ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the theory and research design/methodology used. The chapter comprises two primary sections. The first section discusses the theory of street-level bureaucracy (SLB) that frames and anchors the entire research. The section details how micro-institutional and employee/individual characteristics combine to achieve the macro aspect of SLB, i.e., organizational growth and development. Constant parallelism and alignment of SLB with the research problem enables easy identification of how the SLB is an apt theoretical framework. Breakdown of SLB allows exploration of the second research identified in the introduction of the book. It shows what instructional designers do and how they can act as street-level bureaucrats. The second section describes the research design and methodology. The section explores the meaning and rationale of the methodology concept in social science research and includes the methodology and its rationale used in this study. The section comprises sub-sections on research quality, my positionality, or researcher bias which could have influenced research findings and interpretation. Other sub-sections include sampling, research sites, study participants, data collection, and analysis. The chapter ends with a conclusion that reiterates the study's purpose and briefly touches upon research ethics.
