The Problem

Increasingly sophisticated research designs and methods are required to support research and theory building in the social sciences. This is particularly true in human resource development (HRD) as it continues to emerge as a field grounded in the application of theory to practice. Too often, best decision practices regarding the accurate use of advanced statistical tools needed for finer-grained analyses are not followed that can become problematic for theory generation and theory building.

The Solution

The individual contributions in this issue begin to address part of the knowledge gap in the social sciences and HRD about how to correctly apply cutting-edge quantitative data-analytic techniques to answer research questions and test hypotheses. The new knowledge gained from the testing and validating of theory through these quantitative means could be used, in turn, to support additional theory building. Care has been taken to link each data-analytic technique to possible theory-building efforts, research, and practice.

The Stakeholders

Researchers and practitioners in the field of HRD may gain from using best quantitative statistical practices to more accurately generate and build theory, guide empirical research, and inform organizational practice. Researchers from other social science disciplines such as industrial-organizational psychology, human resource management, and adult education could benefit from this special issue on quantitative data-analytic techniques and their use as methods to support theory building as well.