3.2 Research Design
3.2.2 Research philosophy
One of the initial design issues that were considered concerned the positing of the study within an appropriate philosophical frame. According to (Chua, 1986; Myers, 1997; Pather &
Remenyi, 2005; Neuman, 2011) there are three dominant philosophical approaches in IS research, namely, Positivism, Interpretivism and Critical research (see Figure 3.1 above).
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This research adopted an interpretivist approach as the underlying epistemology (Walsham, 1993; Myers, 1994). Epistemology concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study. Interpretivism is an approach that assumes that "reality and our knowledge thereof are social constructions" (Khazanchi & Munkvold, 2000:34), and its outputs are the
"subjective constructions” of the researcher (Wyssusek et al., 2002). My ontological stance of subjectivity was supported by Saunders et al. (2007) who aver that the social phenomena are created from the perceptions and consequent actions of social actors. The way humans attempt to make sense of the world around them is referred to as the interpretive paradigm (Saunders et al., 2007). Burrell and Morgan (1979) noted that the interpretivist stance in research considers that intentional actions construct social reality. It was necessary to explore and interpret the intentional actions that were undertaken by the Municipality management in implementing the ERP system. It also assumes an ontological belief that access to reality can only be achieved through social constructions such as language, consciousness and shared meanings (Myers, 1997). This research adopts an interpretivist approach for the following reasons:
The achievement of the research aims would be better supported by an interpretive position because the research aims to conceptualise and describe, rather than subjectively analyse the research information in order to answer the research questions.
Other similar studies in the ICT literature (for example, Walsham, 1993; Myers, 1994;
Walsham & Waema, 1994) which either developed or tested frameworks or models or instruments have mainly been interpretive.
Walsham (1993) argues that the process whereby IS influences and is influenced by the context can be understood through the interpretive approach. The emphasis on subjectivity of an interpretive approach gave credence to recommendations made to the relevant stakeholders (Saunders et al., 2007). The research also followed the principles of interpretive research (see Table 3.3) as portrayed by Klein and Myers (1999). These principles are interdependent in the sense that principle four directly affects principles six and seven, which finally affect principle two, while six also directly affects seven.
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Table 3.3: Application of principles of interpretive research to this study (Adapted from Klein & Myers, 1999:72)
Principle Explanation Application in this study
1. The fundamental principle of the hermeneutic circle
This principle suggests that all human understanding is achieved by iterating between considering the interdependent meaning of parts and the whole that they form. This principle of human understanding is fundamental to all the other principles.
Iteration between the individual interview transcripts, some with few departmentally aligned benefits as the parts of the global context enabled understanding of the benefits available to citizens as a whole.
2. The principle of contextualisation
Requires critical reflection of the social and historical background of the research setting, so that the intended audience can see how the current situation under investigation emerged.
The first interview with the CIO, as well as a study of relevant
documentation related to the ERP project, provided a clear picture of the pre-implementation era. This was necessary as it highlighted the significant changes that the new system brought about. This then enhanced the overall
interpretation of the data and case at large.
3. The principle of interaction
between the researchers and the subjects
Requires critical reflection on how the research materials (or data) were socially constructed through the interaction between the researchers and participants.
The interviews with the
respondents provided room for follow-up questions from both the interviewer and the interviewee.
This setup helped support correct assumptions and dismiss wrong ones that would affect my interpretations.
4. The principle of abstraction and generalisation
Requires relating the idiographic details revealed by the data interpretation through the application of principles one and two to theoretical, general concepts that describe the nature of human understanding and social action.
Application of principles of interpretive research provided an adequate platform that linked the theoretical underpinning
philosophy to the reality of the findings of the empirical work. The analysis was made on the current data as well as the historical background to get the correct interpretation.
5. The principle of dialogical
reasoning
Requires sensitivity to possible contradictions between the theoretical preconceptions guiding the research design and actual findings (the story that the data tell) with subsequent cycles of revision.
Conclusions were only reached after reflection and further reflection that provided not only the expected possibility but also an analysis of what was never expected. The actual findings were compared with the theoretical preconceptions informed by the literature but could not be taken as final truth but contextually bound.
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Principle Explanation Application in this study
6. The principle of multiple
interpretations
Requires sensitivity to possible differences in interpretations among the participants as are typically expressed in multiple narratives or stories of the same sequence of events under study.
Similar to multiple witness accounts even if all tell it as they saw it.
I did not use frequencies as the basis for my findings but rather the value of each idea in the evidence from the various respondents.
Nevertheless, follow-up questions and even evidence was requested where contradictions arose in order to help inform the final interpretation.
7. The principle of suspicion
Requires sensitivity to possible biases and systematic distortions in the narratives collected from the participants.
The respondents as interested stakeholders in the ERP system provided an account of perfect fit but deep analysis brought about other shortfalls. A number of respondents were interviewed to try to get the true account.
This research could have used ―Positivism‖ as a research philosophy that tends towards an objective viewpoint. This research did not employ positivism because the exponents of positivist research utilise mainly quantitative techniques, according to Pather and Remenyi (2005). On the contrary, this research was interested in analysing the content and ideas raised by the respondents.
Another option was to adopt a critical approach. Myers (1997:4) defines the critical approach to research as one that assumes "that social reality is historically constituted and that it is produced and reproduced by people". A critical researcher recognises that change to social and economic circumstances is constrained by various forms of social, cultural and political domination (Myers, 1997). Since this research purposed to seek meaning in context to understand how the current context emerged (Klein and Myers, 1999), it could not adopt the critical approach. Having chosen an appropriate philosophical approach, I then needed to choose a corresponding research strategy, as elaborated below.