Research Methodology in the Built Environment

A Selection of Case Studies

Vian Ahmed, Alex Opoku, Zeeshan Aziz

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317534242
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Construction & Architectural Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Built environment students are not always familiar with the range of different research approaches they could be using for their projects. Whether you are undertaking a postgraduate doctoral programme or facing an undergraduate or masters dissertation, this book provides general advice, as well as 13 detailed case studies from 16 universities in 7 countries, to help you get to grips with quantitative and qualitative methods, mixed methods of data collection, action research, and more.

Part I The thought process of the research journey

1 Getting ready for your research

Setting the scene

Vian Ahmed and Alex Opoku

DOI: 10.4324/9781315725529-2

This chapter sets the scene for the book and will elaborate on types of research and the thought process of the research journey, from start to finish. The chapter produces a breakdown of three main zones: the literature review zone (how to be equipped to tackle it), the research methodology zone (how to approach this stage) and the data-collection stage (how to prepare for it). The chapter demonstrates the importance of the introductory chapter of any thesis; the thought process for shaping the introduction to the research (including the abstract) and how the introductory chapter of the thesis could be designed to give an overview of the research and set the scene for the thesis; how to shape the aim and objectives; and how to derive the research problem, which may lead to formulating a research hypothesis or the research questions.

1.1 Introduction

In its simplest terms, research is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary as ‘the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions’. In its broadest terms, research is about gathering facts through information and data in order to advance existing knowledge, which is an essential element of academia and practice. Although research may differ in the way it is conducted across disciplines and in the value it generates over time, it remains a core component for taking academia and practice forward, creating a short-term or long-term impact on society, economy, policy, the environment and quality of life. Therefore, to clearly portray the essence of the research (whether at undergraduate or postgraduate level), it is important that researchers follow a logical and simplistic pattern for developing their research.

Given that the focus of this book is the built environment discipline, research on the built environment has been defined by Roof and Oleru (2008) as, ‘the human-made space in which people live, work, and recreate on a day-to-day basis’. Therefore, the nature of research in the built environment is multidisciplinary, covering human and organisation management, technology and environment, to promote innovative thinking and problem-solving issues surrounding the environments created by humans and for human activities, whether it is to do with infrastructure projects, urban spaces or buildings. Accordingly, there are different methodologies that are being adapted to conduct research into the built environment. Despite the differences in the methodologies that have been used, this chapter lays out for the reader the research journey and the thought process that researchers would be expected to follow in order to reach definitive milestones within their research and progress with their research journey. This chapter, therefore, intends to give simple guidance on the thought processes covered by the following milestones:

• understanding the motivation for the research;
• defining the research gap;
• shaping the aim and objectives;
• synthesising the literature and defining the underpinning theory;
• selecting a suitable methodology;
• defining the data-collection strategy;
• articulating the research findings and ending the journey.

1.2 The motivation to research the research gap

It is important that researchers reflect on their own motivation to do the research and what inspired their thinking, which often sets the initial direction of the research. There are often different scenarios that capture the motivation for the research, for example:

• Researchers may be aware of the research problem from being immersed in the world around them; hence, this motivates them to explore the problem further in order to propose valid solutions.
• Researchers are curious about a specific knowledge area or a new technology and, therefore, are eager to explore it further in order to make a new discovery, or develop a new product.
• Researchers know that a problem exists, and they wish to prove that it does.
• Researchers want to explore new grounds of research, but have no idea where to start.

Whatever the scenario, the motivation for any research revolves around a clearly defined knowledge gap and a well-defined research problem. Therefore, one of the factors that contribute to weakly substantiated academic research is when the research gap is vague or the research problem is not strongly founded on literature, even if the researcher is adamant that the problem exists. Therefore, a good justification to why the research is needed is the first milestone that needs to be realised.

To identify the research gap and clearly define the research problem, here are some tips:

• Look at the big picture: Researchers should look at the big picture, conducting a thorough literature review in order to: understand the current state of the art, how the field has advanced over time and what are the old and current developments; identify any initiatives that have evolved over time; be aware of similar work in the field; identify the key players; and address their contribution. It is also very important for research that is focused on a particular country, or region, to draw from existing practices and advancement internationally, before narrowing down the research to focus on a smaller geographical scale. Another example is to do with research that is intended to develop a digital platform, where the researcher needs to explore other platforms in order to show that the proposed platform is sufficiently unique when compared and contrasted in principle with other similar digital developments, giving a well-justified reason to why the proposed development is needed.
• Be factual: Researchers should not make any assumptions that are merely based on their current knowledge and experience, to be used as evidence of the research gap or research problem. This knowledge or experience may have motivated their study, but if it is not backed up with sufficient evidence from the literature, then it is not factual. For example, if the researcher works in a construction firm and is adamant that there is a large amount of a certain material that is being wasted and disposed of on construction sites, based on their daily observations, it would be wrong to generalise such a research problem that is confined to this situation, if such facts cannot be cited from literature or be informed by reliable resources.
• Display convincing evidence: Researchers should back up their arguments with citation references, contrasting different views from literature and forming critical arguments and standpoints. It is important that the citation references are up to date to reflect the advancements in the field. It would, therefore, be wrong for researchers who are doing research in 2015 and, for example, addressing building information modelling as a new phenomenon to refer to Smith (2007). Such a citation is considered to be out of date for such an advanced topic.
• Consider the writing style: Researchers must try to be assertive in their arguments. To give a big picture, it is important that this is done by starting with the generic issues in the field and gradually narrowing down the argument to the specific issues in the field. During this process, it is important that researchers take the readers with them on the journey by providing a smooth build-up of arguments, with a progressive flow of information through connected sections and paragraphs, using assertive arguments and connecting words such as ‘however’, ‘although’, ‘therefore’, ‘while’, etc.). It is, therefore, very important that researchers train themselves to be more reflective and critical of the information provided in order to be able to compare and contrast views and select the most suitable propositions that will take the research forward.
• Get inside the head of the reader and other researchers: Don’t assume that the reader knows what you are talking about. Researchers often assume that the reader should know certain acronyms, or definitions, or even that they are an expert in the subject area. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Research should be presented in a way that paves the path for new researchers to understand their work. For example, if a researcher has referred to ‘the Socratic method of teaching’ in their literature, with the assumption that everyone should know what this method means, this could create a gap or an element of frustration in the reader’s mind, should they not be familiar with this method (although it is well known worldwide), and it may stop other researchers from relating to aligned concepts.
• Citation references and use of resources: Researchers should use a variety of resources and citation references (journals, conference proceedings, books, reports, etc.) in order to increase the reliability of, and level of confidence in, the current research in terms of depth and breadth, so that the research gap is clearly defined, with strong evidence.
• Setting the boundaries of the research: Researchers may find more than one gap in a particular knowledge area of research, and the gaps may be closely linked. It is, therefore, important that researchers make sure the research problem is crystallised, by clearly defining it and drawing clear boundaries. This is different to the ‘limitations’ of the research. Limitations are the issues that emerge out of the research and are out of the researcher’s control. This may translate into having limited access to people within an organisation or organisations, or limited documents or data. These limitations will then open up opportunities for future research and considerations as to whether the findings of the research can be generalised in view of the displayed limitations.
• Contribution to knowledge: In simple terms, what did the research add (or intend to add) to the body of knowledge that did not exist before? Researchers need to reflect on their own value added to the body of knowledge, which did not exist before the research was conducted, and how this added value filled the research gap that was identified and contributed to resolving the research problem.

Figure 1.1 shows how to view research with the researcher’s eye, starting from the generic concepts and gradually narrowing down the research into the specifics, identifying the research gap and setting the intentions of the research. Researchers should not try and provide research solutions that are looking for a problem.

Figure 1.1 The research thought process through the researcher's eye

1.3 Setting the research aim and objectives

There are numerous resources that explain how researchers should go about forming their aim and objectives, for example Mary et al. (2014) and Thomas and Hodges (2010). Although these resources provide different definitions of the research aim and objectives, most agree that the aim of the research must be sharp, clear and concise. It is about what the research intends to deliver after it has been accomplished. For example, if the research intends to ‘develop a strategic approach for effective leadership in construction’, then this is what would be expected to be delivered. Most dissertation assessors and PhD examiners tend to read the research aim at the start of the dissertation or the thesis and check the conclusions at the end of the dissertation or thesis to see if the aim of the research has been achieved. It is surprising that many researchers fail to bridge the gap between the aim and conclusions in order to bring the research to a meaningful end.

The objectives are directions that the researcher will take in order to achieve the aim of the research. The objectives need to be targeted towards measurable outcomes. They could lead to the development of an understanding of certain concepts, theories or definitions, for a given purpose – for example: ‘To identify the underpinning theories of IT management and indicators of IT readiness in companies’, ‘To evaluate the factors that contribute to the implementation of collaborative technologies’ or ‘To draw up a set of recommendations that could be considered as a guide for organisations to implement IT’. Whatever the objectives are, they are intended to set a direction for the researcher to follow. Again, dissertation assessors and examiners tend to look for the objectives at the start of the dissertation or thesis and check these out at the end of these documents, to try and understand what directions the researchers followed to achieve the aim, and what tangible outcomes were delivered.

Although researchers are often advised to develop a research proposal before starting the research, and define the aim and objectives, these statements merely provide a starting point for discussion and constantly have to be revisited and refined, as the research progresses, and the research gap is clearly defined. Having a clear statement of aim and objectives will, therefore, inform the direction of the research towards achievable outcomes.

1.4 Research methodology

There are a number of resources that explain research methodology theories and principles and that are suitable for built environment research, with further explanation a...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• PART 1 The thought process of the research journey
• 1 Getting ready for your research Setting the scene
• 2 When more does not mean better Selecting a research methodology and methods
• 3 Choosing an appropriate research methodology and method
• PART 2 Quantitative research
• 4 A questionnaire survey of building surveying education The graduate voice
• 5 Comparing experience through visual behaviour in physical and virtual environments
• 6 Using quantitative approaches to enhance construction performance through data captured from mobile devices
• PART 3 Qualitative research
• 7 A theoretical framework for conserving cultural values of heritage buildings in Malaysia from the perspective of facilities management
• 8 Using case-based methods in construction research with complementarities
• PART 4 Mixed methods research
• 9 Studentification and the housing needs of international students in Johannesburg An embedded mixed methods approach
• 10 Enabling building-information-modelling-capable small and medium enterprises
• 11 Learning from bioclimatic desert architecture A case study of Ghadames, Libya
• PART 5 Action research
• 12 Embedding action research in the built environment An action approach
• 13 Information systems to support planning and decision-making in construction organizations using action research methodology
• PART 6 Grounded theory research
• 14 The application of grounded theory methodology in built environment research
• 15 Grounded theory style analysis in action Utilising multi-layer methods in developing built environment response to social conflicts in Indonesia
• PART 7 Design science research
• 16 Design science methodology for developing a learning object repository for construction
• Index