Week 2:

1

• Week 2
• The Research Process

2

• Topics
• Review core themes of the course
• Overview of the research process
• Introduction to Qualitative Inquiry
• Further reading and follow-up work

3

• Course Aims
• Aims of this section of the course
• - to understand diversity of approaches to
  research
• - to appreciate the range of epistemological
  positions
• - to explore methods of qualitative research
• - to relate qualitative research methods to IS
  practice and to a range of user-centred and
  participatory IS design approaches

4

• Scientific Research
• Logic, reason, systematic evaluation - repeatable
• Social Science Research
• Logic, reason, opinion, evaluation
  non-repeatable
• People learn by being examined
• The effect of consciousness of the probe
• Management Process
• General management, strategic planning, policy
  development, consultancy

5
The Planning Management Process

• Terms of reference
• Environmental appraisal
• Mission statement
• Consider options
• Decide strategy
• Implement
• Evaluate
• Feedback

6
Three Types of Research

• Descriptive research finding out
• Explanatory research explaining identifying
  causality theory/model prediction
• Evaluative research evaluation of strategies,
  policies, programs 7 practices

7
Competitive Approaches

• Positivist Critical Interpretive Research
• Quantitative Qualitative
• Experimental Non-experimental
• Inductive Deductive

8
Data Issues

• Primary Secondary Data
• Self-reported Observed data
• Validity, reliability and generalisability

9

• The Theory Practice Dualism
• THEORY texts about the theory of qualitative
  research usually describe theoretical origins,
  explain and debate epistemological matters
• PRACTICE texts about the practice of
  qualitative research describe procedures for
  generating, analysing, interpreting and writing
  about qualitative data. Managing field studies
  etc.

10

• A note of caution
• Common assumption that practice is about
  everything theory is not
• - theory is about everything that is
  non-practical and practice is non-theoretical.
  Theory is applied to practice, practice is the
  domain in which theory is used
• Beware of this over simplification
• The theory-practice dualism is more complex
• -Theory guides practice AND practice informs
  theory
• Note we will return to explore this issue when
  we consider Action Research in Week 7

11

• Four Elements of the Research Process
• What methods do we propose to use?
• What methodology governs our choice and use of
  methods?
• What theoretical perspective lies behind the
  methodology in question?
• What epistemology informs this theoretical
  perspective?

12

• Methods
• Research methods are the techniques or procedures
  we plan to use in our research
• Research methods are used to gather and analyse
  data
• When talking about research methods we talk at a
  very detailed level
• The choice of methods is central to the progress
  and success of our research project and depend
  on
• Purpose of the research
• Location of the research
• Position of the researcher
• Cost (, time etc.)

13

• Methodology
• The research methodology describes our strategy
  or plan of action
• This is the research design shaping our choice
  of methods and linking that choice to the
  research outcomes
• Gives a rationale for our choice of methods and
  the way we employ those methods

14

• Theoretical Perspective
• The assumptions we bring to our chosen
  methodology. The philosophical stance that we are
  taking in our research
• By articulating our theoretical perspective we
  present our view of the human world and ground
  our assumptions i.e. our way of looking at the
  world and making sense of it. Examples
• Positivist
• Critical
• Interpretivist

15

• Our theoretical perspective (way of looking at
  the world) involves knowledge and embodies a
  particular understanding of how we know what we
  know.
• Epistemology is concerned with providing a
  philosophical grounding for deciding what kinds
  of knowledge are possible and how we can ensure
  that they are both adequate and legitimate
  (Maynard 1994, p10)
• e.g.
• Objectivism
• Constructionism (the epistemological stance of
  many qualitative researchers)

16

• The four elements inform one another
• Epistemology
• Theoretical perspective
• Methodology
• Methods

17

• Examples of each category

18

• Qualitative vs. Quantitative or
• Positivist vs. Interpretive/critical Research?
• Very often the qualitative and quantitative
  research are set against each other. Polar
  opposites. However these are really discussions
  based at the method level, not at the
  epistemological or theoretical perspectives level
  (the research paradigm level)
• At the epistemological level we are
  distinguishing between objectivist,
  constructivist, subjectivist research
• At the theoretical perspective level between
  positivist and interpretive/critical research

19

• Contrasting positivist and interpretive
  approaches

20

• So, what is qualitative research?
• Emerged from the social sciences
• Provides researchers with methodologies and
  methods for understanding people and their
  actions within social and organisational settings
• Usually very contextual, focussed on the
  understanding of the richness and complexity of
  the settings within which people live, learn and
  work

21

• Additional reading
• A list of readings and useful websites can be
  found at www.vereia.com/isys3015/index.html

22

• Week 4
• The Research Process
• The individual and the research process

23

• What do you bring to qualitative research?
• Epistemological beliefs
• Action theories (Argyris Schon, 1974)
• -Espoused theories
• -Theories in use
• What are your research strengths and weaknesses?

24

• Experiential learning cycle and reflective
  practice

Concrete experience (feeling)
group
Reflective observation (watching)
Active experimentation (doing)
transform
Abstract conceptualisation (thinking)
The experiential learning model (Kolb 1984)
25

• Being a part of a research group
• What are the main issues we need to consider when
  participating in collaborative or team-based
  research?

26

• What shapes the research process?
• There are influences on all aspects of the
  research process, on
• The research design
• The role of the researcher
• The collection and analysis of data
• The writing up of a research project
• The publication of results

27

• The role of the researcher
• Question for consideration
• How does the role of the researcher influence
  the research process?

28

• Political and ethical issues
• Question for consideration
• What political and ethical issues might
  influence or shape the way a research project is
  carried out?

29

• Our research practice
• Question for consideration
• What practical actions can we take to help us
  understand the various influences on the
  qualitative research process?

30

• Qualitative data
• Sources of data include
• - participant observation
• - interviews
• -documentary analysis
• Types of data
• - semantic analysis (elicited data) data we
  acquire in response to questions we ask
• - observational data data acquired through
  observation of the phenomenon of interest
  (researchers perceptions, video tapes, field
  notes...)
• - Emic data collected and described in
  categories relevant to the participants
• - Etic data - collected and described in
  categories defined by the researcher

31

• IS Research
• The rigor and relevance of debate
• Where does the field of information systems have
  its origins? Does this influence the way research
  is carried out?
• What are the main sources of information for IS
  research?
• How do we evaluate the information we use to
  inform our research (what aspects of information
  should we address?)