The paper I chose is called "Dialectic Tensions of Information Quality: Social Networking Sites and Hiring". It was published in 2013 by the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. As qualitative research method were semi-structured guided interviews used. These interviews give the participants space and time to not only answer the constructed questions, but also to explain their experiences and thoughts. Most of the interviews were recorded and transcribed, for the rest were taken notes and adequate protocols written. These transcripts were analyzed and coded in the three ways: open, axial, and selective. Two independent researchers categorized the data. The constructed categories were through the analyzation process modified and transformed to mirror the outcomes of the interviews appropriately. The most difficult in writing a paper about a qualitative research is, to bring no discussion or interpretation into the results section. Pike, Bateman, and Butler managed this very well.
Through the method of semi-structured interviews you can receive really open answers. This is on the one hand a benefit, because the participants are having enough space to explain and elaborate specific topics. That gives you to possibility to earn a lot of knew knowledge and understanding in specific fields and show you how it really is. At the same time these open questions can lead to very different topics, so some participants might drift away easily. In this case it‘s the task of the interviewer or researcher to bring them back on track. A true benefit of qualitative research, compared to quantitative, is that it gives the researches access to the processes that happen inside of the people, the reality. An often discussed critique of qualitative research is, that the outcomes depend highly on the interpretation of the researcher. Not everything is intersubjectively reasonable.
Explanation of case study to a first year student:
In a case study a theory is build from cases. These cases or only one case that are investigated occur in one specific field of research. The approach is usually used in new areas of interest. In other words a case study offers "understanding [of the] the dynamics present within single settings" (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 534). The coverage of more than one case inside the specific setting or field is possible as well as several levels of analysis can be conducted. There is no strict rule that it has to be either qualitative or quantitative analysis, a case study can be both. When starting a case study, it is important to have a clear research question before going into the field. Otherwise the amount of data can easily be overwhelming. The research question can be changed throughout the research, but it is important to have a focus in the beginning. The cases that are chosen for the analysis don‘t have to be random or representative. The main intention in choosing cases is that they proof or extend the constructed theory. After the data collection (via interviews, observation, content analysis, etc.) patterns are searched. These patterns lead to the building of hypotheses what can lead to the construction of a theory. The comparison of this found data, hypotheses or theory with the existent literature in this field is centrally important. A case study is closed when an iteration of data and the theory occurs.
An example for a case study is the investigation of the social meanings of mobile phones of youth in South Africa. The social place of mobile phones of undergraduate students of the University of Cape Town was researched. In the following the selected will be analyzed according to the "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research" (Eisenhardt, 2013, p. 533). In the paper was no concrete research question defined or formed, but it was clear from the beginning on what aspect the focus in the research is set: "The social meanings of the mobile phone in the lives of African youth" (Chuma, 2014, p. 400). The sampling of all students in one specific course might be theoretical sampling, but could as well be the group that the researcher has most easy access to. Anyway for the data collection were multiple methods used: Quantitative method in an online survey and qualitative method in group discussions. The concrete procedure of analyzing the data is not outlined in the paper. This gives the whole research a quite non-transparent character. The outcomes of the case study is compared to other literature in the field, but only to some examples. This part could have strengthened the whole research.
Sources:
Chuma, W. (2014). The social meanings of mobile phones among South Africa‘s ‘digital natives’: a case study. Media, Culture & Society, 36 (3), 398-408.
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
Pike, J. C., Bateman, P. J., & Butler, B. (2013). Dialectic Tensions of Information Quality: Social Networking Sites and Hiring, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19, 56-77.
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