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DBA 7102: Qualitative Research
Methods I |
Dr. Mary C. Lacity
Curators’ Distinguished Professor UMSL
235 Computer Center Building
(314) 516-6127 (work)
mailto:mary.lacity@umsl.edu
COURSE
MEETING TIMES:
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Saturday January 20 |
Saturday February 10 |
Saturday April 14 |
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10:15am to 5:00pm |
10:15am to 5:00pm |
10:15am to 5:00pm |
WEEKLY OFFICE HOURS: Thursdays 5:45pm to 6:45pm, 235 ESH in person, on
zoom, or by phone; Please bring any questions, struggles, or ideas to the
professor’s attention at anytime.
COURSE PREREQUISITES: Only students officially
admitted to the UMSL DBA Program are allowed to register for class.
COURSE OVERVIEW: Doctoral level
research requires the mastery of four knowledge domains:
1. The philosophy of science to acknowledge one’s assumptions about the
nature of social reality, the purpose of social science research and the
researcher’s ethical obligations;
2.
The questions the researcher aims to investigate within a specific
social science context;
3.
The research methods
suitable for answering the research questions given the philosophical
assumptions and research context
4.
The prior literature and theories
that can help inform the research project.
Students also need strong oral and written communication skills
to effectively share research
findings with different audiences (e.g., academic, practitioner).
In the Qualitative Methods I and Scientific
Inquiry in Business courses, students will begin to master all four knowledge
domains and develop good communication skills.
Within the Qualitative Methods I course,
students will pick the context they
wish to study, pose what/when/why/how question(s) about the context that are
suitable for investigation with qualitative
research methods, collect two types of qualitative data (participant
observation and interviews), analyze the data, and extract lessons from the
analysis. DBA students will also be
exposed to some theories the
professor uses in her research.
Within the Scientific Inquiry in Business,
students will acknowledge their philosophical
assumptions, become certified in ethical human subject research, conduct a
literature search on their context, and identify theories that inform their research.
Bringing both courses together, students will
hand in one completed research project that will be jointly graded by both Dr.
Lacity and Dr. Mirchandani.
COURSE LEARNING
OBJECTIVES:
Working alone or in groups, DBA students will
design and execute a qualitative research project using two commonly used
qualitative data collection techniques: interviews and participant observation
(fieldwork). During the two courses, students will learn how to:
·
pose well-formed research questions,
·
position the research as a contribution to knowledge,
·
critically review the academic literature relevant to the
student’s topic, including theories that inform the inquiry
·
defend the appropriateness of using qualitative research methods
to answer the research question(s)
·
understand the philosophical assumptions underlying the inquiry
·
develop qualitative research instruments (such as an interview
guide)
·
treat human subjects (e.g., interviewees, participants) ethically
·
execute the research,
·
analyze the qualitative data
·
extract lessons for scholars and/or practitioners
·
communicate results orally and in writing
COURSE
INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Mary C. Lacity is Curators’ Distinguished Professor
at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has held visiting positions at MIT CISR, The London School of Economics, Washington University,
and Oxford University. She is a
Certified Outsourcing Professional ®, Industry Advisor for Symphony Ventures,
and Co-editor of the Palgrave
Series: Work, Technology, and
Globalization. Her research focuses on the delivery of business and IT
services through global sourcing and automation using Robotic Process
Automation, Cognitive Automation, and Blockchains. She has conducted case studies
and surveys of hundreds of organizations on their management practices. She has
given keynote speeches and executive seminars worldwide and has served as an
expert witness for the US Congress. She
was inducted into the IAOP’s Outsourcing Hall of Fame in 2014, one of only three academics to ever be
inducted. She was the recipient of the 2008 Gateway to Innovation Award
sponsored by the IT Coalition,
Society for Information Management, and St. Louis RCGA. She has published 27 books, most
recently Robotic
Process and Cognitive Automation: The Next Phase (2018), Robotic
Process Automation and Risk Mitigation: The Definitive Guide (2017) and Service Automation:
Robots and the Future of Work (2016) (SB Publishing, UK, co-author Leslie
Willcocks). Her publications
have appeared in the Harvard
Business Review, Sloan
Management Review, MIS
Quarterly, MIS Quarterly Executive, IEEE Computer, Communications of the ACM, and many other academic and
practitioner outlets.
GRADING AND DUE DATES:
It is vital DBA students plan time
wisely. We will stick strictly to the class schedule to be sure DBA students
finish the course project on time.
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Assignment: |
Grade % |
Due Date: |
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Active class participation |
10% |
DBA student is prepared for class and actively
participates in class discussions and activities. (3.33 points per class) |
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Apply the Case Assignment worksheet – Oral |
January 20
Come to class prepared to discuss your
assignment |
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Research Idea Assignment worksheet – Oral |
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January 20
Come to class prepared to discuss your
research ideas |
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Apply the Case Assignment Final -Written |
5% |
January 22, 8am |
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Research Idea Assignment Final - Written |
5% |
January 22, 8am |
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Research Proposal worksheet – Oral |
5% |
Friday/Saturday
February 9/10 Come
to classes prepared to discuss your research proposal |
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Research Proposal Assignment final – Written |
10% |
Monday
February 26, 8am |
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Theory
Landscape Assignment – Written |
10% |
Monday
March 19, 8am |
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Qualitative Research/Scientific Inquiry
Project – Oral |
5% |
Friday/Saturday
April 13/14 Come
to classes prepared to present your final project |
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Qualitative Research/Scientific Inquiry
Project – Written (This one
research paper will be graded by both Dr. Mirchandani and Dr. Lacity) |
50% |
Friday/Saturday
April 13/14 |
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
It is vital that students attend all
face-to-face sessions. Please make attendance your number one priority. This
class will only be valuable if each and every one of us makes a commitment to
be prepared. That means that each DBA student must have carefully read all the reading
assignments prior to class and thoughtfully completed any required
worksheets. The professor will assess the class participation grade
based on session preparation, meaningful insights, plentiful comments, intellectual
curiosity, and enthusiasm. In a rare circumstance that a DBA student has to
miss class (such as an illness or family emergency), please contact the
professor immediately.
COURSE MATERIALS:
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Required readings/voicethreads
for building qualitative research knowledge domain |
Why this is a required reading |
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This
textbook on qualitative research methods is comprehensive, yet easy to
read. It elucidates upon: · the parts of a qualitative research project · four qualitative research methods (action research, case study
research, ethnographic research, and grounded theory), · three qualitative data collection techniques (interviews,
participant observation, and documents), · methods for analyzing qualitative data, and ·
guidelines for writing results. |
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Lacity, M., Rottman, J., and Carmel, E. (2014), “Impact Sourcing:
Employing Prison Inmates to Perform Digitally-enabled Business Services,” Communications of the AIS, Vol. 34. |
We will
use this reading on the first day of class to apply the concepts covered in
the Myers Textbook;
Additionally, DBA students will add the theory of recidivism to
their theoretical knowledge domain and impact sourcing to their context
knowledge domain. |
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Lacity, M., and Janson, M. (1994),
“Understanding Qualitative Data: A Framework of Text Analysis Methods,” Journal of Management Information Systems,
11(2): 137-155. |
This
article expands on the topic of text analysis methods introduced in Chapter
13 of the Myers textbook.
Additionally, DBA students will add speech act theory to their
theoretical knowledge domain. |
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Sample interview guides & Voicethread |
The
professor will share sample interview guides and provide tips for getting
rich answers from interviewees |
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Required readings/voicethreads
for building theoretical knowledge domain |
Why this is required material |
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Voicethread “Speed dating through my favorite theories” on major theories used in organizational studies. One
reading chosen by the DBA student |
DBA
students will be exposed to a host of theories that may become useful to them
in their research. Each DBA student
will select one theory that interests them or is relevant to their research
project for the Theory Landscape assignment. |
Additional suggested readings from our own work
expose DBA students to a variety of philosophical assumptions, qualitative
research methods, and theories across several contexts and for academic,
practitioner, and student audiences.
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Additional Suggested Readings |
Why this is a suggested reading |
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Lacity,
M., Rottman, J., and Carmel, E. (2015), “Prison Sourcing: “Doing Good” or “Good for Business?” Journal of Information Technology Teaching
Cases, Vol. 4, pp. 99-106. And TEACHING NOTE |
DBA
students interested in careers as University Professors likely will be
interested in learning how to write teaching
cases and teaching guides; This article provides an example of a teaching case and guide based on the prison sourcing case study. |
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Lacity,
M., and Willcocks, L. (2016), “A New Approach to Automating Services,” Sloan Management Review, Vol. 57, 1,
pp. 41-49. |
This article
provides an example of how to write up qualitative research for a top practitioner outlet; It is based
on our case studies, interviews, and surveys on Robotic Process Automation
(RPA). |
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Lacity,
M., Iyer, V., and Rudramuniyaiah, P. (2008), “Turnover Intentions of Indian
IS Professionals,” Information Systems
Frontiers, Special Issue on Outsourcing of IT Services, Vol. 10, 2, pp.
225-241. |
This
article provides an example of what two prior Ph.D. students were able to
achieve in a qualitative research seminar.
They conducted 25 interviews with Indian IS professionals to learn
about their turnover intentions; The three of us coded the transcripts, and
the lead author did the writing for this particular outlet. Vidya Iyer then extended this study for her
dissertation research, “Understanding Turnover Intentions and Behavior of
Indian IS Professionals: A Qualitative Study of Organizational Justice, Job
Satisfaction and Social Norms”; DBA students will add theories
of turnover to their theoretical knowledge
domain. |
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Lacity.
M., and Willcocks, L. (2017), “Conflict Resolution in Business Services
Outsourcing Relationships,” The Journal
of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 26, Issue 2, pp. 80–100. |
This is
an example of an emergent qualitative research process based on interviews with leaders of 32 BPO provider
relationships. It is an example of searching for relevant theories AFTER data
is collected. This is published in a
top academic journal. DBA students
will add theories of conflict resolution to their theoretical knowledge domain. |
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Lacity, M., and
Rudramuniyaiah, P. (2009), "Funny Business: Public Opinion of Outsourcing and Offshoring as
Reflected in U.S. and Indian Political Cartoons," Communications of the Association
for Information Systems (CAIS), Vol. 24, Article 13, pp. 199-224. |
I
wanted to do a study based on a passion of mine: political cartoons. This
project was intended with one goal in mind: HAVE FUN! A student and I coded 165 political
cartoons and extracted themes about offshoring from US and Indian
perspectives; The article has been downloaded over 700 times. Although it is
not frequently cited, I speculate the number of downloads means that other
academics appreciate the fun as well! DBA students will add political
cartoon theory to their theoretical
knowledge domain and how to use and analyze secondary data (documentation) in qualitative research projects. |
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Lacity,
M., Khan, S., and Yan, A (2016), “Review of the Empirical Business Services
Sourcing Literature: An Update and Future Directions,” Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 31, 3. pp. 269-328. |
A
thorough literature review can
result in several top quality publications and create a variety of outputs. This outlet extracts two models based on a
literature review of quantitative and qualitative
articles and identifies gaps in knowledge. It is published in a top
academic outlet. |
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Lacity,
M., Willcocks, L., Khan, S. (2011), “Beyond Transaction Cost Economics:
Towards an Endogenous Theory of Information Technology Outsourcing,” Journal of Strategic Information Systems,
Vol 20, 2, pp. 139-157 |
This outlet used a subset of the
above literature review of
quantitative and qualitative articles
to examine a particular theory, Transaction Cost Economics, and is published
in a top academic outlet. Students will add Transaction Cost
Economics to their theoretical knowledge
domain. |
PREVENTING PLAGIARISM
Please be familiar with the rules
and regulations for academic honesty.
To check your papers for plagiarism, please submit your research proposal
and final paper to Turnitin available to all UMSL
faculty and students through the Writing Center.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
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Dates |
Action |
Learning
Objectives |
What is
due |
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Weeks prior
to start of class |
Read closely Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Myers textbook. Read closely Lacity, M., Rottman, J., and Carmel, E. (2014), “Impact
Sourcing: Employing Prison Inmates to Perform Digitally-enabled Business
Services,” Communications of the AIS,
Vol. 34, Article 51. Glance
at Lacity, M., Rottman, J., and Carmel, E. (2015), “Prison Sourcing: “Doing
Good” or “Good for Business?
Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases,
Vol. 4, pp. 99-106; This is a teaching case developed from the above
prison sourcing article. |
Become familiar with qualitative research design before the course
starts Apply general concepts from textbook to an actual research project that
used a case study method based on interviews, direct observation and participant
observation for data collection. |
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Saturday Jan
20 |
·
10:15 to
11:00 Course overview ·
11:00 to
12:00 Apply the concepts from text to prison sourcing case study ·
1:30 to
2:30 Apply the concepts from text ·
3:00 to 5:00
DBA students workshop/research pitches |
Be prepared to discuss the prison case by filling in the “apply the case” worksheet. Come to class with 1 to 3 ideas as to what context you would like to
investigate using qualitative research methods. Please thoughtfully
complete the “research idea” worksheet. |
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Monday Jan 22
8am |
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Turn in final versions of Apply the Case and
Research Idea Assignments online |
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Jan 21 to Feb
9 |
Read Chapter 10 of Myers textbook on interviews Read sample interview guides posted on canvas Watch voicethread: The
Art of Interviewing posted on Canvas |
Understand three types of interviews; Identify potential problems; Plan interviews; Develop interview guides |
Suggested: Fill in the interview part of the “qualitative research
proposal” worksheet |
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Read Chapter 11 of textbook on participant
observation/fieldwork |
Understand types of fieldwork; Learn two types of fieldwork traditions; Plan fieldwork |
Suggested: Fill in the participant observation/fieldwork part of the
“qualitative research proposal” worksheet |
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Friday/Saturday
Feb 9/10 |
Moving your proposals forward: In-class workshops |
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Bring 4 printed copies of draft of Research
Proposal to class. |
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Monday
February 26 8:00am |
Check draft for plagiarism by using the Turnitin software |
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Turn in completed Research Proposal Assignment
online |
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Feb 20 to
March 19 |
Watch voice thread “Speed dating through my
favorite theories” Read required reading from one theory Complete Theory Landscape Assignment |
Become exposed to a
number of theories that may be useful to current or future research. |
Turn in completed “Theory Landscape” Assignment by
8am Monday March 19 online |
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Feb 20 to
April 14 |
·
Schedule and execute interviews and fieldwork · Transcribe interviews (instructions to follow, we contracted with a
transcriptionist) |
Gain experience in qualitative data collection |
Suggested: Fill in the data collection part of the qualitative
research/scientific inquiry research project |
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Read Chapters 13 to 16 in textbook on Analyzing Qualitative Data Read Lacity, M., and Janson, M. (1994), “Understanding Qualitative
Data: A Framework of Text Analysis Methods,” Journal of Management
Information Systems, 11(2): 137-155. Glance at Lacity, M., Iyer, V., and
Rudramuniyaiah, P. (2008) for examples of coding interviews; (unit of
analysis was the individual) Glance
at Lacity. M., and Willcocks, L. (2017), for examples of coding BPO
relationships. (unit of analysis was the
client/supplier relationship). |
Learn different ways to
analyze text data; Select an appropriate
method(s) to analyze your own data Apply the selected methods to analyze your transcribed interviews |
Suggested: Fill in the data analysis part of the qualitative
research/scientific inquiry research project |
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Read Chapter 17 in textbook on writing up results |
Learn to write for an academic audience |
Check draft for
plagiarism by using the Turnitin software; Complete
research qualitative
Research/Scientific Inquiry Project |
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Saturday
April 14 |
DBA students present final project |
20 minutes each |
Final Qualitative Research/Scientific Inquiry Project Oral
Presentation and Written Paper Due |
By the end of the course, DBA students will
have gained knowledge and experience in four knowledge domains:
