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Qualitative researcher reflects on who is in the inquiry; and 7 Qualitative researcher uses complex reasoning that is multi faceted, iterative and simultaneous.
Furthermore, Creswell 2003 expressed that case study is a proper strategy to explore processes, activities and events. According to Yin 2003, a case study design
should be considered: a when we are facing “How” and “Why” questions; b when manipulating the behavior of the people involved in the study is not possible; c
when there is a need to cover contextual conditions due to this belief that they are relevant to the study; or d when the boundaries are not clear between the
phenomenon and its related context. For instance, to discover how experts know the required knowledge from different professions involved in conceptual design.
Moreover, in which step of concept design they have to interact with other experts. Yin 2003 defined case study as empirical inquiry which benefits from previous
theories and propositions to guide data gathering and analysis. Moreover, according to Yin 2003, the issue of generalizability is one of the challenges of case study.
Case studies are generizable to theoretical propositions. Yin expressed that the generalizability issue is more theoretical and conceptual compared to experiment and
survey. Based on the abovementioned reasons Yin 2003 case study research methodology is proposed as a general approach for this research. This chapter
explains the case study and its required components in the following section.
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3.3 Case Study Research Methodology
According to Yin 2003, there are two general analytic strategies which consist of 1 relying on theoretical proposition and, 2 developing a case description. This
study chooses theoretical proposition. Yin prescribed five main components for a case study research methodology which are explained below:
3.3.1 Research Questions
Ibrahim 2008 stated that there are two ways to develop a research question: 1 knowing the problem by experience; 2 identifying gaps in the literature in the area
of the research interest. This study’s problem is: “Improper knowledge exchange between architects and engineers during conceptual design stage will lead to cost and
time overrun in building projects.”
It is found out through the previous conducted studies that many researchers such as Paulson 1976, Jin Levitt 1996, Martinez 1998, Ibrahim 2005, Ibrahim
Paulson 2008, Ahmed 2005, Nissen 2006, and Ibrahim Nissen 2007 believed that there is a problem with knowledge transfer in the construction industry
which leads to cost and time overrun in the building projects. In addition, many other researchers including Cronik 1991, Rounce 1998, Macmillan 2001, Pektas
Pultar 2005 emphasized that the design causing wasted time and cost would form
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the largest category. At the same time, Ibrahim and Fay 2006 argued that the design process is a tacit dominant stage. Unfortunately, there is a lack of literature on
transferring tacit knowledge according to Alavi and Leidner 2001. With support from Ibrahim Paulson 2008 stating that knowledge type contributes to the
knowledge loss phenomenon, this study posits whether or not it is possible to mitigate time and cost overrun if tacit knowledge transfer is facilitated.
Nissen 2006 further explained in his multidimensional model for product life cycle that the knowledge transferred to other experts through sharing the experience is of
tacit type. According to his model, tacit knowledge comes from heavy mass and contributes to long flow time. Hence, knowledge transfer is improved through this
phase by finding a way to convert tacit knowledge that has to be exchanged between experts during conceptual design stage to the explicit type. Many professionals from
various fields such as mechanical, electrical, and structural professions are involved during conceptual design stage.
So far, many researchers have recognized mechanical and electrical considerations as the most problematic areas during conceptual design phase. Furthermore, this study
has predominantly concentrated on mechanical and electrical considerations due to existing time limitation. Therefore, the main research question of this study is: “How
can tacit knowledge of design requirements be formalized for improving knowledge flow among professionals during conceptual design phase of building projects?”
