Ethnic Federalism in a Dominant Party State: The Ethiopian Experience 1991-2000 Lovise Aalen r 2002: 2

Chapter 3:
Methodological considerations and
data collection
As Yin (1994 :13) points out, case studies are good tools for investigating a
“contemporary phenomenon within its real life context, especially when the
boundaries between the phenomenon and the context are not clearly evident”.
The analysis of the Ethiopian federation includes a range of variables whose
effects are difficult to isolate. My study must take into consideration various
contextual issues, and thus, the case study strategy is the best method to arrive
atmeaningful conclusions. By choosing such a strategy, I will use multiple
sources of evidence and benefit from the prior development of theories to guide
the analysis of the data collected.
A common objection to the case study as a research strategy is that it
provides insufficient precision, and that there is a general lack of objective and
rigorous methods for testing hypotheses (Yin 1994:9, Andersen 1997:5). The
aim of case studies, however, is not to acquire statistical generalisation and
measure effects, but to obtain analytical understanding, where “previously
developed theory is used as a template to compare the empirical results of the
case study” (Yin 1994:13). If the results of the case study fit the existing
theory, it may be used to strengthen the theory, but if they are contradicting,
the findings of the case study are not strong enough to refute the existing
theory. They can, however, help refining the theory so that it achieves better
explanatory power for later analyses.
A way of assessing the findings of my studies is to evaluate to what extent
my descriptions of the Ethiopian context correspond with the observations of
others. Yin (1994:34) calls the correspondence with observation “construct
validity”. To achieve this, three methods could be used: multiple sources of
evidence (triangulation), having the key informants review drafts of the study,
and increasing reliability. When divergent sources, in this case interviews,
documents and literature, converge around a particular conclusion, one may
have greater trust in the conclusion. I will use review by informants by inviting
a number of people with knowledge of the subject to comment on early drafts
of the study. Reliability means that the operations of this study can be repeated,
by me or by others, and produce the same results. Therefore, the procedures for
collecting and analysing the data need to be transparent, by making the reader
aware of how and under what circumstances the information was gathered. I
have tried to ensure this by referring to the sources in the text, and the
transcripts of my interviews are accessible. I will, however, elaborate further on
the circumstances under which my data were collected.