1. IS8014 Qualitative Research in IS Week 3:
Issues in the Field, Ethnography and Case Studies

2. Learning Objectives Today
To explore issues associated with doing field research to try and ensure that things don’t go wrong!
Most qualitative research takes place in the field, so it is important to examine field research issues
Examining Ethnographic and Case Study Approaches to Research

3. Origins Field research has a long history in cultural anthropology
Where the researcher goes to live with a culturally interesting group of people and learn their way of life
Two ‘nice’ human examples:
Philippe Descola’s account of life in the Ecuadorean jungle with the Achuar from
Robert Klitzman’s account of kuru, cannibalism and mad cow disease in Papua New Guinea in 1972

4. Alternatively
Jane Goodall’s research into Chimpanzee behaviour in Gombe forest, Tanzania
Birute Galdikas’ research into Orang-Utan behaviour in Indonesia
Similar work with elephants, macaques, baboons, bonobos, etc.
This is zoology, not anthropology – but it is still field research

5. In Information Systems
Anthropology is also an accepted research method – and most field research in IS involves some aspect of anthropological technique
Avison and Myers (1995)
Klein and Myers (2000)
A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems, MISQ.

6. Issues in Field Research
Contacting Organisations
Respecting and Working with Organisations
Studying and Observing Organisations
Reporting and Publishing Findings
Legal and Ethical Issues

7. Contacting Organisations 1
You have your research question, you think you know which method (but you might change your mind later), you know (perhaps) what kind of data you want
Now you have to find an organisation where you can try out your ideas, collect the data, see if your plans are doing to work

8. Contacting Organisations 2
Where do you start?
This is a huge problem!
Most PhD students don’t have very good contacts in organisations
Or at least they think they don’t
But there are some routes to explore… which leverage your (or your family’s) guanxi.

9. Contacting Organisations 3
Who do you know?
Friends, classmates?
Family connections?
Supervisor connections
Be careful. The supervisor will not want to trouble his connections with ‘nonsense’ so you must plan carefully
Who could you know?
Who could be available and how could you get to meet them?

10. Contacting Organisations 4
EMBA, MBA and DBA students can be a good source of contacts
Find out who is teaching these people and ask if you can take 10 minutes of their class time to talk to them
You have 10 minutes to sell your ideas – and yourself.

11. Contacting Organisations 5
Sell???
These people are busy and have short term thinking
They might be interested – can you persuade them?
What would motivate them to be interested?
Think of what value you can create for them
So, it is not just that you want to study something, but you also want to contribute something to them
This means that when they work with you, then they get something out of you as well.

12. Contacting Organisations 6
If none of these work, then you can try cold calling – by phone, letter,
You still have to sell yourself and your ideas
You need to tell them enough so that they think it is worthwhile to spend 30 mins of their time in a face-to-face meeting with you
If they are happy, the 30 mins can be extended. If not, it will be 5 minutes and a polite ‘no thank you’.
Cold calling has low success rates.
In my own PhD, I sent 100 letters and got one +ve reply
Perhaps I did not sell myself very well?

13. Respecting and Working With Organisations 1
Once you are in, you don’t want to be asked to leave!
So, you must follow their rules, procedures and expectations
If a meeting is scheduled at 0900, be there at 0845.
If a meeting is cancelled, don’t complain, just set up another time.
Remember, they are the busy business people. You are not.

14. Respecting and Working With Organisations 2
You need to set up protocols for how you will work with the organisation
You need to have a contact person
Ideally a senior person with authority to approve
There has to be an agreement (NDA) between both parties about how to work.
This agreement may be formal or informal, signed or not.
The agreement should cover issues like access to people, data, meetings, documents, and also how you can report these things

15. Respecting and Working With Organisations 3
It is probably better to keep a low profile, to be unobtrusive, not to get in the way, not to obstruct
You are there to learn, to observe, to collect data, but not to criticise or offer too many opinions, unless they ask you explicitly
You will get better quality data if people forget that you are a researcher and behave normally.
So don’t draw too much attention to yourself. Blend in, become invisible as an outsider.

16. Studying and Observing Organisations 1
You need to keep your research questions in mind all the time
And collect data that is going to help you to answer those questions
You need to restrict yourself to what you agreed to with the organisation
If you want to do something different, you need permission
You need to respect the privacy of individual employees
Yes, feel free to write down what they say, but try to disguise their identities
If they give you private or confidential data, use it carefully
You will have to be sure that you do not violate the organisation’s or individual’s confidentiality

17. Studying and Observing Organisations 2
You need to build up a body of evidence that will answer your research questions
This may take some time – so don’t give up
Be alert to unexpected findings
That challenge existing theory
That challenge your preconceived ideas
That do not fit what you thought you would find
Try to keep an open mind at all times
Don’t jump to conclusions

18. Studying and Observing Organisations 3
Keep very careful notes of what you do
It is very easy to forget a conversation
and then it is lost
Every day, write up notes in detail
You may need to go back to someone to ask a question to clarify a situation
Your notes will help you to do that – if you have them

19. Studying and Observing Organisations 4
Reflect on theory as you go
Does what you are observing
Fit, violate, extend the theory?
Is there a need for a new theory
Yes, even though this is not your intended contribution, you may identify the opportunity to develop a new theory
Serendipity!
Be aware of the possibilities offered by unexpected, unsought findings
You may have planned 1-2 papers, but there could be more
We will discuss this more in a later class
Remember, imagination is the limit of possibility

20. Seven Principles for Interpretive (Hermeneutic) IS Research
The fundamental principle of the hermeneutic circle
The principle of contextualisation
The principle of interaction between the researcher and subjects
The principle of abstraction and generalisation
The principle of dialogical reasoning
The principle of multiple interpretations
The principle of suspicion

21. The Fundamental Principle of the Hermeneutic Circle
All human understanding comes from iterating between the independent meaning of the parts, and the whole.
Each data item has meaning independently, yet each data item also contributes to the whole picture.
We must iterate continually until we have a well developed and justified understanding

22. The Principle of Contextualisation
It is necessary to engage in a critical reflection on the social and historical background of the research context
The audience must be able to see how the current situation has evolved over time
Which old ideas are still influencing today’s practices? Or are still embedded in work routines?

23. The Principle of Interaction between the Researcher and Subjects
Critical reflection on the way in which the research materials (data, interviews, etc.) were socially constructed through the interaction between the researcher and the subjects
By questioning your assumptions, by recognising your biases, so you may achieve a better understanding of the world in which the subjects live

24. The Principle of Abstraction and Generalisation
It is necessary to relate the idiographic details obtained through the data collection and interpretation to theoretical and general concepts that explain human behaviour
It is conventional to relate to existing theory, but in the case of grounded theory, a new theory may be developed.

25. The Principle of Dialogical Reasoning
It is necessary to be sensitive to any discrepancies that may arise between the theoretical preconceptions guiding the research design and the actual findings (data).
Thus, the researcher must engage in a dialogue between the theory and the data
If discrepancies arise, then the theory may have to change or be reinformed

26. The Principle of Multiple Interpretations
There may be differences of interpretation about events between multiple data subjects / participants
This may happen even when the participants are describing the same event as they may see it differently
For instance, different employees may have different expectations for a project

27. The Principle of Suspicion
It is necessary to be sensitive to the biases and even systematic distortions introduced by participants in their narratives
All participants are likely to be biased
However, some may deliberately introduce facetious, outlandish or sarcastic remarks that may be fruitful for metaphorical analysis, but should not be taken literally.

28. Reporting and Publishing Findings 1
When you first talk to an organisation, you have to make it clear that as an academic, you need to publish your findings
However, you can anonymise the company (change the name) if they prefer that
Some companies like to be identified since the project may gain them positive publicity
You need to represent your findings carefully
So that you tell the truth about what you found
You do not distort the facts to suit your needs
This is why you must document your notes and thoughts carefully and continually

29. Reporting and Publishing Findings 2
The organisation might object to what you write, and might ask for it to be changed
Well, that could be reasonable. Now you need to negotiate.
Can you aggregate more?
Can you anonymise more?
Can you modify a bit – but not too much?
But you can avoid this situation by ensuring that the organisation knows what is going on all the time

30. Legal and Ethical Issues 1
Privacy
Data subjects have the right to privacy
CityU code of research conduct + HK data privacy laws
Always get explicit approval from the people described in the data – before you collect / analyse it
Confidentiality
The organisation has a legitimate right to protect its information and knowledge assets
So, you can publish, but you must clear content with the organisation first

31. Legal and Ethical Issues 2
NDA – Non Disclosure Agreements are common – and legally binding
You can be sued you for breach of contract if you knowingly violate the agreement
You should keep all data secure
Restricted access to project members
Do not give to unauthorised others
Destroy when no longer needed

32. Ethnography
“Ethnographic research is one of the most in-depth research methods possible” (Myers, 1999)
The researcher is embedded at a research site for a long time
Seeing and hearing what they say and do
Obtaining a deep understanding of the organisation and its people and work context.
Ethnographic research can provide researchers with rich & detailed insights into the roles that information systems play

33. Definition & Distinction
Ethnographic research usually requires the researcher to spend a considerable period of time in the “field”.
It is critical that the researcher engages in detailed, observational evidence gathering. This includes ‘participant observation’ and ‘informal social contact’.
Like case studies, ethnographies also include interview data

34. Benefits Depth. Intimacy. Challenges to accepted knowledge.
No other method allows the researcher to gain such depth or intensity in studying a phenomenon.
Intimacy.
By staying in ‘the field’ for an extended amount of time, the researcher can become invisible to the research subjects and so gain a degree of intimacy of understanding of the people, their work, routines, frustrations, politics, competing, relationships and dangers in the day-to-day organisational context.
Challenges to accepted knowledge.
When you are deep in the context, you start to question what you already know, if there is contradictory evidence
An ethnography permits a ‘deeper-than-usual’ understanding of the problem, and so can lead to a new appreciation of that problem.

35. For Example
Hughes et al. (1992) found that ‘good design principles’ were actually not good in all contexts
Orlikowski (1991) found that IT contributes to intensifying control in some contexts
Davison et al. (2013) found that Chinese cultural attributes are more important than IT in influencing employee knowledge sharing behaviour
These findings were unexpected by the researchers and the prior literature.

36. Limitations Time Depth & Breadth
It takes a long time to complete an ethnographic investigation
Including data collection, analysis and writing
There is enough time in a PhD, if you start early!
Some of the most influential and insightful works on IT and organisations have come from ethnographic studies (e.g. Zuboff, 1988).
Depth & Breadth
It is too deep. You don’t get much sense of the world beyond the context
It is hard to generalise to other contexts
However, as with case studies, you can generalise to theory

37. Types of Ethnography 1 Holistic Semiotic
Go native and live like the locals. Become a sponge that absorbs the local knowledge
Semiotic
Empathy is not needed. Instead, seek out the symbols (words, images, behaviours, institutions, arrangements, routines) and understand their relationships with each other and the context. Identify the ‘webs of significance’ in these contexts (Geertz).

38. Types of Ethnography 2 Cyber (Ward, 1999)
Traditional ethnographic methods are designed for physical communities, but what about the virtual world?
Cyber-ethnography involves a study of online interactions
The researcher has to be embedded online as a member of the community
The researcher engages in a dialogue with the online subjects – who ‘talk back’
The online subjects are much more involved than in a traditional ethnography

39. Practical Guidance 1 Field notes
Participant observations, thoughts, reflections, interviews, feelings and questions
Write them up regularly (within a few hours) – don’t rely on your memory, which is quickly swamped
Keep them up to date and keep them detailed
Something might seem very strange or odd at the beginning – yet later it makes a lot of sense when you know more.

40. Practical Guidance 2 Reflect! Review what you wrote, or thought
On your ideas, impressions, feelings, thoughts
Review what you wrote, or thought
Comment on your reflections – explicitly
Much of the data is observational and personal
But if you don’t codify it, you may lose it
Develop a way to manage data
Indexes, classification schemes, summaries, etc.

41. Writing Up Ethnographic Research
Again, there are many styles
Realism
Impressionism
Confessionism
Narrative
Ethnography means writing about your data and the people/context that it represents. To do this you have to have a personal style.

42. A Book!
Yes, honestly, to do justice to the huge volume and richness of data you collect, a book is the only way to represent all the detail faithfully
Zuboff (1988) In the Age of the Smart Machine
Descola (1996) The Spears of Twilight

43. Journal Articles 1
Yes, that’s right, most of us need to publish journal articles, not books
What you have to do is to treat each article as a part of the whole story
This means that a single ethnographic study can produce multiple journal articles
The same story can be told from different perspectives

44. Journal Articles 2
Each (of several) journal article needs to be complete, so it is better if it addresses only a single question or area of contribution
It needs to present a description with persuasive evidence that will be interesting for the audience
Recall the guidance for writing up case studies – very similar
Indeed, each article is one case study, one aspect of an ethnography

45. Journal Articles 3
Another way to think of it is to compare it to a PhD thesis
From a ‘good’ thesis, you should be able to produce multiple journal articles
Each article offers a different view or slice of the story or data
Each offers a different contribution, even as each may rely on the same background and the same set of theories.

46. Evaluating Ethnography 1
Contribution
Is it persuasive, clear, theory-linked, new?
Rich Insight?
The reader must gain detailed insights into the phenomenon
Does the paper contradict the status quo or organisational policy?
Evidence
Demonstrate how much data you collected.
Cite this evidence in its social context.
Reveal hidden agendas, disagreements, frustrations,…

47. Evaluating Ethnography 2
Methods
You need to document what you did very carefully – so that others can judge if your work was conducted according to appropriate standards
Your readers will be both experts and novices
A novice should learn ‘how to do’ ethnography as much as appreciate the insights from your story

48. A Case Study is an empirical inquiry that:
…investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when
…the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident (Yin 2002).
Case studies can be
Positivist (e.g. Benbasat et al., 1987)
Interpretivist (e.g. Walsham, 1993)
Critical (e.g. Myers, 1994)
Case studies can also be
Exploratory, Descriptive or Explanatory
Case studies are very suitable to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions

49. When To Use the Case Study Method?
The case study is preferred in examining contemporary events, but when the relevant behaviors cannot be manipulated.
Case studies rely on direct observation, and systematic interviewing.
Case studies do not permit experimental manipulations and controls are very hard to enact

50. Criticisms of the Method
Insufficient rigour
Compared to experimental research
But actually experiments are not automatically precise or unbiased
More importantly, no one method is automatically more rigourous than any other method
Inadequate basis for generalisation
Which is why multiple cases are conducted
The results of a case study investigation can be generalised to theory and can inform theory development
And is generalisation always necessary?

51. Key Components Research questions - how and why
Research propositions and hypotheses (positivist)
That reflect an important theoretical issue and indicate where to look for relevant evidence
Unit(s) of analysis
What are we studying? Units, people, individuals?
What does the data describe?
Logic that links the data to the propositions
The criteria for interpreting the findings.

52. Single Case Design
The focal case is used to test a well-formulated theory
The case meets all the criteria for testing the theory
The case represents an extreme or unique case
The revelatory case
A situation that occurs when the investigator has an opportunity to observe and analyze a phenomenon previously inaccessible to scientific investigation.
A single case may have multiple units of analysis

53. Multiple Case Design 1
This means that the same study has two or more cases
The evidence from multiple cases is often considered more compelling, which makes the overall study more robust.
Undertaking a multiple case study can require extensive resources and time beyond the means of a single researcher.
Each case must be chosen carefully and specifically
The cases should have similar results (a literal replication) or contrary results (a theoretical replication) predicted explicitly at the outset of the investigation.

54. Multiple Case Design 2
It is important in a replication process to develop a rich, theoretical framework.
The framework needs to state the conditions under which a particular phenomenon is likely to be found (literal replication) and the conditions under when it is not likely to be found (theoretical replication).
The individual cases within a multiple-case study design may be either holistic or embedded.
When an embedded design is used each individual case study may in fact include the collection and analysis of highly quantitative data, e.g. surveys.

55. Conducting Case Studies 1
Preparation for Data Collection
The researcher should
be able to ask good questions
be a good listener
be adaptive and flexible
have a firm grasp of the issues being studied
be unbiased by preconceived notions
For the specific context of the case study and organisation

56. Conducting Case Studies 2
The researcher must be able to make intelligent decisions about the data being collected.
This will require knowledge about
why the study is being done;
what evidence is being sought;
what variations can be anticipated
what would constitute supportive or contrary evidence for any given proposition
Survey or interview designers also need to know the purpose of the survey and the nature of the analysis that will follow

57. Case Study Protocol The protocol should include
An overview of the case study project (project, substantive issues, relevant reading)
Field procedures (how to gain access to interviewees, planning for sufficient resources, providing for unanticipated events etc)
Case study questions (about individuals, multiple cases, entire study, normative questions about policy recommendations and conclusions

58. Pilot Case Study
It may be sensible to conduct a small-scale pilot case study first so as to test procedures and protocols
The pilot can be more convenient so as to train research team members and even act as a "laboratory"
The research questions can be broader and less focused than the ultimate data collection plan.
The pilot reports can provide lessons for both research design and field procedures

59. Sources of Evidence There are six forms of evidence Documentation
Archival records
Interviews
Direct observations
Participant observations
Physical Artifacts

60. Documents, Archives & Artifacts
Current organisational documents
Policies, practices, templates
Historical archive records
Past practices, reports on past projects
These two forms of data are useful for corroborating evidence from other sources
Artifacts include physical objects like certificates, awards, etc.

61. Interviews Case study interviews are usually open-ended
Focused interviews can still be open-ended but involve following specific questions derived from the case study protocol
More structured questions, along the lines of a formal survey.
A structured interview would involve the sampling procedures and the instruments used in regular surveys, and it would subsequently be analyzed in a similar manner.

62. Direct Observations
By making a field visit to the case study "site", the investigator is creating the opportunity for direct observations.
To increase the reliability of observational evidence, a common procedure is to have more than one observer making an observation, whether formally or casually.

63. Participant Observations
The research may play a variety of roles within a case situation and may actually participate in the events being studied.
The researcher (e.g. if an insider) may be able to gain access to events or groups that are otherwise inaccessible to scientific investigation.
Researchers have to be aware of potential bias. If they work as an insider, they cannot maintain outside independence.
They could become a supporter or defender.

64. Principles of Data Collection 1
Using multiple sources of evidence
The opportunity to use multiple sources of evidence in case studies far exceeds that in other research methods such as experiments or surveys.
The use of multiple sources of evidence in case studies allows an investigator to address a broader range of historical and observational issues.
It also enables better triangulation of findings
It contributes to a holistic understanding of a case and indeed contributes to theorisation.

65. Principles of Data Collection 2
Creating a case study database
The lack of a formal database for most case study efforts is a major shortcoming of case study research.
Four components should be contained in a database created for case study research
Notes (including interview data)
Documents
Tabular materials (e.g. from surveys; structured interviews)
Narrative (stories; diaries).

66. Principles of Data Collection 3
Maintaining a chain of evidence
This is to allow an external observer - the reader of the case study for example - to follow the derivation of any evidence from initial research questions to ultimate case study conclusions.
The three principles are intended to make the data collection process as explicit as possible
Then the final results can adequately reflect construct validity and reliability, thereby becoming worthy of further analysis.

67. Analyzing Case Study Evidence
Relying on theoretical propositions
The proposition helps
to focus attention on some data and to ignore others
to organize the entire case study and to define alternative explanations to be examined
Developing a case description
Develop a descriptive framework to organise the case study and identify
types of event or process or interaction
an overall ‘pattern’ of complexity that could be used to explain why an implementation failed.

68. Modes of Analysis Pattern matching Explanation building
Comparing an empirically based pattern with a predicted one. If the patterns coincide, the results can help to strengthen a case study’s internal validity.
Explanation building
Analyze the data by building case explanations.
Time series analysis
Match data over time with:
A theoretically significant trend specified in advance
A rival trend, also specified in advance

69. Case Study Report Writing & Styles
It is important to know the audience, since different audiences have different expectations
A primarily academic audience (MISQ, ISR) is not the same as one that includes managers and executives (HBR, SMR, CMR)
Linear-analytic
Problem, methods, findings of data collection and analysis, conclusion.
Comparative
The same kind of case is repeated two or three times
Alternative descriptions or explanations can be compared.
Theory-building
Where case evidence is used to construct/ground a new theory
Suspense
Like a detective story, a murder mystery

70. Standards of Excellence
Significance
Completeness
Alternative perspectives considered
Sufficient evidence displayed
An engaging, attractive and readable style
Failure cases can be as instructive as successful cases, if the explanations are persuasive

71. Readings for Week 4
Wong, L.H.M. and Davison, R.M. (2018) Knowledge Sharing in a Global Logistics Provider: An Action Research Project, Information & Management 55, 5,
Davison, R.M., Martinsons, M.G. and Ou, C.X.J. (2012) The Roles of Theory in Canonical Action Research, Management Information Systems Quarterly 36, 3,

72. References 1
Avison, D.E. and Myers, M.D. (1995) Information Systems and Anthropology: An Anthropological Perspective on IT and Organizational Culture, IT & People, 8, 3,
Benbasat, I., Goldstein, D.K. and Mead, M. (1987) The Case Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems, MISQ, 11, 3,
Davison, R.M., Ou, C.X.J. and Martinsons, M.G. (2013) Information Technology to Support Informal Knowledge Sharing, Information Systems Journal, 23, 1,
Descola, P. (1996) The Spears of Twilight (originally in French as Les Lances du Crépuscule).
Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) Building Theories from Case Study Research, AMR, 14, 4,
Galdikas, B.M.F. (1994) Reflections of Eden
Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Goodall, J. (1971) In the Shadow of Man
Hughes, J. A., Randall, D. and Shapiro, D. (1992) Faltering from Ethnography to Design. ACM 1992 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: Sharing Perspectives, New York,
Ignatiadis, I. and Nandhakumar, J. (2009) The Effect of ERP System Workarounds on Organizational Control, Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, 21, 2,

73. References 2
Klein, H. K. and M. D. Myers (1999) A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems, MIS Quarterly 23, 1,
Klitzman, R. (2001) The Trembling Mountain: Kuru, Cannibalism and Mad Cow Disease.
Lee, A.S. (1989) A Scientific Methodology for MIS Case Studies, MISQ, 13, 1,
Myers, M.D. (1994) Quality in Qualitative Research in Information Systems, 5th Australasian Conference on Information Systems,
Myers, M.D. (1999) Investigating Information Systems with Ethnographic Research, Communications of the AIS, 2, 23,
Orlikowski, W. J. (1991) Integrated Information Environment or Matrix of Control? The Contradictory Implications of Information Technology, Accounting, Management and Information Technologies 1, 1, 9-42.
Van Maanen, J. (1988) Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Walsham, G. (1993) Interpreting Information Systems in Organizations, Wiley, Chichester.
Ward, K.J. (1999) Cyber-ethnography and the emergence of the virtually new community, Journal of Information Technology, 14, 1,
Yin, R.K. (1991, 1998, 2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Sage.
Yin, R.K. (1993, 2003) Applications of Case Study Research, Sage.
Zuboff, S. (1988) In the Age of the Smart Machine. New York: Basic Books.