Research Design 2

Research strategy
• RD is a master plan specifying the methods and
procedures for collecting and analyzing the data.
• Prior to RD decision about research strategy must
have been taken.
• Strategy for case study
 Case Study
• A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates:
• A contemporary phenomenon
• With in depth approach, and
• Within its real-life context.
• Empirical: based on knowledge and experience, or
more practically speaking involves the collection and
analysis of data.
• How about objectivity?
• Case study research is concerned with investigating
single or multiple units of study.
• Using familiar research methods for data collection
such as interviews or surveys.
 Small number of units/cases
• Case is ‘a bounded system’ (for one case) or ‘multiple
bounded systems’(for more than one).
• The case study researcher is able to look in-depth at a
topic of interest or phenomenon.
• Case studies are preferred in the following situations:
• 􀁶 When ‘how’ or ‘why’ questions are being asked.
• 􀁶 When the researcher has little control over events.
• 􀁶 When the focus is on a contemporary
phenomenon.
 Studying the phenomenon in context
• The findings generate insight into how the
phenomenon actually occurs within a given
situation.
• For business researchers, there are many
advantages in looking at something within a
particular location, company, team, department or
industry.
• Limitation: unable to make generalizations as in
survey research.
• But this deep understanding can contribute to
knowledge.
 Very clear about the focus of study
• It means: that the researcher makes very clear
statements in the research objectives about the
focus and the extent of the research.
 Types of case studies
• Intrinsic case: a situation where you need to learn
about a particular case, which could be a problem
in a particular work situation.
• Instrumental case: use a case to learn about
something else (e.g. the efficacy of cross-
functional teams in managing customer
relationships)
• Collective case: find out about a particular
phenomenon from a number of different cases
(senior executive pay  collect data from a
number of organizations)
 Data sources
• Primary (interview data)
• Secondary (internal documentation, industry
reports)
• By using several different sources of data or
different methods of data collection, the research
findings are strengthened as the evidence is
triangulated.
• Triangulation (different perspectives) is an
important concept in case study research. Provides
robust foundations for the findings and supports
arguments for its contribution to knowledge.
 Longitudinal approach
• Not as common as they should be in business and
management.
• Study the process and evolving patterns.
• Gaining understanding of the phenomenon over a
year or longer. (Transfer of new technologies
from the developers to the users.)
• The phenomenon can be studied in its natural
setting and meaningful, relevant theory
generated from the understanding gained through
actual practice.
 Answer the questions of why and how
• Case study research is ideal for looking at
research questions which are closely connected to
their context or situation, which in business is
particularly appealing.
• Research questions relating to the problems can
be explored from perspectives that could be:
• industry-specific.
• Geographical location specific.
• Size specific.
 Why of the phenomenon?
• The aim of case study research, by using multiple
data sources, is to:
• Gain understanding of the phenomenon, and
through this understanding
• Look for explanations i.e. extend or test theory
• The value of case study research for business is
that it allows the researcher to examine a problem
or question in a practical, real-life situation.
 Variety of data collection methods
• The real business of a case is particularization and
understanding the case itself. Uniqueness of reality.
• Versatility of case study: variety of data collection methods
at the disposal of the case study researcher.
• Adopt a particular method that is suitable to particular
situations and conditions.
• For example: In a larger organization it may be quite feasible
to collect data using a survey of staff.
• Smaller organizations may lend themselves to a study of
their documents and archives or in-depth interviews.
• As case study research usually involves a number of
different data sources and methods
• Insight is gained from considering the question from a multi-
dimensional perspective.
•
 Variety of data collection methods
Experiment Case study Survey
Small number of units Small number of units Larger number of units
(sometimes one)
Data collected and analyzed Data collected and analyzed Data collected and analyzed
about small number of about large and often not about a small number of
predetermined features of predetermined features of features of each case
each unit each unit

Study of units organized in Interest in naturally occurring Units selected to represent

such a way as to control features or the variables in characteristics of the study’s
variables of interest context population

Data usually quantified Data can be quantitative, Data usually quantified

qualitative or both
Aim is of testing theory or Aim is to understand and Aim is to generalize findings
evaluation of an intervention theorize through enfolding from sample to population
the literature
 Reasons for case study choice
• Case study is a separate research method that has
its own research designs.
• Case study research is particularly suitable for
description, explanation and exploratory research.
• It is perhaps a weakness of the definitions that
neither mention theory when case study
researchers go to great lengths to demonstrate
how their research contributes to theory. Logical
explanation.
 Selection of cases for case study
• Need sufficient access to the potential data,
whether to interview people, review documents
or records, or make observations in the “field.”
• Given such access to more than a single candidate
case, choose the case(s) that will most likely
illuminate your research questions.
 Research insight: How many cases
• Case study is a unit. No formula for how many units.
• A unit of study could be an individual, an
organization, an event or an activity.
• Leadership: individual/s leadership styles.
• Organizational culture: select organization. study two
departments or groups within that
• organization or make comparisons between two or
more different organizations.
• Cases constitute a range of phenomena.
• Aim: to provide a rich multidimensional holistic
picture of the situation in a real-life context.
Mixed Methods Designs:
Mixing Case Studies with Other Methods
• Research where the researcher mixes or
combines quantitative and qualitative
research techniques, methods, approaches,
concepts or language into a single study.
• Mixed methods research forces the methods to
share the same research questions, to collect
complementary data, and to conduct counterpart
analyses.
• Mixed methods research can permit investigators to
address more complicated research questions and
collect a richer and stronger array of evidence than
can be accomplished by any single method alone.
 Embedded case study designs
• The embedded case studies rely on more holistic
data collection strategies for studying the main
case but then call upon surveys or other more
quantitative techniques to collect data about the
embedded unit(s) of analysis.
• In this situation, other research methods are
embedded within your case study.
 Case study embedded in mixed
methods study
• The main investigation may rely on a survey or
other quantitative techniques, and case study
may help to investigate the conditions within
one of the entities being surveyed.
• The contrasting relationships (survey within case
or case within survey).
 The Role of Theory in case study
• This role of theory development, prior to the
conduct of any data collection, is one point of
difference between case studies and related
methods such as ethnography and “grounded
theory.”
• Typically, these related methods deliberately
avoid specifying any theoretical propositions at
the outset of an inquiry.
 Unique use of theory
• Resultantly students think that, by having selected
the case study method, they can proceed quickly
into the data collection phase of their work.
• It is just misleading.
• The relevant field contacts depend upon an
understanding—or theory—of what is being
studied.
 Theory development for case studies
• Theory development as part of the design phase is
essential, whether the ensuing case study’s
purpose is to develop or to test theory.
• “Why” of case study of a phenomenon demands
the articulation of argumentation as an
explanation of the existence or change in the
reality.
• Workability of intervention. That is theory, a
theory of change.
 Theory part of research design
• The questions to be answered, propositions for the
possible answers, selection of units of analysis,
logic connecting data to propositions, and criteria
for interpreting the findings, all need logical
argumentation.
• The complete research design embodies a
“theory” of what is being studied
 Theoretical framework – an essential
step
• The simple goal is to have a sufficient blueprint for
your study, and this requires theoretical propositions
• “a [hypothetical] story about why acts, events,
structure, and thoughts occur”
• Success /failure story of management information
system (MIS) in an organization.
• A convincing story with logical argumentation.
• Theory will provide surprisingly strong guidance in
determining what data to collect and the strategies for
analyzing the data.
• For this reason, theory development prior to the
collection of any case study data is an essential step in
doing case studies.
 Theory development a challenging job
• Theory development takes time and can be
difficult.
• Review of literature provides a rich resource for
theoretical framework for designing a specific case
study.
• Review case studies and gain a richer
understanding of how theory was used.
• Individual theories, group theories, organizational
theories, societal theories.
Generalizing from case study to theory
• Same theoretical orientation also becomes the
main vehicle for generalizing the results of the
case study.
 Two outstanding strengths
• Case study method can achieve:
• 1. Study the phenomenon in its natural setting.
Process. Understanding the reality. How it has
been happening i.e. complexity of reality in
totality (in context)?
• 2. Generate meaningful and relevant theory from
the understanding gained through practice. Why
i.e. logical explanation.