Application of case study method: Exploratory and main components Given the limitations of studying a large number of universities, the scope of the

study  was  delimited  to  a  selection  of  research-­‐‑active  universities  and  related   institutions  in  India  and  a  case  study  of  a  single,  large  research  active  university   in  South  Africa.    Given  the  size  of  these  institutions  and  the  range  of  subject   matter  available  for  investigation,  the  study  was  further  delimited  to  five  in-­‐‑ depth  case  studies  and  an  institutional  overview  of  the  South  African  case  study   institution,  in  order  to  obtain  a  depth  of  insight  into  the  activities,  thinking,   strategies  and  shifts  within  an  institutional  setting,  rather  than  a  diverse  set  of  

cases  across  multiple  institutions,  which  may  not  reveal  the  deeper  institutional   trends,  issues,  barriers,  failures  and  transitions.      

Since  the  study  sought  to  understand  what  changes  were  occurring  in  the   environment  of  large  research  active  universities,  engagements  were  followed   through  a  number  of  events,  key  informants  and  lines  of  enquiry.  For  the  India   exploratory  perspective,  engagements  were  followed  through  from  the  AICTE   (All  India  Council  for  Technical  Education)  conference,  document  and  website   review,  to  interviews  with  key  informants  (see  Appendices  E  and  F),  based  on   the  guidance  of  the  first  key  informant,  progressively  building  a  view  of   institutional  trends  in  large  research  active  universities  in  India.    

The  review  conducted  in  Indian  higher  education  institutions  sought  to  

understand  what  shifts  were  occurring  in  the  research  space.  The  key  informants’   views,  explanations  and  insights  were  studied  and  participants  were  engaged   with  the  study  to  share  and  reflect  on  their  experiences  and  to  build  an  

understanding  of  how  a  university  positions  itself  to  contribute  to  and  benefit   from  shifts  in  approaches  to  knowledge  production.  While  it  was  necessary  for   the  purpose  of  the  study  to  understand  how  the  participants  saw  the  university,   its  challenges,  constraints  and  opportunities,  as  well  as  their  own  actions,  the   data  represents  only  substantial  fragments  of  the  full  picture.    

It  was  noted  that  the  researcher  is  required  to  generate  the  “core  category”  and   the  “beginning  theory”,  with  “original  completeness”,  rather  than  extensive   theorisation  (Glaser,  2012).    Alborzi,  Khayyer  and  Johnston  (2008)  and  Gatin   (2013)  were  used  to  guide  this  author  on  possible  formats  for  writing  up  the  final   theory  statement.  

Moving  forward  from  the  exploratory  case  study  (India),  which  identified   possible  categories  or  sub-­‐‑categories  or  concepts  for  theory  building,  the  

qualitative  research  uses  a  case  study  design,  comprised  of  an  institutional   overview  and  four  in-­‐‑depth  case  studies,  to  identify  patterns  and  themes  and  to   develop  explanations  (Creswell,  1994;  Yin,  1994).  The  case  study  method  is   applicable  because  the  research  aims  to  understand  how  researchers  and  the   institution  sees  itself,  in  relation  to  the  questions  posed  above,  from  the   perspective  of  the  many  people  participating  in  the  university  context  and   documents,  which  reflect  a  range  of  perspectives.  Due  to  use  of  the  grounded   theory  approach,  the  case  study  does  not  compare  “results  with  patterns   predicted  from  theory  or  the  literature”  (Creswell,  1994,  p.156).  

The  scope  of  the  institutional  case  study  of  Wits  University  set  out  to  cover  three   broad  thematic  fields:  university-­‐‑based  research;  human  capital  as  a  factor  in  the   changing  nature  of  the  university;  and  21st  _{century  knowledge  partnerships,  but}   remained  open  to  any  phenomenon  that  would  inform  theory  building.  

Furthermore,  the  research  investigated  Wits  strategy  and  institutional  memes   that  linked  the  institution  with  its  social  and  economic  context,  in  order  to  create   a  narrative  of  data  extracted  from  the  views  and  perspectives  of  academics  and   university  administrators  and  from  university  documents.  

The  case  study  component  of  the  research  design  incorporated  a  review  of   relevant  university  documents  in  order  to  sketch  the  historical  context  of  the   institution  being  studied  and  key  elements  of  institutional  shaping.    In  this   grounded  theory  study,  data  collection,  data  analysis  and  thematisation  followed   each  other  through  a  series  of  events,  including  (i)  an  exploratory  study  of  

universities,  institutes  of  technology  and  university  related  agencies  in  India;  (ii)   Wits  university  annual  leadership  Lekgotla  2007  and  meetings  of  university   leadership;  (iii)  a  study  of  transition  and  growth  in  software  engineering;  (iv)  a   study  theorising  values  and  value  of  university  knowledge  production  in  a  rural   environment;  (v)  a  study  on  research,  commercialisation  and  (vi)  a  study  on  open   access  publishing.  Through  these  events  and  the  case  studies  that  unfolded,  

insights  were  gained  on  the  nature  of  the  research  paradigm  change.  Thus,  the   theory  derived  by  inductive  and  counter-­‐‑inductive  means  emerged  through  the   process  of  piecing  together  pictures  read  from  the  data  and  analysis  leading  to   the  formulation  of  trends  and  tropes.  

The  research  sought  to  gather  responses  to  the  questions  posed  (exemplar   interview  guides  in  Appendix  1;  Appendix  3)  from  the  perspective  of  people   participating  in  the  university  context  as  it  intersects  with  the  economic  

innovation  and  societal  contexts.    As  such,  the  data  collected  includes  the  views,   perspectives  and  voices  of  key  informants  required  in  grounded  theory  research   (Babbie  &  Mouton,  2001),  namely  the  researchers  and  scientists,  partners  and   policy-­‐‑makers  who  create  the  life  of  the  university  institution,  based  on  in-­‐‑depth   interviews  and  writing  up  perspectives  from  discussions  in  meetings  gained   through  participant-­‐‑observation.  Interviews  were  held  with  approximately  30   key  informants  from  the  university  sector  in  India  and  from  the  case  study   institution,  Wits  University.    The  in-­‐‑depth  interviews  sought  to  uncover  how   academics  and  university  administrators  thought  about  various  dimensions  and   trends  in  the  institution  and  in  the  sector.  Semi-­‐‑structured  interviews  used  open-­‐‑ ended  questions  aimed  at  hearing  the  story  of  the  research  active  university  from   the  perspective  of  the  key  informant.  The  interviews  supplemented  detailed   document  analysis,  website  review,  observation  and  participant  observation.   Ethical  clearance  was  approved  and  the  requirements  of  anonymity  and   confidentiality  were  complied  with.