1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods1 Overview on Research Methods Inf5220

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods2 Quantitative research methods  natural science  natural phenomena  IS research: surveys, structured interviews Qualitative research methods  social science  social and cultural phenomena

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods3 “Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live. The goal of understanding a phenomenon from the point of view of the participants and its particular social and institutional context is largely lost when textual data are quantified. “ (Meyers – 1997)

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods4 Philosophical perspectives PositivistInterpretive Qualitative Research Critical Underlying philosophical assumptions

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods5 Positivist Research Social sciences should endeavour to emulate the most advanced of the natural sciences (physics) Reality is objectively given Reality can be described by measurable properties – independent of the observer and his instruments Theory testing Variables: emphasis on quantitative data statistical tools and packages are an essential element

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods6 Example We test three practitioner theories-in-use of business process redesign derived from the business process reengineering (BPR) literature using a positivist case study of a U.S. company that undertook BPR. The empirical testing involves observations of a major information technology (IT) enabled reengineering initiative at a real company. We, therefore, reject SS1. SS2: Effective redesign of processes can be accomplished only if a balanced team undertakes redesign.

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods7 Interpretive Research Aim: to understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them interpretive methods of research in IS are "aimed at producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context" not predefine dependent and independent variables, but focuses on the full complexity of human sense making as the situation emerges

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods8 Example This paper presents a study of the development of a standard EPR system and its implementation in the National Hospital in Oslo, Norway. The research began with a focus on the implementation process, and in particular, we were interested in understanding how existing information systems and work practices influenced the implementation process, how difficulties were emerging, what the sources of such difficulties were, and what roles the various actors involved in the process played.

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods9 Critical Research social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people People’s ability to do constrained by various forms of social, cultural and political domination It focuses on the oppositions, conflicts and contradictions in contemporary society, and seeks to be emancipatory (i.e. it should help to eliminate the causes of alienation and domination)

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods10 Example ”In this study, Smith (1988) was concerned with what impact the introduction of electronic point of sale systems in retail organization (food shop chain) would have on retail service workers. He was interested in understanding how the systems would influence the labor process and in particular the relationship between labor and management”

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods11 Qualitative Research methods Research method: ”strategy of enquiry which moves from the underlying philosophical assumptions to research design and data collection” Action research Case study Ethnography Grounded theory

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods12 Action Research Contribution to the practical concerns: diagnosing a problem situation, planning action steps, implementing and evaluating outcomes. Evaluation leads to a new diagnosis… joint collaboration: together with the people experiencing the problem Contextuality and participation Vision: researchers have a vision on how the reality should be – not value free

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods13 Example “The Health Information Systems Program (HISP) is a large-scale, ongoing action research project that has as its primary goal to design, implement, and sustain Health Information System following a participatory approach to support local management of health care delivery and information flows in selected health facilities, districts, and provinces, and its further spread within and across developing countries”

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods14 Case Study A case study is an empirical inquiry that:  investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real- life context,  boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident IS research: the study of information systems in organizations (not just technical issues) Case study research can be positivist, interpretive, or critical. Significance: a single case? Completeness: boundaries?

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods15 Example The empirical material comes from an interpretive case study on the heart transplantation process, and is set at the only hospital in Norway performing transplantations. Data have been collected over four rounds of fieldwork started in January 2002 and ended in September The empirical material presents a perspective on the process focused on the production and use of the waiting list for heart transplantation. Starting point for data collection in the field has been the unfolding of the organization of work around the process by telling about the different “agenda, concerns, responsibilities and conventions” of people involved.

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods16 Ethnography from social and cultural anthropology: ethnographers spend a significant amount of time in the field. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the lives of the people they study:  Social context  Cultural context Basic resource: participant observation Researcher’s identity

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods17 Example The main method for data collection has been participatory observation. The authors have been members of the project organization and the first author spent approximately 50% of her time for one and a half years (from the summer of 1998 to the end of 1999) as a participant observer at one of the sites. The other site has also been visited several times for parallel observations. The first author participated in the technical support work for most of the transmissions in this particular project. This work includes planning, actual preparation, and set- up, as well as assistance during transmissions.

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods18 Grounded Theory to develop theory that is grounded in data Emergence: aim is to understand the research situtation Special emphasis on continuous interplay between data collection and analysis Literature becomes relevant as data emerge: no preconceived theory

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods19 Example In this paper, the implementation of CASE tools is understood as a specific case of technology-based organizational change. As such, the core research question is: What are the critical elements that shape the organizational changes associated with the adoption and use of CASE tools? In answering this question, I first describe the empirical findings that emerged from my grounded theory study of two organizations that implemented CASE tools in their systems development operations. I then develop a theoretical framework that conceptualizes the findings in terms of three central categories: strategic conduct, institutional context, and change process.

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods20 Variety of qualitative methods/techniques Observation Analysing text and documents Interviews Recording and transcribing Video analysis

1September2005INF Qualitative Research Methods21 To sum up Philosophical assumptions: positivist, interpretive, critical Research methods: Action research, Case study, Ethnography, Grounded theory Data collection techniques: observations, interviews, texts analysis.. Not idealtypes!

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