Creating Theoretical Research Frameworks Using Multiple Methods
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Creating Theoretical Research Frameworks using Multiple Methods
By now, it is commonly accepted that investments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) can facilitate macroeconomic growth in developed countries. Research standards in ICT for development (ICT4D) are high, and it is a basic expectation that a theoretically sound conceptual investigation should yield actionable results. An additional expectation is that an on-the-ground study conducted in each setting should add to the common body of knowledge based on theory. In other words, one is expected to make a connection between the world of concepts and the world of reality. Middle-range theories and frameworks could help connect the case studies with grand theories, by helping to create a theoretically sound and practically applicable research architecture of ICT4D. This book demonstrates how creative use of various data analysis methods (e.g., data mining [DM], data envelopment analysis [DEA], and structural equation modeling [SEM]) and conceptual frameworks (e.g., neoclassical growth accounting, chaos and complexity theories) may be utilized for inductive and deductive purposes to develop and to test, in step-by-step fashion, theoretically sound frameworks for a large subset of ICT4D research questions. Specifically, this book showcases the utilization of DM, DEA, and SEM for the following purposes: Identification of the relevant context-specific constructs (inductive application) Identification of the relationships between the constructs (inductive application) Development of a framework incorporating the constructs and relationships discovered (inductive application) Testing of the constructed framework (deductive application) The book takes a multi-theoretical perspective to economic development research. It starts with an overview of ICT4D. Next it covers such frameworks and theories as neoclassical growth accounting and the theory of complementarity, complex systems and chaos theories, and the product life cycle (PLC) theory. There are also nontechnical overviews of the DM and data analytic methods that can be used in this research. Also presented is evidence that human capital and investment capital are complementary and are reliable sources of economic growth. The book concludes with methodological frameworks to guide investment decisions and the formulation of strategic policy.
Quantitative Methodologies using Multi-Methods
Quantitative Methodologies using Multi-Methods is a multifaceted book written to help researchers. It is a user-friendly introduction to the popular methods of data mining and data analysis. The book avoids getting involved into details that are more suitable for more advanced users; it is written for readers who have, at most, a surface-level knowledge of the methods presented in the book. The book also serves as an introductory guide to the subject of complementarity of the tools and techniques of data analysis. It shows how methods could be used in synergy to offer insights into the issues that could not be dissected by any single method alone. This text can also be used as a set of templates, where, given a set of research questions, the investigator could identify a set of methodological modules for answering the research questions of interest. This is not entirely unlike the relationship between the analysis and design phases of the systems development life cycle—where the What of the analysis phase has to be translated into the How of the design phase. The book can guide the identification of modules (the How) that are suitable for answering research questions (the What). It can aid in transitioning a conceptual domain of the research questions into a scaffolding of data analytic and data mining methods. The book is also a guide to exploring what data under investigation holds. For example, an investigator may use the methodological modules presented in this book to generate a set of preliminary questions which, after a careful consideration and a requisite culling, could be formulated into a set of questions consistent within a selected theory or a framework. Finally, the book can be used as a generator of new research questions. Applying every method in each of the book’s modules opens a new dimension ripe with follow-up questions such as, Why is this so? The answers to this question may provide new insight and lead to the development of a new theory.
Understanding and Evaluating Research
Author: Sue L. T. McGregor
language: en
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Release Date: 2017-10-25
Understanding and Evaluating Research: A Critical Guide shows students how to be critical consumers of research and to appreciate the power of methodology as it shapes the research question, the use of theory in the study, the methods used, and how the outcomes are reported. The book starts with what it means to be a critical and uncritical reader of research, followed by a detailed chapter on methodology, and then proceeds to a discussion of each component of a research article as it is informed by the methodology. The book encourages readers to select an article from their discipline, learning along the way how to assess each component of the article and come to a judgment of its rigor or quality as a scholarly report.