoff et al. (2014) found that "non-participation and delayed response to the invitation to participate are complications that often arise during the recruitment of a sample" (p. 1). If that is true, then it is especially true for this particular study due to the fact that the participants may not have had the necessary response tools available to them to respond in a timely manner. The study mailed out 300 surveys and only had 73 returned. This could be due to the fact that the managers were too busy to take the time to fill out and return the questionnaires in a timely manner, but it could also be due to other factors such as; not being mailed to the correct individual, or no desire to participate. The problem is that the low response rate leads to a certain bias on the part of the individuals that actually did return the questionnaire. This factor has to be taken into consideration regarding the responses. Additionally, a certain amount of reluctance on the part of the employers likely had to be overcome in order to ensure participation on a manner valid enough to justify results.

Compare and Contrast

The three methodologies have advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of the qualitative approach include the fact that in-depth interviews with small focus groups provides the answers as to why the employers are making the decisions that they are making. Feelings, thoughts and perceptions abound in a well-founded qualitative approach that features open-ended questions. One of the disadvantages of a qualitative approach is that it cannot be supported with facts, figures, percentages and numbers on a universal scale. That is where the quantitative approach comes in; a quantitative approach does support research with facts, figures, percentages and numbers and applies generally to a universal large-scale process. Researchers using the quantitative methodology are not necessarily hindered attempting to understand the why's and wherefore's of the study, but are more likely to be focused on exact outcomes and results. One of the disadvantages of the quantitative approach is that it does not directly deal with reasons or thoughts, ideals and perceptions of the participants.

It would seem that the mixed research approach offered the best opportunity for success of this specific study, because it offers the advantage of both qualitative and quantitative data, thereby addressing both the reasons why employees hire disabled individuals (or not) and the monetary, financial or other influences that impact such a decision. One of the disadvantages of the mixed research approach is that it can be much more time-consuming and costly than using either the quantitative or qualitative approaches exclusively.

Variables

There are a number of variables that were considered during the course of this study. The variables include; the manager and company hiring, the company policy concerning disabled individuals, local, state and federal disability laws and regulations.

Other variables include the types of disabilities, gender, age and overall health of the prospect, financial and monetary considerations. In fact, the study considered such a large number of variables, that a consolidation of the variables (and even the geographic area) may be an excellent idea. Variables are often an important component of research studies and determining the different variables is the first step in determining what is important and what is not. Determination is often accomplished with the use of systematic reviews, meta-analysis and analysis of the guidelines that are set to determine actions taken during the hiring and employment process. Kerry et al. (2013) states that such reviews can often be thought of as "scientific truthmakers" (p. 617). A review in this specific case should be undertaken as to the exact evaluated variables that will be evaluated, including the number of companies, the segment of the workforce affected and the different types of disabilities presented by the participants.

Data collection tools

The tools used to collect data in this particular study include questionnaires, interviews and interview note taking, and information derived through the systematic reviews. Tianjing et al. (2015) found that there is one crucial step in achieving valid results from systematic reviews and that is "to collect data from relevant study reports accurately and completely" (p. 287). That process is called data abstraction or data extraction. Data extraction is an important tool when used with a systematic review and should yield results that will assist the researcher in discovering the answers asked by this study. Analyzing the collected quantitative data was accomplished using the SSPS.

What the SSPS determined was that there is some general knowledge -- especially on the part of larger companies- to the various guidelines, requirements and incentives connected to the American with Disabilities Act.

However, the knowledge is not nearly as pervasive as it probably should be. This is further evidenced by the fact that local, state and federal organizations are continuing to work internally and externally to improve both the dissemination of the incentives and in explaining them to those managers they are distributed to.