Which Research Approach: Induction, Deduction or Abduction?

After deciding about the research philosophy, a deductive, inductive or abductive research approach has to be selected. Researchers such as Easterby-Smith et al. (2003) argue that a positivist research philosophy is more likely linked towards a deductive approach. In contrary, an inductive research approach concentrates on concrete exeperiences which will be analysed and later reflected to form a concept or model.

The deductive research approach is characterised by devolping hypothese based on an exist- ing theory (Saunders et al., 2012: 144; Wilson, 2010). It is orientated mostly on theory and

58 tries to evaluate or extend existing explanations of a given phenomenon (Easterby-Smith et al., 2003) Hypotheses will be developed and afterwards validated by quantitative methods (data). The focus of the deductive approach is therefore theory testing (Saunders et al. 2012). A clear classification of which research approach belongs to which research philosophy (posi- tivism, interpretism or realism) is difficult (Saunders et al., 2012). Since, this study is not build on a theory or hypotheses, a deductive approach is not appropriate. Instead, the author aims to explore and analyse the expectations and experiences of students and to develop a conceptual service marketing model for higher education institutions.

The abductive approach is used to explore a phenomen, to identify themes and explain pat- terns to generate or modify an existing theory (Saunders et al., 2012). The aim of this the the- sis is not to modify an existing theory or to explore a general phenomen. Therefore, an abduc- tive research approach is not appropriate.

An inductive research approach helps to explore, describe and anlayse a research topic in depth as well as to use the collected data to identify patterns and relationships. Its focus is on theory and conceptual framework development (Saunders et. al, 2012; Cooper and Schindler, 1998). As Saunders et al. (2012: 146) pointed out, an inductive research approach is mainly appropriate to formulate a theory or a conceptual framework. The development of a conceptu- al service marketing model for higher education is one of the key aspects of this thesis. As mentioned in the previous chapters, a comprehensive theory of service marketing at higher education institutions does not exist yet. Firstly, a small number of experts will be interviewed about students’ selection criteria, expectations and experiences. On the basis of these inter- views results and a comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire for a quantative survey will be developed. This study is also exploratory and consists of several questions. By follow- ing an inductive research approach, the author has the opportunity to gain more information about students’ decision and evaluation processes and more insight about marketing and re- cruitment in the higher educationn sector.

59 4.2.3 Selecting the Appropriate Research Strategy

The next step is the selection of an adequate research strategy. Generally, eight strategies can be distinguished.

The experiment is a classical research strategy developed in the natural sciences. It aim is the collection of data through standardised procedures. The data are often analysed by methods of statistics in order to generalise regularities or outcomes. Experimental research is often used in sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology or medicine and therefore not an appropriate research strategy in this context (Saunders et al., 2012).

Ethnography as a qualitative research strategy is suitable for studying groups. Ethnographers are interested to study people in groups who interact with each other (Saunders et al., 2012: 181). This thesis will not study people in groups, but individual decision making. Therefore, this research strategy is not regarded as appropriate.

The case strategy is the opposite of experiments and based on the analysis of real life pro- jects. The difference between surveys and case studies is that the latter is not limited to a cer- tain number of variables or other important data. Instead it is characterised by a broad under- standing of the context and the research process (Saunders et al., 2012). Case studies are often used as a research strategy for exploratory and explanatory research. Since it is often difficult to generalize the results of case studies, they are often combined with quantitative research methods (triangulation). This may involve, for example, interviews, observations, documen- taries and questionnaires (Saunders et al., 2012: 179). However, a case strategy is not appro- priate in this context as it mostly focus on organisations, while this study relates to individu- als. Moreover, the aim is not to explore extreme or specific cases but to analyse a representa- tive group of students (Eisenhardt, 1988).

Action Research is often applied to analyse change processes in companies (Kusterer, 2008). This may involve, for example, reorganizations, the introduction of new technologies or post- merger integrations. As this is not the aim of this study, this research design is also not appro- priate.

60 The Grounded Theory is characterised by a combination of inductive and deductive research approaches. This research strategy is often used in empirical qualitative social research (Gla- ser and Strauss, 1967). Its aim is to develop a theory which then can be tested in practice. Da- ta will be collected without formulating a prior theoretical framework in the form of research gaps or research questions. The collected data will be then used for developing a theory which may be tested in subsequent research. This thesis will not develop a new theory. Also, it is based on explicit research questions and established research and conceptual models (Locke, 2001). Therefore, grounded theory is not regarded as appropriate research strategy.

Narrative inquiry is closely linked to qualitative interviews and describes the nature or out- comes of an interview. The narrative strategy is useful for a very small number of research participants (Saunders et al., 2012), for example, by interviewing a small number of profes- sors or university staff members about their experiences with student expectations and experi- ences. Expert interviews are an important part of the thesis. However, the outcomes of the ex- pert interviews will be mainly used to develop a subsequent quantative questionnaire. There- fore, a narrative inquiry research strategy will be not appropriated.

The survey strategy is often used in business and management research. It is useful for ex- ploratory or descriptive studies (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). The survey strategy considers the collection of quantitative data which will be later described and analysed by using statisti- cal methods. The strategy is useful to test the relationships between independent and depend- ent variables and helps to develop models of complex relationships (Saunders et al., 2012). An important advantage of the survey strategy is that it gives the researcher a high amount of control about the research project as research questions and answering categories can be de- termined ex ante. Furthermore, surveys can include a large and diverse research population And the results can be generalized to a large degree. This differentiates surveys from other re- search strategies (Saunders et al., 2012).

In this context, the advantage of the survey strategy is that it allows collecting data of a larger number of students and for systematically analysing their selection and evaluation criteria. Moreover, standardised questionnaires are an appropriate research tool to compare students at state and private universities and to analyse the influence of individual characteristics on their selection and evaluation criteria. The quantitative survey of the thesis is based on a small sample of semi-structured expert interviews and the outcomes of the literature review. Semi-

61 structured interviews support the answer of a large number of questions and complex relations of variables (Saunders et al., 2012). An important aspect of using semi-structured interviews is the quality of the received data which are related to the aspects of reliability, forms of bias, generalizability and validity (Saunders et al., 2012).

On the basis of these considerations, a semi-structured interview was developed and three ex- perts of the state and private university sector in Germany were interviewed. Before the semi- structured interviews, the interview guide has been distributed to the experts to allow them to familiarize themselves with the questions. The questions of the semi-structured interview are closely linked to the quantitative questionnaire which was distributed to students at the Uni- versity of Hamburg and a private university in Hamburg.

A quantitative research design in form of a survey (questionnaire) can be also combined with an inductive approach (Kromrey, 2009). Usually a survey strategy is linked to a deductive ap- proach (Saunders et al., 2012). Therefore, the survey strategy is regarded as an appropriate re- search strategy for this thesis.