Você está na página 1de 23

IHTE-1800 Research methods: Case and action research

Sari Kujala, spring 2007

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Contents
Introduction Case study research
- What it is? When to apply? - Process - Improving the quality Action study - What it is? When to apply? - Process Literature

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Introduction
Case and action research strategies are
among the best in human-centered design research

- Investigating holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events Makes the research practical and ensures that the developed methods and processes are usable in practice

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

What is case study research?


A case study is an empirical inquiry within
its real-life context, particularly when the boundaries between phenomena and context are not clearly evident (Yin, 1994) A common research strategy in different disciplines (social and organizational sciences, economics)

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Case study research in practice

The researcher has a role of


detached observer Small sample Data gathering methods can be both
quantitative and qualitative

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Case studies -when to apply?


Answering to how or why questions Broad and complex phenomenon A phenomenon cannot be studied outside
the context in which it occurs To find relevant issues for theory To capture process, time related data

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Single-case design (Yin, 2003)


Critical test of existing theory - Are a theorys propositions correct or are
alternative explanations more relevant

Extreme, unique, representative, typical,


revelatory (phenomenon previously inaccessible) or longitudinal case Holistic vs. embedded case design (more than one unit of analysis)

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Multiple-case designs (Yin, 2003)


Each case either (a) predicts similar
results (a literal replication) Or (b) predicts contrasting results but for predictable reasons (a theoretical replication)

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Multiple case studies (Dub and Par, 2003)


Helps to understand the influence of variability of
context and to gain more general research results Within-case analysis: individual cases are analyzed - Gives a rich familiarity with each case, which
accelerates cross-case comparison

Cross-case analysis: the results of multiple


cases are compared and combined

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Investigator skills (Yin, 2003)



Asks good questions Is a good listener Is adaptive and flexible Has a firm grasp of the issues being studied Is unbiased by preconceived notions (sensitive and responsive to contradictory evidence)

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Preparing for data collection (Yin, 2003)

Prepare a case study protocol - Goals, procedures, questions and instructions


for the case

Select case study sites or individuals Pilot case study and refine your data
collection plans

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Collecting data: sources


Documentation - Existing measures and evaluations Statistics Interviews and surveys Direct or participant-observation (e.g.
meetings) Physical artifacts

- Testing the resulting product

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Example of measured attributes (Kujala, 2002)


Factors Product development performance Attributes Development time Costs Expl. of attributes ...

Quality of Completeness requirements Correctness Usability Ease of use

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Three principles of data collection (Yin)


1. Use multiple sources of evidence - Called triangulation (data sources,
investigator, theory, methodological)

2. Create a case study database - Case study notes (incl. exact phrases) - Documents 3. Maintaining a chain of evidence

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Data analysis strategies (Yin, 2003)


Relaying on theoretical propositions Thinking about rival explanations Developing a case description

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Data analysis techniques (Yin, 2003)


Pattern matching - Comparing empirical pattern with a predicted Explanation building Time-series analysis Logic models Cross-case synthesis

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Improving the quality of case studies (Kalle Lyytinen)



Define research questions, anchor into theory Use within and between case analysis Be clear about sampling Validate/test your instruments Identify natural controls Use multiple sources of data for triangulation Search for alternative explanations Report your data collection process, threats to reliability, method bias Use all data, including field notes User study protocol and methods to map data to constructs Use quotes or other field data

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Action research
Combines practical problem-solving and
scientific research - Includes intervention and investigating its effects - Situational, collaborative, participatory and selfevaluative

Researcher actively involved and collaborating


with practitioners Roots on educational, social and organizational sciences

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Action research when to apply?


To address complex real-life problems To understand social practices and the
change processes in social systems (Hult and
Lennung, 1980)

To enhance the competence of the


respective actors, training

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Action research process


Problem diagnosing (identifying and defining problems) Action planning

Specifying learning

Action intervention

Evaluating

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Criticism of action research (Tuomi & Sarajrvi, 2002)

Situation specific, sample not


representative, no control of experiments Goals and methods can be unclear Difficult to keep distant and neutral, no equal dialog between the researcher and the object Researchers may search solutions to their own problems in which practitioners are not interested

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Case study research


Yin, R.K. (2002) Case study research: Design
and Methods (3rd ed.) Sage Publications. Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989) Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14, 4, 532-550. Dub and Par, G. (2003). Rigor in information systems positivist case research: Current practices, trends, and recommendations. MIS Quarterly, 27, 4, 597-636.

http://www.cs.tut.fi/ihte

Action research literature


Avison, D., Lau, F., Myers, M. and Nielsen, P. A. (1999) Action
research. Communications of the ACM, 42, 1, 94-97. Baskerville, R. (1997) Distinguishing action research from participative case studies. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 1, 1, 25-45. Hult, M. and Lennung, S. (1980) Towards a definition of action research: An note and bibliography. Journal of Management Studies, 17, 241-250. Jrvinen, P. (2007). Action research is similar to design science. Quality & Quantity, 41, 37-54. Stringer, E.T. (1999) Action Research, second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kuula, A. (1999) Kentttyt ja muutospyrkimyksi. Tammer-paino, Tampere.

Você também pode gostar