From Networkedchange

Research design

To uncover insights regarding the above questions my first instinct is to pursue a small number of case studies. (Listed in the next section are some initial suggestions.) However, the specific case studies will only reveal so much. As I am seeking to explore and explain a phenomenon that I am arguing is increasingly important this leaves me open to being accused of documenting the uncommon exception. With that in mind I will suggest two enhancements to a purely case-centric approach.

Study the context as much as the case study

The phenomenon I am seeking to describe isn’t universally in existence and this research isn’t seeking to elucidate a phenomenon that has been present but unconsidered but rather to reveal the nature of behavior that is now occurring more than it was in the past. For this reason exploring the context of the case specifically where it doesn’t happen may well reveal insights. What is it about the context that explains where it happens and where such behavior doesn’t occur?

Multi-pronged analysis

• Use a wide variety of tools and approaches to uncovering data.
• Incorporate ethnographic interviews, as well as quantitative surveys, and deep analysis of now more available databases of communications patterns. Seek to synthesize analysis from multiple angles rather than concentrate solely on a single method.