Research Philosophies, Approaches
and Strategies
Levent Altinay
Research Philosophies
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How the knowledge can be created and constructed in a
rigorous and meaningful way in order to answer a
research problem.
It can help you to choose the research methods – type
of evidence gathered and its origin, the way in which
the collected evidence will be analysed and interpreted.
It can enable and assist you to evaluate different
research methods and avoid inappropriate use and
unnecessary work by identifying the limitations of
particular approaches.
You may choose or adapt research methods that are
outside your experience.
Choosing a research approach
Deduction emphasizes:
 Moving from theory to data
 The need to explain causal relationships between
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variables
The collection of quantitative data
A highly structured approach
Researcher independence of what is being researched
The necessity to select samples of sufficient size in order
to generalize conclusions
Choosing a research approach
Adopting a deductive approach
1.
Develop a hypothesis or hypotheses
2.
Express these hypotheses in operational terms (showing
how they will be measured)
Test the hypothesis (through an experiment or survey)
Examine the specific outcome of the inquiry
(corroborate the hypotheses or refute them).
If necessary, modify the theory in the light of the
findings.
3.
4.
5.
Choosing a research approach
Induction emphasizes
 Gaining understanding of meanings human attach to events
 A close understanding of the research context
 The collection of qualitative data
 A more flexible structure to permit changes of research
emphasis as the research progresses
 A realization that the researcher is part of the research process
 Less concern with the need to generalize
Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
 Quantitative research aims to determine how one thing
(variable) affects another by quantifying the relationships
between variables (things you measure).
 Qualitative research aims to develop an understanding of
the context in which phenomena and behaviours take
place.
Research Strategies
Experiment
 Classical form of research that owes much to the natural
sciences
 Usually conducted in laboratories by physicians, food
scientists and chemists.
 Involves allocation of samples to different experimental
conditions
 Introduction of planned change on one or more of the
variables
 Measurement on a small number of variables
Research Strategies
Survey
 Usually associated with the deductive approach
 Allow collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable
population in a highly economical way.
 Often obtained by using a questionnaire.
 Should give you more control over the research process.
 Much time will be spent in designing and piloting the
questionnaire
Research Strategies
Case Study
 A strategy of doing research which involves an
empirical investigation of a particular phenomenon
within its real life context using multiple sources of
evidence.
 Has considerable ability to generate answers to the
question ‘why?’ as well as the ‘what’ and ‘how
questions’.
Grounded Theory
 Can be associated with inductive approach.
 Data collection starts without the formation of an
initial theoretical framework.
 Theory is developed from data generated.
Research Strategies
Ethnography
 Firmly rooted in the inductive approach.
 Emanates from the field of anthropology
 Aims to understand the culture of a society and/or tribe.
Action Research
 Aims to investigate the management of change
 It might require the involvement of practitioners in the
research and in particular to a close collaboration
between practitioners and researchers, for example,
academics and consultants.
Time Horizons: “Snapshot” taken at a particular time or a
‘diary’ and be a representation of events over a given
period.
Exercise: Research Philosophies,
Approaches and Strategies
Case 1: Lucy was trying to establish whether consumers
choose hotels on the basis of brands or product attributes.
She selected a sample of consumers who were asked
individually to describe how they would choose a hotel
from a list provided. Was Lucy’s research qualitative or
quantitative?
Case 2: Sven is exploring consumers’ experiences of longhaul holidays. He decides to take a long-haul holiday
himself to collect data while enjoying himself watching
others on holiday. Is his research inductive, deductive,
qualitative or quantitative?
Exercise: Research Philosophies,
Approaches and Strategies
Case 3: Yueh-Hsin was researching the literature on strategy
implementation in the context of hospitality industry, and found that
much had been written on factors that influence strategy
implementation process. From the analysis and evaluation of this
literature, she was able to propose a framework that incorporates the
main factors and hypothesize the relationship between different
variables. Was her research inductive or deductive?
Case 4: Saskia has taken a vacation job with a hotel company. The
company is in the process of opening its first hotel in a new city.
Saskia has been asked to join the pre-opening sales and marketing
team to help launch the new hotel into the marketplace. As the
company knows that she is doing a Master’s degree, they have asked
her to report back on her experience of the hotel opening and to
suggest how the company could improve its practice in this area. She
decides to gather data from her daily experiences and from a range of
sources. What research strategy has Saskia adopted? Ethnography,
survey, grounded theory or action research?
Other ways to achieve research aim
 Other research strategies and data collection techniques
 More inductive and exploratory
 Other possible data collection techniques: observation of
meetings, shadowing people, document analysis
 Longitudinal study could be an option
 Another organisation as a case study to
replicate/confirm/disconfirm the findings obtained from
the first one.
 Action research might lead to researcher bias. Another
strategy could have been followed.
Benefits of using multiple data
collection techniques
 Overcome the limitations of each.
 Minimize the researcher bias.
 Minimize the informant bias.
 Response rate might be low with one particular data
collection technique (i.e questionnaires, interviews).
 Observation is a good one but ethical concerns?
 Document analysis – overcomes the problems associated
with access.