Theoretical and Methodological Concerns
3.6 Defining Sociological Knowledge for the Purpose of the Research Methodology?
3.6.4 Methodological Assumptions
Ontological, epistemological and axiological assumptions have important consequences for the methodological nature of a given research enterprise, because of their implications for addressing the question of methodology, namely "how can the inquirer (would-be knower) go about finding out whatever he or she believes can be known?" (Guba and Lincoln, 1994; 108).
Whatever world view a researcher takes, he/she should attain a sufficient degree of consistency that justifies and gives credibility to the particular quantitative or qualitative paradigm he/she chooses. A researcher's ontological assumptions help him/her decide on certain criteria forjudging consistency. Similarly, analysis and interpretation should be guided by criteria derived from his/her epistemological position. Therefore, the question of meaning attribution should be presented in such a relative context that admits the conditionality of his/her work. Also, the selection of data collection and analysis methods for any reseaich is dependent on whether the methodology adopted is quantitative, qualitative or both^.
In short, as explained above (in section 3.5), a qualitative methodology is chosen for the present research for the reasons which have been given. Details of the present study design in the light of the adopted qualitative methodology will be explained in the following section.
Whilst this chapter's main purpose is to address methodological issues in a broad sense, the following chapter will discuss the finite details of the methods chosen for data collection and analysis procedures in ill is study.
3 .7 Research Design
The present research design is in some ways unconventional in terms of its theoretical and methodological approaches. As shown in Exhibit 3.1, the main components of the present research's design are threefold:
1) It draws largely on the methodological underpinnings of the GT approach (see Glaser and Strauss, 1967).
2) It utilises a multiple-case study approach as a means of initial data presentation and analysis.
3) It stresses time as an important factor in the research process and adopts a longitudinal, time-series type of study.
Before discussing each of the above components in more detail, three important methodological clarifications are necessary for defining the relationships among them. First, GT was not used in a restrictive sense (i.e. excluding other useful qualitative procedures of data collection, indexing and analysis) because of an underlying assumption that qualitative research is inherently multi-method in focus (Brewer and Hunter, 1989). This assumption is consistent with Strauss and Corbin's (1994) contention that all the sources of data normally utilised in other qualitative methodologies could be utilised in a GT research. Flexibility in approach is crucial for providing the study with the distinctive benefits of GT, case studying and longitudinality. As Layder (1992) points out, GT must be viewed flexibly as a methodology open to the influence of other approaches, particularly to the advantages that could be gained from combining important features of both "humanism" and "scientific realism" in social analysis. Therefore, in designing this research a multiple- case study approach was incorporated within a GT context without neglecting the wealth of other useful qualitative approaches.
Second, a comparison between GT and case study approaches would reveal at least three basic differences which can potentially cause a conflict when both approaches are used simultaneously. These were observed carefully during the course of data gathering and analysis:
1) Data collection in GT would be as unstructured as possible whereas in a case study approach it would better be reported in a detailed protocol so that the procedure of a qualitative case study could be replicated in other settings (see Yin, 1989).
2) Data analysis procedures in GT would involve the use of specific coding techniques without a predefined commitment to a specific theory. In a case study research, however, data analysis would be likely to involve searching for emerging "patterns" and comparing them with others predicted from theory using causal links to establish plausible or rival explanations (see Yin, 1989). The mode of causal analysis in a
naturalistic GT research would assume that the researcher would observe directly the causal process which would produce the phenomenon under investigation in particular instances (Brewer and Hunter, 1989). As Glaser and Strauss (1967: 40) put it, ".... general relations are often discovered in vivo; that is, the field worker literally sees them occur".
3) The narrative in GT would proceed from "open coding" and use more advanced coding techniques to develop a story that would relate the open and "axial" coding to one category through "selective coding" or, alternatively, to draw a visual exhibit to explain propositions or hypotheses (see Strauss and Corbin, 1990). In a conventional case study approach, however, only a single case (for a single unit of analysis), multi case, or illustrative structures such as linear-analytic, comparative, or chronological structures would be considered sufficient (see Yin, 1989).
In this thesis, the case study component of the overall research design was not used as an independent qualitative methodology in its own right as, arguably, could be done in a qualitative study, but rather as a method subsumed in a GT framework. Whenever a conflict seemed to appear, GT’s canons were given priority over those of case study. Third, it is essential to stress an important assumption underlying the present research design, namely that the individual's own personality and background should not be ignored when one is acting the role of a researcher. Research would constitute "an interactive process shaped by his or her personal history, biography, gender, social class, race, and ethnicity, and those of the people in the setting" (Denzin and Lincoln:3). This, in turn, is consistent with the ontological, epistemological and axiological assumptions underlying the present study (explained above in sub-sections 3.6.1 - 3.6.4). The question of the researcher’s background’s implications for the research design will be addressed further later on in this chapter (see sub-sections 3.7.1.1 and 3.7.1.2 as well as section 3.9 for the implications of the researcher’s assumptions for the study’s validity, reliability, and credibility measures).
The following three subsections will deal with each of the constituent components individually.
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