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Managing Diversity in Intergovernmental Organisations pp 157–191Cite as

Research process and empirical proceedings

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Abstract

Whether quantitative or qualitative, the design of an empirical study has to be specifically constructed according to the specifics of its object of investigation and the research context it is embedded in. In this chapter the proceedings of the research process will be substantiated and explained. It is essential to reveal the research process — its chronology, choice of methods and so on — for others and make it plausible and comprehensible in an inter-subjective context.744 In the first chapter this study shall be classified with respect to the paradigmatic research debate between the two main threads of empirical social research and relevant approaches of social research will be presented (5.1). Subsequently the choice for empirical research strategy, inquiry form, and inquiry instruments — document analysis, questionnaires and qualitative, semi-structured interviews — will be substantiated and justified and the proceedings will be depicted (5.2). The description of the field research will be done according to the conducted steps of the research process. Firstly the construction of the interview guides and questionnaires will be presented. In a second step the selection of the cases will be justified. Subsequent to that, account will be given about the actual survey. Then the method of analysis will be presented and at last conclusions will be drawn.

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(2008). Research process and empirical proceedings. In: Managing Diversity in Intergovernmental Organisations. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-90891-5_5

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