Is there always a need to end up with propositions as the outcome of your literature review, or can you do that later on? Do you wait until the research process matures a bit?
Well, it is not necessary to have a propositiion as outcome of literature review. But it is easier to obtain the gap of study as outcome upon reading literature review, unless if you do grounded theory glaser's style.
Dear Alexandru,
Many thanks for your insightful answer...especially the references. May I allow myself to ask you why proposition development during the lit review process follows a positivist view?
I think in qualitative research, a researcher need a flexible research design. Rather a pure deductive or inductive approach. However, I use both deductive and inductive approaches. My propositions which developed from the literature has changed after I conducted an exploratory case study.
for more information see my poster.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256659750_A_Qualitative_Research_Process_Using_Abductive_Approach?ev=prf_pub
Thesis A Qualitative Research Process Using Abductive Approach
Dear Ahmed,
I concur with what you said, and would like to add the following, based on the insightful contributions of all of you guys:
Flexible research design in a qualitative study may also mean an iterative process (abduction) which alternates between deduction and induction.
For propositions to be true, they must have logical validity, and they must be verified empirically. It is a way of confronting the literature with the research context to see which proposition holds under what conditions? This is why propositions developed upstream in the literature analysis are likely to vary downstream at the empirical stage.
Alexandru very clearly noted three reasons that proposition development from a literature review follows a positivist approach to research, so I need not explain this.
I would like to expand on the potential benefits in the second reason he gave though, that "one of the great appeals of qualitative research (e.g., interviews, participant observation) is the fact that it allows participants to become dynamic producers of knowledge. By being active participants in the research they can provide insights that the researcher was not aware off. In this sense creating proposition is similar, as it were, to imposing labels."
Qualitative research is most beneficial where a phenomenon or population is emerging, poorly understood, under-researched, etc. This is very much the case with the concept of recovery and the emerging recovery movement in psychiatric care.
I am in the process of concluding a three year study working to support people with lived experience of mental illness to interview others in a peer-to-peer approach of research co-production. Through this approach we have gained insights into key factors that make a difference in recovery, and what services are doing well and where improvements could/should be made.
Involving key stakeholders as the researchers instead of only the researched upon completely changed the questions asked, the tools used, the tone and mood (for want of a better word) to the research, the interpretations and the recommendations.
If we had relied on the literature to form propositions, and worked only from there in structuring our study, it would have been a far narrower, less organic and less nuanced study.
I am really impressed with your responses. I am conducting a qualitative study on HR Analytics and its become necessary I write propositional statements
Your responses are just on point. It has given me insights into what to expect in my search for how propositions really work in qualitative study
Do not hesitate to share any current document that may be of help to me
Thank you
Dear All,
Thank you so much for all of your useful insights.
I have initiated a pilot study to get the empirical phenomena in two companies.
I understood based on above discussion, proposition development can be based on a literature review which is normally based on positivist view.
Is there any other method to develop propositions ? Any useful source that you could recommend?
And how to test these propositions in order to get the good quality?
Thanks and BR
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