Las estrategias de balance intra-institucional e interinstitucional

Denscombe (1998) suggests that there is no one right approach to take but rather that some strategies are more suited for tackling specific research areas, and that the strategy is chosen at the start of the research on a ‘fitness for purpose’ basis, as being the most appropriate for investigating the particular research problem at hand (Ziad, 2009).

Then again, Jankowicz (2005) uses a ‘method’ at a similar level in the research structure to the ‘strategy’ adopted by Denscombe (1998), and describes a research method as the organised and methodical way of gathering and analysing data such that information can be ultimately derived from such data. Jankowicz (2005) also differentiates between data and information in that data are “raw, specific, undigested and largely meaningless”; while information is the output after processing the data in order to reduce uncertainty, resolve queries and remove doubts (Ziad, 2009).

The following sections present some of the main research strategies:

4.5.1 Surveys

Collis and Hussey (2009) consider surveys in general to be a positivistic methodology, which involves a study of a population in order to draw inferences about certain aspects of the population. If the population is large, data are collected about a sample of that population, and if the sample is considered representative, then it may be possible to

essential therefore when selecting a survey sample to ensure that it is representative of the population as far as possible and is not biased. There are different methods used for obtaining the data through a survey including questionnaires and face-to-face or telephone interviews (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

Collis and Hussey (2009) also divide surveys into two main types: descriptive surveys and analytical surveys. Descriptive surveys involve counting the frequency of a population in relation to a specific issue at a particular point in time or at certain specified time intervals, and these include customer attitude surveys in business. The object of analytical surveys is to determine the relationship between different variables (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

Denscombe (2010) defines the term ‘survey’ as a comprehensive or detailed view or the act of acquiring data by mapping. These two aspects are analogous to a geographical type of survey in the sense that the object is to map out the landscape or buildings to record details or features. In social research, the object of a survey is to map the social world to obtain the necessary data in order to understand specific aspects (Denscombe, 2010).

Denscombe (2010) believes that a survey is a research strategy, not a method, and a wide range of methods is available for collecting the data within this strategy including questionnaires, interviews, documents and observation.

4.5.2 Experiments

Experimental studies are a positivistic type of methodology according to Collis and Hussey (2009), and are conducted systematically either in a laboratory or in a natural setting. Laboratory experiments allow the researcher to exercise more control, and by manipulating the independent variables, the researcher can observe the effects on dependent variables. Confounding variables are those that tend to obscure the effect of other variables and these can be controlled in a laboratory setting. It is difficult to arrange laboratory experiments in business research and in practice such experiments do not represent the actual environment (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

Field experiments have the advantage of representing the real world to a greater extent, however, the experiments may still be difficult to establish and carry out and there is less control over the confounding variables. Another type of variable, which may be difficult to control in a field experiment, is the ‘extraneous variable’, which is any variable other than the independent variable which may still have an effect on the dependent variable (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

In addition, Jankowicz (2005) maintains that, in social research experiments, data are collected by closely observing a predetermined set of behaviours under controlled conditions, in order to understand an event or attribute the results to a general theory. Field experiments are therefore carried out if the researcher is familiar with the area being studied and the setting involved to be able to benefit from observing the identified variables which affect each other (Jankowicz, 2005).

4.5.3 Case Studies

Collis and Hussey (2009) classify the case study as a phenomenological methodology, and define it as an in-depth investigation of a particular example of a phenomenon. A ‘unit of analysis’ refers to the particular case with which the research problem is concerned and about which the data are collected and analysed, and the case study approach means that a specific unit of analysis is involved which can be a company, a group of employees, an event, a process or a single individual (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

Yin (2009) presented three main features of a case study:

• The aim of the research is to understand the event in a specific framework rather than to explore it;

• The case study limits are not determined by questions and notions included in the research; and

• Various methods for collecting the data are used, both qualitative and quantitative.

Collis and Hussey (2009) also identify some potential weaknesses of the case study approach, starting with the difficulty of arranging a suitable organisation and the

lengthy time needed to complete the investigation. There is also the problem of deciding on the ‘delimitation’ of the study, which means deciding where the researcher should place the boundaries of the research. This is because an organisation does not exist in a vacuum but rather interacts with society and different stakeholders, and has a history, which can shape the understanding of the present. The researcher may therefore find it difficult to understand an event at a particular time without investigating what happened before and what may happen after (Collis and Hussey, 2009).

Denscombe (1998) identifies what a case study can do, that a survey in general cannot, which is to examine the issues in detail. A researcher’s decision to dedicate all efforts to studying just one instance is a strategic decision and means that a greater opportunity is available to probe into things in more detail and find out about the things that would not otherwise have become obvious (Denscombe, 1998).

Denscombe (1998) emphasises that selecting the case study approach is a research strategy choice and does not dictate a particular method to use. This is in fact considered as strength of the case study in that a variety of methods can be used for collecting the data depending on the circumstances and the specific needs of the research (Denscombe, 1998).

Yin (2009) also classifies the case study as a research strategy for undertaking social science research, and identifies case studies as being the preferred strategy when “how” or “why” questions are being addressed, when the researcher has little control over events, and when the research is concentrated on a “contemporary phenomenon with real-life context”.

Yin (2009), in addition, states that the case study, as a research strategy, is adopted to contribute to knowledge in many situations such as individual, group, organisational, social, political, and related phenomena and applied in diverse social science disciplines ranging from psychology and sociology to political science and planning. The need to adopt case studies therefore arises from the desire to understand complex social phenomena.

Yin (2009), however, refers to a common misconception amongst some researchers who consider that case studies are only suitable for the preliminary exploratory phase of research and cannot be used to describe or test propositions. Yin (2009) argues that many case studies are far from being only just an exploratory strategy, and also that case studies can be exploratory case studies, descriptive case studies or explanatory case studies; in the same way that experiments can be exploratory, descriptive and explanatory experiments.

Moreover, Yin (2009) refers to a general criticism of case studies as a research endeavour, in that case studies are often viewed as lacking research vigour and are therefore less desirable as a form of inquiry. However, Yin (2009) argues that this is only the case where the researcher has been “sloppy” and not adhered to systematic procedures, or permitted ambiguous evidence and biased views to influence the research findings and conclusions.

Yin (2009) therefore provides a rationale to the generalisation issues by arguing that for case studies, similar to experiments, it is possible to generalise to theoretical concepts and not to populations or on global scales, because case studies, in this sense, do not represent a “sample” and, in adopting case studies as a research strategy, the intention would be to expand and generalise theories (analytic generalisation) and not calculate frequencies (statistical generalisation) (Yin, 2009).

Three conditions were set out by Yin (2009), which determine when to use each research strategy, and these relate to the type of research question; the extent of researcher control over events and behaviours; and the degree of focus on contemporary rather than historical accounts.

Yin (2009) hence concludes that case studies are preferred for research dealing with contemporary events when the relevant behaviours cannot be manipulated by the researcher. Also, the case study has a unique strength in that it has the ability to deal with a full variety of sources of evidence including documents, artefacts, direct observation of the events under investigation, and interviews of the persons involved, and can be based on any mix of qualitative and quantitative evidence.