Research Paradigm

Quantitative and qualitative research approaches are based on underlying assumptions about what constitutes valid research and whether appropriate methods are being applied.

Epistemological theory (Becker & Niehaves, 2007) guides the researcher in the choice of his or her approach, laying the basis for understanding how knowledge is produced and how it can be obtained (Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991). Myers (1997) distinguishes between three underlying philosophical assumptions of research in IS: it can be positivist, interpretative or critical. These three different paradigms exist since, just as the beliefs and values of people differ, the ways of understanding what research is also differ (Myers, 1997).

4.1.1 Positivist Research

According to Myers (1997), positivist researchers generally assume that reality is objectively given and can be described by measurable properties which are independent of the researcher and his or her instruments (Myers, 1997). Positivist research studies often attempt to test predictive theory so as to increase the understanding of phenomena. According to Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991), IS research can often be classified as positivistic if there is evidence of formal propositions, quantifiable measures of variables, hypotheses testing, and the drawing of inferences about a phenomenon from the sample to a stated population (Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991).

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4.1.2 Interpretative Research

Interpretative research studies attempt to understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them. Interpretative methods of research in IS are

aimed at producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context (Walsham, 1993, pp. 4-5).

Interpretative research does not predefine dependent and independent variables, but focuses on the full complexity of human sense-making as the situation emerges (Kaplan & Maxwell, 1994). The researcher thus assumes that access to reality (whether given or socially constructed) is only through constructions such as language, consciousness, and shared meaning (Myers & Avison, 2002). Klein and Myers (1999) set up the following principles of interpretative field research (see Table 6).

Table 6 – Seven Principles for Interpretative Field Research (based on Klein and Myers (1999))

Principle of Description

Hermeneutic Cycle All human understanding is achieved by interacting and considering the independent meaning of parts and the whole that they form.

Contextualisation Critical reflection of the social and historical background of the research setting, so that the intended audience can see how the current situation under investigation emerged.

Interaction between the researcher and the subject

Critical reflection on how the research materials were socially constructed through the interaction between the researcher and participants.

Abstraction and Generalisation

Relating the idiographic details revealed by the data interpretation to theoretical, general concepts that describe the nature of human understanding and social action.

Dialogical Reasoning Sensitivity to possible contradictions between the theoretical preconceptions guiding the research design and actual findings, with subsequent cycles of revision.

Multiple Interpretations Sensitivity to possible differences in interpretations among the participants as they are typically expressed in multiple narratives or stories of the same sequence of events under study.

Suspicion Sensitivity to possible “biases” and systematic “distortions” in the narratives collected from the participants.

Especially fundamental to all other principles for interpretative field research is the principle of the hermeneutic circle (Klein & Myers, 1999) and it is also important for the grounded theory approach in my research work. Therefore it will be discussed in more detail in section 4.4.

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As my research is directed towards the future role of web-based technology in virtual teams and towards an organizational framework to ensure project success, increased project outcome, and team affective outcomes (e.g., team member satisfaction) the application of my research methods is aimed at the understanding of the context of the web-based technology as well as the influence of this technology on the processes within the virtual teams and vice versa. Consequently interpretative research seems to be the appropriate approach.

Developing the research framework in the context of student groups frees my research from certain power relations within the typical hierarchical structure of companies. For their project work, the teams will be provided with a selection of tools. It is left to the teams to select those tools that will help them to accomplish their project task. The technology does not determine the way in which the teams do their project work; instead, the teams decide on the technology that will support them in their projects. Besides its advantages, this approach prohibits adapting a critical research stance (see section 4.1.3).

4.1.3 Critical Research

The third form of philosophical stance, according to Myers (1997), is that of critical research.

Based on the Frankfurt School, particularly the work of Jürgen Habermas (Doolin & Lowe, 2002), critical research aims at focusing more explicitly on the dynamics of power, knowledge, and ideology that surround social practices. Critical researchers assume that social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people. According to Myers (1997), the main task of critical research is one of social critique, whereby the restrictive and alienating conditions of the status quo should be brought to light.

Critical research focuses on the oppositions, conflicts, and contradictions in contemporary society, and seeks to be emancipatory, that is, to help eliminate the causes of alienation and domination. Myers and Klein (2011) propose a set of principles for conducting critical research based on the three elements of insight, critique and transformative redefinition. Even though McGrath (2005) suggests that the principles of interpretative research are useful for critical research as well, Myers and Klein (2011) point out that they are not sufficient and that in particular the element of critique requires that the researchers adopt a more critical stance than interpretivists.

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4.1.4 Qualitative Approach versus Quantitative Approach

Quantitative research is a form of research involving large representative samples and structured collection procedures to study natural phenomena through survey methods, laboratory experiments, formal methods, and numerical methods such as mathematical modelling (Myers &

Avison, 2002). A primary task in this kind of research is to test hypotheses. A hypothesis is a statement regarding the relationship between two or more phenomena (variables). Various authors (such as Cook & Campbell (1979), Manicas & Secord (1983), and Maxwell, Bashook, & Sandlow (1986)) argue that the study of social sciences in a natural setting involves several uncontrolled variables, of which the imprecise measurement or omission might produce misleading, or unusable results (Myers & Avison, 2002).

Qualitative research methods have been chosen for this study as they are said to yield a better understanding of the real world setting (Kaplan & Duchon, 1988). Such methods refer to the kind of research that produces findings not obtained through statistics or other means of quantification. Qualitative research attempts to broaden and deepen our understanding of how things came to be the way they are in our social world. It is thus suited to studying organizations, groups, and individuals (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). One major characteristic of qualitative research is the focus on interpretation rather than quantification. Qualitative research is concerned with developing explanations of social phenomena. That is to say, it aims to help us to understand the social world in which we live and why things are the way they are. These characteristics may be considered as advantages when conducting research and they justify the choice of qualitative methods for my research project. Further, qualitative methods emphasise subjectivity rather than objectivity, flexibility in the process of conducting research, an orientation towards process rather than outcome, a concern with context, and an explicit recognition of the impact of the research process on the research situation (Cassell & Symon, 1997).

4.1.5 Triangulation

Triangulation is the application and combination of several research methodologies or data sources in the study of the same phenomenon. According to Patton (1987), there are four types of triangulation available to evaluate the evidence of research findings (see Table 7).

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Table 7 - Types of Triangulation

Type of Triangulation Description

Data triangulation Collection of data from multiple sources but aimed at corroborating the same fact or phenomenon.

Investigator triangulation Different investigators collect data from the same sources applying the same research methods.

Theory triangulation Using more than one theoretical scheme in the interpretation of the phenomenon.

Methodological triangulation The use of qualitative data to illustrate or clarify quantitatively derived findings; or the use of quantitative data to validate qualitative findings.

According to Eisenhardt (1989) and Yin (2003), triangulation by multiple data collection methods provides a stronger substantiation of constructs and hypotheses. Qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of a triangulation can be applied to provide additional insight and modes of analysis while such information is unlikely to be revealed if only one method is used (compare Kaplan & Duchon (1988) and Pather & Remenyi (2004)). Triangulation through multiple investigators has the two key advantages of providing complementary insights and strengthening confidence in the findings (Eisenhardt, 1989). These three forms of triangulation will be applied within my research study where necessary.

4.1.6 Empirical versus non-Empirical research

Empirical research is any research that bases its findings on direct or indirect observation (e.g., Kling (1991), and Schwandt (1997)). Non-empirical research focuses on ideas, frameworks, and speculations rather than observations (Alavi, Brooke, & Carlson, 1990). According to Järvinen (2004), empirical research can be subdivided into theory-testing and theory-creating research. Theory-testing studies involve laboratory experiments, surveys, field studies, or field experiments. The respective theories, models, or frameworks are either taken from the literature, or developed, or refined for purposes of specific studies. The opposite holds for theory-creating studies, which make use of case-studies, ethnographic methods, grounded theory, contextualism, discourse analysis, longitudinal studies, phenomenological studies, and hermeneutics, among others (Järvinen, 2004) to develop a theory. According to these definitions my research study follows a theory-creating empirical approach.

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