Research Methodology

Research data for this study was collected mainly using semi-structured interviews (open ended) with the executives and top management of the selected healthcare organization. This stratum (top executives/management directors) will be focused on because by virtue of their position, they approve or disapprove the decisions to adopt a communication software Simply put, they determine what communication software is adopted or not by the organization and their level of commitment to such adoption invariably affects the depth of commitment to use, of such software by the subordinates. A secondary data collection method is the content analyses of documents and facts sheet provided by the organization on the current communication software technology they are currently adopting and their documented assessment of the benefits and loopholes of such software. These documents are used to assess the vendor description vis-à-vis the statements of the participants and this helped to gain insight into research question four that asked if the technology works as expected by the actual users of the technology.
On the other hand, interviews with top executives will help to discover how the decisions to adopt certain information technology software are made and how the technology are regarded as more effective in the virtual office situations than in the conventional practices especially in dealing with clients, staff and other affiliated healthcare provider partners.
The staff members of Alpha+ Healthcare Solution, LLC interviewed include the CEO (Chief Executive Officer, The CFO (chief financial officer), the project manager, the office manager, the intake coordinator and the client care and scheduling coordinator. This set of office holders according to the organizational structure is at the apex of decision-making. In other

words, their opinions are most considered by the CEO and the CFO in taking decisions on issues that pertain to the overall welfare of the organization and its working system.
The interviews were audio recorded and each participant will be referred to using pseudonyms to protect people’s identities. The audio interviews were later transcribed to text for easy references and three (3) will be found in the appendix section as examples.
Case Study Approach

This research will employ a case study approach because a case study provides an empirical approach and as Yin Robert (2003) posits that case study researches cope with distinctive situations especially when more variable s of interest are involved. Yin (2003) also claim that case study researches are preferred when questions of “why” and “how” are asked and they are also generalizable to theoretical propositions without requiring control of behavioral events as we have in experiments.
Patton (1990) suggests that case studies are valuable in creating deep understanding of particular people, problems, or situations, in comprehensive ways. From an analysis of a single case, one can identify and describe basic phenomena and uncover new relationships and new perspectives on a topic (Merriam, 1988).
Khan (2008) states that “it permits a much more direct and frequently interplay between theory and data and allows for a closer matching of conceptual intent and empirical evidence than even exceptional quantitative research…At a theoretical level, the power of case studies is in the ability to reveal the properties of the class to which the instance being studied belongs, produce new typologies, provide the basis for subsequent theory-development, and test and generate hypotheses” (p. 424).
Khan (2008) also identifies some properties of case study approach to include the following:

1. In-depth Study: Case studies help to reveal problems, constraints, conceptual challenges, and technological potentials in an identified field of research.
2. Boundary setting: case study helps researchers set both spatial and temporal boundaries for the research. This may be understood in terms of scope limitation as a feasibility criteria for the study.
3. Multiplicity of data : Khan claims that case study approaches allows for multiple forms of data to foreground claims made by the researcher.
4. Extendability: case study researches provides for how findings from one case setting can be extended to other settings for further research.
   From our discussion of case study research approach, we can understand this approach features potentials for in-depth and rigorous, result oriented study which makes it suitable and applicable to this particular study. The interview questions covered several related issues of relevance and importance in the field of organizational communication and information technology as well as health communication specifically. During the interviews, some or all of the following questions may be asked of participants. Related questions may emerge based on participants’ answers, in which case participants will be asked to elaborate more on one or more points they just mentioned.
5. What different software have you used in communicating information within the organization since you started working here?
6. What is the present software technology that is being used in communicating information within the organization at the moment?
7. Are you aware of the various available IT software that are which are being used for communicating within the organization?
8. What factor(s) influence your decision to adopt a communication software technology for use?
9. What defines your perception of effectiveness in communication technology use?

Other questions asked during the interviews are listed in the Appendix.