6.1 Unit of analysis

The unit of analysis describes the level at which the research is performed and which objects are researched e.g.:

·         High level units of analysis

o   Organizations, division, departments

·         Low level units of analysis

o   Management decisions, transactions, contracts

Important to keep in mind is that the Unit of analysis is not always the same as the kind of repsondent the researcher questions in order to obtain information. E.g. in a research with the organization as the unit of analysis the researcher can decide to question the employees to gather the data required for the research.

 

How to choose the unit of analysis? (these three questions provide a guide to make a choice)

·         What is our research problem and what do we really want to answer?

·         What do we need to measure to answer our research problem?

·         What do we want to do with the results of the research, who are we addressing in our conclusion?