Research techniques

Research techniques

Data collection

According to Kothari (2011) once the problem is well defined and the research plan is checked out the next step is to collect data in order to support or to be used for the study. There are two techniques used for data collection.

Primary data collection

According to Kothari (2011) primary data is the data that have been collected newly for the purpose of the research; this data is considered to be "original in character"

Furthermore as stated by My market research methods (2014) primary data is the data that is collected by the author who is doing the research or an assistant, this data is collected specifically for an objective.

Secondary data collection

According to Kothari (2011) secondary data is the data that have been already collected by another party and have been passed through a statistical process.

To support the above statement as stated by My market research methods (2014) secondary data is the searching of data that has been collected by someone else; this data can be collected from various sources like journals, books, and census.

 

Figure 1.Primary and Secondary Data Collection

The lecturer started by explaining what primary research is and then went on to explain the few methods of primary research.

Face to face interview

According to The qustion bank (2014) these interviews are conducted face to face with the interviewee, a series of questions are asked; it can be either close ended questions or open ended questions. The questions posed should be clear and understandable; this is mainly used to collect qualitative information. The interview can be done formally (structured) or informally (semi structured).

Telephone interviews

According to The qustion bank (2014) these are done if the face to face interview cannot be done; this is done as a last resort to a face to face interview. A basic questionnaire will be used to carry out this interview through the phone. This is also known as “proxy telephone interview”

This is usually done by a call center operator who talks to the interviewee through the phone with a list of pre-prepared questions, the questionnaire should be shorter than what is asked while having face to face interview. At times it’s noticed that people won’t be willing to give personal information during a telephone interview.

Mail surveys

These are done in order to collect quantitative data; usually a questionnaire is sent through a postal service and then is filled by the respondent and returned to the research party/team. The analysis of the data is much easier compared to qualitative data collection. The important part to be considered is the design of the questionnaire; this is because while responding to the questionnaire the respondent does not have any guidance from the researcher/team. (The qustion bank  2014)

Web survey and email data collection

According to The qustion bank (2014) this is a very useful and effective method due to the popularity of the internet; data can be collected from any part of the world without the need to consider the boundaries. This is a cost effective data collection method to collect large amounts of data.

Typically there are two methods to do this

1. Email
• The respondent receives an embedded questionnaire by the researcher and then that questionnaire is filled and sent back to the researcher by clicking on “send”
2. Web surveys

• This type of questionnaire is created with a help of on-line internet software that enables the researcher to create a survey, the questions should be understandable and precise. Once this is done the survey is then sent as a link to various parties using email, social networking sites etc or as a pop up in a website.

Figure 2.Summary of surveys

Types of questionnaires

As stated by Outsource to india (2015) there are two types of questionnaires known as open-ended and close-ended.

Open ended

According to Outsource to india (2015) this type of questionnaire allows the respondents to give his/her true opinion in words rather than having a set of choices to choose from. This is done usually to collect qualitative information rather than quantitative.

These typically contains a question and expects a genuine response by the respondent

Figure 3.open ended question example

Close ended

According to Outsource to india (2015) these are basically questionnaires that have a set of answers where the respondent chooses a particular answer based on the question, this is done to collect and analyze the responses in a quantitative manner.

These are further classified into 7 types.

• Leading questions

Figure 4.Close end leading question

• Importance questions

Figure 5.Close end importance question

• Likert questions

Figure 6.close end likert question

• Dichotomous Questions

Figure 7.close end Dichotomous Questions

• Bipolar questions

Figure 8.close end bipolar question

• Rating scale questions

Figure 9.close end rating scale question

• Buying Propensity Questions

Figure 10.close end buying propensity question

3 survey approaches explained by the lecturer

1.       Pyramid approach

Starts with closed end question and arrive at open ended questions where the respondent can freely express his/her opinion. Drawback is the respondent might get tired when it comes to answering the open ended questions.

2.       Funnel approach

Start with open ended questions and narrow it down with close ended question’s where the respondent will answer all the open ended questions first, drawback is if the respondent isn’t familiar with the area he/she may get stuck at a point and might not be willing to answer the close ended questions.

3.       Fusion approach

This is a combination of both approaches where the start is based broad close ended questions to narrow it down to a specific, filters can be placed to get a more specific subject related understanding.

The lecturer then explained what a Likert scale is, according to Bright hub education (2015) Likert scale is type of scale that measures the questions response in a scale of 1 to 5, 1 to 10 etc. there is a format for these types of questions. The question should be asked in a manner so that there is an “agreement” or “disagreement” an example of a likert questions is discussed above in the close-ended question types section.

Primary scales of measurement

• Nominal - Numbers assigned to runners
• Ordinal – rank order of winners
• Interval – perform rating on a 0 to 10 scale (subsection of ordinal)
• Ratio – time to finish in seconds

Evaluation and pilot study

The lecturer then gave points on doing a pilot survey for the ARMPD assignment.

1.       What are the techniques used?

·         Survey

·         Interview – structured/unstructured

2.       How you use them (objectives)

3.       Who are you going to give it to

·         Sample size

·         Sample description

4.       The order on how it’s going to be used?

·         Which 1^st which 2^nd

o   Eg:- interview 1^st, survey 2^nd

5.       What kind of data is going to be included?

·         Nominal

·         Ordinal

Pilot study

1.       How many people are you going to involve

2.       How are you going to deploy

·         Face to face

·         Online

·         Telephone

How the results are analyzed?

Learning outcomes

·         Understanding of the importance of data collection

·         Understanding of the methods of collecting data (primary/secondary)

·         Insight and the ability to understand the methods of primary data collection

·         Understanding of the two different types of questionnaires (open/closed)

·         Individual research on the different types of closed questionnaire’s

·         Understanding of the 3 different approaches for surveys

·         Insight on the likert scale and the measurement techniques

·         Insight on the evaluation and pilot study for the project

Reading a research paper

Research paper

The topic that was covered was on how to “read a research paper” the lecturer then explained the importance of a research paper, what is it, and the main points to look at while reading a research paper.

Figure 1.Center for economic research in Pakistan (2014)

According to Blandford (2010) a research paper is not a report that contains lots of facts from different sources, nor is it an essay that expresses a person’s opinion on a subject. As said by Blandford (2010) a research papers is a combination of both where logical facts that are collected; such as statics and examples that were found from various different sources. This information is then used to develop an opinion about the subject that relates to the research. This is done in order to provide evidence to the reader who reads the research paper to agree upon the opinion the author tries to make. This should be clearly documented and referenced. furthermore it states that using other people’s work in a research paper without giving proper credit is considered to be dishonest and unethical and is considered to be cheating and will be plagiarized if found guilty.

As stated in Suny Empire State College (2014) a research paper should be able to argue a particular point by giving evidence based on varies information gathered in a specific topic area. It’s not just a sum up of various sources of information. No matter what research paper is written a research paper should be backed up by others idea and information that is related to the authors thinking.

·         An example of a research could be that a lawyer reads many different cases to support his/her own case.

The lecturer then provided points on how to write a research paper

• Answer questions
• Provide findings
• Detailed analysis of topic/area
• Provide references
• Apply various types of research methods
• Validate findings
• Review literature

According to About Education (2014) these are the few points to be considered while writing a research paper

• Exploring a topic
• Narrowing your topic
• Collecting your research
• Developing a thesis
• Writing a paper
• Editing the paper
• Proofreading the paper
• Writing a bibliography or reference list
• Formatting the paper

Initial guidelines for how to read a paper

Read critically

While reading other research papers there might be instances where the author who wrote the research paper does not provide the correct information, therefore all research papers cannot be always correct. Always make sure to be suspicious about what the author has written and ensure it’s the right information provided.

Critical reading involves looking at possible questions while reading the research paper, some examples are is the author solving the problem, how is the author solving it, are there different or simple methods to overcome the problem etc. always ensure that questions are formed and criticized while writing reading a research paper (Harvard School of engineering and applied sciences 2014).

Read creatively

Criticizing a research paper might seem easy whereas reading it creatively involves positive thinking. For an instance by reading the research paper you can identify the good ideas that are proposed, the possible improvements, the benefits, do the applications have any additional extensions, will this be a good point to start, what would the next step to be taken etc. (Harvard School of engineering and applied sciences 2014)

Make notes as you read the paper

A good practice while reading a research paper is making notes, this can be in many ways. The simplest way is to highlight the important points, write down any questions you have, underline key points made, mark important data analysis, this would provide an insight to the paper as well as it will help the party who is re-reading the paper after a period of time to understand it with ease. This is a good method while doing a long term research (Harvard School of engineering and applied sciences 2014).

After the first read-through, try to summarize the paper in one or two sentences

The authentic and good research paper tries to provide an answer to a specific question. If you have successfully identified the question then it’s time to focus on the main idea, once this is done the next step is to summarize the research paper into one or two sentences. By doing so you can identify the more specific details of the research paper, Furthermore you can also summarize the important points that the research paper contains (Harvard School of engineering and applied sciences 2014).

If possible, compare the paper to other works.

 “Summarizing the paper is one way to try to determine the scientific contribution of a paper.” But to get a clear idea its best to compare the paper with other papers in the same area, by doing so you can identify new ideas, new techniques which weren't available at the time the author conducted his/her research. In addition to that by comparing different research papers in the same area can help identify what type of contribution a particular research paper makes (Harvard School of engineering and applied sciences 2014).

Defining and analysing the problem

The lecturer then gave the students a handout on “defining and analysing the problem”. The first task to be done is to identify the nature of the problem “what is the problem?”  a problem is basically the difference between what is, and what might or should be. The problem could be a serious one or not at all that serious, the foundation is to identifying the nature of the problem in order to lay an effective solution.

After that the problem should be clarified this is done by understanding that the problem and knowing that something is wrong, and by doing so it is the starting point of clarifying a problem. Continued by information gathering based on the problem; collection of any type of information that relates to the problem, these would most likely fall into the following categories.

• Facts
• Interference
• Speculation
• Opinion

When collecting information you will most likely collect all these types of information to support the problem; then it’s best to define the problem based on the information that is gathered. the next step is writing the problem statement.

After this is done the next is to decide on the problem solution. Based on the problem in hand then the step to take is finding an appropriate solution. This is done by analyzing the problem, answering any questions that exist about the problem, continuously asking questions, agree on the root cause of the problem.

Learning outcomes

• Understanding of how to read a research paper
• The purpose of writing a research paper; to support a opinion with evidence
• Importance of crediting/citing appropriate authors in a research paper
• Important points to consider while writing/reading a research paper
• Understanding on how to define a problem, clarify it, gather information, find a solution

Research Paper

Problem statement and research process

Problem statement

A problem statement contains clear and concise facts about the problem that is to be addressed, furthermore it can be stated that a problem statement is a clear description of issues that needs to be addressed that include a vision statement and a method to solve the problem in consideration. The ultimate objective of a problem statement could be considered to be identifying a generalized problem into a well-defined problem that can be overcome by focused research and proper decision making. (Professor BISWA, 2014)

Students were given a hand out on the tips of writing a problem statement, the below image is extracted from Your Dictionary (2014) shows the tips and techniques used to write a problem statement.

The students were then given the task of completing a document on “writing a problem statement”. The students were to fill this document by referring to the task given in one of the previous lectures about drawing a mind map.

The task was done successfully and the document is attached as below.

Writing a Problem Statement Worksheet

Original problem or focusing question	How to manage time efficiently?
Stakeholders who are most affected by the problem	My self, students
Type of problem	Due to improper planning of tasks and activities, and the prioritization of important and urgent tasks students face the problem of managing time efficiently.
Suspected cause of the problem	Students are not aware of the techniques that could be used manage time efficiently. Eg:- to do list, mind map, deadlines, priority list
Goal for improvement and long-term impact	Urgent and important tasks should be given priority whereas students should complete all tasks within the given period of time or before. Finding various methods and techniques used to manage time and follow them accordingly as chosen.
Proposal for addressing the problem	Improvement in time management
Final problem statement	·         As stated majority of students are not aware of the time management techniques available and therefore they do not manage time efficiently. ·         The problem can be addressed by making aware of the time management techniques that are available to students, to do this a lecture or a mentoring session could be arranged, furthermore students can be advised to read up on various techniques that are available to manage time. ·         The students should also briefed on the importance of managing time.

Additional reading on narrowing a topic

Focus your project on a specific aspect of the topic

·         If subdivision of the topic can be done the most of the time the topic can be narrowed down, most issues and concepts can be narrowed down and subdivided.

Narrow your topic to a specific time period

·         By doing so most of the activities that needs to be researched can be restricted to a specific time period, by restricting it to a specific time period the outcome would be the reduction in the material needed to be covered. 

Narrowing a topic to the specific event

·         Another way to narrow down a topic would be to restrict your topic to a specific event, by doing so collection of information a specific event would depend on the amount of information available on relative importance of that event.

Narrowing a topic to a specific geographic are

·         Topics could be restricted to a specific region of a country.

Narrow down a topic to a problem or question

·         Compare/contrast

·         Cause/effect

·         Problem/solution

·         Opinion/reason

Above information was extracted from Virginia Tech (2014)

In the next lecture the lecturer discussed about “research process” this topic includes the steps on how a research should be done.

Steps

Lessons learnt

·         Was able to obtain a clear understanding about problem statement and how to write a problem statement

·         Understood the tips in writing a problem statement

·         Additional reading on how to narrow a problem statement was conducted

·         Was able to get a clear understanding of the “research process” which is helpful for the completion of the ARMPD individual assignment.

Ethics & Codes of Conduct Nature and Purpose of Research

Ethics

As stated by Fernando (2009) ethics attempts to figure out the nature of morality and to identify and differentiate from what is right and wrong. Furthermore it’s said that ethics is a “is a branch of axiology which together with metaphysics, logic and epistemology constitutes philosophy.”

Business ethics

As stated by Investopedia (2014) business ethics is the study of business practices regarding controversial issues, such as cooperate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities.”

Business ethics are often governed by law, while some businesses provide a basic framework to be followed to gain the general acceptance of the public.

Business ethics are implemented to ensure a certain level of trust among consumers and various forms of market participants.

Task

The tasks given to student were to list down bcs.com and another businesses code of conduct.

By looking into bcs.com the following code of conducts were extracted.

(BCS, 2014)

the second organization was chosen to be Riverside county regional medical centre (RCRMC)

At the next lecture students were told to provide the work completed and points were noted down on the board, then the lecturer additionally gave out some code of conducts that should be considered. Those are as follows.

• Integrity
• Privacy
• Reputation
• Responsibility
• Monitoring of Use (system )
• Organizational culture - Behavior & Honesty
• Use of Internet - Job & Personal
• Public Interest
• Competencies
• Loyalty
• Interaction with customers
• Good Practices

On completion of the topic ethics and code of conduct the students were briefed about research.

According to Kumar (2008)research is defined as an intensive and purposeful method of searching for information and understanding of social and physical phenomena. Furthermore it can be stated that research is a scientific activity and systematic search for information on a particular subject.

The students were taught about two forms of reasoning.

1. Inductive
2. Deductive

Inductive reasoning

• Inductive reasoning is a research technique used by taking a specific and then generalizing it, generalization is based on a limited number of observations.
• Eg:- today tom left for school at 8 am, and arrived at 8.30 am therefore tom would reach school at 8.30 am everyday if he left at 8 am.
• This form of reasoning is commonly used in science but not entirely accurate when considering the general principle is correct. There may be other factors that affect this type of reasoning like traffic, weather condition etc. so the outcome cannot be considered to be accurate all the time.
• Also known as “bottoms up” approach

Deductive reasoning

• Deductive reasoning takes place when a researcher works from more general to the specific, researcher starts with a broader spectrum and concludes to a specific.
• Eg:- Every day I make tea at 8 am. Every day the time taken to make tea is 10 minutes, therefore in conclusion in can be stated that if I make tea at 8 am today I can complete the task in 10 minutes.
• This type of research solely depends on the initial information to be correct, a delay may occur if one of the products used to make tea isn’t available.
• There will always be a possibility that the initial hypothesis to be proved wrong therefore it cannot be considered to be completely accurate or proved.

Inductive and deductive reasoning don’t always provide solid conclusions.

Above Information extracted from Berg & Latin (2008)

5 scientific methods that were mentioned by the lecturer

• Identifying the problem
• Formulating a hypothesis
• Developing a research plan
• Collecting & analyzing data
• Interpreting results & forming conclusions.

In the next lecture students were given a self-assessment on are you ethically challenged?

The results are posted as below.

The author falls under the category of “If B’s appear most on your list”

Lessons learned

• What is ethics and business ethics?
• Why ethics is important?
• Study on two businesses code of conduct
• understanding the importance of code of conduct
• Understanding of inductive and deductive reasoning
• How ethical the author is by looking at the results obtained in the self-assessment test

Interview

Interview

Topics discussed for the 4^th week were on how to write a cover letter, creating a CV and a trial interview was conducted.

The lecturer discussed on how to write a professional cover letter and on how to design a CV, and then the lecturer gave the task of researching on how to write a professional cover letter for an open job position and to design an appropriate CV for the open job position as a business analyst at IFS for all students.

The lecturer then stated that a trial interview would be conducted that is scheduled to take place on the 19^th of November 2014 for the open position “business analyst” at IFS and the students should prepare for it by printing a cover letter and a CV.

Students were further asked to research on the company, job position, company culture etc., students were also asked to be professional and attend the interview in a manner that they would participate in a formal interview.

Cover letter

All students were given the task of writing a cover letter to be attached with the CV for the open job position at IFS.

Research was conducted by the author on “how to write a professional cover letter?”

Purpose of a cover letter

• Introduce you
• Mention the job (or kind of job) you're applying for (or looking for)
• Match your skills and experiences with the skills and experiences required by the job
• Encourage the reader to read your resume

Points to be considered while writing a cover letter

• A cover letter shouldn't be more than one A4 sheet
• Properly address it to the right party
• Find out information about the job position and include the what is necessary
• Find out information about the company that is recruiting

What to include in a cover letter?

• Candidate name and contact details
• Employer name and contact details
• Explain about the job opening
• Relevant skills and experience that match the job description
• A summary of why “I am right for the job”

What not to include in a cover letter?

• Typos (ensure that the cover letter is free of spelling mistakes)
• Don’t include CV in a cover letter
• Don’t mention other job openings

above information was extracted from (Youth Central, 2014)

The cover letter submitted for the trial interview is attached as follows.

CV

The preparation of the CV was done with the help of the info graphic  that was provided by the lecturer as well as further research was done on how to design a professional CV and also by referring to sample CV’s available on the internet.

Information that should be on a CV

• Previous related work experience
• Qualifications and skills
• Accomplishments
• Education
• Clear objectives
• Keywords
• Contact information
• Personal experiences
• Computer skills
• References

Key points that make a good CV

• Should be targeted to the specific job opening and relevant skills relating to the job should be clearly mentioned
• It should be clearly laid out (it should be in a easy to read manner, properly ordered and organized)
• Information provided on the CV should be accurate

Eg: if you provide “communication” as a skill the party should be able to communicate perfectly if it contradicts the employer would clearly understand that the candidate has provided inaccurate information

• Importance of using proper spelling and grammar

Mistakes done by candidates when designing a CV

A survey done by employers show that the following are the common mistakes a candidate makes while designing a CV.

• Spelling and grammar 56% of employers found this
• Not tailored to the job 21%
• Length not right & poor work history 16%
• Poor format and no use of bullets 11%
• No accomplishments 9%
• Contact & email problems 8%
• Objective/profile was too vague 5%
• Lying 2%
• Choose a sensible email address

Information extracted from (University of Kent, 2014)

Interview

Preparing for an Interview

What needs to be done before an interview?

• Know about the role and about the organization (research)
• Think about how your experience, interests and skills relate to the job and organization
• Identify what the employer is looking for
• Identify possible questions that may be asked and prepare answers
• Find out in what form the interview will take place in (eg: single, panel, group)
• Plan the day of the interview
• Make sure to arrive early
• Decide on attire and make sure it’s all set for the day of the interview

How to make a good impression at a job interview?

• Arrive early
• Be organized
• Answer questions carefully
• Pay attention to the way you communicate
• Be confident

Extracted from (Prospects, 2014)

The lecturer also gave an article to students on what should not be done during an interview, following are the 9 points.

• Freeze up
• Dominate
• Be sloppy
• Self-aggrandize
• Throw anybody under any bus
• Focus more on perks than on the job
• Be opinion- free
• Stretch the truth
• Be clueless about the hiring company

On the 19^th of November 2014 interviews were conducted by Miss Kaushi and Miss Manesha for the open position at IFS.

The author was interviewed by Miss Manesha and the author was given feedback that is attached below.

The students were given feedback and judged based on 5 key elements as follows.

• Confidence
• Professionalism
• Communication skills
• Preparation
• Knowledge

Lessons learnt

• Writing a proper cover letter and designing a CV
• Do’s and Don’ts while writing a cover letter
• Providing relevant skills and experience for the job opening
• Preparing for an interview
• Knowing about the organization that is recruiting
• Knowing the job role
• Being confident in answering questions as well as being professional in an interview
• Identifying strengths and weaknesses
• Being honest