Research Questions, Types of

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

Two requirements must be met in order to formulate a proper set of research questions. First, research questions must have a steering function, because they are supposed to navigate the researcher along the complex journey of accomplishing the case study project. Second, the set of research questions needs to be composed in the most efficient way.

The term steering function refers to the activities that need to be performed in the course of the project. Because a distinction can be made between the theoretical and the empirical parts of a case study, the steering function requires that each research question be formulated in such an unambiguous way that the answer clearly contributes to either the theoretical or the empirical part. Therefore, it is logical that the researcher should formulate at least two sets of research questions, one regarding the theoretical phase and one regarding the empirical phase.

Efficiency refers to the degree of knowledge that yields the answers to the research questions. A set of efficient research questions consists of questions that provoke information in a cumulative way; the answer to each question that follows adds to the already-existing information that has resulted from previous research questions. This implies that the combined answers of all the research questions will provide the researcher with the exact information needed to complete the research project successfully.

The construction of a well-designed research framework helps the researcher formulate a set of steering and efficient research questions. The researcher subdivides the research framework into the identifiable components. For each of these components the researcher formulates a coherent set of adequate research questions. The generic structure of a research framework of a case study (deductive research, case comparison) is presented in Figure 1.

The framework consists of three parts. Part (a), which is indicated by the broken line (——), encompasses the theoretical part of the study. In a deductive case study the researcher studies the [Page 822]relevant theories and carries out a preliminary study in order to select which aspects of the core concepts will be part of the research and how to define the assumed relationships between these aspects. In so doing, he or she constructs the conceptual model of the project. In this phase the research formulates a theoretical core question and a number of related subquestions. It is advisable to formulate subquestions in regard to each of the core concepts. The theoretical subquestions are formulated in such a way that the combined answers to all of them result in the conceptual model.

Figure 1 Generic research framework of a case study (case comparison)

Part (b) of the research framework, represented by the dotted line in Figure 1 (…), pertains to the empirical part of the study. The researcher formulates an empirical core question and related subquestions to collect factual information regarding the elements and relationships mentioned in the conceptual model.

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