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Case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary
phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. This strategy will be of particular interest to
you if you wish to gain a rich understanding of the context of the research and the process being enacted. The case study
strategy also has considerable ability to generate answers to the question ‘why?’ as well as ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ ques-
tions. The data collection methods employed may be various. They may include questionnaires, interviews, observation,
documentary analysis.
Grounded theory is often thought of as the best example of the inductive approach, although this conclusion would
be too simplistic. It is better to think of it as ‘theory building’ through a combination of induction and deduction. In
grounded theory, data collection starts without the formation of an initial theoretical framework. Theory is developed
from data generated by a series of observations. These data lead to the generation of predictions that are then tested in
further observations which may confirm, or otherwise, the predictions. Constant reference to the data to develop and
test theory leads us to understanding grounded theory as an inductive/deductive approach.
Ethnography is also firmly rooted in the inductive approach. It emanates from the field of anthropology. The pur-
pose is to interpret the social world the research subjects inhabit in the way in which they interpret it. This is obviously
a research strategy that is very time consuming and takes place over an extended time period. The research process
needs to be flexible and responsive to change since the researcher will constantly be developing new patterns of thought
about what is being observed.
Action research is a strategy which is concerned with a management of a change and involving close collaboration
between practitioners and researchers. Action research differs from other forms of applied research because of its explicit
focus on action, in particular promoting change within the organization. Its purpose is not just describe, understand and
explain the world but also to change it.
6. Regardless of the strategy you are pursuing your research may be either cross-sectional or longitudinal.
Cross-sectional research is the study of a particular phenomenon at a particular time, i.e. a ‘snapshot’. Longitudi-
nal study is the study of a particular phenomenon over an extended period of time.
Cross-sectional studies often employ the survey strategy. They may describe the incidence of a phenomenon (for
example, a survey of the IT skills possessed by managers in one organization at a given point of time). The main
strength of longitudinal research is the capacity that it has to study change and development For example, you may be
studying the change in manufacturing processes in one company over a period of year. This would be a longitudinal
case study.
7. It would be misleading to think that research approaches and strategies exist in isolation. Not only is it perfectly
possible to combine them within the same piece of research, but it is often beneficial to do so.
The first major advantage of employing multi-methods in the same study is that different methods can be used for
different purposes in a study. You may wish to employ, for example, interviews, in order to get a feel for the key issues
before embarking on a questionnaire.
The second advantage of combining methods is that it enables triangulation to take place. It means the use of two
or more dependent sources of data or data collection methods within one study in order to ensure that data are telling
you what you think they are telling you.
8. Two particular emphases on research design should be paid attention to: reliability and validity.
Reliability can be assessed by posing the following three questions:
1) will the measures yield the same results on other occasions?
2) will similar observations be reached by other observers?
3) is there transparency in how sense was made from the raw data?
Validity is assessed by the extent to which:
1) data collection method or methods accurately measure what they were intended to measure;
2) research findings are really about what they profess to be about;
3) your findings may be equally applicable to other research settings, i.e. the extent to which they are generalis-
able.
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