Second Special Collection on Research Methodologies in Construction Engineering and Management

Abstract

The Second Special Collection on Research Methodologies in Construction Engineering and Management is available in the ASCE Library (https://ascelibrary.org/jcemd4/second_research_methods). This special collection builds on the January 2010 special issue of this journal to provide researchers with critical insights and updated approaches to rigorously conduct research in construction engineering and management (CEM). Several of the articles included in the collection address recent technological advances such as: • extended reality simulations of humans interacting with construction situations; • unoccupied airborne systems for construction data collection and analysis; • wearable biosensors for data collection and modeling; • reinforcement learning to improve a sequence of decisions under uncertainty; • photo elicitation to enhance interview results; and • remote research charrettes to efficiently obtain group input. Other articles in the collection address how to enhance rigor when applying existing research methodologies, including topics such as: • recommendations for academia-industry collaboration; • selection of qualitative analysis techniques; • quantitative analysis for project delivery system research; • case study best practice; and • mitigating common method bias in survey (questionnaire) investigation. Articles from the 2010 special issue have been highly cited, impacting the methodological approaches of the CEM academic community. Additionally, the articles are reportedly useful as reading for introductory courses and seminars for construction engineering and management graduate students. The 2010 special issue and a 2011 article on case studies are being combined with the current special collection into the same online special collection page. We expect the additional breadth of subjects will broaden the impact of the original special issue. Impressed with the utility of the 2010 special issue, Drs. Charles T. Jahren and Patrick X. W. Zou asked to join the 2010 guest editors Drs. John E. Taylor and Edward J. Jaselskis in developing this special collection. With advice from his guest editor colleagues, Dr. Zou undertook a two-step survey process to ascertain topics of interest for the new special collection. The first step elicited un-structured responses regarding topics of interest. With input from guest editor colleagues, similar topics were combined to form a list of themes, and, in the second step, respondents were asked to rank the themes. The top-ranked themes were divided into three categories (general, specific methods, and crosscutting) included in the call for abstracts of this special collection: 1. General • What are the requirements for the proper use of surveys and questionnaires in CEM research? • What are the requirements for the proper use of case studies in CEM research, and when should a case study approach be used? • What are the requirements for validation for CEM research? • What are some typical shortcomings to avoid in quantitative CEM investigations? 2. Specific methods • How should research involving the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in CEM be approached? • How should research involving augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and/or mixed reality (MR) in CEM be approached? • How can CEM research make better use of socially constructed knowledge? 3. Crosscutting • How can CEM researchers reconcile qualitative or inductive theoretical approaches and findings with quantitative or deductive research approaches and findings? • What is the proper role for pragmatic (hybrid) approaches to CEM research? • What research methods properly address how construction and social value intertwine? This list reflects the generous input from a broad group of readers , authors, and the editorial board members of this journal, for which the guest editing team is deeply grateful. The call for papers was distributed through multiple channels known to the guest editing team, including social media and other distribution channels available to staff members of this journal. Prospective author teams submitted extended abstracts in response to the special collection call, and the guest editor team rated them using a matrix on responsiveness to the call, quality of the submission, experience level of the author team with the research method, and novelty. Author teams that submitted highly rated extended abstracts were invited to submit full manuscripts. The guest editor team matched the topic of each manuscript with the expertise of at least one editorial board member of this journal and asked them to provide a review in addition to requesting a review from © ASCE 01022001-1 J. Constr. Eng. Manage.