Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Qualitative Research Methods in the Study of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Concepts, Approaches and Methods

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment ((HWBEAH,volume 1))

Abstract

Qualitative research methods have been used for over 20 years to explore and illuminate workplace bullying, emotional abuse and harassment. This chapter brings together this wealth of research, synthesizing and discussing the data collection techniques, samples and analytic methods used as well as the predominant themes and discoveries of this research. Synthesis of this research points to the bullying experience as a process, the risk factors of being bullied, reactions, outcomes, response processes and how targets resist and seek justice. Qualitative research efforts have begun to clarify other actors in bullying situations such as bystanders, witnesses and human resources (HR). Organizational policy and enactment of this policy have begun to be explored and further critiqued through these methods, as well as organizational characteristics that contribute to bullying. This synthesis brings into focus the strong contribution of a qualitative approach to research on bullying, emotional abuse and harassment and should continue to illuminate these phenomena into the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Archer, D. (1999). Exploring “bullying” culture in the para-military organisation. International Journal of Manpower, 20(1/2), 94–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayoko, O. B., Callan, V. J., & Härtel, C. E. (2003). Workplace conflict, bullying, and counterproductive behaviors. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11(4), 283–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baillien, E., Neyens, I., & De Witte, H. (2008). Organizational, team related and job related risk factors for bullying, violence and sexual harassment in the workplace: A qualitative study. International. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 132–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baillien, E., Neyens, I., De Witte, H., & De Cuyper, N. (2009). A qualitative study on the development of workplace bullying: Towards a three way model. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch, C. (2012). How do perpetrators experience bullying at the workplace? International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 5(2), 159–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boje, D. M. (2001). Narrative methods for organizational and communication research. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burrell, G., & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological paradigms in organizational analysis. London: Heineman Education Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carey, M. A. (1994). The group effect in focus groups: Planning, implementing and interpreting focus group research. In J. Morse (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 225–241). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Celep, C., & Konakli, T. (2013). Mobbing experiences of instructors: Causes, results, and solution suggestions. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 13(1), 193–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charmaz, K. (2000). Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 509–535). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, R. L. (2009). “Rocking the boat” and “continuing to fight”: Un/productive episodes and the problem of workplace bullying. Human Communication, 12, 283–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, R. L. (2011). “Yes, we have an anti-bullying policy, but…”: HR professionals’ understandings and experiences with workplace bullying policy. Communication Studies, 62, 307–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, R. L. (2012). It’s complicated: Defining workplace bullying from the human resource professional’s perspective. Management Communication Quarterly, 26, 377–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, R. L. (2013). “**it rolls downhill” and other attributions on why adult bullying happens in organizations from the human resource professional’s perspective. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 14, 97–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/17459435.2013.835347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, R. L., & Fox, S. (2015). Being pushed and pulled: A model of U.S. HR professionals’ roles in workplace bullying situations. Personnel Review, 44, 119–139. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2013-0210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Czarniawska, B. (1997). Narrating the organization. Dramas of institutional identity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2010). The exit coping response to workplace bullying: The contribution of inclusivist and exclusivist HRM strategies. Employee Relations, 32(2), 102–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2011). The limits to workplace friendship: Managerialist HRM and bystander behaviour in the context of workplace bullying. Employee Relations, 33(3), 269–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2012). Clarifying my world: Identity work in the context of workplace bullying. The Qualitative Report, 17(8), 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2013a). Breathers, releases, outlets and pauses: Employee resistance in the context of depersonalized bullying. The Qualitative Report, 18(36), 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2013b). Navigating the extended reach: Target experiences of cyberbullying at work. Information and Organization, 23(4), 324–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2014). The interface between technology and customer cyberbullying: Evidence from India. Information and Organization, 24(3), 176–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2015). Ambivalence: Employee responses to depersonalized bullying at work. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 36(1), 123–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2018). Target experiences of workplace bullying on online labour markets: Uncovering the nuances of resilience. Employee Relations, 40(1), 139–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Cruz, P., Noronha, E., & Beale, D. (2014). The workplace bullying-organizational change interface: Emerging challenges for human resource management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(10), 1434–1459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Introduction: Entering the field of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. D. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 1–19). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dey, I. (1993). Qualitative data analysis for social scientists. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dhar, R. (2012). Why do they bully? Bullying behavior and its implication on the bullied. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 27, 79–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2012.666463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberle, T. S. (2014). Phenomenology as research method. In U. Flick (Ed.), The Sage handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 184–202). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Efe, S. Y., & Ayaz, S. (2010). Mobbing against nurses in the workplace in Turkey. International Nursing Review, 57(3), 328–334.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellingson, L. (2008). Engaging crystallization in qualitative research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahie, D. (2014). Doing sensitive research sensitively: Ethical and methodological issues in researching workplace bullying. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 13(1), 19–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, P. (2004). A preliminary typology of organisational response to allegations of workplace bullying: See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32(3), 389–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, W.R. (1984). Narration as human communication paradigm: The case of public moral argument. Communication Monographs, 51, 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flick, U. (2014). The Sage handbook of qualitative data analysis. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). Grounded theory: The discovery of grounded theory. Sociology The Journal of The British Sociological Association, 12, 27–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallberg, L. R., & Strandmark, M. K. (2006). Health consequences of workplace bullying: Experiences from the perspective of employees in the public service sector. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 1(2), 109–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, S., Rayner, C., & Warren, S. (2012). Too hot to handle? Trust and human resource practitioners’ implementation of anti-bullying policy. Human Resource Management Journal, 22(4), 392–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, S., Warren, S., & Rayner, C. (2015). Human resource management practitioners’ responses to workplace bullying: Cycles of symbolic violence. Organization, 22(3), 368–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodson, R., Roscigno, V. J., & Lopez, S. H. (2006). Chaos and the abuse of power: Workplace bullying in organizational and interactional context. Work and Occupations, 33(4), 382–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook, M. B. (2005). Customer value and autoethnography: Subjective personal introspection and the meanings of a photograph collection. Journal of Business Research, 58(1), 45–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, M., Vickers, M. H., Jackson, D., & Wilkes, L. (2005). “ I’m gonna do what I wanna do.” Organizational change as a legitimized vehicle for bullies. Health Care Management Review, 30(4), 331–336.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, M., Vickers, M. H., Jackson, D., & Wilkes, L. (2006). Like wolves in a pack: Predatory alliances of bullies in nursing. Journal of Management & Organization, 12(3), 235–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, M., Vickers, M. H., Wilkes, L., & Jackson, D. (2009). “The worse you behave, the more you seem, to be rewarded”: Bullying in nursing as organizational corruption. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 21(3), 213–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, M., Vickers, M. H., Wilkes, L., & Jackson, D. (2010). A typology of bullying behaviours: The experiences of Australian nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(15–16), 2319–2328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, M. F., Zapf, D., Winefield, H., & Sarris, A. (2012). Bullying allegations from the accused bully's perspective. British Journal of Management, 23(4), 489–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karatuna, I. (2015). Targets’ coping with workplace bullying: A qualitative study. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 10(1), 21–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keashly, L. (2001). Interpersonal and systemic aspects of emotional abuse at work: The target’s perspective. Violence and Victims, 16(3), 233–268.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D. (2000). An analysis of workplace bullying in the UK. Personnel Review, 29(5), 593–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, D. (1999). Workplace bullying–interim findings of a study in further and higher education in Wales. International Journal of Manpower, 20(1/2), 106–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, D. (2004). Bullying at work: The impact of shame among university and college lecturers. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32(3), 281–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, S. E. (2006). Recognition of workplace bullying: A qualitative study of women targets in the public sector. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 16(2), 119–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, S. E., & Orford, J. (2005). Women’s experiences of workplace bullying: Changes in social relationships. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15(1), 29–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leymann, H. (1996). The content and development of mobbing at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 165–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liefooghe, A. P., & Olafsson, R. (1999). “Scientists” and “amateurs”: Mapping the bullying domain. International Journal of Manpower, 20(1/2), 39–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry (Vol. 9, p. 438). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindloff, T. R., & Taylor, B. C. (2011). Qualitative communication research methods (3rd ed.). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2003). The communicative cycle of employee emotional abuse: Generation and regeneration of workplace mistreatment. Management Communication Quarterly, 16(4), 471–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2006). Take this job and…: Quitting and other forms of resistance to workplace bullying. Communication Monographs, 73(4), 406–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2008). Intensive remedial identity work: Responses to workplace bullying trauma and stigmatization. Organization, 15(1), 97–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & McDermott, V. (2011). Making sense of supervisory bullying: Perceived powerlessness, empowered possibilities. Southern Communication Journal, 76(4), 342–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacIntosh, J. (2006). Tackling work place bullying. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 27(6), 665–679.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacIntosh, J. (2012). Workplace bullying influences women’s engagement in the workforce. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 33(11), 762–768.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, H., & Rayner, C. (2012). The form and function of “bullying” behaviors in a strong occupational culture: Bullying in a UK police service. Group & Organization Management, 37(3), 347–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, S. M., & MacIntosh, J. A. (2016). Gender and workplace bullying: men’s experiences of surviving bullying at work. Qualitative Health Research, 26(3), 351–366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, W. F. (1984). Interpretive themes in relational communication. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70, 274–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roscigno, V. J., Lopez, S. H., & Hodson, R. (2009). Supervisory bullying, status inequalities and organizational context. Social Forces, 87(3), 1561–1589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shallcross, L., Ramsay, S., & Barker, M. (2008a). Workplace mobbing: Expulsion, exclusion, and transformation. In 22nd ANZAM Conference 2008: Managing in the Pacific century conference proceedings, Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM), University of Auckland, Auckland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shallcross, L., Sheehan, M., & Ramsay, S. (2008b). Workplace mobbing: Experiences in the public sector. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 13(2), 56–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, S. R., & Mawn, B. (2010). Bullying in the workplace—A qualitative study of newly licensed registered nurses. AAOHN Journal, 58(7), 305–311.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sobre-Denton, M. S. (2012). Stories from the cage: Autoethnographic sensemaking of workplace bullying, gender discrimination, and white privilege. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 41(2), 220–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strandmark, M. K., & Hallberg, L. R. M. (2007). The origin of workplace bullying: Experiences from the perspective of bully victims in the public service sector. Journal of Nursing Management, 15(3), 332–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sumner, E. M., Scarduzio, J. A., & Daggett, J. R. (2016). Drama at Dunder Mifflin: Workplace bullying discourse on the Office. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Published online before print. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516681158

  • Tirscher, S., Meyer, M., Wodak, R., & Vetter, E. (2000). Methods of text and discourse analysis. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, and communication impact. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, S. J., Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Alberts, J. K. (2006). Nightmares, demons and slaves: Exploring the painful metaphors of workplace bullying. Management Communication Quarterly, 20, 148–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tye-Williams, S., & Krone, K. J. (2015). Chaos, reports, and quests: Narrative agency and co-workers in stories of workplace bullying. Management Communication Quarterly, 29, 3–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tye-Williams, S., & Krone, K. J. (2017). Identifying and re-imagining the paradox of workplace bullying advice. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 45(2), 218–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vickers, M. H. (2007). Autoethnography as sensemaking: A story of bullying. Culture and Organization, 13(3), 223–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaman, E. (2010). Perception of faculty members exposed to mobbing about the organizational culture and climate. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 10(1), 567–578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zabrodska, K., Ellwood, C., Zaeemdar, S., & Mudrak, J. (2016). Workplace bullying as sensemaking: An analysis of target and actor perspectives on initial hostile interactions. Culture and Organization, 22(2), 136–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapf, D., & Gross, C. (2001). Conflict escalation and coping with workplace bullying: A replication and extension. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 497–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queens University of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Renee L. Cowan

  2. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Allison Toth

Authors
  1. Renee L. Cowan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Allison Toth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renee L. Cowan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Organizational Behaviour (OB), Indian Institute of Management Organizational Behaviour (OB), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

    Premilla D'Cruz

  2. Organisation Behaviour, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Organisation Behaviour, Ahmedabad, India

    Ernesto Noronha

  3. University of Bergen, Department of Psychosocial Science University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Guy Notelaers

  4. Portsmouth Business School, University of Portsmouth Portsmouth Business School, Portsmouth, United Kingdom

    Charlotte Rayner

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Cowan, R.L., Toth, A. (2018). Qualitative Research Methods in the Study of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment. In: D'Cruz, P., Noronha, E., Notelaers, G., Rayner, C. (eds) Concepts, Approaches and Methods. Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, vol 1. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5334-4_16-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5334-4_16-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-5334-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5334-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation