Change Management Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which type of validity is most threatened when change management research is conducted only with volunteers?
- Construct validity
- Internal validity
- External validity (Correct answer)
- Face validity
Correct answer: External validity
Volunteer samples may differ systematically from the broader population, limiting the generalizability (external validity) of findings.
Question 2: The Hawthorne Effect is most relevant to change management research because it suggests that:
- Productivity decreases when workers are observed
- Employees may change behavior simply because they are being studied, not due to the intervention (Correct answer)
- Management observation improves long-term outcomes
- Lighting conditions affect worker performance more than social factors
Correct answer: Employees may change behavior simply because they are being studied, not due to the intervention
The Hawthorne Effect warns that awareness of being studied can alter participant behavior, confounding research results.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a pilot study in change management research?
- To serve as the definitive test of an intervention
- To test feasibility and refine methods before a full-scale study (Correct answer)
- To satisfy regulatory requirements for organizational research
- To select the most appropriate change model
Correct answer: To test feasibility and refine methods before a full-scale study
Pilot studies allow researchers to identify methodological problems and refine procedures before committing resources to a full study.
Question 4: A change team finds that their intervention significantly improved productivity, but only in one department. Applying the findings company-wide would risk which error?
- Type I error
- Type II error
- Ecological fallacy
- Overgeneralization of context-specific results (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Overgeneralization of context-specific results
Overgeneralizing results from a specific context to a broader population ignores contextual factors that may limit applicability.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of 'practitioner evidence' in evidence-based change management?
- A peer-reviewed journal article on change resistance
- A manager's reflection on lessons learned from past change initiatives (Correct answer)
- A randomized trial comparing two change methodologies
- A meta-analysis of organizational transformation studies
Correct answer: A manager's reflection on lessons learned from past change initiatives
Practitioner evidence includes the professional experience, observations, and tacit knowledge of change managers from their own practice.
Question 6: In change management research, a 'longitudinal study' is preferred over a 'cross-sectional study' primarily because it:
- Is less expensive to conduct
- Captures changes in variables over time, allowing causal inferences (Correct answer)
- Requires fewer research participants
- Eliminates the need for a control group
Correct answer: Captures changes in variables over time, allowing causal inferences
Longitudinal studies track the same subjects over time, enabling researchers to observe how variables evolve and establish temporal precedence for causality.
Question 7: A change manager notices that survey respondents consistently rated change initiatives higher at the end of the fiscal year. This pattern most likely reflects:
- Selection bias
- Social desirability bias
- Seasonal or cyclical response bias (Correct answer)
- Acquiescence bias
Correct answer: Seasonal or cyclical response bias
Cyclical or seasonal patterns in survey responses may reflect contextual factors unrelated to the intervention itself.
Change Management Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3
Which type of validity is most threatened when change management research is conducted only with volunteers?