A number of software tools for data management exist in the market. However, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) seems to be most frequently used at tertiary institutions. This paper suggests that SPSS, or for that matter any other software programme aimed at simplifying quantitative research, should be a prescribed module in post-graduate curricula. Statistical software technology allows for scholarly access to the complexities of the binding element between phenomena. It ...

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2021-Jun-16 14:36:25

This article explains the concept and importance of Fourth Generation Evaluation in the context of qualitative constructivist inquiry as a form of qualitative field research and highlights why it is an appropriate method for the study of public activities. The article also argues that there is a growing requirement for a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research in Public Administration. A constructivistic and interpretivistic approach is tested for its applicability by review ...

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2021-Jun-16 14:31:49

Many social interventions do not lend themselves easily to impact evaluation. A successful impact assessment of a relatively simple linear cause-effect relationship is at best not a straightforward matter. Most policy interventions are, however, typically complex organisational and institutional programmes that have ambitious multi-sectoral transformation agendas. Such complex interventions make life even more difficult for the evaluator who wishes to conduct an impact assessment. Unlike the ...

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2021-Jun-16 14:26:55

This article aims to contextualise some common misunderstandings about grounded theory (GT) and highlight different versions of this method as a qualitative research method. It also aims to provide an understanding of the central concepts related to grounded theory. An overview investigates the development of the qualitative approach to research; gives a historical context of grounded theory as well as of certain principles and concepts of grounded theory. Attention is paid to the process of ...

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2021-Jun-16 14:23:35

This article introduces the reader to the fundamental elements and process of a qualitative research design. It argues that a research design is more than a researcher's plan to do qualitative research. The importance of the interrelatedness of the elements in the research undertaken is explained from an insider perspective. As a starting point and basis to understand the development of a qualitative research design, this article firstly provides background information on the meaning of d ...

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2021-Jun-16 14:19:35

In general, researchers will agree that social science research is a systematic and organised process whereby enough knowledge (evidence) is gained to provide an accurate or truthful representation of a phenomenon under study. However, agreeing on this does not mean that they will agree on theoretical or methodological issues. In fact, there is a vast difference of opinion between qualitative and quantitative researchers as to how the social world should be studied. ...

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2021-Jun-16 14:09:04