Job Description: Case Study Researcher

Belief in Enterprise – Christian entrepreneurs and poverty alleviation in the developing world

Background
Belief in Enterprise pursues a virtually unique line of enquiry at the interface of several disciplines. These include the study of ethics, religion, sociology, anthropology, entrepreneurship, and development. Headed up by Dr Eric Wood and Dr Peter Heslam, two Principal Investigators (PIs) with expertise and interests in these fields, the project will adopt a largely exploratory, grounded theory approach and employ primarily qualitative and case study research methodology.

Both of the PIs have extensive experience in leading, collaborating in, and supervising research. They will provide intensive project management that will include guidance and direction to the team of researchers regarding the overall research approach, methodology, focus, and case study write-ups.The PIs will liaise closely with each other and the Research Coordinator Dr Carol Christopher on all aspects of the project. The Research Coordinator will be the primary port of call for the case study researchers.

Spheres of responsibility
The PIs are seeking to appoint three or more case study researchers who will take primary responsibility for the data collection and initial write-up of the case studies. These researchers will be required to adhere tightly to all the protocols associated with this project and to meet demanding standards in terms of selection of candidate respondents, data collection methods, data entry and case study write-ups. Detailed guidelines will be provided in this regard, as will feedback on the outputs of each case study researcher. Once a case study has been accepted and approved by the Research Coordinator and the PIs, it will be subject to revision by the Research Coordinator and the PIs in order to ensure a high level of consistency in terms of coverage, language and style across all case studies.  Before accepting the position, case study researchers must agree to their written work being subject to such revision. Case study researchers must also recognize the contribution and primary roles of the PIs in providing the intellectual underpinning of the project and defining its methodology and outputs, and must therefore agree to appropriate acknowledgement of the role of the PIs and the Research Coordinator in the co-authorship of the case studies.

Rewards and rules for case study researchers
Rewards for participation as a case study researcher are directly linked to outputs and are reflected in the following terms and conditions:

  1. For each case study which meets the required standard and is completed by the agreed deadline, case study researchers will receive $500. In view of the cost associated with international money transfers, payments to case study researchers will be made before the end of the month following completion and approval of the relevant studies. While the PIs will offer clarification and guidance, responsibility for achieving the required standard lies with the case study researcher.
  2. For the publication of all versions (including the original version submitted by the case study researcher, the final edited version, and any shortened or summary versions which are produced) of a case study, the relevant case study researcher will be acknowledged as a co-author of those case studies for which they took primary responsibility.
  3. The decision as to where to publish the case studies and in what form will lie exclusively with the PIs. This applies to all versions of the case studies, including the original version submitted by the case study researcher, the final edited version, and any shortened or summary versions which are produced. In submitting a case study for consideration under the banner of this project, case study researchers are required to relinquish all rights to publish any version of the case studies on which they have worked. Any relaxation of this rule requires the written consent of both of the PIs.  
  4. In any publication which uses data from any case studies but does not incorporate more than 15% of the text from the final edited version of any case study for which a researcher took primary responsibility, their role as case study researcher will be recognised in the acknowledgements.
  5. A researcher is free, for their own publishing purposes, to use data from the case studies for which they took primary responsibility, subject to the following limitations:
    1. Such publications may not use more than 15% of the text from the version of the case study which was submitted by the case study researcher to the Research Coordinator and PIs.
    2. Each case study researcher would be required to work alone on such a publication or to collaborate with someone who has not served as a member of the team of researchers on this project. A case study researcher will not be permitted to work with any of the other case study researcher from this project in order to pool their combined list of case studies. 
    3. All publications by case study researchers which draw on data from this project will be required to adhere to all the stipulations and requirements of the funder, SEVEN and must include appropriate recognition of the role of the PIs as co-authors.
  6. The PIs and the Research Coordinator will have the first option to propose journal articles which draw on the full dataset and to act as lead authors on such articles. Case study researchers will not be included as authors on such publications. Once the PIs and Research Coordinator have agreed on the respective journal articles which each of them will lead, the outlines for these articles will be made available to the case study researchers. If any of the case study researchers wish to propose additional journal articles which are sufficiently distinctive from the ones already proposed, they may do so in writing to the PIs. Each proposal will be considered on its merit. If the PIs decide that there is sufficient merit, they will give the go-ahead to the relevant case study researcher to create a first draft of that paper within a pre-agreed time frame. The PIs and Research Coordinator will have first option to serve as co-authors of such articles but their inclusion as co-authors will be subject to substantive intellectual contribution to the article. Other case study researchers will not necessarily be offered an opportunity to serve as co-authors on such publications.

Ideal candidate
The ideal candidate would have:

  1. Familiarity with one or more of the literatures associated with the above disciplines.
  2. Familiarity with and extensive experience in applying qualitative and case study methodologies.
  3. Experience in writing for demanding academic audiences and preferably previous experience in publication in high quality journals.
  4. Advanced skills in spoken and written English and comfort with demanding editorial standards.
  5. Familiarity with Spanish, Portuguese, French or any major Asian language.
  6. A track record of being able to work effectively to tight timelines.
  7. An innovative yet disciplined approach to the research field that is developed in close consultation with the Research Coordinator from whom critique and instruction is accepted in good faith.
  8. A polite, positive and culturally sensitive manner in dealing with people with a range of backgrounds, beliefs and businesses.
  9. Utterly dependable and trustworthy in all matters, especially regarding expenses and (intellectual) property.

To register your interest, please email either one of the two PIs:
Dr Eric Wood, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, eric.wood[at]gsb.uct.ac.za
Dr Peter Heslam, Transforming Business, University of Cambridge, psh20[at]cam.ac.uk