CASE STUDY PROTOCOL FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51923/repae.v8i1.270Keywords:
Protocol; Case study; Qualitative researchAbstract
In operations management field, researches that adopt the case study method are often criticized for lack of rigor. That is worrisome, considering the popularity of this method. Achieving rigor requires some actions from the researcher and one of them is the adoption of a robust research protocol. However, information about the case study protocol is fragmented in literature; in fact, many studies address the method, but those dealing specifically with protocol are scarce. Aiming to assist other researchers, in this study is proposed a case study protocol for qualitative researches in operations management that can be applied in any type of case study, especially in those that study organizations and their internal processes and adopt the interview as the main source of information. The proposal is the result of a protocol tested in the field and an extensive literature review covering different areas of knowledge (focusing on the most classic and important papers on the subject). The protocol was replicated eighteen times in a study about an important organization and evaluated by six researchers in different phases. It comprises a set of recommendations and should be used as a reference guide on how to proceed in data collection step. If planned and used with care, the protocol will guide the researcher, favoring the rigor and quality of the results, eliminating doubts and uncertainties and reducing reworks.
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