Hi all,
I'm writing a thesis on the Chinese Communist Party and its totalitarianism/political action in Hong Kong and its effect on the ability of MNCs to effectively continue operations in the region.
I'm attempting to write the methodology section and am stuck on which approach to move forward with. The thesis is qualitative (using interviews) but am unsure whether a grounded theory, phenomenology or constructivist approach would be most suited... I've also been looking into using an integrated approach, combining a grounded theory and phenomenology approach to gain a more holistic understanding.
Would anyone be able to help on the matter? would appreciate it.
Thank you
Grounded theory requires that you code your interviews while you are collecting them, so that both your coding process and your interview process evolve together throughout the research. So, if you have already done your interviews, that would not fit. But if you are just getting started, then I would highly recommend Kathy Charmaz's text book on Constructivist Grounded Theory (2014).
As for phenomenological approaches, these are usually deeply personal, so I doubt they would match a study of feelings about multi-national corporations.
Kinldy check below paper which may guide you
A Qualitative Study On Service Channels In The Indian Telecom Industry
Grounded theory can be difficult to create and can be time consuming for a student researcher. According to Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods, You would need to collect data more than once, test your hypothesis, then collect more data in other settings to substantiate a theory. I think that phenomenology can be useful in this context (which I realize contradicts another answer). If you plan to use interviews, I would imagine you are seeking your subjects impressions and experiences in this context. Either way, I like Alan Bryman for his clear explanations of various approaches - which you can cite to justify your choices, of course. Here is his definition of phenomenology: ...concerned with how individuals make sense of the world around them and how in particular the [student] should bracket out preconceptions concerning his or her own grasp of that world.' There is a chapter on interviewing, another on qualitative data analysis, and one on writing up social research. You can find the TOC online and check it out.
Great work you have gotten yourself involved in and thus no wonder that there are questions about the methodology to use. You might get further ideas from:
Schara, T., & Common, R. (2016). Leadership and elite interviews. International Journal of Public Leadership. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijpl-03-2016-0007
By the way Richard Common is currently a Professor at the University of Nottingham.
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