Theme 6: Qualitative and Case Study Research (before)

1. Which qualitative method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods?

My chosen paper was published in the Journal IEEE MultiMedia (volume 22) and is called "Designing an Interactive Audio Interface for Climate Science", written by Visda Goudarzi. Goudarzi conducted a field study where an observer and an interviewer came to the workplace of the participants and interviewed them. The main purpose was to find out what the participants' expectations for auditory displays were, which datasets would be useful for them and if they use sound in their work. After the interviews focus groups were used to get further information about the task results from the participants. 

Interviews offer a wide range of information, which can be more detailed because of the bigger answers the participants can give. By creating more unique situation and being flexible during an interview more in-depth information can be gained. One of the limitations of interviews is that it takes more effort to analyze, structure and interpret the gotten data. It is hard to create the exact same interview situation for all participants so uncontrolled influences might have an affect on the results. 

2. What did you learn about qualitative methods from reading the paper?

I learned a lot about qualitative methods in my bachelor and I do not feel that I learned that much from reading the paper.It was interesting to see how few they wrote about which method they used and which questions were asked. Also the use of focus group was in my opinion a good choice, but in the paper Gourdazi did not really work with that. In my bachelor thesis I also used qualitative interviews to answer my research questions and I especially liked how you can handle different situations and go into detail when necessary, which is the biggest advantage of using qualitative methods for me. 

3. Which are the main methodological problems of the study? How could the use of the qualitative method or methods have been improved?

It was interesting to see how few they wrote about which method they used and which questions were asked. Also the use of focus group was in my opinion a good choice, but in the paper Gourdazi did not really work with that. Therefore it was hard to actually find a methodological problem of the study. In my opinion not explaining the method in detail points out a big weakness of a research. One important thing about a reliable study is that it can be repeated by some one else and still show the same results. In this case this is not possible, because of the lack of information regarding the method. By discussing the questions asked in the interview it would have been interesting which kind of questions were used. The use of focus group shows that Gourdazi thought about the method, but I do not think that the full potential of that method was used. 

4. Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is.

A case study is a detailed examination of a phenomenon in a real-life context, e.g. an individual, a event or an organization, which can be one specific case or multiple cases.  Case studies can be qualitative but also a mix of quantitative and qualitative data. One of the biggest advantages of case studies is that they are applicable to real life and they describe everyday experiences. The large amount of produced complex data can be biased by the strong focus on the specific case, which might lower the objectivity. 

5. Use the "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research" (Eisenhardt, summarized in Table 1) to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your selected paper.

My chosen paper was published in the Journal IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (volume 55) and is called "Intercultural Communication Training in IT Outsourcing Companies in India: A Case Study", written by Ritu Raju. The aim of the paper is to investigate the reasons of communication problems in outsourcing companies and find solutions for them. Raju combined a single case study about the company ABC Corporation conducted outsourced business to India with a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative surveys were used to show which communication problems exist, which communication methods they prefer and how big the problems are. The use of personal interviews and a group interview gave detailed information about where the dissonances come from and what could be done to solve the problems. 

According to the table "Process fo Building Theory from Case Study Research" from Eisenhardt the paper was analyzed to the following seven steps:

• Getting Started (Definition of research question): Based on a intensive literature study and the comparison to similar studies Raju formed four research questions regarding the ability of speaking English in relation to communication problems, the causes, situation and possible solutions for those.
• Selecting cases: The choice of the case was orientated on the internationality of the BPO company but also the different facets of the company's business. BPO stands for business process outsourcing, where companies delegate several processes to an external supplier.
• Crafting instruments/protocols: The used survey obtained an overview of communication practices and problems. Furthermore first-hand narrative interviews gave insights about the training received in intercultural communication, the problems and cultural factors of those. Then 45 one-on-one interviews and a group interview where used to get further information about the topics asked in the first-hand interviews. 
• Entering the field: The use of many different data collection methods offered a detailed and complex amount of data out of many different perspectives.
• Analyzing data: The data gained from the survey was analyzed with SPSS. Data analyze of the interviews was done with the coding method propounded by Seidamn and Geisler.
• Enfolding literature: The literature on which the study is based is used to explain and analyze the results, the problems and solutions, in the study. 
• Reaching closure: By summarizing and analyzing the results of the study reaching closure is done reasonable for the study. The biggest reason of communication problems in the company is a lack of skills and not enough training at all stages of the outsourcing cycle. The use of technical communication could simplify some communication processes.