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Business School Research in the real world: the users dilemma Dr Gill Green RSBM Overview of the Lecture Business School Context for the examination of research approaches Examine aspects of the Qualitative Research: Defining, Attributes, Features &Types Examine aspects of the Quantitative Research: Defining, Attributes, Features &Types RSBM Reflect and summarise on each approach Business School How do users get what they want? – – – – The users dilemma Traditional view of software development Analysis – specification-development-implement-signoff Happy users So why do researchers report that 70% of system implementations fail How do users know what they want? – The Marco Polo effect » How do you describe something you have never seen before – The gambler effect » How do you speculate how you may like to do things in the future – The tigger effect RSBM » How easy is it to ask for the wrong thing Business School RSBM Some hard words Ontology – What is epistemology – what it means to know Why is this important? You need to know for yourself how you interpret your world? Business School Theoretical perspectives and what they teach us Positivist – Reality consists of what is available to the senses – Inquiry should be based upon scientific observation and empirical action – Principles are shared between Natural and human sciences and deal with facts not values Interpretivist – Reality is a shifting state culturally derived and historically situated – Inquiry deals with the actions of individuals in social settings – Principles suggest the emergence of unique individual qualitative aspects RSBM Business School What is Qualitative Research “Qualitative research is a process of enquiry that draws data from the context in which events occur, in an attempt to describe these occurrences, as a means of determining the process in which events are embedded and the perspectives of those participating in the events, using induction to derive possible explanations based on observed phenomena.” (Gorman & Clayton, 1997) RSBM Business School RSBM What happens in Qualitative Research? Data taken from context in which events occur Data collection first hand Attempt to describe occurrences Focus on process not snapshot Immersion leading to insight Induction Business School Qualitative Research: Induction Use of “bottom-up” approach to analyse and interpret data Research based on observed data “Grounded” theory – that is based on established theories RSBM Qualitative Research: Attributes 1 Business School Assumptions – – – – social construction of reality primacy of subject matter complexity of variables difficulty in measuring variables Purpose – contextualisation – interpretation – understanding participant perspectives RSBM Qualitative Research: Attributes 2 Business School Approach – – – – – – – – Theory generalising Emergence and portrayal Researcher as instrument Naturalistic Inductive Pattern Seeking Looking for pluralism and complexity Descriptive Researcher Role – personal involvement and partiality – empathetic understanding RSBM Business School RSBM Key features of Qualitative Research (Hittleman & Simon) Data is collected within its natural setting. Main data collection instruments are the researchers themselves Data are not numerical Focus on the process of an activity, not just its outcomes Data analysed in non-numerical manner. Outcomes generate debate rather than verifying a predicted outcome Business School RSBM Qualitative Research: Why is it important in IT Many of techniques and methods can be applied to the requirements engineering process Helps to place user at centre of design process Enables triangulation with quantitative methods Doing Qualitative Research Business School Many ways of collecting and analysing data – – – – – RSBM Historical Correlational Developmental Descriptive ... Qualitative Research: Overview of Techniques Business School RSBM Observation Interviewing Questionnaires Group Discussion Historical Study Content Analysis Ethnographical Research Business School RSBM Qualitative Research Summary Increased knowledge of qualitative research Awareness of qualitative approaches relevance to computing Business School RSBM Quantitative Research: What is it? The aim of quantitative research is not simply to state that something has a relationship with something else, but to state causality Business School Quantitative Research Focuses on numerical and statistical data Positivist approach – Recognising only positive/measurable facts and observable phenomena Empirical “scientific” approach – Relying on experimentation and not untested theory RSBM Searches for causality and effect Business School Quantitative Research :Deduction Top-down approach The inferring of particular instances from a general law Working something out from something else - Sherlock Holmes style RSBM Attributes of Quantitative Research 1 Business School Assumptions – – – – objective reality of social facts primacy of method possible to identify variables possible to measure variables Purpose – generalisation – prediction – causal explanation RSBM Attributes of Quantitative Enquiry 2 Business School Approach – – – – – – – – Hypothesis based Manipulation and Control Uses formal instruments Experimentation Deductive Component analysis Seeking norms and consensus Reducing data to numerical indices Researcher Role – detachment and impartiality – objective portrayal RSBM Business School Features of Quantitative Research 1 Tests for cause and effect – X causes Z to happen – Y does not cause Z to happen RSBM Not simply that something has a relationship with something else Involves empirical studies Uses numerical and statistical techniques Business School Features of Quantitative Research 2 Assume primacy – Researcher defines the research activity RSBM Relationships are measured Causal explanations are made Quantitative Research : Descriptive Statistics Business School Allows summaries of large quantities of information Should be easily comprehensible for reader Presentation is vital – – – – RSBM long strings of numbers… tables, charts, graphs numerical techniques concise, appropriate text Quantitative Research : Inferential Statistics Business School Procedures for making generalisations about characteristics of a population based on information taken from that population Powerful – estimation – hypothesis testing RSBM Methods and rules for organising and interpreting data Business School Quantitative Research: Why is it important in IT Establishes metrics – Report on process and system efficiency concerns – Predict outcomes from developments – Improve development and operational processes Basis for managing risk – Analysis of incidents – Identify causal relationships – Plan RSBM Business School RSBM Quantitative Research Summary Quantitative research is based on scientific inquiry Offers numerous techniques for data analysis Searching for causality and prediction Business School RSBM Some questions to answer for next week Can you identify your epistemological stance? Have you identified a theoretical perspective Is your approach deductive or inductive Have you considered research methodology