Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

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the scope of the study and by developing possible link between/ among different phenomena
based on logic.
1.3.2 Data and evidence
In a case study research, usually we use six sources of evidence: documents, archives,
interviews, direct and participation observation, surveys and physical artifacts (Yin, 2009). This
scientific study uses mixed method analysis that draws on documents, related previous research
work, archives, digital sources, and data repositories. These sources are available with
institutions, ministries of education of the selected countries and IGOs under study: OECD, The
World Bank and UNESCO. The purpose of mix method design is to have possible clear picture.
Interview method was not used because researcher considers that usually an interview is solely
personal opinion of a subject/s and do not necessarily reflect the ideology of an organization that
is being evaluated. Likewise survey of stakeholders was not included because in the age of
information and technology bulk of data and information are available online and accessible
from multiple resources. The major limitation of this design was reliance on the information
available with the stakeholders: states and IGOs because it was not possible for the researcher to
collect data at micro level by approaching each higher education institution or by having on the
site visits in twenty three countries, in order to witness and verify IGOs role. Therefore we have
presumed that the available information is correct, reliable and sufficient to conduct this study
and to draw conclusions.
1.3.3 Data and difficulties: a true story
During my studies at Master level, I decided to study the role of international organization (IOs)
in the development of education at Ph.D. level because I was fascinated by IOs presence in
different sectors; humanitarian work, environment, economics, agriculture, politics, and of
course education as well. Having selected a “good topic” for my PhD thesis in October 2008, I
was satisfied and others too because this topic was liked and appreciated by everybody. Certainly
I feel good with my nice, a new and never touched topic! When I embarked on the research
project soon I realized that the research topic is so wide that it demands a writing not one but a
pile of theses and at the same time this topic demands not a single researcher or a student
researcher like me but a team of researchers.