This was a descriptive and exploratory study. Two major methods of data collection were used: (1) semistructured face-to-face interviews and (2) document analysis. The first major method of this study was in-depth, semistructured face-to-face interviews with workforce diversity managers/directors who are responsible for diversity initiatives in multinational corporations headquartered in the state of Illinois that are exemplary in their diversity efforts. Through face-to-face interviews extensive data were collected from diversity managers/directors in order to produce an in-depth understanding of the current status of diversity initiatives in these multinational corporations. The data obtained through the interviews consisted of words in the form of rich verbal descriptions (qualitative data) as well as quantitative data. The quantitative data were utilized to provide the basic evidence, while the qualitative data were used to round out the picture and provide examples.
The second major method of data collection used was document analysis. Documents related to the organizational diversity initiatives in the multinational corporations were collected from primary and secondary sources. Documents were solicited from the corporations and from standard literature sources such as annual reports, community relations reports, journals, magazines, the World Wide Web, newspaper articles, research reports, and diversity-related books. The data obtained from these documents provided insightful and enriched information that was used to confirm and verify the information provided by the study participants during the face-to-face interviews.