Qualitative research Essay

Abstract This natural composition is the initiative of a series of three articles relating to a shift field of postulate conducted at Fairfield University to prize settings of the fast introduction of In makeation engineering science at the institution. This article deals with the nature of the problem token congealters themed by Fairfield University, the qualitys of the cocktail dress methodological epitome, and lays the buns for the assumeion of this search technique for the legitimate sketch. The paper belowtakes with an demonstration segmentation to inform the contributor with the exercise organization.The quest section on theatrical role Methodology explores the memoir, and well-nigh of the applications of the technique. The section ends with specific interrogation communications protocols for research workers. Introduction Fairfield University is a private liberal humanities institution of around 3,000 full meter undergraduate students an d about 1,000 graduate aim students. The undergraduate students atomic snatch 18 distributed by the College of humanities and Sciences, the discipline of Business, and the naturalize of Nursing. The graduate students be in the Graduate School of Education, the School of Business, and the School of Nursing.thither atomic number 18 excessively part time students in the School of Continuing Education and the BEI School of Engineering. As with many more or less different private institutions of high education, Fairfield University views many ch every last(predicate)enges. These ch al onenessenges come from the declining population of college grow students and the growing cost of running the institution. The publications give support the preceding disceptation (Crossland, 1980), but offer little reliever to the institution. one and only(a) of the argonas of greatest solicitude to college managers is the move cost of entropy utilise science.With the unending assume to increase staff salaries, it is like salaries, unadvisable to reduce the outlay on knowledge engine room. Interviews that were conducted by this investigator with the deans and managers indicated that whatsoever of the catch institutions of Fairfield University argon in fact doing as much if non more(prenominal) in this flying field. because any interruption in the suit to maintain technological silver would essence in a competitive disadvantage for the institution. in that respectin lies the administrative fiscal ch bo indeedge.The expense on culture technology moldiness be maintained at a time of declining revenues (Nicklin, 1992). The field of theme technology at a university is genuinely broad and could encompass many technologies still non considered within its purview. However, there has been a relentless and indeed accelerating pace of converging of the technologies in telecommunications, library services, and video services. The underway fi eld is concerned only with the aspects of tuition technology as it relates to academic computation and allow focus on instructional and research computing.The goals of this test include an tryout of the (a) managerial and (b) economic aspects of the rapid exploit of information technology. The objectives deriving from those goals atomic number 18 An sagametropolis of the categories of computer utilize in high education. An evaluation of the managerial issues of computing, including the centralization/decentralization of computing, client/server computing and the aspects of the internet and the universe Wide Web (WWW) shew a basis for fellow feeling the flow rate and future economic aspects of information technology acquisition.The research call into questions arising from the above objectives were as follows documentary 1 above is turn to by the question What prototypes of acquisition emerge from the contemporary computing environment and the perceived necessita te for computing? intention 2 is addressed by the question What characteristics of the categories of computing persona contribute to the patterns of acquisition? The cardinal categories true by King and Kraemer (1985) and adapted for character by Levy (1988) in his remove at the University of Arizona, be utilize in this take on, to examine the computing economic consumption at Fairfield University.Objective 3 is addressed by the question What managerial issues arise from the rapid acquisition of information technology and how main(prenominal) shake those technologies become to the organization? Objective 4 is addressed by the question How will the institution balance the pauperisation for technological changes with the get to continue the accomplishment of routine tasks?. Samuel Levy (1988) conducted a psychoanalyse of instructional and research computing at the University of Arizona. This work replicates and extends the Levy (1988) reading, and was conducted at Fairfield University.The conclusion mull extends the Levy (1988) teach in its interrogation of aspects of the Internet, the World Wide Web, and invitee/Server computing. Levy (1988) constituted the occasion of the pillow good ex adenosine monophosphateerele report as confiscate for the research realise, and this researcher besides employ the lit to reassert the procedure of slipperiness methodological summary in the survey at Fairfield University. The history and development of event methodology is reviewed, in support of the current issue register at Fairfield University. There cast off been layovers of acute use followed by periods of disuse of this technique, as documented by Hamel, Dufour, and Fortin (1993) as well as others.The relevance of that history to this battlefield is eventful in that it establishes the know advantages and disadvantages of the methodology. The particular technique of a angiotensin converting enzyme- scale field of view is reviewed, since that is the specific implementation of a model aim at Fairfield University and was likewise use by Levy (1988). facial expression survey Methodology The history of chemise occupy research is marked by periods of intense use and periods of disuse. The earlier use of this form of research deal be traced to Europe, predominantly to France.The methodology in the United States was virtually closely associated with The University of Chicago Department of Sociology. From the other(a) 1900s until 1935, The Chicago School was superior in the field and the beginning of a great deal of the books. There was a wealth of material in Chicago, since it was a period of immigration to the United States and unhomogeneous aspects of immigration of different national groups to the city were studied and reported on (Hamel et al. , 1993). Issues of poverty, unemployment, and other conditions deriving from immigration were ideally conform to to the face rent methodology.Z onabend (1992) decl bed that show slip study is through with(p) by heavy(p) special attention to completeness in observation, reconstruction, and summary of the suit of clothess under study. fiber study is d adept in a way that incorporates the views of the actors in the instance under study. The field of sociology is associated around strongly with en end study research, and during the period kick the bucketing up to 1935, more or less(prenominal) problems were raised(a) by researchers in other fields. This coincided with a movement within sociology, to make it more scientific. This meant providing some numerical measurements to the research spirit and analytic thinking.Since The Chicago School was more or less set with this methodology, there were serious attacks on their primacy. This resulted in the denigration of solecism study as a methodology. In 1935, there was a public dispute between capital of South Carolina University professors, who were championing t he scientific method, and The Chicago School and its supporters. The force was a victory for Columbia University and the outcome decline in the use of issue study as a research methodology. Hamel (Hamel et al. , 1993) was careful to reject the criticisms of faux pas study as poorly founded, make in the midst of methodological conflict.He asseverate that the drawbacks of depicted object study were not be attacked, kinda the immaturity of sociology as a discipline was macrocosm displayed. As the use of quantitative methods advanced, the decline of the persona study hastened. However, in the 1960s, researchers were becoming concerned about the limitations of quantitative methods. accordingly there was a renewed interest in case study. Strauss and Glaser (1967) essential the concept of grounded theory. This along with some well regarded studies accelerated the renewed use of the methodology.A betray criticism of case study methodology is that its dependence on a whiz cas e renders it incapable(p) of providing a generalizing conclusion. Yin (1993) presented Giddens view that considered case methodology microscopic because it lacked a ample number of cases. Hamel (Hamel et al. , 1993) and Yin (1984, 1989a, 1989b, 1993, 1994) forcefully argued that the relative size of the ideal whether 2, 10, or 100 cases are apply, does not transform a five-fold case into a macroscopic study. The goal of the study should establish the parameters, and then should be applied to all research.In this way, even a single case could be considered acceptable, provided it met the established objective. The literature provides some insight into the borrowing of an selective information-based proto sign to perceive the peculiarity of the object of study. This ensures the transformation from the local to the spherical for ex final causeation. Hamel (Hamel et al. , 1993) characterized much(prenominal) singularity as a concentration of the global in the local. Yin (1989a) stated that general applicability results from the set of methodological qualities of the case, and the rigor with which the case is constructed.He tiny the procedures that would touch the required methodological rigor. Case study stomach be seen to satisfy the three tenets of the soft method describing, understanding, and explaining. The literature contains numerous examples of applications of the case study methodology. The earliest and most natural examples are to be found in the fields of lawfulness and Medicine, where cases make up the large body of the student work. However, there are some areas that hand over employ case study techniques extensively, particularly in government and in critical situations.The government studies were carried out to square up whether particular programs were efficient or if the goals of a particular program were being met. The evaluative applications were carried out to assess the effectiveness of educational initiatives. In both grap hemes of investigations, merely quantitative techniques tended to obscure some of the definitive information that the researchers needed to un pass. The body of literature in case study research is immemorial and limited (Yin, 1994), in comparison to that of experimental or quasi-experimental research.The requirements and inflexibility of the latter forms of research make case studies the only viable resource in some instances. It is a fact that case studies do not need to have a trim back limit number of cases, or to randomly select cases. The researcher is called upon to work with the situation that presents itself in each case. Case studies flock be single or doubled-case physiques, where a multiple design moldiness(prenominal) follow a restitution quite than sample distribution logic. When no other cases are available for replication, the researcher is limited to single-case designs.Yin (1994) baksheeshed out that initiation of results, from both single or multiple designs, is do to theory and not to populations. Multiple cases sanction the results by replicating the pattern-matching, thus increasing assurance in the robustness of the theory. Applications of case study methodology have been carried out in High-Risk Youth Programs (Yin, 1993) by some(prenominal) researchers. The effects of community-based prevention programs have been astray investigated victimization case methodology.Where the high pretend youth studies assumed a single case evaluation, these studies have typically utilise a bon ton of battle of cases as a multiple-case study. This has been true in the non-homogeneous sum abuse prevention programs that are community-based (Holder, 1987 Sabol, 1990 Yin, 1993). numerous much(prenominal) studies sponsored by the U. S. General accounting Office are distributed in the literature between Evans (1976) and Gopelrud (1990). These studies have gone beyond the quantitative statistical results and explained the conditions t hrough the berth of the actors. Thus case study evaluations coffin nail cover both appendage and outcomes, because they can include both quantitative and qualitative entropy. There are several examples of the use of case methodology in the literature. Yin (1993) listed several examples along with the appropriate research design in each case. There were suggestions for a general tone-beginning to designing case studies, and in addition recommendations for exploratory, explanatory, and descriptive case studies. for each one of those three approaches can be both single or multiple-case studies, where multiple-case studies are replicatory, not sampled cases.There were also specific examples in education, and management information bodys. Education has embraced the case method for instructional use. near of the applications are reviewed in this paper. In exploratory case studies, fieldwork, and entropy collection may be undertaken prior to definition of the research questions and hypotheses. This type of study has been considered as a function to some social research. However, the cloth of the study moldinessiness be created ahead of time. understand projects are very helpful in determining the final protocols that will be utilise.Survey questions may be dropped or added based on the outcome of the pilot burner study. Selecting cases is a difficult process, but the literature provides guidance in this area (Yin, 1989a). run a risk (1995) recommended that the selection offers the opportunity to increase what can be learned, discerning that time is limited. Hence the cases that are selected should be easy and will shells. A good instrumental case does not have to defend its typicality. informative cases are suitable for doing causal studies. In very complex and multivariate cases, the analysis can make use of pattern-matching techniques.Yin and Moore (1988) conducted a study to examine the reason wherefore some research findings get into f unctional use. They used a funded research project as the unit of analysis, where the topic was constant but the project varied. The utilization outcomes were explained by three advert theories a knowledge-driven theory, a problem-solving theory, and a social-interaction theory. Knowledge-driven theory means that ideas and discoveries from base research eventually become commercialized products. Problem-solving theory follows the equal path, but originates not with a researcher, but with an external source pick uping a problem.The social-interaction theory claims that researchers and users belong to imbrication professional networks and are in frequent communication. Descriptive cases require that the tec begin with a descriptive theory, or face the possibility that problems will go by during the project. Pyecha (1988) used this methodology to study special education, utilize a pattern-matching procedure. Several states were studied and the info about each states activitie s were compared to other, with idealized theoretic patterns. Thus what is implied in this type of study is the formation of hypotheses of cause-effect relationships.Hence the descriptive theory essential cover the depth and scope of the case under study. The selection of cases and the unit of analysis is developed in the aforesaid(prenominal) manner as the other types of case studies. Case studies have been increasingly used in education. trance law and medical schools have been exploitation the technique for an extended period, the technique is being applied in a form of instructional situations. Schools of business have been most aggressive in the implementation of case based reading, or busy learning (Boisjoly & DeMichiell, 1994).Harvard University has been a toper in this area, and cases developed by the faculty have been published for use by other institutions. The School of Business at Fairfield University has rewrite the curriculum so that in step forward of the individual longitudinal courses in the areas of Management, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and learning Systems, students take one course. That course is intentional around cases that encompass those disciplines, but are presented in an integrated manner. The students are because made aware of the inter relateness of the various disciplines and begin to think in cost of wider problems and solutions.Later courses add the international balance to the overall picture. Case studies have been used to develop critical view (Alvarez, et al. , 1990). There are also interactive phrase courses (Carney, 1995), courses knowing to broaden the students horizons (Brearley, 1990), and even for skilful courses (Greenwald, 1991), and philosophical ones (Garvin, 1991). This investigation is a case study of the aspects of Information Technology that are related to client/server computing, the Internet, and the World Wide Web, at Fairfield University.Thus this paper examines issues that will expand the readers knowledge of case study methodology as it relates to the design and execution of such a study. Yin (1994) recommended the use of case-study protocol as part of a carefully designed research project that would include the following sections Overview of the project (project objectives and case study issues) knowledge base procedures (credentials and price of admission to sites) Questions (specific questions that the tec must alimentation in header during entropy collection) bespeak for the report (outline, format for the narrative) (Yin, 1994, p.64)The quintessential characteristic of case studies is that they strive towards a holistic understanding of cultural systems of action (Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1990). Cultural systems of action refer to sets of interrelated activities engaged in by the actors in a social situation. The case studies must always have boundaries ( berth, 1995). Case study research is not sampling research, which is a fact take a fi rm stand by all the major researchers in the field, including Yin, Stake, Feagin and others. However, selecting cases must be done so as to maximize what can be learned, in the period of time available for the study.The unit of analysis is a critical factor in the case study. It is typically a system of action rather than an individual or group of individuals. Case studies tend to be selective, concentrate on one or two issues that are fundamental to understanding the system being examined. Case studies are multi-perspectival analyses. This means that the researcher considers not except the voice and perspective of the actors, but also of the applicable groups of actors and the interaction between them. This one aspect is a salient point in the characteristic that case studies possess. They pay off a voice to the powerless and voiceless.When sociological studies present many studies of the homeless and powerless, they do so from the viewpoint of the elite (Feagin, Orum, & Sj oberg, 1991). Case study is known as a triangulated research strategy. Snow and Anderson (cited in Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991) asserted that triangulation can occur with entropy, researchers, theories, and even methodologies. Stake (1995) stated that the protocols that are used to ensure truth and alternative explanations are called triangulation. The need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the processes.In case studies, this could be done by exploitation multiple sources of info (Yin, 1984). The problem in case studies is to establish meaning rather than location. Designing Case Studies Yin (1994) identified five roles of research design that are master(prenominal) for case studies A studys questions Its propositions, if any Its unit(s) of analysis The logic linking the data to the propositions The criteria for version the findings (Yin, 1994, p. 20). The studys questions are most likely to be how and wherefore questions, and th eir definition is the primary task of the researcher.The studys propositions sometimes derive from the how and why questions, and are helpful in focusing the studys goals. Not all studies need to have propositions. An exploratory study, rather than having propositions, would have a stated direct or criteria on which the success will be judged. The unit of analysis defines what the case is. This could be groups, organizations or countries, but it is the patriarchal unit of analysis. Linking the data to propositions and the criteria for interpreting the findings are the least(prenominal) developed aspects in case studies (Yin, 1994).Campbell (1975) described pattern-matching as a useful technique for linking data to the propositions. Campbell (1975) asserted that pattern-matching is a situation where several pieces of information from the analogous case may be related to some theoretical proposition. His study showed, through pattern-matching, that the observed drop in the take of traffic fatalities in Connecticut was not related to the lowering of the speed limit. His study also illustrated some of the difficulties in establishing the criteria for interpreting the findings.Construct validity is especially tangled in case study research. It has been a source of criticism because of potential tec subjectivity. Yin (1994) proposed three remedies to counteract this using multiple sources of depict, establishing a chain of evidence, and having a picture case study report reviewed by get wind informants. Internal validity is a concern only in causal (explanatory) cases. This is usually a problem of inferences in case studies, and can be dealt with using pattern-matching, which has been described above.External validity deals with knowing whether the results are generalizable beyond the immediate case. Some of the criticism against case studies in this area relate to single-case studies. However, that criticism is directed at the statistical and not the uni nflectedal generalization that is the basis of case studies. Reliability is achieved in many ways in a case study. One of the most important methods is the development of the case study protocol. Case studies can be either single or multiple-case designs. Single cases are used to confirm or challenge a theory, or to represent a extraordinary or extreme case (Yin, 1994).Single-case studies are also ideal for revelatory cases where an reviewer may have access to a phenomenon that was previously inaccessible. Single-case designs require careful investigation to deflect misrepresentation and to maximize the research workers access to the evidence. These studies can be holistic or embedded, the latter occurring when the same case study refers more than one unit of analysis. Multiple-case studies follow a replication logic. This is not to be confused with sampling logic where a selection is made out of a population, for inclusion in the study.This type of sample selection is unbecomi ng in a case study. apiece individual case study consists of a whole study, in which facts are roll up from various sources and conclusions drawn on those facts. Yin (1994) asserted that a case study investigator must be able to crop as a senior investigator during the course of data collection. There should be a period of training which begins with the examination of the definition of the problem and the development of the case study design. If there is only a single investigator, this might not be necessary.The training would cover aspects that the investigator take to know, such as the reason for the study, the type of evidence being sought, and what variations might be expected. This could take the form of discussion rather than dress lectures. A case study protocol contains more than the survey instrument, it should also contain procedures and general rules that should be followed in using the instrument. It is to be created prior to the data collection phase. It is essen tial in a multiple-case study, and desirable in a single-case study.Yin (1994) presented the protocol as a major component in asserting the reliability of the case study research. A typical protocol should have the following sections An overview of the case study project (objectives, issues, topics being investigated) Field procedures (credentials and access to sites, sources of information) Case study questions (specific questions that the investigator must keep in reason during data collection) A use up for case study report (outline, format for the narrative) (Yin, 1994, p. 64). The overview should communicate to the reader the general topic of inquiry and the single-valued function of the case study.The field procedures mostly involve data collection issues and must be properly designed. The investigator does not control the data collection environment (Yin, 1994) as in other research strategies hence the procedures become all the more important. During interviews, which by nature are open ended, the subjects schedule must shout the activity (Stake, 1995). Gaining access to the subject organization, having sufficient resources while in the field, clearly scheduling data collection activities, and providing for unanticipated events, must all be planned for.Case study questions are posed to the investigator, and must serve to remind that person of the data to be collected and its possible sources. The guide for the case study report is oft neglected, but case studies do not have the uniform outline, as do other research reports. It is essential to plan this report as the case develops, to nullify problems at the end. Stake (1995), and Yin (1994) identified at least six sources of evidence in case studies. The following is not an lucid list, but reflects the research of both Yin (1994) and Stake (1995)Documents archival takes Interviews carry observation Participant-observation sensual artifacts Documents could be letters, memoranda, agendas, adm inistrative documents, newspaper articles, or any document that is germane to the investigation. In the interest of triangulation of evidence, the documents serve to sanction the evidence from other sources. Documents are also useful for making inferences about events. Documents can lead to false leads, in the hands of unfledged researchers, which has been a criticism of case study research.Documents are communications between parties in the study, the researcher being a secondary observer keeping this in mind will help the investigator avoid being misled by such documents. Archival documents can be service records, organizational records, lists of names, survey data, and other such records. The investigator has to be careful in evaluating the accuracy of the records before using them. Even if the records are quantitative, they might still not be accurate. Interviews are one of the most important sources of case study information.There are several forms of interviews that are p ossible Open-ended, Focused, and unified or survey. In an open-ended interview, key respondents are asked to comment about original events. They may propose solutions or provide insight into events. They may also corroborate evidence obtained from other sources. The researcher must avoid becoming dependent on a single informant, and seek the same data from other sources to verify its authenticity. The focus interview is used in a situation where the respondent is interviewed for a gip period of time, usually answering set questions.This technique is a great deal used to confirm data collected from another source. The structured interview is similar to a survey, and is used to gather data in cases such as neighborhood studies. The questions are diminutive and developed in advance, much as they are in a survey. Direct observation occurs when a field visit is conducted during the case study. It could be as unsubdivided as casual data collection activities, or formal protocols t o measure and record behaviors. This technique is useful for providing additional information about the topic being studied.The reliability is enhanced when more than one observer is involved in the task. Glesne and Peshkin (1992) recommended that researchers should be as unobtrusive as the wallpaper. Participant-observation makes the researcher into an active participant in the events being studied. This often occurs in studies of neighborhoods or groups. The technique provides some unusual opportunities for collecting data, but could face some major problems as well. The researcher could well alter the course of events as part of the group, which may not be helpful to the study.Physical artifacts can be tools, instruments, or some other physical evidence that may be collected during the study as part of a field visit. The perspective of the researcher can be broadened as a result of the discovery. It is important to keep in mind that not all sources are germane(predicate) for all case studies (Yin, 1994). The investigator should be capable of dealing with all of them, should it be necessary, but each case will present different opportunities for data collection. There are some conditions that arise when a case researcher must sorb data collection before the study questions have been defined and finalized (Yin, 1994).This is likely to be successful only with an experienced investigator. another(prenominal) important point to review is the gain of using rival hypotheses and theories as a means of adding quality control to the case study. This improves the perception of the fairness and serious thinking of the researcher. Analyzing Case Study Evidence This aspect of the case study methodology is the least developed and hence the most difficult. As a result, some researchers have suggested that if the study were made conducive to statistical analysis, the process would be easier and more acceptable.This quantitative approach would be appealing to some of the critics of the case study methodology. However not all case studies lend themselves to this type of analysis. Miles and Huberman (1984) suggested analytic techniques such as rearranging the arrays, placing the evidence in a matrix of categories, creating flowcharts or data displays, tabulating the frequency of different events, using means, variances and master tabulations to examine the relationships between variables, and other such techniques to facilitate analysis. There must first be an analytic strategy, that will lead to conclusions.Yin (1994) presented two strategies for general use One is to rely on theoretical propositions of the study, and then to analyze the evidence based on those propositions. The other technique is to develop a case description, which would be a framework for organizing the case study. Lynd conducted a widely cited Middletown study in 1929, and used a formal chapter construct to guide the development of the analysis. In other situations, the original objective of the case study may help to identify some causal links that could be analyzed. Pattern-matching is another major mode of analysis.This type of logic compares an empirical pattern with a predicted one. Internal validity is enhanced when the patterns coincide. If the case study is an explanatory one, the patterns may be related to the dependent or mugwump variables. If it is a descriptive study, the predicted pattern must be defined prior to data collection. Yin (1994) recommended using rival explanations as pattern-matching when there are independent variables involved. This requires the development of rival theoretical propositions, but the overall concern remains the degree to which a pattern matches the predicted one.Yin (1994) encouraged researchers to make every effort to produce an analysis of the highest quality. In order to accomplish this, he presented four principles that should inveigle the researchers attention display that the analysis relied on all the re levant evidence Include all major rival interpretations in the analysis cry the most significant aspect of the case study Use the researchers prior, expert knowledge to further the analysis Stake (1995) recommended categorical aggregation as another means of analysis and also suggested developing protocols for this phase of the case study to enhance the quality of the research.He also presented ideas on pattern-matching along the lines that Yin (1994) presented. Runkel (1990) used amount measures to obtain relative frequencies in a multiple-case study. Stake (1995) favored coding the data and identifying the issues more clearly at the analysis stage. Eisner and Peshkin (1990) placed a high antecedency on direct interpretation of events, and lower on interpretation of measurement data, which is another viable alternative to be considered.