Generalization in qualitative is research approaches and their application to a case study on SOA development

Abstract

In qualitative information systems research, little methodological support has been provided so far for the generalization from empirical data. Generalizability, however, is a major concern in this field. It has been subject to a number of publications in recent years, but commonly accepted conceptualizations of generalizability and methodological guidance for the process of generalization are still missing. In order to address this problem, this paper investigates if and how generalization approaches from the literature and abstraction mechanisms from the field of conceptual modeling can be utilized to generalize from case study data. An explorative single case study on the development of service-oriented architectures provides the raw data for an exemplary application. The paper shows that abstraction mechanisms from the field of conceptual modeling can be used - in conjunction with generalization approaches from the literature - for the generalization of case study data and provides guidance on how to use these mechanisms. This increases transparency, traceability, and reliability of the generalization and might help to improve other qualitative research endeavors as well.