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Chapter 3. Research design
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55 Chapter 3 Research design 1 Introduction The research design should allow answering the research questions as presented in the previous chapter. First it is explained why a case study approach was chosen. Next, the study area is presented. The third section elaborates on the unit of analysis of this research. The case selection procedure is briefly explained in the fourth section, leading to the four cases that are described in fifth section. In the sixth section, the further selection of organisations within each case, called embedded cases, is explained. In each organisation (or embedded case), a series of in-depth interviews was conducted. The seventh section deals with the selection of the interviewees and the type of information that has been collected. The eight section explains the qualitative analysis method, while the ninth section introduces the variables and sub-variables. The tenth section discusses the validity and reliability of the proposed research design, and evaluates its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, this chapter ends with a conclusion that summarises the research design. The research aims to analyse thoroughly whether, how and why differences in current process characteristics affect their level of spatial enablement. Case-based research is a widely used method for studying complex contemporary phenomena in their actual context (Yin, 2003). A case study is an intensive examination of one or more cases, taking into consideration the context, the complexity of reality, and the multiple issues that might have an impact on the subject studied. A case study is not so much about the case as such, but rather about the case as a representative of a particular phenomenon or problem. This phenomenon or problem can be studied by means of one or more cases. In this research, the relationship between process structure and spatial enablement is the phenomenon that is the topic of analysis. Only a few research studies have been carried out on the link between SDI and the actual role of spatial data in specific processes (for more information, see Chapter 2, Section 8). Although a number of case study research designs can be found in SDI and GIS literature (for example: Nedovic-Budic, 1997; Pornon, 2004; Bekkers and Moody, 2006; Koerten, 2008), a made-to-measure research design was needed to allow the author to study the specific relation between process structure and spatial enablement. The identification of variables and sub-variables to describe the process structure was mainly based on theoretical and empirical Modern Socio-Technical Systems literature (de Sitter, 2000; Dhondt, 2000; van Amelsvoort, 2000;Van Hootegem, 2000; Huys, 2001; Achterbergh and Vriens, 2009; Ramioul and De Vroom, 2009). Different from standardised surveys for which the selection of the respondents is based on a representative sample of the population, such statistical representativeness is not strived for in the selection of the cases. The case selection is based on replication (and not sampling) logic, which is analogous to that used in setting up multiple experiments in a laboratory to test whether different conditions also yield different results. In the same line, this research analyses whether differences in process structures lead to differences in 56 spatial enablement. The study therefore does not rely on statistical, but on analytical (or conceptual) generalisation, in which the investigator is striving to generalise a particular set of results to some broader theory (Yin, 2003). In this research, the case corresponds to the unit of analysis. In line with the research question, a case is defined in this study as a process between and within organisations, in which spatial data are accessed, used and distributed. Since this research focuses on the impact assessment of differences in process structure characteristics on the related level of spatial enablement, multiple cases are needed in order to conduct comparative analyses. For this reason the research has a multiple case design. 2 The study area The study area of this research is the public sector in the Flemish Region in Belgium. As shown in Figure 6, the Flemish Region (Flanders) is one of the three regions in Belgium, and is situated in the northern part of the country.The regions are on an equal footing with the federal state, but they have powers and responsibilities for different fields.The regions have powers relating to the economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, foreign trade. The regions have legislative and executive organs: the regional parliament and the regional government (Flanders, 2010). The Flemish region...