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    A Process of Conducting Research
    A Process of Conducting Research
    A Process of Conducting Research
    Ebook202 pages1 hour

    A Process of Conducting Research

    By Prof Gideon C. Mwanza

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    About this ebook

    The reader will learn how to analyse and evaluate research processes and be assisted in generating or formulating topics. This will enable readers to identify and develop ideas within research problems. A Process of Conducting Research provides readers with various types of research insights including ethics and the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherProf Gideon C. Mwanza
    Release dateMay 27, 2022
    ISBN9781005097073
    A Process of Conducting Research

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      Book preview

      A Process of Conducting Research - Prof Gideon C. Mwanza

      A PROCESS OF CONDUCTING RESEARCH

      A PROCESS OF CONDUCTING RESEARCH

      PROF GIDEON C. MWANZA

      MRS PRECIOUS N. MWANZA - PROF BERNARD CHISHALA

      PROF RONALD S. KAULULE - PROF EDWARD NAKASALA

      Copyright © 2022 Prof Gideon C. Mwanza

      Published by Prof Gideon Mwanza Publishing at Smashwords

      First edition 2022

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

      The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

      Published by Gideon Mwanza using Reach Publishers’ services,

      P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

      Edited by Bronwen Brckerton for Reach Publishers

      Cover designed by Reach Publishers

      Website: www.reachpublishers.org

      E-mail: reach@reachpublish.co.za

      PROF GIDEON C. MWANZA

      vc@gideonrobertuniversity.com

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      1. Introduction to Research

      2. Formulating and Classifying a Research Topic and Research Problem

      3. Literature Review

      4. Ethics of Research Design

      5. Data Source and Selecting Samples

      6. Qualitative Research – Data Collection Techniques

      7. Analysing Qualitative Data

      8. Quantitative Research – Collecting Data Using Quetionaire

      9. Quantitative Research – Data Analysis

      Topic One

      Introduction to Research

      CONCEPT OF RESEARCH & NATURE OF BUSINESS RESEARCH LEARNING OUTCOMES

      Following the completion of this unit you should be able to:

      · Appreciate the nature of research.

      · Understand the nature of business and management research.

      · Analyse and evaluate the research process.

      · Examine techniques to formulate a project topic.

      · Analyse the components required to make a project proposal.

      DEFINITION OF RESEARCH

      Research according to the English Oxford Dictionary can be defined in the following ways:

      · The act of searching, closely or carefully for or after a specified thing.

      · An investigation directed to the discovery of some fact by careful study of a subject.

      · Investigation, inquiry into things [or the] habitude or carrying out [of] such investigation’.

      An alternative term is offered by Sharp et al. (2002, p.7): ‘Research is seeking through methodical processes to add to one’s own body of knowledge and to that of others, by the discovery of nontrivial facts and insights.’ Whatever definition you choose to adopt, it is a term which is used in common day language in a variety of situations. However, regardless of how it is used, or interpreted, research in the strictest sense implies that there is a systematic means of solving problems as characterised by Fig. 1.1.

      Where:

      · Systematic – the process of problem solving is based upon an identification of a problem, the design of the research setting to test the problem, the collection of data which, upon analysis allows for evaluation of the problem.

      · Logical – examination of the systematic procedures allows you to make conclusions.

      · Empirical – data collection forms the basis for decisions to be made.

      · Reductive – data is used to establish more general relationships.

      · Replicable – the research should be designed to enable others to either repeat the research or to be able to undertake future research based on the original results.

      THE PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

      There are numerous purposes for carrying out research, the most typical being to:

      · Review knowledge which already exists.

      · Describe a situation or problem.

      · Physically construct something useful.

      · Explain

      · Test theories

      · Resolve controversial issues

      · Improve practice

      · Effect change

      The ways in which these purposes can be applied will, of course, vary but the usual approaches that you are likely to consider are summarised in Fig. 1.2

      INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH PHILOSOPHIES – IMPORTANCE AND RELEVANCE

      When undertaking research of any nature, it is important to consider different research paradigms and matters of ontology and epistemology. Since these parameters describe perceptions, beliefs, assumptions and the nature of reality and truth (knowledge of that reality), they can influence the way in which the research is undertaken, from design through to conclusions, and it is therefore important to understand and discuss these aspects in order that approaches congruent to the nature and aims of the particular inquiry are adopted, and to ensure that researcher biases are understood, exposed, and minimised. While James and Vinnicombe (2002) caution that we all have inherent preferences that are likely to shape our research designs, Blaikie (2000) describes these aspects as part of a series of choices that the researcher must consider and he shows the alignment that must connect these choices back to the original research problem. If this is not achieved, methods incompatible with the researcher’s stance may be adopted, with the result that the final work will be undermined through lack of coherence. Blaikie (1993) argues that these aspects are highly relevant to social science since the humanistic element introduces a component of ‘free will’ that adds a complexity beyond that seen in the natural sciences and others, such as Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) drawing attention to the fact that different paradigms ‘encourage researchers to study phenomena in different ways’, going on to describe a number of organisational phenomena from three different perspectives, thus highlighting how different kinds of knowledge may be derived through observing the same phenomena from different philosophical perspectives. As well as stimulating debate, Denzin and Lincoln (2003) and Kvale (1996) highlight how these different positions can result in much tension amongst academics.

      ONTOLOGY

      Blaikie (1993) describes the root definition of ontology as ‘the science or study of being’ and develops this description for the social sciences to encompass ‘claims about what exists, what it looks like, what units make it up and how these units interact with each other’. In short, ontology describes our view (whether claims or assumptions) on the nature of reality, and specifically, is this an objective reality that really exists, or only a subjective reality, created in our minds. Hatch and Cunliffe (2006) use both an everyday example, and a social science example to illustrate the point. For the everyday example, they use the example of a workplace report – asking one to question whether it describes what is really going on, or only what the author thinks is going on. They go on to highlight the complexity that is introduced when considering phenomena such as culture, power or control, and whether they really exist or are simply an illusion, further extending the discussion as to how individuals (and groups) determine these realities – does the reality exist only through experience of it (subjectivism), or does it exist independently of those who live it (objectivism). As a result, we all have a number of deeply embedded ontological assumptions which will affect our view on what is real and whether we attribute existence to one set of things over another. If these underlying assumptions are not identified and considered, the researcher may be blinded to certain aspects of the inquiry or certain phenomena, since they are implicitly assumed, taken for granted and therefore not opened to question, consideration or discussion.

      When considering that different views exist regarding what constitutes reality, another question must be how is that reality measured, and what constitutes knowledge of that reality. This leads us to questions of epistemology.

      EPISTEMOLOGY

      Closely coupled with ontology and its consideration of what constitutes reality, epistemology considers views about the most appropriate ways of enquiring into the nature of the world (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2008) and ‘what is knowledge and what are the sources and limits of knowledge’ (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). Questions of epistemology begin to consider the research method, and Eriksson and Kovalainen go on to discuss how epistemology defines how knowledge can be produced and argued for. Blaikie (1993) describes epistemology as ‘the theory or science of the method or grounds of knowledge’ expanding this into a set of claims or assumptions about the ways in which it is possible to gain knowledge of reality, how what exists may be known, what can be known, and what criteria must be satisfied in order to

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