Article Critique

Article Critique

This paper provides a critical review of the study by Cheryl Hyde, Multicultural Development in Human Service Agencies: Challenges and Solutions. The critical analysis will look at the research problem, hypothesis, research questions, literature review, the conceptual framework, the research design, sampling, and data collection procedures, criteria for inclusion or exclusion, ethical considerations and data collection procedures. The conclusion will evaluate whether these components have been addressed through the research design chosen by the researchers, and whether the conclusion is in line with the stated hypothesis.

Research Problem, Hypothesis and Research questions

The research problem and objectives are provided by the researcher in the article. These are not explicitly stated in the study. However, a careful reading of the introduction reveals what the problem under investigation is, and objectives for carrying out the study.  The research problem emanates from the fact that organizations cultures do not seem tailored to meet the demands of an evolving world. This calls for the reduction in the barriers that hinder uniformity of practices among the various individuals in the human services agencies. Therefore, the objective of the study is to examine the multicultural organizational development in order to understand the hindrances in embracing diversity.

Literature Review

Hyde does not provide a clear section or heading to show the literature review segment. However, there are several citations where appropriate references have been indicated. First, the author makes use of citation in the introduction part of the study, which aids the reader to understand the subject of the study. In addition, author tries to reinforce the statement of the problem by referring to earlier studies. For instance, the author cites works that deal with gender, race, age diversity to show that human service managers must confront the challenges of multiculturalism in modern enterprises. In addition, the author uses previous studies to show the activities that have been undertaken by human service managers to respond to diversity challenges in human service organizations. For instance, Ferguson; Fong & Gibbs (1995) have been cited by the writer to show that training, hiring and retention plans are critical in dealing with the challenge of diversity in the workplace. However, there are instances where the author also consults his earlier works. Any research study is prone to personal bias. Using ones study as a reference point could mean having a narrowed view of the problem under study. In general, the literature has been used by the writer to guide and support the focus of the entire discussion.

The Conceptual Framework

There is no clearly stipulated analytical framework for this study. However, a keen extrapolation shows that the author uses a guiding hypothesis as a conceptual framework for the study. This can be deduced from the opening paragraph, where the writer observes, “Human service agencies must become more multicultural to appropriately serve diverse and disenfranchised people” (Hyde, 2004, p. 7). By using various studies and conducting his own study, the author tries to find out if this is the case. Therefore, this statement is the guiding framework for the discussion by the author.

Research Design

A research design is a framework used by the researcher to help in gathering and analyzing data (Hakim 2012). There are various designs that a researcher can choose from depending on the type of research or the aims of the study. Hyde uses an exploratory design for this study. The exploratory research design, as the same suggests, is aimed at discovering ideas or insights on a given subject under study (Hakim 2012, Levy and Lemeshow, 2013). It helps the researcher to develop a better understanding of a given situation, and does not aim at generalizations. Hyde tries to examine multicultural organizations to identify any possible obstacles to successful change (Hyde, 2004).

Sampling, Data Collection and Analysis Procedure

The key concern of the sampling is how well it represents the targeted population (Hakim 2012). This underlies the population validity, which is the degree to which the results of the study can be applied to the larger population. In other words, it helps the researcher to make generalizations. A common error in sampling is that the sample size pooled for a study does not reflect or is not identical to the target market (Levy and Lemeshow, 2013). For instance, in this study the writer uses “20 practitioners and 20 consultants in a New England metropolitan area” (Hyde, 2004, p.8). The respondents were people knowledgeable in area under study. In addition, the sample was diverse. Although the sample size was small, it was, to some extent, diverse. Another common error in sampling is having a narrow sample. This is the problem with this study because it focuses on a group of respondents with similar traits, which can lead to biased results. Although sometimes a researcher can be interested in a certain characteristic, say people with knowledge in a given field, the focus of the study would have better used a broad population base of maybe 500 respondents. A critical part of the sample has been ignored, and this includes people with lived experiences. These could be employees or recipients of human services across several sectors. This group would also have provided useful insights as to the barriers to MCOD.

The analysis of data was undertaken through constant comparison. Themes were compared among the responses received to identify a common focus and point of disagreements. This iterative analysis helped the research to identify a training model for human services, challenges and probable solutions to the identified problems.

Criteria for inclusion/exclusion

Hyde targeted respondents based on their experience with MCOD as well as people with definite characteristics. The author chose people from his professional network, who in turn recommended others to be included in the study. Any person who did not fit into this criterion was excluded from the study. The inclusion and exclusion criterion chosen by Hyde, though made to get a clearer picture of the subject under investigation, was extensively deficient. It is not possible to have a perfect research. However, it would have been prudent for the researcher to include more subjects into his sample to increase the validity of the results. Having a sample with similar traits would most likely lead to findings that reflect the idiosyncratic nature of the selected category.

Ethical Consideration

Ethical considerations in research are important. Respondents should be informed early as to the purpose of the study so they can decide whether to take an active part in the study or not. Research involving human beings should not be carried out without the informed consent of the participants, and since some of the issues raised by the participants might touch on their personal lives. Seeking the consent of the participants minimizes the risk of coercion and exploitation. In addition, participants should be reassured that their unwillingness to participate is their right and cannot jeopardize their occupation of professional life in any way. In this study, there is no evidence that participants were informed about the purpose of the study. In addition, there is no evidence of their consent being sought to take part in the study. Moreover, the researcher does not embrace the ethical protocol of having a short questionnaire. Instead, “flexibility is the hallmark” (Hyde, 2004, p. 9) in this study. This means the interviewers can pull as many questions as possible to the respondent. It would be embarrassing and unethical to keep a respondent for as many hours as the researcher tries to purses any lead he or she deems fit for the study.

Conclusions

The study achieved the stated objectives and shed some more light on the issues of multicultural problems in human services agencies. The author concurs that MCOD is a challenging issue as was evidenced by the results in the analysis section. Respondents talked more on the barriers to embracing multiculturalism, as opposed to the solutions. This shows that multicultural issues are not easy to deal within the organizational set-up. In addition, the author concurs that multicultural human services are more necessary than there before. This is evidenced by demographic shifts, among other factors explored by the author. In summary, the conclusions largely helped identify the model that can be used to guide the training process to deal with multicultural issues in human services organization.

References

Hakim, C. (2012). Research design: successful designs for social economics research. London: Routledge

Hyde, A. C. (2004). Multicultural Development in Human Service Agencies: Challenges and Solutions, Social Work, 49 (1) 7-15.

Levy, P. S. and Lemeshow, S. 2013. Sampling of populations: methods and applications (4^th Ed.). London: John Wiley & Sons.

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