Justifying my research choice

The purpose of my research is to find what accountability there is for the use of external consultants. Since there are some meanings, forms and dimensions to accountability, it is not a quantifiable concept but discursively constructed. Therefore I have to research using methods that gather and analyse such constructs. The following is based on Crotty (1998).

1. The techniques I plan to use are:

• Case study
• Semi structured interviews
• Document collection.

Interviews will be face to face if possible with chief executives or senior management of at least two pubic sector organisations, but may be constrained by telephone interviews. Whilst improving my shorthand, I’d still hope to record these interviews.

Documents that I’d hope to access would be

• Contract,
• Agreement
• Conditions
• Organisational structures.

2. This study is framed within the interpretive research paradigm employing qualitative techniques. Methodology is ethnographic enquiry in order to uncover management perceptions of lines of accountability and the Weltanschauung of the managers. This is an appropriate method because there is little attention in the literature to accountability for the use of consultants, and the inductive process may provide thicker /richer description.

3. Philosophical stance is then symbolic interactionism.

4. The epistemology is constructionism.