In this study, the broad philosophical stance lying behind the methodology is that of interpretivism. Based on a constructionist epistemology, interpretivism focuses on interpreting the world of meaning in order to understand it,33 and thus it is an approach that explores “culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of the social life-world”.34 An interpretivist seeks to explain the way in which meanings are constructed by the language and actions of social actors and, as Schwandt explains, “to prepare an interpretation is itself to construct a reading of these meanings; it is to offer the inquirer’s construction of the constructions of the actors one studies”.35
Largely developed by Max Weber, interpretivism is an approach that counteracts positivism and is fundamentally in the pursuit of “understanding” (Verstehen)—an understanding that seeks to comprehend both the purpose of action and the intentional intent of human behaviour.36 The interpretive perspective includes a range of sub- perspectives such as phenomenology, hermeneutics and symbolic interactionism, each having their own unique way of interpreting the world.37 In a general sense however, the interpretive framework enables the researcher to understand the phenomenon through the subjective meanings that the participants assign to it. These meanings may differ when viewed from each individual sub-perspective, but held together they provide a comprehensive picture of the phenomenon under study.
32
Crotty, The Foundations of Social Research, 63.
33
Thomas A. Schwandt, "Constructivist, Interpretivist Approaches to Human inquiry," in The Landscape of Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues, ed. Denzin N.K. and Y.S. Lincoln (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc, 1998), 222.
34
Crotty, The Foundations of Social Research, 67.
35
Schwandt, "Constructivist, Interpretivist Approaches to Human inquiry," 222.
36
Corbetta, Social Research, 22.
37
Denzin and Lincoln describe qualitative research using multiple methodologies as a “bricolage” and the researcher as a “bricoleur” or “quilt maker”.38 The interpretive bricoleur understands the interactive process of the research that is shaped by his or her personal history, biography, gender, social class, race, and ethnicity, and by those of the people in the setting, and the interpretations produced in the research are based on associations among the contrasting images that blend into one another.39 Denzin and Lincoln describe the resulting complex, quilt-like bricolage of an interpretive bricoleur as one which represents a montage—“a pieced-together set of representations that are fitted to the specifics of a complex situation”.40 Chenail terms this as a “generic approach” and credits the flexibility it offers as one of its strengths.41 However, he cautions that it could also turn into a weakness if a project is not produced that is internally coherent and externally recognizable to reviewers. Crotty notes that this research perspective can prove to be very valuable, particularly if such a researcher pays careful attention to the objects of the research:
… research in the mode of the bricoleur, requires that we not remain straitjacketed by the conventional meanings we have been taught to associate with the object. Instead, such research invites us to approach the object in a radical spirit of openness to its potential for new or richer meaning. It is an invitation to reinterpretation.42
It is in this general sense that this study seeks to employ this framework, by deploying a range of interpretive practices and methodologies in order to get a better understanding of the phenomenon of parish vitality as constructed through the interactions, interpretations and individual decisions of parishioners in each particular parish. This approach allows room for making meaning of the varied expressions of parish vitality found in the different parishes that participated in the study.
38
Denzin and Lincoln, "Introduction," 4.
39
Denzin and Lincoln, "Introduction," 6.
40
Denzin and Lincoln, "Introduction," 4, 6.
41
Ron J. Chenail, "Future Directions for Qualitative Research," in Research Methods in Family Therapy, ed. D. H. Sprenkle and & F. P. Piercy (New York: The Guildford Press, 2005), 194.
42
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methodology used for this study is an exploratory, multiple case study design with a mixed methods approach. Research using case studies is not new nor does it exclusively belong to the field of qualitative research.43 It has been used increasingly in many fields as a valid research strategy.44 As Stake points out, what is crucial to case study research is not the methods of investigation, but that the object of study is a case: “As a form of research, case study is defined by interest in individual cases, not by the methods of inquiry used”.45
Case study methodology is congruent with a constructionist epistemology and an interpretivist perspective, and within this paradigm, the study focuses on a particular reality of the phenomenon under consideration and is aimed at providing an account that is deep enough to allow analysis.46 Yin describes case study research as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident”.47 The intent of a case study can be exploratory, descriptive, evaluative or explanatory (causal). This study could be categorised as an “instrumental” case study whose purpose, as Stake explains, is to go beyond the case rather than limiting the focus to the case itself.48 Grandy describes an instrumental case study as one in which “the case itself is secondary to understanding the particular phenomenon … the case report focuses less on the complexity of the case, as in the intrinsic case, and more on specifics related to the research question … [Researchers] use the case as a comparative point across other cases in which the phenomenon might be present”.49
43
Robert E. Stake, "Case Studies," in Handbook of Qualitative Research, ed. Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 435.
44
Robert K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods (Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009), 4.
45
Stake, "Case Studies," 435.
46
R. VanWynsberghe and S. Khan, "Redefining Case Study," International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6, no. 2 (June 2007), 8.
47
Yin, Case Study Research, 18.
48
Stake, "Case Studies," 437.
49
Gina Grandy, "Instrumental Case Study," in Encyclopaedia of Case Study Research, ed. A. Mills, G. Durepos, and E. Wiebe (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc, 2010), 473-475.
Multi-case Study
A case is “a unit of human activity that is embedded in the real world” in the present time, which can only be studied in its context, and which merges with its context in such a way that its precise boundaries are difficult to obtain.50 It operates within various contexts, such as physical, economic and ethical conditions, amongst others.51 This research employs a multi-case study framework, where individual cases are bound together through a common bond, called the “quintain”—the condition or phenomenon to be studied.52 The quintain in this study is the phenomenon of “vitality”.
Multi-case studies differ from individual case studies in many ways. To understand the quintain, individual cases are explored both as a group and individually. The individual study of each case focuses its representation of or relationship to the quintain in order to learn about its unique situation and complexity.53 As a group, the cases are not directly compared, but rather, themes relating to the quintain are explored across them. The researcher examines the functioning and activities of the cases which are purposefully selected in order to understand the phenomenon better.54
One of the main purposes of a multi-case study is to showcase the different contexts in which the phenomenon is located, especially the problematic ones.55 Similarities and differences within and between cases are explored and thus by using comparative analysis, assertions and theories about the phenomenon arise.56 Stake emphasises the importance of maintaining the “case-quintain dialectic” in such a research study, which is "a rhetorical, adversarial procedure, wherein attention to the local situations and attention to the program or phenomenon as a whole contend with each other for emphasis".57
50
Bill Gillham, Case Study Research Methods (London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000), 1.
51
Stake, "Case Studies," 439.
52
Robert E. Stake, Multiple Case Study Analysis (New York: The Guilford Press, 2006), 6.
53
Stake, Multiple Case Study Analysis, 6.
54
Stake, Multiple Case Study Analysis, 6.
55
Stake, Multiple Case Study Analysis, 12.
56
Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Stake, "Case Studies," 444.
57
Using a multi-case strategy allowed for a holistic approach to understanding the concept of “vitality” in the real life contexts of a variety of parishes across Australia. It enabled the opportunity to explore the events, activities, relationships and individuals associated with parish vitality. In each case (parish), the different expressions of vitality were examined through parish activities and programs, the experiences of participants and the structures in place.
Case Selection
Selecting suitable cases (parishes) for this study was critical to achieving the goals of the research. Stake’s criteria for cases selection includes selecting cases that:
are relevant to the quintain
provide a diverse range of contexts
provide opportunities to learn about the complexity and contexts58
In addition, Bleijenbergh notes that, especially with an exploratory research question, the cases must be selected in order to maximise the opportunities for developing theories that explain the social phenomenon.59 Mutiple case study research usually includes only a small number of cases due to the intensive data collection methods. Therefore, selecting an optimum number of cases is important. Both Bleijenbergh and Stake agree that the multi-case study usually accommodates a maximum of 10 cases.60 While keeping this in mind, for this study, at least 10 case studies were required to get the breadth of different situations that demonstrated vitality. Too few cases would not have revealed the diverse contexts in which parishes can be vital, while too many cases would have proved to be unmanageable given the depth of research in each parish required for this study.
The selection of parishes for this study was carried out using mixed sampling techniques. Firstly, the parishes were selected using a method of “theory-based sampling” where cases are selected on the basis of their potential manifestation of
58
Stake, Multiple Case Study Analysis, 23.
59
Inge Bleijenbergh, "Case Selection," in Encyclopaedia of Case Study Research, ed. G. Durepos & E. Wiebe A. Mills (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc, 2010), 61.
60
important theoretical constructs,61 which in this study was being a representative of a “vital” parish. This was combined with “purposeful sampling”, the power of which lies in selecting information-rich cases for study.62 A sample of 10 Catholic parishes from around Australia was chosen that had been identified by the Building Stronger Parish
research as having shown particular forms or expressions of vitality. Additionally, this was combined with “quota sampling”, by selecting at least one participating parish from each of the following types: large and small, ethnic, Anglo-Irish and multicultural, and clergy-led and lay-led parishes. Equal numbers of metropolitan and non- metropolitan parishes were selected.
The twenty parishes initially chosen for the Building Stronger Parish research project were drawn from a list of parishes identified by bishops, key diocesan staff, especially those involved in pastoral services, and people active in parish life, as being vital parishes. The main criteria for choosing these parishes were twofold in nature:
1. The parish had to have an underlying foundation in an ecclesiology of communion.
2. It had to be a parish that had successfully overcome one or more of the challenges it had faced in a way that other parishes facing similar challenges could learn from and possibly adopt.
The challenge could be big or small, and applicable to the whole of parish life or just to one aspect of it. Each person who recommended parishes was also asked to write a brief note describing why they thought that particular parish was a vital parish. These notes were reviewed by the Building Stronger Parish Research Team (comprised of academics, researchers and pastoral planners) to select the best varied sample for the study.
An initial list of parishes showed that while these criteria were easily understood, they were also easily misinterpreted. Many recommendations of “vital” parishes were based solely on the population of the parish—the larger the parish, the more vital it was perceived as. Some parishes were recommended for their success in the past when they had once been thriving and highly populated. A few others had been recommended for
61
Patton, Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 177.
62
the popularity of the parish priest, the location of the parish in a growing suburban area and similar other reasons that had no valid basis for determining the current “vitality” of the parish. However, further investigation into the situation of each parish proved to be a successful strategy in choosing twenty of the most suitable parishes for the study.
From the list of twenty parishes chosen for the Building Stronger Parish research study, the 10 case studies chosen for my research based on the quota sampling techniques enabled me to gain different perspectives of the phenomenon of vitality from a range of parishes in Australia. A letter of invitation (Appendix A) was sent to the parish priest of each parish to invite them to participate in the study.
Participant Selection and Recruitment
Participant selection was carried out using purposeful sampling methods combined with criterion sampling.63 Once a parish had agreed to be involved in the study, through discussion with the parish leader, I identified a list of people who would be able to provide information on the vital aspects of the parish, and invited them to participate. This process was coordinated with the parish staff. Two criteria were applied to the selection of participants: (a) to ensure that participants were familiar with the vital aspects of their parish, they needed to be adults or young people who had been actively involved (attending Mass and involved in parish groups or other ministries) in the parish for at least two years prior to research participation and (b) all participants had to be over 16 years of age to be able to give their own consent to participate in the research.
Information sheets (Appendix B) were distributed to the participants chosen for the study. The number of participants per parish ranged between six and 19. This number was limited primarily to ensure the manageability of the processes of data collection and analysis in the time available for the project and the nature of the research. Furthermore, a small scale study using information-rich cases was better suited to the in-depth and exploratory character of this research.
63