4. Research Methods
4.1 Data Collection
For this study, the data was generated sequentially and each stage of the research process was informed the next stage. Methods was utilised are: document analysis, one to one semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation with key informants. The staged approach was enabled the researcher to confirm triangulation from multiple sources of evidence and to develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The methods was utilised are as follows:
1. Document analysis: The researcher analysed organisational documents which the researcher can gain access to and which are relevant to the study. Therefore, documents which refer to coaching and the development of talented employees were targeted
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Semi-structured interviews: The researcher conducted one to one semi-structured interviews. The first interview was with the owner manager as he is a key informant. The other interviews were also on a one to one basis with 4 coaches and 4 coachees in this case study organisation.
3. Non-participant observation: Each coach and coachee was asked to provide consent for the researcher to observe, but not to participate in, a coaching session.
The interview questions developed have been informed by the literature and have been devised to ensure that there are no misleading questions that may impact upon the reliability of the results and to ensure that the objectives of the study are fully examined (Cresswell, 2007). However, it is acknowledged that case study research is iterative and additional questions may arise during the research process as the researcher develops a deeper understanding of the phenomena being explored.
For this report, case study 1 in this pilot study was completed and therefore, findings from case study 1 will be analysed and written up before progressing to case study 2; similarly for case study 2 before progressing to case study 3. This iterative approach will enable the researcher to remain reflective and reflexive as the research
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The number and nature of cases studied in a qualitative research design must be provisional (Gobo, 2007), so the suggested number of participants in this study will be 27, representing three sectors of SMEs in Thailand. This number (27) is an appropriate number for the beginning of the research which 24 participants are identified as key informant and who will be selected by their owner/manager (3 participants), and the number of cases can change during the research until the data analysis is quite advanced. Mario Luis Small (2009) suggested that in a case model, the number of cases is unknown until the study is completed; if the case is conducted properly, the very last case examined will provide very little new or surprising information, so the objective is saturation. Three SMEs will be selected, being the three case studies that were considered as critical cases. The criteria for selection will be that the companies are registered as Thai SMEs and received an SMEs National Award from OSMEP in Thailand. The three categories represented will be the National Award, Outstanding Award, and Rising Star Award, and three cases will also be representative of the Production Sector, Service Sector and Trading Sector, respectively. There will be 9 participants for each case; 1 participant will be the owner-manager, 4 participants will be manager/ supervisors who are considered to
In this paper, the definition and description of what a case study is, what are some reasons for using a case study, what are some disadvantages and advantages of this approach? Also included in this paper I will talk about what are some of the ways a researcher can acquire information that can is used for a case study. A case study can be defined as a descriptive account of the behavior, history, and other relevant factors concerning a particular individual (Cozby, Bates, 2012).
In reference to the analysis process the author states that the interview were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Moreover, the investigator validated the data through multiple interviews and evaluated it for stability, consistency and dependability. For the detailed analysis the author used content analysis and constant comparative techniques. In addition to that a committee of experts performed an external audit to resolve the differences in the analysis process.
The method used for this qualitative study was in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. This was an appropriate method for the study performed. The data was not gathered through more methods to create triangulation (Zamanzadeh et al., 2015).
The participant was a white,50 years old British woman. Prior to the interview an informed consent permitting the use of the material was signed. Participant was also informed of right to withdraw at any time and her right to decide for any data to be destroyed. After the interview the participant was debriefed and given a chance to give feedback and discuss her feelings about the experience.
The author’s development of explaining the theory and validity of the research had minimum thorough explanation. The results were provided through quantitative means instead of qualitative. This is not an issue; however, this could have been studied
Qualitative research reflects different ways that researcher’s collect data and explore all of the information through literature review. Participant’s that are reviewing is often observed for analysis while “the role of the researcher focuses as the primary data collection instrument necessitates the identification of personal values, assumptions and biases at the outset of the study; Qualitative researchers ask at least one central question” (Creswell, 2014, which can be explored in several contexts with further questions. According to the text Research Design (2014) “the researcher’s role is typically involved in a
Written informed consent was obtained prior to interviewing participants, the researchers further de-identified interview texts for the study.
Research questions in case study design begin with ‘how and why’ (Yin, 2003) and determine the type of case study. The main function of the questions is to keep the researcher focused and on track (Zucker, 2001).The following questions fit the planned instrumental, and exploratory/descriptive single case study design:
This section of the article shall address the approach used in the case study, providing explanations of the preferred research method, sample details, variables under examination, data collection
• Ensuring they deal professionally with any identified relationship difficulties or conflicts of interest. Considering carefully the impact on themselves, the coachee, the organisation where appropriate seeking guidance
The authors used participant observation and interview to do this research. I think the method of field work that provided the most insightful information was the method of participant observation. By
8. Following the role-play, the Employee participant is to complete the Coaching Session 1 – Observer’s
There are a variety of ways for researchers to do so, as validity is a very important component of any qualitative research method, including case studies. Combining research methods is a considerable way to ensure validity. This concept can be described as triangulation, which is when multiple methods are conducted in order to gather data, and these contrasting methods produce the same outcome (Tracy, 2010). Within triangulation a minimum of three varying methods must be used in order to ensure validity (Tracy, 2010). There are four subgroups of triangulation, which include data triangulation, method triangulation, investigative triangulation and theory triangulation, each of them being a significant way to ensure validity in case study research (Berg & Lune, 2016). Triangulation is a method that ensures no threats to the validity of the case study and is an important factor for researchers to consider when conducting their case study (Berg & Lune, 2016). In their research, Martins and Wilson (2012), demonstrate triangulation, as they used multiple coders to analyze the data to ensure the results were conclusive. This is a prime example of how triangulation can be used in research to ensure validity, in this case using inter-coder reliability as a means to achieve this (Martins & Wilson,
Interviews have been realized to relevant professionals involved in this business and tend to widely assess important factors for our analysis. The interviews have been limited in time, in order
This was a mixed- triangulated study using both qualitative (case study observation) and quantitative methodology..