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Qualitative Research Methods

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MODERN ORGANIZATION THEORY TERM PROJECT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS FROM AN ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE Ýhsan Ulaþ Kocaoðlu JANUARY 2006 CONTENTS Definition of Qualitative Research in Social Sciences Approaches to Management Research Positivism versus Phenomenology Deductive and Inductive Schools of Thought in Management Research Major Qualitaitve Research Approaches Ethnographic Approach Phenomenology Field Research Grounded Theory Case study Action Research Narrative research Qualitative Data Collection Techniques Interviews Workshops / Focus Groups Literature Review Participant Observation Nonparticipant Observation Data Analysis and Analytic Techniques Analytic induction …show more content…

case studies, ethnography, observation and interviews (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994). Phenomenology is often referred to in a variety of terms e.g. Constructivism, Interpretivism, Naturalistic Inquiry, Qualitative Enquiry, Ethnographic, Post Positivism, Hermeneutics and Humanism (Young, 2005 in Robson, 1983 and Easterby-Smith et. al., 1991). Table 1 summarises the key differences between the two perspectives. Deductive and Inductive As presented in Table 1, the Positivist and Phenomenological perspectives use, respectively, a Deductive research approach and an Inductive research approach. The deductive research involves beginning a study with a theory or a hypothesis that needs to be tested using gathered data, leading to acceptance or rejection of the theory. (Young, 2005) Robson (1993) describes this deductive (Positivist) approach as having five sequential steps: 1. Deducing a hypothesis from theory. 2. Expressing the hypothesis in operational terms that propose a relationship between two specific variables. 3. Testing the operational hypothesis by experiment or some other form of empirical inquiry. 4. Examining the outcome (to confirm or indicate the need for modifying the theory). 5. If necessary, modifying the theory in the light of the findings and repeating the cycle so as to verify the revised theory. In contrast the inductive research approach

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