4. CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
4.3 Research Design
Maree (2008, p. 291) defines a research design as the „plan of how to proceed in determining the nature of the relationship between variables‟. McMillan and Schumacher (2014) highlight that a research design comprise a description of the procedures for conducting a study, including when, from whom and under what conditions the data will be obtained. It indicates the general plan of how the research is set up, what happens to the area under discussion, and what methods of data collection are used. McMillan and Schumacher (2010) also indicate that the purpose of a research design is to specify a plan for generating empirical evidence that will be used to answer the research questions; in order to draw the most valid, credible conclusions from the answers to the research questions.
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In the present study I adopted a case study research design. Maree (2008) defines case study research as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real- life context when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. A case study is an in-depth exploration of a bounded system, which could be an activity, event, process, or individual, based on extensive data collection (Creswell, 2008). Baxter and Jack (2008) add that a case study design is very useful in learning about situations which might be poorly understood or about which not much is known about them. In this case, I studied the generation and management of physical and material resources in secondary schools. By the fact that it is a restricted or bounded system, this does not necessarily mean that one site only is studied (Creswell, 2008). Particularly, in this study I used six cases of government owned schools for a deeper understanding of educational resource generation and management in schools.
Maree (2008) says that in a mixed methods study the researcher gets answers to both “what”
and “why” questions and can gain a more complete understanding of the research problem by comparing quantitative and qualitative findings. Numerical data for this study was included in questionnaire items on availability and condition of educational resources in schools; and text data in interviews on factors affecting mobilising and managing educational resources.
McMillan and Schumacher (2010) add that mixed methods approaches are appropriate in identifying issues, factors and relevant questions that can become the focus of a study. Using quantitative with qualitative data, a more complete understanding of the phenomenon can be developed. Hesse-Biber and Griffin (2014) are of the opinion that mixed methods design hold the promise of enhancing the validity of findings and adds a sense of authenticity to the findings obtained. McMillan and Schumacher (2010) back up that a mixed methods research is able to provide insights that are not possible when either the quantitative or qualitative approach is used independently and that the result is enhancement and clarification. Mixed methods design provides a more comprehensive picture of what is being studied, emphasising qualitative outcomes as well as the process that influenced the outcomes. The nature of the data collected is not confined to one type of method, which encourages the production of a more complete set of research questions as well as conclusions. It enhances credibility of findings from a single method and compensates for limitations with the use of a single method.
In order to best understand the research problems, the mixed methods approach utilises
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strategies of inquiry where data collection can either occur at the same time or in a sequence (McMillan & Schumacher, 2010; Hesse-Biber & Griffin, 2014). Most researchers agree that used in combination within a mixed methods approach, quantitative and qualitative methods complement each other and allow for a more complete analysis of the research situation (Creswell & Clark 2007; Maree 2008; Johnson & Onwuegbuzie 2009; Macmillan &
Schumacher 2010).
The main approach that I used for this study was the qualitative which I used to analyse interviews and documents in the sample. Therefore, this study used the mixed methods research approach within the pragmatism paradigm to explore the dynamics of generating and managing educational resources in secondary schools. I supported the mixed methods approach because it allows for empirical and contextual interpretation and flexibility in choosing the best strategies to address the research questions. This mixed methods research paradigm also helps bridge the split between quantitative and qualitative research. The mixed methods plan holds the promise of enhancing the validity of findings and adds a sense of dependability to the findings obtained (Maree, 2008; McMillan & Schumacher, 2010; Hesse-Biber & Griffin, 2014).
I adopted a descriptive research (MacMillan & Schumacher, 2014) using a multiple case study design. A descriptive study asks the question „what is?‟ or „what was?‟ and describes the current or past status of something (MacMillan & Schumacher, 2010). In this case it is assumed that schools have a similar way of acquiring educational resources for learning which lead to improved performance. The choice of a case study design was informed by literature, for example, in Chapter 2, Section 2.7, I briefly report about a combination of research designs used by other researchers in related studies. Creswell (2008) contends that in mixed methods research, the researcher conducts the study in the field, where participants live and work in order to get as close as possible to participants. Therefore, using questionnaire, interviews and document analysis was predominant to understand what participants were saying and doing in the selected schools (Hesse-Biber & Griffin, 2014). The case study method also allows a study to be conducted in a natural context, and within a specific time and boundaries (Creswell, 2008). Here, the case study provided for the resource generation and management process to be investigated using multiple methods of data collection. In essence this study involved a multisite case study (Creswell, 2008), consisting of six secondary schools in which the phenomenon of head teachers (HTs) and heads of departments (HODs) resource management
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experiences were examined. When a number of different cases; each school is a case (the six schools), are combined in a single study, the investigation may be called a collective, multiple, or multisite case study (McMillan & Schumacher, 2010). The use of multiple sources and techniques in the data gathering process gave greater insight and understanding of the dynamics of educational resource generation and management in schools (Creswell, 2008; &
MacMillan & Schumacher, 2010). The benefits of using case studies include providing a rich picture of what is happening, as seen through the eyes of many individuals. Case studies allow a thorough exploration of interactions between treatment and contextual factors. Also a case study can help explain changes or facilitating factors that might otherwise not emerge from the data (Patton, 1999).
However, case study research has some methodological limitations. It is usually criticised for its lack of generalisation or transferability of findings because it focuses on one or a few cases.
In addition, with a multiple case research, the researcher tends to look for similarities and ignore differences (Creswell, 2008). Case studies also require a sophisticated and well-trained data collection and reporting team, they can be costly in terms of the demands on time and resources and individual cases may be over-interpreted or over-generalised (Patton, 1999).
Despite the inherent shortcomings, resource management researchers Agabi (2010); and Hinum (1999) continue to use the case study method fruitfully. This is owing to its strengths, such as providing a rich and detailed description of the case in a natural setting (Macmillan and Schumacher, 2010). According to Collingridge (2014) analytical generalisation is reasoned judgment about the extent to which findings in one study can be used as a guide to what might occur in another situation. It relies on logic which points out the similarities and differences between contexts. It makes extending mixed methods qualitative results to outside groups a possibility. In this study, the focus was not to generalise the findings but to seek to achieve an in-depth understanding of the management of educational resources in the selected few cases.
I also adopted five underlying principles for conducting mixed methods research as elucidated by Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2009). (a) Triangulation – seeking convergence and corroboration of results from different methods studying the same phenomenon. Specifically, these were the questionnaire, individual face-to-face interview, focus group interviews and document analysis. (b) Complementarities – seeking elaboration, enhancement, illustration and clarification of the results from one method with results from the other method. This was done through the triangulation strategy, as elucidated by Creswell and Clark (2007) that the purpose
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of the triangulation is to obtain different but complementary data on the same topic in order to best understand the research problem. (c) Initiation – discovering paradox and contradictions that lead to a re-framing of the research question. I used a pilot study to ascertain and minimise factors that had a negative effect on data collection and to reinforce efficacious items (Cohen et al., 2007). (d) Development – using the findings from one method to help inform the other method. In this case the quantitative findings helped inform the quantitative by asking questions during interviews that were left out in the questionnaire. (e) Expansion – seeking to expand the breadth and range of research by using different methods for different inquiry components. I used both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore experiences and challenges head teachers and heads of departments have in generating and managing educational resources in their schools. In this study, the principles helped me to complement the methods, promote collaboration of the methods as well as allowed the mix and match design components that offer the best chance of answering research questions.