A research design, in the opinion of the researcher, is the conceptual structure within which research could be conducted. It deals with a logical problem through a logical plan for getting from the initial set of questions to be answered to the set of conclusions about these questions. The propositions direct attention to something that should be examined within the scope of study, and determine the direction of the research and research alternatives. A discussion of the research design opted for which appropriate address the research question is put forward in the follow-up section. However, an overview of other options is also outlined.
Creswell (2009) outlined research options that are available in a qualitative research approach with their parameters in figure 3.3 below. However, the researcher will elaborate only on the option relevant to this study.
Narrative Research Grounded Theory Ethnographic Research Phenomenological Case Study Research
Figure 3.3: Qualitative research options
This study adopted a case study research design, after understanding arguments put forward by Creswell (2009), Yin (2003) and Stake (1995). Furthermore, given the nature of the research problem as discussed in the earlier chapter, a case study option was the appropriate choice for this study. This research design will now be
Exploring a system of individuals to describe a case Exploring individual experiences to describe the essence of a phenomenon Exploring common experiences of individuals to develop a theory Exploring the shared culture of a group of people Exploring individual stories to describe the lives of people
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explored in a little more detail in the next section. However, a few thoughts were given to phenomenological research, since it has the flair of constructivism and a case study research design.
3.5.1 Case Study
Case study, as a research design, has been explored by many researchers and authors (Creswell, 2009; Yin, 2003; Stake, 2003) who arrived at a series of arguments, characteristics and explanations.
Stake (2003) argues that case study, as a research design, is the study of particularity and complexity of a single case, coming to understand its activity within important circumstances. This means that a case study is an intensive study of a single unit (a spatially bounded phenomenon observable at a single point in time or over a delimited period of time) for the purpose of understanding a large class of (similar) units. Expanding Stake’s argument, Yin (2003) explains that a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clearly evident, and in which multiple sources of evidence are used.
According to Flyvbjerg (2011) a case study is an intensive analysis of an individual unit such as a person, group, or event, stressing the developmental factors in relation to context. Hitchcock and Hughes (1995), cited in Cohen, et al. (2000:182), stress that a case study focuses on practice, intervention and interpretation, with the aim of improving the situation. Thomas (2011) posits in his explanation that case studies have the characteristics of analysing persons, events, decisions, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more methods.
A case study design, therefore, provides a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analysing information and reporting the results. Further, it is an in- depth study of a particular research problem, rather than a sweeping statistical survey. It is often used to narrow down a very broad field of study into one or a few easily researchable issues. As a result, it could be used to obtain a sharper understanding of the pedagogical integration process of ICT in ITE, which is the objective of the project.
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3.5.2 Types of Case Study
Yin (2003) categorises case studies as explanatory, exploratory or descriptive, whilst Stake (2005) identifies additional case studies as intrinsic, instrumental or collective. In figure 3.4 below is a summary of various dichotomies of case studies, and a brief background of each with operational circumstances..
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Figure 3.4: Types of case study
According to Stake (2005), an “intrinsic case study” occurs when the researcher has an interest in the case; “instrumental” is when the case is used to understand more than what is obvious to the observer, and “collective” is when a group of cases is studied. The collective case studies can be linked with multiple-case studies.
The research design explored contributed to the decision of positioning the study as a holistic multiple-case exploratory case study, given the nature of the research problem outlined in chapter 1. It is holistic because it comprises a single unit of
Explanatory
Seeks to answer a question that sought to explain the presumed causal links in real life intervention that are too complex for the survey or experimental strategies Single case Multiple - case Holistic Embe dded Exploratory Explore situations in which the intervention being evaluated has no clear, single set of outcomes. Single case Multiple- case Holistic Embedded Descriptive Describe an intervention or phenomenon and real-life context in which it occurred Single case Multiple- case Holistic Embedded
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analysis, and multiple-case, since it follows a replication logic which adds to the body of knowledge on the pedagogical integration of ICTs by lecturers of ITE. It concentrates especially on mathematics, science and technology education and how to improve the quality of teaching and learning in these learning areas. Each individual case study consists of a “whole” study, in which the facts were gathered from various sources.
The execution of this study draws on the work of Creswell (2009), Yin (2003) and Stake (1995) in terms of the stages of the research project (which had some overlaps at some stages):
Selecting the cases: The cases were selected after carefully observing how lecturers and students use ICTs in teaching and learning.
Preliminary investigations: These were conducted through verbal interaction with many colleagues and students before selecting the cases and formulating the research project.
Data gathering stage: This stage involved the gathering of qualitative data through a questionnaire (open-ended), interviews (semi-structured), documents and field notes.
Analysis stage: This commenced just as the questionnaire was collected, which provided direction for the development of the interview, both of which continued until the write-up stage.
Report stage: The elements (chapters) were produced as the analysis began and continued until the final submission.
The researcher will now discuss the cases concerned in the study:
3.6 THE CASES
In this study, the researcher sought to discover how lecturers’ ICT pedagogy in mathematics, science and technology education in ITE articulated the use of technology tools in teaching and learning for conceptual understanding, thereby
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setting the agenda for quality education, students skills and conceptual development. The researcher also examined the use of ICT’s translation into conceptual changes in teaching and learning of mathematics, science and technology.
Secondly, he investigated how students engage ICTs to construct knowledge, and develop skills, and for conceptual understanding, with the help of lecturers and assistance from the Information Technology (IT) section of the institution. Each of the two cases selected provide insight into significant use of ICTs, by highlighting different perspectives on the same issues (Creswell, 2009). The outcome is a rich and detailed description of perspectives, with analyses from each case, which contributed to the knowledge base of the pedagogical integration of ICTs in mathematics, science and technology education. The two cases were suitable for the study, due to their commonality (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2003; Stake, 1995).