El aprendizaje colaborativo como buena práctica.

The third layer of the research onion is research strategy. The research strategy pertains to the structural process of collecting and analysing data. Hence, surveys, case study, archival analysis, ethnography, action research, field research, game or role playing are examples of research (Wisker, 2009). These strategies have their strengths and weaknesses; however, the choice of a research strategy depends on the research aim, objectives and questions.

The sensitivity of the research strategies will be by the research objectives have to be analysed. The various research strategies will be discussed in the sections below.

Table 3.2. Comparing the different types of research strategies which can be used for this study

Research strategy Appropriateness for the study

Surveys Surveys are used to collect data from a large population. The survey is not only a data collection technique but involves questionnaires and in- depth interviews, content analysis, observation and so on (De Vaus, 2013). This will be suitable for this study because of some objectives which will require gathering a large amount of data which cut across various professions. For this study surveys will be quantitative and qualitative.

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Action research Action research involves experiments which are out of the laboratory or a controlled environment; they are practical forms of research will involve a lot of field work. Action research involves the use of controlled group for data collection (Saunders et al., 2015). This method will not suit any of the research objectives because of the cross-sectional nature of the research and the scope of the study.

Experiment Experiments will have to be carried out in a controlled environment with a controlled group. This study will not make use of experiments because the researcher’s objectives involve are a form of social science research. Experiments are usually used for pure sciences.

Case study Case study research can be quantitative or qualitative in nature. This form of research seeks to generate answers to questions such as ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ (Yin, 2009). This research strategy will suitable for some of the research questions and objectives. However, this part will be conducted using survey interviews for simplicity. Case study research can be longitudinal or cross-sectional making using of interviews as research instruments.

Literature review A literature review as a form of research strategy could be content analysis, word, count, narrative analysis, taxonomy analysis, qualitative comparative analysis and so on (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2012) . Some of the research objectives will be resolved from the content of the literature review in this study.

The different research strategies, which have been highlighted in table 3.2 has analysed the strengths of the research strategies and its appropriateness to answer the research questions and objectives. The main strategies which have been selected are literature review and surveys. The choice of research strategy is also justified based on the nature of the research approach which is abductive and the philosophical stands for the study. The position of the research strategy is related to the philosophical stands from the table 3.1 and figure 3.3. Since the study is abductive and it combines the use of interview and a form quantitative investigation. The survey research strategy will fit into the choice of research philosophy and approach.

Further justification for the research strategy for this study is based on the type of strategy adopted by the researchers in the area of kaizen, kaizen costing and continuous improvement implementation. This will be discussed in the next sub-section.

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3.4.1 Justification for survey strategy over other strategies

Based on existing research on continuous improvement, kaizen and kaizen costing in sectors such as automobile manufacturing, agriculture, education and construction, case study strategy has been adopted (Barber et al., 2006, Brunet and New, 2003, Crocitto, 2015, Emiliani, 2001, Emiliani, 2005, Fang and Kleiner, 2003, Giaretta, 2005, Heavey et al., 2014, Hwang and Staley, 2005, Jin and Doolen, 2014). The case study approach has been widely used for research in areas to investigate the concept of kaizen where they are existing. For instance, Brunet and New (2003) used a case study to assess the presence of kaizen in a number of selected companies in Japan. Case study for implementation kaizen has not been considered by (Barber et al., 2006, Brunet and New, 2003, Crocitto, 2015, Emiliani, 2001, Emiliani, 2005, Fang and Kleiner, 2003, Giaretta, 2005, Heavey et al., 2014, Hwang and Staley, 2005, Jin and Doolen, 2014). In implementing a new method such as kaizen, interviews and questionnaires are essential to obtain attitudinal perceptions towards change and usefulness. Furthermore, there is an existing kaizen or continuous improvement process in most studies related to kaizen which adopted case study. Most of the studies which adopt case study are exploratory sought after questions such as “what”, “why” and “how” (Yin, 2014). Action research was used by Vivan et al. (2015) to create a kaizen model for building construction. Vivan et al. (2015) adopted this approach because of the longitudinal timeline of the study and the scope of research. This research has a shorter timeline based on the scope which is an adaptation of kaizen for process improvement of post-contract cost control.

The larger population in Lagos, Nigeria was targeted for the right amount of perception towards kaizen and kaizen costing. Kaizen ad kaizen costing concept is still new, and it was introduced with the English term “continuous improvement”. The question being asked in the research objectives deals with introducing new concepts. Interviews were used to investigate the perception of SMSCC in Lagos, Nigeria towards a new concept such as continuous improvement (kaizen). Although, mutually exclusive questions such as “Yes” and “No” were used in the survey questionnaire, the purpose of the strategy was to gather sufficient data for a robust analysis via triangulation. Further justifications of survey strategy for this study will be discussed in the next sub-section.

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3.4.2 Survey research strategy

The survey can be a form of quantitative or qualitative research which involves questionnaire distribution and interviewing respondents (De Vaus, 2013). The main features of the survey are evident in the type of data collected and the approach employed in analysing the data (De Vaus, 2013). Therefore, surveys can be used for quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Since, survey can be qualitative, interviews can also be used as a form of form. Some researchers might view surveys are a method of data collection. Sapsford and Jupp (2006) stated that survey is meticulous and can be quantified. It also gives details about a population. Surveys targets a larger population compared to focus groups and case studies. Survey are not only about quantitative data but interviews collected from the respondents.

In this study, the interview survey was carried out among the same population for the questionnaire survey. The research objectives which used the survey strategy will be discussed in section 3.4.3.The research strategy is based on the findings of the literature review in section two. A literature review has provided an opportunity for the research to evaluate the present articles which will be used for the survey interviews and questionnaire.

3.4.3 Literature review synthesis

A literature review is a very vital step in any research. This is the selection of available documents which can be published or unpublished materials, which are related to the topic. These documents contain data, evidence, facts and research carried out by various authors (Hart, 1998). The purpose of a literature review is to identify the gaps within a particular field of study. For empirical research, this assists in developing research questions and proffering appropriate solutions (Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007). According to Saunders et al. (2015), the literature review aspect helps the researcher develop ideas from existing knowledge and research. This was used to create a strong aim and objective of the study. The concept of synthesising literature is to create a very robust argument about the justification for the research and identify basic challenges which might also influence the research problems based on other investigations by various academics. Gill and Johnson (2010) argued that the drawback of the literature review is that the research can focus on the descriptive aspect of various articles rather than critique the narratives quality, strength and source of data. This investigation did a critique of the existing cost management system and identified various gaps within the post-contract cost control techniques.

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In this study, the post-contract cost control techniques were synthesised using literature review (refer to section 2, table 2.1). The critical success factors required for the implementation of kaizen costing and cost reduction in SMSCC were identified from existing articles (refer to section 2.9, table 2.5) . Literature review synthesis also enables the researcher to design research instruments such as questionnaires and interview questions. The design of the research instruments was based on the type of research objectives. Table 3.3 below highlights the type of research strategy implemented for each objective in this study.

Table 3.3. The research strategy and purpose adopted for each research objectives and questions

S/N Research Objectives Purpose Research strategy

adopted 1 To identify and evaluate the general

post-contract cost control techniques used in the construction industry.

To have a general

comparative basis for analysis the second objective. This will give a general overview of what is happening in other construction industries around the world

Literature review

2. To identify and evaluate the methods used in post-contract cost control management in small and medium scale construction companies in Lagos, Nigeria.

This will help identify the problems in the post-contract cost control and how kaizen costing can be used to solve the problems.

Literature review, Survey (Quantitative and

qualitative)

3 To identify and evaluate the critical post-contract cost controlling activities for incremental cost

reduction in small and medium scale construction companies in Nigeria.

The important activities which are required for cost reduction has to be identified in order to build a framework

Literature review, Survey (Quantitative)

4 To identify and evaluate the critical success factors of adopting kaizen costing in construction companies in Lagos, Nigeria.

This will look at the enablers and barriers of kaizen costing in Nigeria. This will further identify the problems in the post-contract cost control system and also help in structuring the framework.

Literature review, Survey (Quantitative)

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5 To develop and validate a framework based on kaizen philosophy and kaizen costing which can be

integrated into the post-contract cost control practices in small and

medium scale construction companies in Nigeria

This framework will be developed for industry validation. Expert interviews from the construction

industry professionals particularly Quantity Surveyors will be required. This is also required to reduce cost during construction activities.

Survey (Interview)

Table 3.3 highlighted the selected strategy for each objective; this is a process designed from the beginning using research philosophy. The research methodology made use of the research onion which has the research philosophy, approach and strategy for the first three layers. The next layer of the research onion is the research choice.