PhD Final Thesis April 2013.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Thesis Keith Gale 2013Recognitions of paradigms allow an investigation into methodologies suitable for thecontextual position of this research.4.3 Methodology applicable to construction management researchWithin construction management, two communities or context methodologiesdominate the research approaches – positivistic and interpretivistic (Love et al,2002). A positivistic approach is defined by the view that ‘an external reality existsand that an independent value-free research can examine this reality’ (Coghlan andBrannick, 2005). Positivism uses explanation from logical conclusions controlled bygeneral laws. The laws are applied consistently using scaled measurements todetermine extent of variations. Positivist research is neutral, detached from its settingand objective.An interpretivistic approach places a researcher within the process, whereobservations are taken from collected data. Such observations may arise fromsubjective data which can be used to suggest general trends. If these trends arerepeated, then a lawful relationship may be discovered and confirmed. Interpretivismuses experiences gained during physical events rather then the events themselves toprovide relationship information (Fellows and Liu, 2008). When studyingprofessional judgement, experiences and tacit knowledge are important facets thatshould be recognised through the interpretivistic process. Attributes of each of thethree research paradigms from the perspectives of ontology, epistemology,relationships to theories, reflexivity of the researcher and role of the researcher isshown in Table 4.1 (Coghlan and Brannick, 2005). This research will bepredominantly interpretivistic due to the close role of researcher and professionaljudgement/tacit acknowledgement recognition. A positivistic approach is taken asobjective placement is collected through independent data sources.4.4 Development of hypotheses for framework agreements verses discreteprojectsThe procurement performance model engages with operational and sociologicaltheories involved in gaining improvement with project outcomes. This allowsattention to be drawn toward specific contextual and substantive variables identifiedthrough this research. Collection of data on variables will allow effects of81