Methodology Chapter For Dissertation - Essay Example

CHAPTER THREE 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction Having identified the research problem and formulated specific research questions, this study needs to select the most appropriate research method that be use to gather data and address the problems presented earlier. According to McNabb (2004:40), the researcher must decided which research method can satisfactorily meet the objectives of the research, provide sufficient means to gather data, and able to answer the research questions completely. For this reason, this study made several inquiries on research methodologies that can meet the above requirements. Both quantitative and qualitative methods seems beneficial for describing and explaining different phenomena but it is often difficult to established external validity or generalised the findings to larger population when using small sample (Barendecht, 2010:48). Moreover, although qualitative method of research is helpful in explaining unusual situations, it has the tendency to make the researcher loss broader perspective of the topic and often involves ethical considerations particularly in maintaining participants’ privacy (Houser, 1998:38). There are actually a number of research methods available and other options that may considered for this study but their relevance to the need and limitations of this study must be taken into account. According to (Esteves, 2010:463), some strategy that may be applied is establishing the relation of the research method to the problem and area of interest, its relevance to the research setting and research questions, and the mode of data collection. For instance, if relevance of research setting is concern, this study must take into account the background, experience, knowledge of researcher, and availability of information involved. Moreover, it has to consider access to useful data, ability of research to evaluate and produce quality data. Similarly, the requirements of the research questions formulated should be taken into account as research methods needs to crafted around these questions otherwise the findings of the study will have little or no value at all (Hall, 2008:76). In general, this study needs a research method that can provide a wealth of information, compatible with the research questions and setting, and supported with proven data collection and analysis method. According to Wimmer & Dominick (2011:141), case studies contain significant amount of details, clues and ideas that researcher can use to investigate and explain a particular phenomena. The case study method therefore can help this study explain why certain events occurred or why some procedures failed or succeed. More importantly, it can give this study the ability to acquire and deal with greater number of evidence. For instance, instead of spending considerable number of hours designing research questionnaires in order to extract specific information, the study can easily review and directly retrieved unlimited information from documents. The case study method of research is also qualitative but it does not include interviews and observations. It enables researcher to investigate important topics not easily covered by other methods. For instance, the case study method help researcher to collect data from previous studies, statistics, test results, and others and provide the ability to address descriptive or explanatory questions such as what, how or why such phenomena occurred (Green et al, 2006:112). It allows researcher to conduct an in-depth investigation of a single or multiple cases (Gomm et al, 2000:4), identify and formulate new ideas and hypotheses (Sprinz & Volinsky-Nahmias, 2004:19). According to Fitzpartrick & Kazer (2011:42), case study is appropriate to the current trend in inquiry that often demands flexibility in methodology and research strategy. In relation to this study, the case study method can tackle the nature of research question being asked and contribute additional knowledge in the field of fire research (Thomas et al, 2011:297). 3.2 Data Collection The data collection used in this study was taken from several data collection strategies recommended for case study research. Since interviews, direct observations, participant observations involve ethical issues and significant amount field work, the study selected documents collection method which according to Klenke (2008:66) allow pattern matching or cases comparison, development of well-supported conclusion, and recommendations based on evidence. Case study data can be collected through review of documents describing the case, offering key information, and providing rich description of the case (Cottrell & McKenzie, 2010:232). The basis for selecting this data collection method is not merely theoretical but the requirements that need to be perform in order produce a credible result. For instance, since its not favourable for this study to conduct surveys or interviews because of several limitations, it is more logical to find and review documents that described and provide useful information about the case. For instance, this study needs to identify challenges in current evacuation procedures and therefore need to inquire and identity which part of the procedure is actually causing the problem. If this study undertake a quantitative (survey questionnaires) or qualitative (interviews) data collection then the number of participants should be representative of those who were actually there during the fire incident. Another is the fact that issue in this study is procedure which documents and outcome of actual fire incidents can attest. As mentioned earlier, the case study method does not limit the amount of information that can be retrieved or use to provide evidence thus its more advantageous in terms of validity, reliability, and completeness. Following the recommended data collection method and taking account of the requirements, this study need to search for cases satisfying the criteria developed for this study. These criteria were formulated based on the requirements of research questions and the need to find cases that are most relevant, reliable, and complete. It is also following the important factors in the design of case study research such as considerations that must be provided on the research question, theoretical assumptions, unit of analysis, logical relationship between assumptions and data, and the criteria for interpreting results (Jenner & Titscher, 2000:44). Search Criteria Documents must be recent and about evacuation procedures in high-rise building Documents must contain details of the building Documents must be properly authored and contains information from reliable sources These criteria are then used to find and retrieved qualified online sources using the following key words: evacuation, procedures, high-rise Documents satisfying the above criteria are then retrieved, examined, and selected based on the selection criteria developed to ensure comparative analysis and pattern matching. The criteria presented below are formulated based on the requirements of the research question and in the need to easily indentify similarities, differences, and small variations between cases. Selection Criteria Documents provide details specific to the fire incident and evacuation Documents provide details of fire and rescue response Documents contain statistic of fatalities and survivors of the fire incident All document passing the above criteria were selected and used in data analysis as discussed in the following section. 3. Data Analysis There are three useful data analysis developed for case study research and these include pattern-matching, explanation-building, and time series. Pattern-matching according to Iorio (2004:63), is a deductive analysis approach where the researcher compare an empirically derived pattern with one based on theoretical assumption. For instance, if this study wants to identify best practices in fire evacuation particularly in high-rise building it should compare the identified pattern of evacuation to theories claiming the effectiveness of such evacuation procedure. Explanation building on the other hand is an inductive approach where the researcher generate theory from the data collected which this study find less reliable as such approach may result to bias and inaccuracy. Similarly, time-series analysis is somewhat complex as it requires researcher to show the existence of causal link in the theoretical model and temporal sequence of events associated with different variables in the model (Iorio, 2004:64). Since this study needs to explore whether or not cases of evacuation procedures matches those predicted by theory (Lange, 2012:53), it must find patterns in cases and provide multiple points of insight into the validity of the theory. For the above reason, this study undertaken a pattern-matching analysis where data from four different cases were examined and compared to each other. The pattern is then presented in a table with highlighted similarities and differences. The green highlight represents similarities while the red indicate difference in the particular case. However, unless specified in the supporting description these differences are not necessarily absolute as there are some circumstances where variations are slight and may be considered similar in purpose. It is important to note that in pattern matching procedures, practices, approach, strategy, and so on, the difference in circumstances should be taken into account. For instance, if the evacuation procedure was conducted in a certain high-rise building in China, then the researcher should not expect exact replica of evacuation procedures in UK. Similarly, if the structure is different (high-rise building with 12 elevators compared high-rise with 4 elevators), the similarities in evacuation time should not be measured by the number of people escaped but the number of those who were rescued. In other words, pattern matching should be justified by almost identical circumstances rather than procedure name. For instance, if “evacuation time” is use to measure the effectiveness of evacuation for both building then the result will never yield a pattern. This is because the expectation for both building is the same regardless of circumstances. In contrast, it the effectiveness of evacuation is measured by the number of occupants, age and gender, physical capacity, convenience of means of escape, and others, the result will likely yield a pattern. This is because each circumstance is taken into account in the evacuation time. For instance, it building A is a hospital 50 storeys high and the recorded evacuation time is 45 minutes then building B which as an office with similar number of storeys will likely record much less than 45 minutes thus no pattern. However, if both A and B are hospitals then there is either different or matching patterns. The idea of pattern-matching is to have an exact pattern that can be use to validate or invalidate a theory. For this reason, this pattern by knowledge of case study principle should be free of uncertainties and can stand on its own. There is therefore a need to present these results into a form readily understandable and acceptable to reader to avoid misconception as discusses in the following section. 3.4 Data Presentation The result of pattern matching is presented in manner consistent to case study method that requires clarity in presentation of evidence (Green et al, 2006:117). It can be presented as formal written narrative or images that can be easily understand by the reader (Fitzpartick & Kazer, 2011:41). However, this study considers both as essential and need to be undertaken in order to clearly present the finding of this study and avoid misconception. Written narrative alone seems time consuming as reader has to go through pages of text just to get an idea of what actually transpire. Similarly, not all reader is familiar with graphs and images and in some occasion may need to read a written narrative to eliminate doubts. The goals of data presentation according to Friendly (2000:10) is to stimulate, persuade, and inform thus it is often a good idea to present facts in a graph tailored for the purpose. In other words, the graphical presentation should be relevant to message and not all type of graphs is useful. For instance, a pie may be more relevant that line graph if the researcher want to present the number of affected people in a certain community during a flood. In contrast, a line graph may be more useful than pie if the data to be presented is intended to inform reader about the increasing number of people affected by the flood from day one to present. The study therefore presented result of pattern-matching in both narrative and images such as diagrams, floor plan, and others as shown in the following section. References: Barendrecht M, (2010), A Handbook for Measuring the Costs and Quality of Access to Justice, Maklu Publisher, US Cottrell R. & McKenzie J, (2010), Health Promotion & Education Research Methods: Using the Five Chapter Thesis/Dissertation Model, Jones & Bartlett, UK Esteves J, (2010), Ninth European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, Academic Conferences International, US Friendly M, (2000), Visualizing Categorical Data, SAS Institute, US Gomm R, Hammersley M, & Foster P, (2000), Case Study Method: Key Issues, Key Texts, SAGE, UK Green J, Camilli G, & Elmore P, (2006), Handbook of Complementary Methods in Education Research, Routledge, UK Hall R, (2008), Applied Social Research: Planning, Designing and Conducting Real-World Research, MacMillan Education, Australia Houser R, (1998), Counselling and Educational Research: Evaluation and Application, SAGE, UK Iorio S, (2004), Qualitative Research in Journalism: Taking it to the Streets, Routledge, UK Jenner B. & Titscher S, (2000), Methods of Text and Discourse Analysis: In Search of Meaning, SAGE, UK Klenke K, (2008), Qualitative Research in the Study of Leadership, Emerald Group Publishing, US McNabb D, (2004), Research Methods for Political Science: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, M.E. Sharpe, UK Sprinz D. & Wolinsky-Nahmias Y, (2004), Models, numbers, and cases: methods for studying international relations, University of Michigan Press, US Thomas J, Nelson J, & Silverman S, (2011), Research Methods in Physical Activity, Human Kinetics, US Wimmer R. & Dominick J, (2011), Mass Media Research, Cengage Learning, US Read More

3.2 Data Collection The data collection used in this study was taken from several data collection strategies recommended for case study research. Since interviews, direct observations, participant observations involve ethical issues and significant amount field work, the study selected documents collection method which according to Klenke (2008:66) allow pattern matching or cases comparison, development of well-supported conclusion, and recommendations based on evidence. Case study data can be collected through review of documents describing the case, offering key information, and providing rich description of the case (Cottrell & McKenzie, 2010:232).

The basis for selecting this data collection method is not merely theoretical but the requirements that need to be perform in order produce a credible result. For instance, since its not favourable for this study to conduct surveys or interviews because of several limitations, it is more logical to find and review documents that described and provide useful information about the case. For instance, this study needs to identify challenges in current evacuation procedures and therefore need to inquire and identity which part of the procedure is actually causing the problem.

If this study undertake a quantitative (survey questionnaires) or qualitative (interviews) data collection then the number of participants should be representative of those who were actually there during the fire incident. Another is the fact that issue in this study is procedure which documents and outcome of actual fire incidents can attest. As mentioned earlier, the case study method does not limit the amount of information that can be retrieved or use to provide evidence thus its more advantageous in terms of validity, reliability, and completeness.

Following the recommended data collection method and taking account of the requirements, this study need to search for cases satisfying the criteria developed for this study. These criteria were formulated based on the requirements of research questions and the need to find cases that are most relevant, reliable, and complete. It is also following the important factors in the design of case study research such as considerations that must be provided on the research question, theoretical assumptions, unit of analysis, logical relationship between assumptions and data, and the criteria for interpreting results (Jenner & Titscher, 2000:44).

Search Criteria Documents must be recent and about evacuation procedures in high-rise building Documents must contain details of the building Documents must be properly authored and contains information from reliable sources These criteria are then used to find and retrieved qualified online sources using the following key words: evacuation, procedures, high-rise Documents satisfying the above criteria are then retrieved, examined, and selected based on the selection criteria developed to ensure comparative analysis and pattern matching.

The criteria presented below are formulated based on the requirements of the research question and in the need to easily indentify similarities, differences, and small variations between cases. Selection Criteria Documents provide details specific to the fire incident and evacuation Documents provide details of fire and rescue response Documents contain statistic of fatalities and survivors of the fire incident All document passing the above criteria were selected and used in data analysis as discussed in the following section. 3. Data Analysis There are three useful data analysis developed for case study research and these include pattern-matching, explanation-building, and time series.

Pattern-matching according to Iorio (2004:63), is a deductive analysis approach where the researcher compare an empirically derived pattern with one based on theoretical assumption. For instance, if this study wants to identify best practices in fire evacuation particularly in high-rise building it should compare the identified pattern of evacuation to theories claiming the effectiveness of such evacuation procedure.

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