The Chosen Research Method: Case Study

Case study is known to be the most commonly used research method especially in the study of less understood issues, and is considered as the most appropriate research approach when researcher is interested in the relation between the context and the phenomenon of interest (Yin, 2003b). Palvia et al. (2003) examine the usage of thirteen different methodologies in seven leading MIS journal during the five years period of 1993-1997. The finding indicates that the use of case study and other qualitative techniques has become one of the current trends in this field of research.

Benbasat et al. (1987) affirms that case study method is particularly well- suited to IS research. It is indeed the most commonly used qualitative method in this area of research (Orlikowski and Baroudi, 1991, Alavi and Carlson, 1992, Klein and Myers, 1999). This is due to several reasons which are; firstly, it enables researcher to study IS in a natural setting, learn about the state of the art and generate theories from practice. Secondly, case study allows the researcher to understand the nature and the complexity of the process taking place. Thirdly, it provides insights with regard to the rapid development of the IS domain of study. The major strength of the case study research is that seen to be the ability to investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its real life context particularly when the researcher has little control over the events, and to answer what, how and why questions

(Walsham, 1995b, Yin, 2003b). As a result, it enables researcher to capture the reality in considerably greater details than is possible with other methods as discussed earlier.

In the case study method, the researcher goes about gathering, in a systematic way, in-depth information about certain aspects of occurrences within a particular social situation. Meredith (1998) explains that case study method allows a more in-depth exploration of the field under study, and enables the researcher to inquire more detailed questions of the participants and to collect information from a variety of sources. In relation, it is suggested that the primary benefit of case study is that a whole organisation or entity can be investigated rigorously (Zikmund et al., 2009), and gain a better understanding of why an occurrence happened as it did as well as what might be important to look at in future research (Hair Jr. et al., 2003). These arguments further deliberate the appropriateness of case study method for this research as it allows the investigation to develop a meaningful explanation of complex government organisational structures and e-government phenomena. Furthermore, it would facilitate better understanding of the development of integrated ICT infrastructures in the public sector, which is the focus of this research.

Yin (2003b) explains that there is no specific data collection or analysis methods in case study which can be used in combination with one another to

provide rigour and triangulation to the research. Thus, it is beneficial for the researcher to employ numerous data collection technique and a careful analysis of the evidence – as adopted by this research. Case studies may access evidence from a variety of different sources in order to build up a description of the case such as documentation, archival records, interviews and participant and non-participant observations (Eisenhardt, 1989, Yin, 2003b). The data from distinct sources can be cross-investigated in order to observe any consistency of the outcomes when verifying the analysis (Denscombe, 2007). Triangulation of data gathered from these multiple sources permits an in-depth study of a phenomenon from different viewpoints, which indirectly increase the validity of the research findings.

Adopting case study method may involve undertaking single or multiple case design at numerous levels of analysis (Walsham, 1993, Darke et al., 1998, Yin, 2003b). Single case study is used to obtain a detailed contextual understanding of, and in-depth insights into a phenomenon. Whereas, multiple case studies (i.e. involving two or more cases) can help researchers to gain expanded insights into phenomenon under investigation through the understanding of variations across different settings or contexts (Yin, 2003b). In order to be able to compare findings from multiple cases, the selection of the case studies should follow replication logic rather than sampling logic (Yin, 2003b). Replication logic implies treating a series of cases as a series of experiments with each case serving to confirm or disconfirm the

hypothesis. Moreover, it aims to exhibit or predict similar results and explain contrasting results which is claimed to be essential for multiple case analysis as it increases the external validity of a research (Eisenhardt, 1989, Yin, 2003b).

For this study, case study method selected is that of interpretive type due to some reasons as follows. Firstly, the use of interpretive case study method fits to the exploratory form of research required by this study, which primarily aims at exploring the nature of alignment that shapes the successful implementation of e-government system in Malaysian public sector. Moreover, the method conforms to the “how” type orientation of the research question set in this study. Secondly, the use of the interpretive case study method is in harmony with the contextual focus of this research – to understand the way e-government success is shaped by human, technological and organizational-related factors in the context of which it is implemented. Thirdly, the use of the interpretive case study method accorded with the researcher’s philosophical assumption as described in section 4.1.

4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND PROCESS

This section describes the procedures that were used and explains the main choices that were made in collecting and analyzing the case study data in

this inquiry. This data was primarily collected from the study carried out at syariah court offices in Malaysia. Data collection was carried out via the use of semi-structured interviews (face-to-face and phone interviews), non- participant observation and an examination of organizational-related documents. Further, hermeneutics method (Butler, 1998, Klein and Myers, 1999, Myers, 2004) was adopted as the mode of analysis for engaging analytically with the collected data of this research.

4.3.1 Research Design

The first step in the research process was conducting literature review and analysis related to the area of this inquiry. Reviewing of the relevant literature enabled the researcher to understand the background and concepts related to the domain of e-government and to set up the direction of this research. Further, it permitted the researcher to recognize the issues documented in the academic literature on e-government, management and information systems, inspired new ideas and clarified the research problem.

The next step (Step 2) was related to the development of research framework. The empirical investigation of the research was conducted after all necessary preparation were arranged, which included selecting the cases, contacting the government offices and designing the data collection protocol (Step 3). This is followed by data analysis, data interpretation and

summary of conclusion from the findings. Finally, the findings addressing the research question of “how alignment between technology, organization and people is enabled and its’ impacts towards the success of e-government implementation?” were presented and discussed (Step 4). It also involved tasks of validating and confirming the theoretical framework, as well as e- government literatures that led towards finalizing the conclusions and formulating suggestions for further inquiry. Figure 4.1 illustrates the research design and corresponding research process.

The following sections discuss in more detail on the process of this empirical investigation and elaborate on the techniques employed for data collection, and data analysis.

4.3.2 Site Selection

An interpretive case study method was adopted by this research as it is congruent with the contextual focus of this research – understanding alignment between organizational, technological and people-related factors that shape the success of e-government implementation, specifically in the E-Syariah project. Thus, ability to gain necessary access into the government offices is the main issue for the researcher. Through the use of formal letter, phone calls, e-mails and informal contacts, approaches were

made to the officers at the Department of Syariah Judiciary Malaysia (JKSM) at the beginning of the year 2007. JKSM is the leading government agency

Figure 4.1: Research Process and Research Design Research Process Step 1 Reviewing Literature Step 2 Building Research Framework Step 3 Data Collection and

Analysis Step 4 Discussing Findings: “How government manages alignment in the implementation of e-government (i.e. E- Syariah) for improved

delivery of judicial service?”

Research Framework Suggesting the roles government’s key tasks in establishing alignment for improved delivery of public

Reviewing literature relevant to IT alignment, e-government and IT in developing countries

Research Design

Findings:

• Roles of government’s key implementation tasks towards successful implementation of e- government.

• Enablers for the alignment between the factors shaping successful implementation of e- government systems.

• Impacts of e-government towards good governance.

which is responsible towards the management of E-Syariah implementation at Syariah court offices throughout Malaysia. Having this responsibility, the officers at JKSM is regarded as the best and “rich” informants who are more likely to provide insight and understanding on the subject of study, particularly in explaining about the tasks of JKSM in managing the implementation of E-Syariah in Malaysia.

After having access to JKSM, a network was later built by asking these key informants to suggest and recommend additional potential informants from the sites – Syariah court offices. Using this snowball sampling method (Marshall, 1996, Patton, 2002), the researcher managed to obtain access to the Syariah court offices in Kelantan. The state of Kelantan was recommended by the JKSM because of two reasons:

• It is among the earliest state-level government offices that involved in the implementation of E-Syariah from the beginning of this project.

• Syariah court offices in Kelantan were considered to have been able to strategically use E-Syariah in supporting works related to Islamic judicial processes.