Multiple Research Methodologies Research Articles

We can, we know how. But do we want to? Teaching attitudes towards ICT based on the level of technology integration in schools

Teachers’ attitudes towards technology are crucial to foster its use in schools and to improve its educational affordances and this is still a topic for research. This article relates the attitudes school teachers have towards information and communication technologies (ICT) with the different levels of technology integration in schools. A multiple case-study research methodology was applied, and in which the school was the unit of sampling used. Thirty-five schools from eight Spanish regions were selected, and 1222 questionnaires were collected, representing 78.9% of the sample. Three combined variables were utilised to classify schools in four different levels of technology integration. Results suggest level 4 school teachers exhibit better attitudes towards ICT, which results in creating a positive circle which improves the learning process. This becomes relevant for teacher education and professional development, as effective ICT integration in the classroom can perform as a catalyst for educational innovation.

Global Nursing-a literature review in the field of education and practice.

AimTo describe key findings of Global Nursing in empirical nursing studies.DesignA literature review using descriptive data synthesis of peer‐reviewed articles in the field of nursing education and practice.MethodsThis review of Cinahl Complete, PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus was undertaken using the search strategy “global nursing”. Independent title/abstract and full‐text screening was undertaken, identifying original articles written in English.ResultsA total of 472 titles and 170 abstracts were read through. Seventy‐three articles were included for full‐text review. Twenty published studies of Global Nursing with multiple research methodologies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Findings were described with five categories. Global Nursing Arena, Global Nursing Working Environments, Global Nursing Workforce Management, Global Nursing Competencies and Global Nursing Networking were shown to be crucial when Global Nursing was addressed in the literature.

Impact of additive manufacturing on business competitiveness: a multiple case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the impacts of additive manufacturing (AM) in manufacturing, business strategies and business performance and to determine the contingent factors driving performance. Accordingly, this study also clarifies the relationship between these impacts and company and product characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an exploratory study using multiple case research methodology, sampling 16 heterogeneous companies based on the theoretical replication approach. The potential impacts of AM were identified by reviewing the previous literature. For the driving factors, the paper follows the literature on AM, as well as the theories arisen from technology management literature. The qualitative information was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis to measure the effectiveness of AM in these aspects.FindingsThe paper derives and provides empirical insights regarding how this technology affects the industry. This study reveals how the implementation of AM in the Rapid Manufacturing (RM) of products made of metal has boosted productivity. These findings also demonstrate an increasing competitiveness of the early adopter SMEs using RM.Research limitations/implicationsThis empirical research has been conducted by means of qualitative data. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the propositions by quantitative measures.Practical implicationsThe paper provides insights for the adaption of AM and its impacts on business strategies and performance.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to expanding the literature by depicting explicit links between the implementation of this revolutionary technology and business strategies and performance.

Invited review: Experimental design, data reporting, and sharing in support of animal systems modeling research.

The National Animal Nutrition Program "National Research Support Project 9" supports efforts in livestock nutrition, including the National Research Council's committees on the nutrient requirements of animals. Our objective was to review the status of experimentation and data reporting in animal nutrition literature and to provide suggestions for the advancement of animal nutrition research and the ongoing improvement of field-applied nutrient requirement models. Improved data reporting consistency and completeness represent a substantial opportunity to improve nutrition-related mathematical models. We reviewed a body of nutrition research; recorded common phrases used to describe diets, animals, housing, and environmental conditions; and proposed equivalent numerical data that could be reported. With the increasing availability of online supplementary material sections in journals, we developed a comprehensive checklist of data that should be included in publications. To continue to improve our research effectiveness, studies utilizing multiple research methodologies to address complex systems and measure multiple variables will be necessary. From the current body of animal nutrition literature, we identified a series of opportunities to integrate research focuses (nutrition, reproduction and genetics) to advance the development of nutrient requirement models. From our survey of current experimentation and data reporting in animal nutrition, we identified 4 key opportunities to advance animal nutrition knowledge: (1) coordinated experiments should be designed to employ multiple research methodologies; (2) systems-oriented research approaches should be encouraged and supported; (3) publication guidelines should be updated to encourage and support sharing of more complete data sets; and (4) new experiments should be more rapidly integrated into our knowledge bases, research programs and practical applications.

The Hollowing of American Public Administration

Effectively linking public administration theory to practical relevance has proven a difficult task. We argue, however, that the theory–practice conundrum is but a symptom of a more fundamental problem in public administration: the hollowing out of the field. Despite research advances, hollowing occurs because of the field’s conceptually muddled and decontextualized normative pillars, problematic macrodynamic foundations, and imbalanced scaffolding for integrating its multiple research narratives and methodologies efficaciously for both scholars and practitioners. To illustrate our points, we first critique the logic and empirical basis of two major pillars of public administration: efficiency and social equity. We then show how and why the field also has problematic macrodynamic foundations due to its failure to incorporate important developments in cognate fields related to administrative history, contexts, and processes. We next offer a problem-centered organizational framework for the field to help address the scaffolding problem in public administration.

Commentary on: An exploration of sensory and movement differences from the perspective of individuals with autism

“An exploration of sensory and movement differences from the perspective of individuals with autism” by Robledo, Donnellan, and Strandt-Conroy, was originally published in Autism: The Movement Perspective as part of a Research Topic in Frontiers in Integrated Neuroscience (2012–2014). It gained a special place in the Topic, as in the general field of research in autism, by being one of the few studies to systematically study autism from the perspective of those with that lived experience. This paucity is all the more remarkable as there are at least 100,000 research studies published on the topic of autism in the past few decades (Robertson, 2010). It's hard not to argue that the perspective of autistic people themselves has been given too little attention by the research community although, fortunately, there are a growing number of self-accounts that have helped to shed light on that perspective over the last 25 years adding immensely to our understanding (e.g., Grandin, 1995; Williams, 1998; Mukhopadhyay, 2000). Nonetheless, this paper by Robledo, Donnellan, and Strandt-Conroy occupies a unique position having called upon multiple rigorous social science research methodologies to study in-depth the presence and potential impact of “movement differences” in autism. They define movement differences as a difference, interference or shift in the efficient, effective utilization, and integration of movement; a disruption in the organization and regulation of perception, action, posture, language, speech, thought, emotion, and/or memory (Leary et al., 1999) which broadens and extends the notions of sensory-motor challenges which have drawn some attention from researchers in recent times (e.g., DSM-5). Using interviews, some in person and some with specialized accommodations for the individual, questionnaires and participant-produced data they present us with revealing and often poignant insights into what has often been defined in social terms as “inappropriate behavior.” So Barbara, who has difficulty processing two senses at once chooses to turn her head to limit the visual input and is blamed for this accommodation. This research is an important step beyond the many thousands of studies in the canon showing what autistic people fail to do, or do wrong and little about how they attempt to accommodate to their movement challenges. The editors of Frontiers and, in particular, the Special Research Issue Autism: The Movement Perspective, were proud to present the 40 papers in that issue, many on topics which do not generally get wide attention. We are particularly proud of this paper that has earned the opportunity to receive even broader readership in a Tier 2 publication.

Design of global production and distribution networks

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to systematically and critically review the extant literature on the design of global production and distribution networks to identify gaps in the literature and identify future research opportunities. The design aspects deal with strategic and structural decisions such as: opening or closing of manufacturing plants or distribution centres, selection of locations for manufacturing or warehousing, and making substantial capacity changes in manufacturing or distribution.Design/methodology/approach– The authors examine the peer-reviewed literature on global production and distribution networks written in English. The search strategy is based on selected keywords and databases. The authors identify 109 articles from 1974 to 2012.Findings– The authors categorize the literature according to research methodology: case studies, conceptual modelling, surveys, and mathematical modelling. The amount of literature up to 2,000 is rather sparse, while there is a positive trend from 2,000 and onwards. The content analysis shows that different research methodologies focus on different but complementary aspects. The authors propose a research agenda for further research on design of global production and distribution networks.Research limitations/implications– The authors identify research opportunities related to complementary actor perspectives, extended supply chains that explicitly include transportation and suppliers, contingency factors, and new perspectives such as facility roles within production and distribution networks.Originality/value– This paper is to the author’s knowledge the first broad review that investigates the design aspects of the interrelationships between production and distribution facilities as well as transportation in global production and distribution networks across multiple research methodologies.

Proposals for special issues welcomed

OperationsManagement Research is now accepting proposals for special issues. A key aspect of a special issue is that it is aligned with the purpose of OMR, i.e., a special issue topic must reflect the need for contributions to theory and practice as well as address a contemporary topic. The journal takes a broad view of operations including manufacturing operations, service operations, supply chain operations, retail operations, as well as health care operations, humanitarian logistics, and other types of organizations including not-for-profit, government, and public organizations. The journal also welcomes perspectives such as global operations, right-sourcing and right-shoring, sustainability, behavioral OM, risk, big data and analytics, innovation, and emerging economies, as well as interfaces with other areas such as business or corporate strategy, marketing, finance, product development, R&D, finance, and accounting. Furthermore, OMR has no preferred research methodology. Instead, OMR welcomes research that utilizes a variety of methodologies including case, action, survey, mathematical modeling, simulation, etc. However a special issue could focus on the application of a particular methodology to operations management (e.g., simulation studies in operations management) or depending on the topic encourage the use of multiple research methodologies. The editorial team for a special issue should consist of two or more individuals that (together) are very familiar with the topic, e.g. by combining areas of specialization if the special issue is concerned with the intersection of two topical areas. A proposal for a special issue should contain the following information:

Pluralism as Multi-Method Scholarship in Qualitative Social Science Research: A Panacea for Methodological Tribalism

Over the years the research endeavours in social sciences have been directed towards producing profound discoveries about humankind and the society they live in. Now-a-days qualitative research has been flourishing in many fields of the social sciences. Rapid social change and the resulting diversification of life scenarios are increasingly confronting social researchers with new social contexts and perspectives. There is a specific relevance for qualitative research to the study of social contexts and life situations. This has lead to the development of several social theories and social research methods which have still continued to develop in order to understand the diverse social problems. The challenge for social scientists and researchers worldwide is to continue in the search for a unified consensus on what methodology is to be adopted for research for meeting the emerging diverse needs of humankind and the society. This thought has led to the proliferation of pluralism or multi-method research in which the researcher synthesizes multiple research methodologies in order to study social problems in a holistic way. This concept of pluralism in research has to a greater extend subverted methodological tribalism which had existed till the recent past. This paper focuses on the philosophical assumptions as guidelines to research paradigms have influenced the development of social research theory and social research methods towards pluralism. This paper intends to explore pluralism in qualitative Social Science researches as it may be applied methodologically and philosophically. In this context, the paper heeds a thought on refocusing pluralistic qualitative research in terms of its needs and demands based on the level and depth of the study undertaken. Key Terms: Qualitative research, methodological pluralism, research paradigms, philosophical assumptions

Rethinking waste as a resource: insights from a low-income community in Accra, Ghana

Conventional solid waste management protocols and thinking generally tend to assume that waste already exits and therefore needs to be managed. Consequently, most models of solid waste management, especially in the developing countries including Ghana, are simply reactions to the presence of something that needs to be disposed of or discarded. This paper sees this conventional solid waste management philosophy as a potential barrier to an efficient and sustainable management and argues that adopting an integrated systemic approach will both help to control the processes that generate waste (including waste handling and utilization) and enable city managers to minimize waste generation in the first place. This paper uses a project initiated by a community-based organization in Ga Mashie (Accra) to explore the potential of converting household waste into a resource. Adopting a multiple research methodology, the study analyzes the characteristic and composition of waste generated within communities in Accra. The results show that a greater part of the ‘waste’ is recyclable or potentially recyclable and that a well-coordinated recycling programme will not only ensure a huge reduction of waste volume, but can equally lengthen the life of existing dumpsites and possibly, create wealth and reduce poverty. The paper argues that scaling up the project offers the local authority an opportunity to tap into the innovative strengths embedded in the project, particularly its physical and economic synergies, which may bolster community sustainable development.

Knowledge loss when older experts leave knowledge-intensive organisations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe different concepts of valuable knowledge that are perceived to be lost when an older expert departs from a knowledge-intensive organisation. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple case research methodology and semi-structured interviews involving 17 participants from five small-to-medium enterprises (SME). Findings – Five concepts of valuable knowledge have emerged from the interviews: subject matter expertise; knowledge about business relationships and social networks; organisational knowledge and institutional memory; knowledge of business systems, processes and value chains; and knowledge of governance. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the research project is restricted to SMEs in New Zealand and this restriction limits the generalisation of the results to other contexts. This study may serve as a starting point for future investigations including larger organisations that may have a greater number of older experts. Practical implications – By identifying the different types of older experts' knowledge, organisations are able to realise the potential of retaining that knowledge within the organisation. Originality/value – This is one of the first investigations of the knowledge that older experts in the professional services industry possess within a small-to-medium enterprise context.

A Transdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Social Practice: Master of Social Practice at Unitec New Zealand

This paper explores the rationale, purpose, and challenges of offering a transdisciplinary Masters of Social Practice (MSocP) at Unitec, New Zealand. It focuses on the notion of transdisciplinarity that underpins its existence, and the teaching and learning methods that this approach requires. The programme is based on a dynamic interchange between helping professions, with the aim to serve social practice clients in a way that suits the needs of the client. It allows members of a range of professions to contribute knowledge and skills, collaborate with others, and transcend disciplinary boundaries. This relates equally to teachers as well as students, as it aims to transcend disciplinary competencies to facilitate change with individuals, families and communities, and dismantle the notion of external expertise, replacing it with internal competence and collaboration. It is a responsive and dynamic programme, which explores social practice issues in the context of partnership and collaboration, and intends to manage multiple epistemologies and multiple research and practice methodologies while engaging in a world where practice rather than professions count, and where new dimensions of ethics and morality emerge. It addresses the relationship between theory, practice and research, and is explicit about its commitment to social justice. Focused on the integration of theory, practice, experience and research, it addresses the five aspects where this integration can occur: ethics, commitment, responsibility, accountability and spirituality. This paper will demonstrate how these five aspects are addressed, and explore joys and challenges of applying a heutagogical approach to teaching it.

Editorial: Reflections and Directions: Appreciating the Past and Looking Toward the Future

Editorial: Reflections and Directions: Appreciating the Past and Looking Toward the Future

KM governance: the mechanisms for guiding and controlling KM programs

PurposeTo establish and sustain their KM programs organisations need to establish mechanisms to ensure their governance. KM programs require business integration, senior management involvement and decision making authority. The present research aims to investigate the KM governance mechanisms organisations use to guide and control their KM programs. The research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the governance of KM and to support organisations in the development of their KM programs.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs multiple case research methodology to analyse the KM governance arrangements of 12 international organisations and identify patterns in their governance configurations.FindingsThe analysis identifies a range of structural, process and relational mechanisms that are critical for governing an organisational KM program. Different patterns among the KM governance mechanisms are identified which lead to the development of generic KM governance typologies.Research limitations/implicationsThe development of the KM governance framework allows future research to systematically investigate the KM governance phenomenon. As the present study is based on a configurational analysis, future research should particularly target the performance implications of different KM governance configurations.Practical implicationsThe research provides insights into the diversity of KM governance mechanisms and their impact on a KM program. The KM governance framework can assist managers in reviewing their present and prospective KM programs and thereby support benchmarking or re‐organisation efforts.Originality/valueBuilding on prior research that has focused on individual KM governance aspects, the present study adopts a comprehensive perspective integrating structural, process and relational governance mechanisms.

Exploring the impact of motivations on the attraction of innovation roles in open innovation web-based platforms

Recently, a large number of new innovative enterprises engaged in different competitive markets by promoting innovation both in products and in services through open innovation web-based platforms, which allow for the collaboration of individual users and companies and for so-called crowdsourcing. A key issue concerns the identification of the most important motivations that could attract users with a specific role to proactively participate and contribute to the open and collaborative innovation processes. This article, after highlighting the theoretical background, grounded on large body of psychology and sociology literature on the motivation behind collaboration, discusses the results of the analysis of 26 open innovation web-based platforms based on a multiple research methodology (qualitative empirical study, factor analysis and multi-dimensional scaling). It also discusses the effects of ‘motivational systems’ and platform models on the attraction of the individuals characterised by different innovation roles.

Comparative assessment of structural equation modeling and multiple regression research methodologies: E-commerce context

Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a powerful statistical technique that establishes measurement models and structural models. On the other hand, multiple regression (MR) is considered a sophisticated and well-developed modeling approach to data analysis with a history of more than 100 years. This paper empirically compares SEM and MR by testing a model of commitment in a B-to-C e-commerce travel context, shedding light on applications of these two popular methods in tourism research. The findings indicate that only two significant relationships are justified by MR. In comparison, SEM results reveal more statistically significant relationships after the “best-fitting” measurement model with model D being the “best-fitting” model. The findings support some key empirical limitations of MR as a widely used statistical technique in the tourism research.

Michael Pressley's Educational Legacy and Directions He Identified for Future Research in Reading Instruction

The purpose of this article is to document the legacy and continuing influence of Michael Pressley's work in the field of reading research and instruction. Descriptions are provided to demonstrate how he translated his data from the cognitive sciences into highly effective pedagogy. A second component of this article discusses how Michael Pressley, throughout his career, continuously collected converging evidence through multiple research methodologies to examine single, complex educational issues. The article concludes by presenting research agendas that Mike was pursuing near the end of his career and how these initiatives provide new directions for reading research, policy, and classroom practices today. His contemporary research focused on how to improve multiple comprehension strategy instruction so it could become an even greater, central component in K–12 curricula; how to expand the application of basic research in cognitive strategy instruction to classroom practices; and, how to assess reading comprehension more effectively.

USING MULTIPLE PARADIGM RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES TO GAIN NEW INSIGHTS INTO ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATIONS

Much of the extant entrepreneurship research has focused on studying the field using positivist research methodologies and little attention has been paid to interpretive methodologies or the use of multiple paradigms. The focus of the paper is on illustrating how we applied a multiple paradigm research methodology to an existing research problem. Specifically, the research was concerned with gender differences in motivations for becoming an entrepreneur. We explain how a multiple paradigm research methodology enabled us to gain new insights into an aspect of entrepreneurship where results of the prior research were not only contradictory, but also lacked a focus on theoretical development. Our research process involved two phases. First, a mail survey which was designed to replicate existing studies was administered to 289 entrepreneurs. The second phase involved in-depth face-to-face interviews with 50 entrepreneurs (25 men and 25 women) who responded to the mail survey. Theoretical contributions regarding entrepreneurial motivation are detailed, as are some more general implications of using multiple paradigm research methodologies in other entrepreneurship and organizational research.

Implementing innovation management in manufacturing SMEs: a longitudinal study

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to evaluate the longitudinal effect of innovation programmes on improving the process of innovation in manufacturing SMEs. The process of innovation in organisations covers people, process and technology. Therefore interventions in the form of innovation improvement programmes often require high levels of complexity. This complexity is compounded in SMEs, where issues such as scarce resources and skill shortages must be recognised.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case research methodology combined with an innovation evaluation model is used to evaluate the longitudinal effect of an innovation intervention programme, which combined taught modules and Critical Action Learning networks over an eighteen month period. Within‐group comparisons are made.Findings/research implicationsThe findings reveal that SMEs, which have high levels of innovation improvement, adopted a broad process based approach to innovation rather than using a narrow technical definition of innovation. These SMEs also developed a process of critically reflective action learning to ground the innovation in organisational practice.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of longitudinal research studies on innovation interventions in SMEs.

Congruence between Positioning and Brand Advertising

ABSTRACT The lack of comprehensive strategic positioning models capable of being employed by managers and advertising executives has given the impetus for this research. This study deals with the actual process of managing the concept of positioning. Using multiple research methodology, a conceptual positioning framework that is the composite of two extant positioning frameworks is formulated. The framework is subsequently operationalized in plastic card organizations (i.e., credit card, charge card, store card, and debit card industries). From the findings, this article puts forward managerial guidelines and, in the process, reveals that plastic card organizations pursue two key positioning aims (profit and market share; profit and status) and, to an extent, “profit and cobranding.” The research also uncovers two main positioning objectives, namely, “functional” and “symbolic” employed by plastic card brands. Furthermore, the study finds that six card brands are managed within two broad life cycle stages (fortification and membership) while “deposition” and “fallow” are pursued by two card brands. “The Brand Name” strategy is the most popular positioning strategy utilized in the study setting. Discussion and managerial guidelines, conclusions, limitations, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.