An Overview of Research Strategy

Research methodology in a research study is considered as an important element, and therefore determining the method of research methodology is a very important section in the study. Research methodology is useful to establish the structure of research, such as strategy, approach, research philosophy, and components of the methodology.

Research Strategy

The research strategy should be defined as “the general plan of how the researcher will go about answering the research questions”. Research strategy “provides the overall direction of the research, including the process by which the research is conducted”. A chosen research strategy depends on research questions as well as the goals of the research.

Research strategy selected based on three conditions, which are:

1. The type of question
2. The control the researcher has over behavioral events
3. The focus on contemporary as opposed to historical events

Research strategy can be defined as developing a clear plan to research and clarify the research’s aims, to enable the researcher to conduct research systematically rather than haphazardly.

Case Study

Сase study should be defined as ”an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident”. ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions are frequently posed, case studies are the preferred strategy.

In research strategy, the case study is most common when the phenomenon cannot be divorced from its context, which depends on the qualitative approach as a method to be used in an information system.

The case study considers as a method that can investigate a contemporary phenomenon when there is a lack of knowledge, and the context of the phenomena is not clear.

There are three reasons to choose a case study in research strategy:

• The case study enables the researcher to study some questions in its natural settings and generate theories from practice.
• The case study enables the researcher to answer “how” and “why” questions, to gain more explicit information.
• The case study enables the researcher to the nature and complexity of the process taking place.

Single-Multiple Case Studies

Case studies can be classified into a single case or multiple cases; a single case provides all the needed information about the research question from one organization. In a single case, information and data from one unit are enough to achieve the aims of the research.

Multiple case studies require data from more than one unit to achieve research objectives. A single case is often used where it represents a critical case or, alternatively, an extreme or unique case. Multiple cases used more than one case to compare whether the findings of the first case occur in other cases. A single case is more relevant if:

1. It is a revelatory case.
2. It represents a critical case for testing a formulated theory.
3. It is a unique case.

On the other hand, multiple cases enable the researchers to study and compare the findings between different cases, and thus explore differences within and between cases, which enables the researchers to forecast the results.