MT - Using BIM as a PM Tool: 3.1 – Research Philosophy and Approach

For the reasons mentioned on the previous paragraph, the overall research philosophy adopted was that of Critical Realism
The combination of the information gathered through the literature review plus the acknowledgement of the social forces affecting the study in hand make this philosophy the most adequate. (Volm, 2010).

The choice of this research philosophy is based on the fact that this research needs not to be based just on ontological or epistemological orientations, but on a combination of both as it is the case with realism (Given, 2008). We will need some empirical evidence to test that BIM is a relevant tool for the delivery of complex constructions projects, but at the same time, we want to formulate a theory of “how can BIM help” this delivery based on real world observations. This combination of orientations requires consequently a mixed research approach. The research starts with a deductive approach to test the theory and continues with an inductive approach to come up with a theory of How BIM can help PMs successfully deliver projects.

Figure 3.1 Steps followed on the deductive approach
Theory of the process of deduction (after Lancaster, 2005)

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