Research Approach

It is a good practice for a researcher to decide which type of research approach needs to be undertaken. According to Hair et al. (1995), a research can be either confirmatory or exploratory. Confirmatory studies are those studies that seek to test or confirm a pre-specified relationship while exploratory studies are those which define relationships in only the most general form and then allow multivariate techniques to estimate a relationship. In this research, the researcher is not looking to confirm any relationships specified prior to the analysis, but allows the method and the data to define the nature of the relationships. Easterby-Smith et al. (2002) explain three important reasons for adopting a particular research approach. They clarify that, it enables a researcher to take a more informed decision about research design; It helps think about those approaches that will whether work or not for the researcher and enables the researcher to adapt the research design to cater for any constraints.

While working on a research project, it is very important to decide which research approach would be best for researcher. Saunders et al. (2003) classify research approaches into two broad categories namely deductive and inductive (See Table 3-1). Understanding of these approaches is essential to support the choice of appropriate research approach. Both the approaches are completely different from each other. Deductive research approach is associated with the positivism paradigm, whereas inductive research approach is associated with interpretivism. Deductive research approach allows the research to establish a hypothesis

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by using theory. The researcher to confirm or reject the hypothesis to resolve issue (Gill and Johnson, 2010) collects a variety of data and information. There are various steps in using deductive approach. They include development of theory, hypothesis, observation through data and information and confirmation. On the other hand, inductive approach is totally reverse form deductive approach. Observation, pattern, tentative hypothesis and theory are important steps of the inductive approach. Inductive research is a flexible approach because there is no requirement of pre-determined theory to collect data and information. The researcher uses observable data and facts to reach at tentative hypothesis and define a theory as per the research problem. This helps the research to give inductive arguments (Mertens, 2008).

Table 3-1 Difference between deductive and inductive approaches

Deduction Induction

 Scientific principles; moving from theory to data.

 Gaining an understanding of the meanings humans attach to the events

 Moving from theory to data  A close understanding of the

research  The need to explain causal

relationship between variables

 The collection of qualitative data  The collection of quantitative data

and Researcher independence of what is being researched

 A more flexible structure to permit changes of research emphasis as the research progresses

 The application of controls to ensure validity of data and a highly structured approach

 A realisation that the researcher is part of the research process  The operationalisation of

concepts

 Less concern with the need to generalise

(Source: Saunders et al., 2003)

As Table 3-1 above shows, inductive approach is highly associated with the interpretivism philosophy. Ridenour et al. (2008) opine that inductive approach allows the researcher to provide subjective reasoning with the help of various real life examples. Based on the fact that the main aim of this study was to investigate the determinants of brain drain and develop a framework with the hope to curb the brain drain for the Malawi health sector but derived from a small sample of subjects, an inductive approach was used (Trochim, 2006). According to Zikmund (2002), inductive reasoning is the logical process of establishing a general proposition based on observable facts. Empirical evidence was obtained from the nurses and key informants about their experience, perception and understanding on brain drain phenomenon and then identified critical factors that influence nurses to emigrate. Saunders

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et al. (2003) clearly state that when inductive approach is adopted, qualitative data is collected and theory is developed as a result of data analysis whereas when a deductive approach is adopted, theory and/or hypothesis is developed and then research strategy is designed to test it. According to Ritchie and Lewis (2003), deductive approach is linked with the positivism philosophy, which include hypothesis to prove assumptions. In this kind of approach, it is necessary for the researcher to be general. However, this research involved inductive research approach as Saunders et al. (2003) state that researchers adopting an inductive approach are more likely to work with qualitative data and use different methods of data collection in order to establish different views of a phenomenon.

3.5.1 Choice: Qualitative Research

This is an empirical study based on qualitative research design. According to Gorman and Clayton (2005), qualitative research is a process of enquiry that draws data from the context in which events occur, in an attempt to describe these occurrences, as a means of determining the process in which events are embedded. Research methods are necessary to give the researcher the needed mechanism to carry out effective research in the field of study. According to Saunders et al. (2012); Khotari (2006) and Kumar (2007), a research method mainly defines the design of the problem under investigation. Whatever the preferred research method, Bryman (2012) states that, there are three distinct approaches to addressing any research problem namely qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. This actually reflects that based on the approach, a research study can take any of the following: either qualitative, quantitative or a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. These research approaches and their applications have their roots in one research philosophy or the other. In other words, the research philosophy that defines the assumptions constructed about the phenomena of interest, also determines the ontological, epistemological and methodological scope of the study (Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Ritchie and Lewis, 2003). According to Bryman (1984), much of the research literature considers to some extent, the research philosophy to determine, mostly, which approach the researcher should choose. There are fundamental differences between qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data involves words whilst quantitative data involves numbers (Punch, 2006). Again, in qualitative research, a hypothesis is not needed to begin research whilst quantitative research requires a hypothesis before research can take place. Note should be taken that the differences do not make one more scientific than the other. For the purpose of this research, qualitative method was chosen.

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3.5.2 Justification for Qualitative Choice

The justification for using the qualitative approach is that qualitative research methodologies are data driven, flexible and they celebrate richness, depth, nuance, context, multidimensionality and complexity (Yin, 2009; Mason, 2002; Vandenabeele and Horton, 2005) all of which are fundamental for the generation of reliable and valid data for investigating determinants of brain drain in the Malawi health sector. Moreover, qualitative research meaningfully operationalises research by unearthing various dynamics of the phenomenon under study and helps to build a narrative about brain drain through an in-depth enquiry.

The qualitative choice provided avenue for in-depth investigation and obtained rich insights into the Malawi health sector brain drain. Punch (2006); Taylor and Bogdan (1998) opine that a researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. With qualitative research, there is a relationship between the researcher and data (Williams, 2007). The qualitative approach is applicable to description, interpretation, verification and evaluation, and should serve one of these purposes (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005). According to Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005), qualitative research has its foundation on an interpretative orientation that focuses on a complex process of making sense and preserving the meaning of data. Qualitative research approach aims at capturing lived experiences of the social world and the meanings people give to these experiences from their own perspectives (Corti and Thompson, 2004).

Qualitative methodologies consist of the philosophical perspectives, assumptions, postulates and approaches that researchers employ to render their work open to analysis, critique, replication, repetition, and /or adaptation and to choose research methods(Vaismoradi et al., 2013).

As supported by Bryman (1988), qualitative research is a naturalistic, interpretive approach concerned with understanding the meanings which people attach to phenomena (actions, beliefs, decisions and values) in their social worlds by stating the way in which people being studied understand and interpret their social reality. However, literature by Mason (1996) acknowledges that there is no consensus on what constitutes qualitative research and it is no surprise that qualitative research does not represent a unified set of techniques or philosophies and that it has grown out of a variety of intellectual and disciplinary traditions. Miles and Huberman (1984) point out that qualitative research is essentially an investigative process, not unlike detective work. However, a disadvantage of qualitative approach is that participant responses cannot be compared easily. Data collected are analysed as distinct categories due to the fact that they can only be conceptualized (Tesch, 1990). Having

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identified these strengths and weakness, research strategies such as case studies, ethnography and phenomenology are widely employed in qualitative studies instead.

For this study, the researcher attempted to understand the determinants of brain drain in the Malawi health sector, with the assumptions of recommending strategies and measures to retain nurses. In this regard, it led the researcher to get into the field at six government hospitals and interacted with nurses and their seniors. In addition, the researcher interacted with officials from the NMCM, CHAM and MOH.