GOBIERNO MUNICIPAL.
LIQUIDADORES DE IMPUESTOS MUNICIPALES.
2.5.2 ANÁLISIS DE FACTORES EXTERNOS.
4.1 Introduction
The previous two chapters reviewed the literature so as to provide a conceptual basis for this study. This chapter outlines the selected research design, explains the methods adopted and also presents the data analysis strategy used in this research. Firstly, the chapter addresses the purpose of researching ethnic minority social enterprise activities and justifies the adoption of the case study research method. Secondly, a close look is taken at the case study design and the protocol, which explains the logical sequence in which the study was carried out, the units of analysis and the thesis objectives and research questions. This is to identify the reasons behind such questioning and the implications that this had on the choice of data collection and data analysis methods. Thirdly, the methods of data collection are outlined using a three-stage methodological process and the techniques of analysis are reviewed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the issues of validity, generalisability and reliability as well as the ethical considerations that were made in the empirical work.
4.2 The inductive approach and the use of case study research
The purpose of this research is to explore and understand ethnic minority social enterprise activities in London, particularly in the Five Olympic Boroughs of Hackney, Greenwich, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest.28 This study seeks to address the main
knowledge gaps identified in the literature related to social entrepreneurial activities within ethnic minority groups in the five Olympic Boroughs of East London. To do so, it adopts an exploratory (inductive) approach as the main focus of the research is to gain insight and familiarity into the phenomenon under investigation, given the lack of existing literature and
28 It is noteworthy to highlight that although Barking and Dagenham has officially become the sixth
host borough since April 2011, it is not included in this research.
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related theory on the topic (Bryman and Bell, 2011). The exploratory nature of this research influenced the decision to choose case study research29 as the most appropriate technique
to accommodate such analysis as it provides the means to explore and explain a contemporary phenomenon of which little is currently understood (Creswell, 2003). As Robson states:
a case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context using multiple sources of evidence; and at the heart of this idea is that the case is studied in its own right, not as a sample from a population.
(Robson, 1993, p.53) The use of case study analysis allows understanding of how ethnic minority social enterprise activity is rooted within a particular context. Arguably, a spatially specific context was particularly important for this study because ethnic minority groups are often spatially concentrated and also because the development of social enterprises is often rooted within particular contexts (Evans and Syrett, 2007). Perhaps the most unique aspect of case study strategy is the probing, flexible character of research as a rich way of understanding the dynamics and behaviour within a given context and setting (Remenyi et al., 1998; Eisenhardt, 1989; Merrilees and Tiessen, 1999). However, despite the strengths of case study research, there is a need to be aware of the limitations in utilising this research strategy. Case study research has been often criticised for being time consuming and providing very little ground for quantification and generalisation (Sarantakos, 1998). A mixed- methods approach was considered appropriate for researching social enterprises within ethnic minority groups.30
29In this study, the case study is used as a research strategy which comprises the research design, methods of
data collection and data analysis, and as a method of data collection itself within an in-depth study of ten organisations (Yin, 1994).
30A mixed method research strategy was undertaken considering pragmatism as the philosophical paradigm for
the thesis to address the research questions (Creswell, 2003). The pragmatic paradigm arose as a single paradigm response to the debate surrounding the “paradigm wars” between post-positivism and constructivism and the emergence of mixed methods and mixed models approaches (Darlington and Scott, 2002). The pragmatic paradigm fits with the research aims rather than onepistemological assumptions, and is beneficial to gain diverse forms of knowledge that can provide complementary insights (Tashakkoriand Teddlie, 1998,2003).
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Multiple data collection methods including secondary sources, case studies, semi-structured interviews and a survey of 200 organisations were employed to enable triangulation so as to give a more detailed and balanced picture of the situation (Altrichter et al., 2008). The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is considered here as more suitable than a single method because it allows examining data from different sources to converge or confirm findings, and using these to increase the confidence of the results (Bryman and Bell, 2011).
4.3 Case study design
According to Yin (1994), within a case study design, decisions have to be taken about the logical sequence for carrying out the study, as well as the elements of the study, its methods of data collection and analysis. In case study research, the design is contained in the case study protocol, which shows the different phases of the research (see Table 4.1).
Table 4.1 Case study protocol
Phase Criteria
Objectives and research questions
Deciding on the main objectives and research questions of the study.
The units of analysis Selecting the case: ethnic minority social enterprise activities.
Selecting the context: the East London Olympic Boroughs. Linking methods of data
collection to the research questions
Objectives and Research Questions will be responded to by the methods of data collection.
Methods of data collection Mixed methods of data collection (literature and policy review, documentary sources, telephone survey, semi-structured interviews and case study examples) addressed using a three-stage methodological process.
Data analysis
Analysis of quantitative data done using SPSS.
Analysis of qualitative data done using content analysis.
Source: Compiled by author
This includes the objectives and research questions, the units of analysis, the logic that links the methods of data collection to the objectives and research questions, the methods of data
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collection and the criterion for interpreting the findings (Sarantakos, 1998). The elements of the first phase of the case study protocol, the objectives and research questions, have already been described in Chapter 1.
4.3.1 Selecting the ‘case’ and the ‘context’
According to Stake (2000), there are different reasons for focusing on a particular case when doing research. For example, it may be because of its uniqueness that it requires study, or because it illustrates the issues that the researcher is interested in or if the case reflects an outlier or seems to disprove conventional theory. Stake (2000) argues that the first criterion for selecting cases is to think about what we can learn and then choose a case that is likely to lead to understandings, assertions and perhaps to modifying previous beliefs about a phenomenon. A study can include single or multiple cases. The decision to include a single or multiple case depends on the aim of the study, as referring to multiple cases is more convincing and robust than single case studies; however, multiple cases usually require extensive resources and time (Yin, 1994). In case study research, it is also very important to set out the context of the case clearly to give the reader a sense of “being there” (Stake, 2000). This involves situating the case within its geographical, social, economic and historical context (Creswell, 2003). In this study, ethnic minority social enterprise activities were selected as the ‘case’ of the research study as an unexplored research area which requires study. The five boroughs were chosen as the geographical context and the Olympics as the socio-political context within which to study the development of ethnic minority social enterprise activities. East London encompasses a high ethnic minority population, high levels of deprivation and social disadvantage and it is where the 2012 Games will take place (see Chapter 5 for further details).
4.3.2 Linking methods of data collection to the research questions
Taking the objectives and research questions outlined in Chapter 1, it is possible to use the “Method matrix” to identify the reasons behind the choice of data collection methods and its
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implications. As seen in Table 4.2, the objectives and research questions will be answered using the specific methods of data collection adopted.
Table 4.2 Objectives, Research Questions and Methods of Data Collection