Collier, C (2006) Researchers' perceptions of the development of qualitative approaches in construction management research. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
Drawing on Kuhn's thesis of normal and revolutionary science, this study investigates how cultural factors impact on the production of qualitative research within the discipline of Construction Management.. Members of the CNBR e-mail network were invited to respond to a series of questions regarding their perceptions of qualitative research, and the responses were analysed as a text. Five broad narrative themes are identified: constraint, hopefulness, sanguinity, caution and scepticism. There also is a brief discussion of the way language is used to legitimise and problematise methodology. It is argued that there are agreed vocabularies which can be used to defend and critique qualitative research, and that the critical terms have connotations of blurring and unboundedness. It is also noted that terms historically used to endorse quantitative research which met with critical approval are now being used to signify the value of qualitative outputs. In conclusion, it is argued that what we know has a social dimension and, therefore, the need for shared understandings of epistemological legitimacy is emphasised.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | culture; methods; research; theory |
| Index terms: | quantitative research, qualitative approach, drawing, e-mail, approval, dimension, critique, vocabularies, science, narrative, legitimacy, methodology, management research, qualitative research |
| Subjects: | communication, qualitative and interpretive research, research design and methodology, health monitoring assessment and metrics, evaluation and assessment methods, knowledge organization and systems, contractual role, specialized education, technical documentation, research methods, sociology, data analysis and analytics |
| Topics: | Education, Information Management, Contract Administration, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here