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An Interpretive Approach for Data Collection and Analysis

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Enterprise Resource Planning, Corporate Governance and Internal Auditing

Abstract

This chapter has explained the research design and the methods used in the book. The researcher explicitly articulated the nature of the research problem and determined the ontological stance which led to the epistemological and methodological stances. The study is designed under an interpretive paradigm, which took the form of a multiple-case study and the analysis of a considerable amount of primary and secondary qualitative data. This enabled the researchers to interact closely with the participants and to explore issues in depth. Researchers should be aware that qualitative methodology is more applicable to develop an in-depth understanding of contextual-related problems. Qualitative design is more sensitive to context and flexible to embracing emerging new themes. The richness of data produced through using multiple-case studies helped better to investigate the phenomenon of the IAF adaptation as a response to the ERP systems implementation. The use of case studies provided greater internal and external validity than other quantitative methods would have done. Triangulation of methods was achieved through the use of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and non-participant observation. The qualitative content analysis was found to be the appropriate technique for analysing the data. A qualitative content analysis technique was deemed more desirable for this study as it preserves as much as possible the deep meaning of the qualitative data. Furthermore, it enabled the interpretation of all transcribed interviews, documents and notes of observation and relating each one to the whole in order to gain a holistic picture of the phenomenon. The trustworthiness strategies which were used in this research and the related procedures and techniques were found to be interlinked that fostered the coherence and validity of the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business Administration, American University of the Middle East, Egaila, Kuwait

    Hany Elbardan

  2. Business School, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK

    Ahmed Othman Rashwan Kholeif

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  1. Hany Elbardan
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  2. Ahmed Othman Rashwan Kholeif
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Correspondence to Hany Elbardan .

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Elbardan, H., Kholeif, A.O. (2017). An Interpretive Approach for Data Collection and Analysis. In: Enterprise Resource Planning, Corporate Governance and Internal Auditing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54990-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54990-3_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-54989-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54990-3

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