Chapter 3 3.1. Research methodology Research is a systematic finding of solutions to the problems and issues that would be specific.

It helps to gain new information and ideas. When there is a systematic investigation about a particular topic or a research area that is known as the research. Research methodology and the research methods are two most important terms in the business management (Singh, 2007). Researches are the process of asking questions and finding or assembling the answers from various sources with the support of various methods. In short and in all sense research is the process of investigation of the new knowledge. A good research must define the clear aim and objectives and the concepts in the research (Panneerselvam, 2008). The process which details the methods, process and the way which the researcher studying the research is known as the research methodology. (Panneerselvam, 2008) This is the logical application of the research execution. The goal of a research is to gain the new Knowledge. The term research methods can be sum up as the all methods a researcher used in the research (Goddard & Melville, 2007).

3.1.1. Research philosophies The research philosophy in the research is being calculated as the tools, techniques, method, data analysis, and sampling used in the research. There are many research philosophies in research and the qualitative and quantitative are the two among then in them which is connected with this research (Kothari, 2008). The research philosophy of quantitative methods is the research philosophy which is based on the data collected by both the statistical and experimental data. This is based on the view how much (Panneerselvam, 2008). The tools of data collection will also aim to gather the data based on this approach. Apart from this philosophy the qualitative philosophy has other view point. This is an approach based on the humanities. This will gather or aim the data as facts or ideas (Singh, 2007). The researcher of this work with use the research philosophy integrated with the qualitative and quantitative data. This approach is famous and widely accepted by the researchers. (Panneerselvam, 2008)

In a research, research philosophies can be opted by the researcher from the main divisions which include positivism, realism and interpretivism. Positivism is related to quantitative research and scientific method. Realism is a miscellaneous type of research philosophy that consist of positivism and interpretivism. It helps in understanding the social problems. Interpretivism is related to qualitative research method. It helps the researcher in understanding the role of humans as a social animal. In this research study, the researcher selected interpretivism as the research philosophy. The reason for selecting this philosophy is because interpretivism is based on the characteristics of human that can undergo changes at any point of time. Hence , the researcher depends on the qualitative research method for executing the enquiries. 3.1.2. Research approaches There are two types of research approaches which comprises of deductive and inductive. Deductive approach In this approach, a hypothesis or a concept is formulated from an already existing theory. This hypothesis should be subjected for testing through data collection. The hypothesis created would be the concrete views of the researcher. The deductive reasoning goes through a stages like firstly the researcher starts with theory , then into hypothesis, again observation and finally leads to confirmation.

Inductive approach This approach is almost opposite to the deductive approach. In this approach, the researcher commences with observation and this finally leads him into formulating a theory that should be based on the outcome of the analysis. The researcher found inductive approach as more suitable approach for the topic under study. This approach is adopted by applying qualitative method. The theories are developed by the researcher to explain the experimental observation done on the real world. Research purpose

The research consists of three main purposes which include explanatory, descriptive and exploratory research. Explanatory research This type of research helps to find out the relationship between various variables. When the researcher has once identified the variables that are relevant for this research study, the further step is to find out the relationship of these variables. Descriptive research In this type, the data is collected regarding a particular event or issue which is then arranged, tabulated and then the data is described. Exploratory research Prior to any particular research undertaken, an initial exploration is required for the topic under study and that forms the exploratory research. It is used for clarifying any identified problems or difficulties which needs the exploration of that specific issue to get the details regarding the issue. The researcher has selected the exploratory research as it gives a deep knowledge and understanding of the present issues and situations that are related to the topic under study. This helps to get better results and thus the researcher would be able to come up with best conclusion. 3.2. Methodology This section deals with different research processes that the researcher used for conducting the research. These processes help the researcher to find out the answers for the research questions. 3.2.1. Research design It gives the researcher the answers for the questions how the researcher will resume for conducting the research. The researcher select the appropriate research design on the basis of the research purpose like, whether it is exploratory or descriptive or explanatory type of research. As mentioned above, the researcher has selected exploratory research for answering the research questions.

For this course of research study, the researcher needs to consider the research onion that can give the best possible strategies and approaches. The researcher has selected the research philosophy as interpretivism and applied inductive approach. The mixed research method is used by the researcher in which the data is collected and interpreted with both quantitative and qualitative way in which qualitative method is used mainly for collecting the data to know and understand the problem well which was under study. The researcher has selected case study as their strategy and collected the data qualitatively eventhough certain quantitative data were also used in the research study. The researcher collected the primary data by distributing comprehensive questionnaires through semi structured pattern. These questionnaires were used with the support of available data by qualitative methods. Descriptive questions were employed as research design for conducting the study. The descriptive questions were used mainly for answering 4 W which include who,what , when, where as well as one H that is how. To obtain the research objective, the research has interviewed the employees, managers as well as the customers of MNC bank located in India. The sample size included 25 employees from various departments, 25 customers and 5 managers of the bank under study.

Time horizons The two types of time horizons in the research include the cross-sectional and longitudinal. The cross sectional time horizon allows the researcher to conduct the study within a time frame whereas longitudinal research can be completed at any time as it has no time limit. As the researcher is doing the dissertation as a part of the academic course, the research needs to be completed within the limited time frame and hence the researcher has used crosssectional time horizon. Methods of data collection Data collection methods are the indication of the methods used by the researcher to gather the information from various sources (Mackey & Gass, 2005). Mainly secondary and primary

data are needed in the research study and secondary data collecting methods and primary data collection methods are used respectively. (Kothari, 2008)

Primary data Primary data is the data never congregated earlier than, this is the fresh data which the researcher or the delegates will get this data from the field. This data will allow the researcher to find the data which needs to the research and suits as per the purpose of the research. This data has a disadvantage that this data will be a reason for the time consumption and more cost. The suitable methods of primary data collection are given below (Panneerselvam, 2008).

The primary data for this research study is collected with tools like interview and questionnaires. The primary data was collected both quantitatively and qualitatively. Some close-ended questionnaires were distributed in the organisation and customers for collecting the quantitative data and these questionnaires were prepared based on e-banking and cultural factors. The researcher needs this quantitative data for getting the measurement on the statistical basis for the level of cultural factors affecting the acceptance of e-banking. For collecting the qualitative data, the researcher has used some open-ended questions that are relevant and important to the research topic. The researcher has used these qualitative and quantitative primary data for analyzing and interpreting the data with the support of charts and statistical methods. The primary sources of collecting the data was MNC bank , India which is the company selected by the researcher for the study and datas were collected through semi-structured. The questionnaires prepared by the researcher for collecting the data included close-ended, open-ended and also used the rating and ranking quotations as well as comment box.

Secondary data

This is the first task for the researcher in the data collection. The secondary data will be in use to minimize the gap between the knowledge of the researcher and the research topic or the subject understudy (Khan, 2008). This is a data which has the role to contribute the subject idea to the researcher and the readers of the research report. This data will support the researcher in the primary data collection (McNeill & Chapman, 2006). This is the review of the data which is collected already. The methods will be followed in this research will be the searching in the library, internet and the business magazines etc. This data will offer a critical approach to the researcher (Kothari, 2008).

The secondary data for this research is collected by referring the important and relevant journals, online database, past researcher, records, websites and also interactions with the management of the company under study. Qualitative and quantitative The qualitative data can be conducted through group interview, focus group, unstructured and semi-structured interview etc. The qualitative research is open and the observation and interaction precedes the theory. In quantitative , theory precedes the observation. Mixed method This is the third type of research method and is the miscellaneous type of method in which both qualitative and quantitative methods are included for collecting the data and interpretation. Mixed method is the addition of the advantages of the qualitative and quantitative methods and the subtraction of the disadvantages of both methods. Sampling This is the method of opting the samples or the respondents to take part in the research. Researcher will use the stratified sample while selecting the respondents in the interview and will opt simple random sample in the survey method (Kothari, 2008) As the time and the budget is limited, it would be easy for the researcher to do sampling to collect the data from the whole population. There is probility and non-probability sampling.

The researcher has chosen non-probability for conducting judgement sampling. It also allows to do purposive and self selection for the researcher The following diagram shows the techniques used by the researcher.

The researcher has taken samples from each department of the bank for conducting the research in a more controlled and specific way. This research study is based on the impact of cultural factors on e-banking and therefore the researcher focus on the employees from various departments,managers as well as customers. The sampling size selected by the researcher for this research include about 25 employees , 25 customers and 5 managers of the bank under study. 3.1. Introduction Research methodology is the third chapter in this research. The methods used by the researcher in order to gather data is discussed in detail in this section. The research methodology applied in this research is detailed in this section. 3.2. Validity and reliability of research Important aspects in the research are the validity and the reliability of the research. Through the validity and reliability of the research the strength and faith of the research is revealed (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). The fundamental cornerstones of the research are validity and reliability. The research is solely responsible for the validity and reliability of the research.

3.2.1. Reliability of the research The reliability factor is proved by the way in which the experiment or the results of testing will provide the same results in all the trials of the research. Same results have to be obtained in all the research tests. Incorrect research results will have an effect on the research result (McBurney & White, Research Methods, 2009). The tools used in the research will prove the reliability in measures (Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar, & Mathi, 2009). In order to provide a reliable research to readers the researcher uses reliable methods. A trustworthy research can be used as a reference in future research (Goddard & Melville, 2007). 3.2.2. Validity of the research Research complements is not a part of the validity of research. A research should be a valid one, this is the key idea of a research (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). The measures used in a research also should be a valid one in its application if a research needs to be valid. Researchers will often make plenty of interferences and valid conclusions in the research, but the validity of the research will only be measured on the basis of the validity of the research (Goddard & Melville, 2007). More care in the validity in the research has been given in this particular research. This research uses valid and reliable measurements. 3.3. Research methods In the research methodology section of the research report, the research methods are an important section. Researchers commonly follow two main methods in the research. The two methods used are qualitative and quantitative methods (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). They will be classified on the basis of the research methods of research data used. 3.3.1. Research paradigms 3.3.1.1. Qualitative research In the research methodology, the qualitative research methodology is one of the research methods used. According to Campbell from the qualitative approach, the researchers have the basis. The basis comes from the qualitative approach as per the argument of Campbell is correct (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). A whole and precise description about the situation or topic under study is offered, this is the aim of the qualitative research. In this research the researcher will not have a clear cut idea about the research therefore this will affect the entire research (Goddard & Melville, 2007). In the early phases of the research, this research

method is more effective and strongly recommended according to Kothari (2008). Charts and table will not be presented in order to support the qualitative data. 3.3.1.2. Quantitative research The key factor of this research method is the statistics in the research. Quantitative research is focused on the statistical data in the research. The aim of the application of this method in the research is to classify the features and count the numbers in the research. This research method will be used in the last phase of the research and this is more effective in this phase as well (Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar, & Mathi, 2009) The major methods or tool of data collection will be questionnaire and this support the collection of the numerical data. The research collects the data by numeric or as numbers (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). The result or the gathered data will be presented with the help of tables, charts or diagrams. 3.3.2. Exploratory research The researcher does a research on a subject wherein there has been very limited research done, as per the name suggests (Khan, 2009). The researcher arrives at his own conclusions by researching the limited amount of information he has at his disposal. The researcher is limited to information already available therefore this research is very tedious (Khan, 2009) The study and the conclusion the researcher arrives at will be affected by the lack of available information. This type of research is rather challenging for the researcher as he will have a desire to gather more data whilst using this type of research method (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). 3.4. Research Onion As the name suggests, the research onion methodology is a concept whereby the researcher uses the effective application of the research in the field (Goddard & Melville, 2007). The research methodology of the present dissertation is influenced and structured by the research process 'onion', which was developed and introduced by Saunders et al. (2003). In this respect the 'Research Methodology' section of this dissertation is divided into five sub-topics, each of which aims to provide a detailed explanation of the research process.

(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009) 3.4.1. Research philosophies The researchers need to follow in the application of the research methods, therefore the research philosophies is an important part of the research methods (Khan, 2009). The major research philosophies are given as below. 3.4.1.1. Positivism The search for truth through the research is the research philosophy of positivism. Everything should be known and proved is the base of the positivism research philosophy (Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar, & Mathi, 2009) Like the natural sciences, the research has the policy of generalization and it needs to be proved.

3.4.1.2. Interpretivism Interpretivism is the opposite of positivism (Goddard & Melville, 2007). The theory of interpretivism is that the world and all the research are subjective and this is associated with the qualitative research. In-depth understanding about the subject under research is the need to Interpretivism (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009) 3.4.1.3. Realism Realism is the final concept in the research philosophies. The combination of both positivism and interpretivism in reality is realism research philosophy (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). The actual and empirical approach is the realism approach of research philosophy. Reality about research topic is seeked by the philosophy of realism (Goddard & Melville, 2007). 3.4.1.5. Choice of research philosophy The researcher has used the realism approach in this research as this research tries to identify the realist by the research. The enquiry about the relay situation of the research topic is employed in this type of research. 3.4.2. Research approaches The idea about the research approach is important among all the research approaches. Either of the two approaches detailed here can be followed by the researcher. 3.4.2.1. Inductive research Inductive approach is a common approach used in research. This research moves from a specific idea to a general to border generalization and the theories (Khan, 2009). A bottom approach in the research is what this research is referred to. In this research approach there is a degree of uncertainty (Goddard & Melville, 2007). A degree of indecision in the research is engaged in the inductive method. An idea about the inductive approach is detailed in the figure below:

(Khan, 2009)

3.4.2.2. Deductive approach in research The deductive approach in research is commonly called the waterfall approach in research. In this research the deductive reasoning is based in more general to more specific facts (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). The research conclusion comes logically from the available facts based on the research. 3.4.2.3. Selected research approaches The researcher has opted deductive approach in the research from the above two options (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). The research started from theory and towards its final stages reached to the conclusion. 3.4.3.. Research choices One of the important factors in the research is the research choice. There are three different research choices and they are detailed in the below section (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). Mono method Mixed method 3.4.3.1. Mono method Like the name suggests this method is the concept of gathering data by using just one method. A single data collection method will be used by the researcher (Khan, 2009). On the basis of single method used in the research, the corresponding analysis will also be done (Goddard & Melville, 2007) Qualitative or quantitative methods of data collection will be used by the researcher in this method.

3.4.3.2. Mixed method Mixed method is the other type of research method used, wherein the researcher uses both quantitative and qualitative methods for conducting his research (McBurney & White, Research Methods, 2009). This method uses both quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study hence known as mixed method. Making use of this method the researcher is facilitated to create and test a theory in unique study (Khan, 2009). Here the researcher has chosen the mixed method because the researcher will be making use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the single research (Goddard & Melville, 2007). While taking the mixed method in this research the researcher aimed get a good support from both the qualitative and the quantitative method. 3.6. Primary and secondary research Primary and secondary research is both needed in any type of research. Primary and secondary research is relatively connected in multiple ways. This will have its own differences in this type and use whilst conducting the research. 3.6.1. Secondary research The collection of data or the summarization of existing data is done with the use of secondary research. Primary or secondary data used in the previous researches will be used for gathering concepts and ideas for the secondary research (Mantri, 2009). The data is already in existence for the secondary research therefore the researcher need not find anything new in the type of research (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). It is in the preliminary phase there is requirement for secondary data. In maintaining and gathering secondary data the researcher has plenty of sources (McBurney & White, Research Methods, 2009). The secondary research guides the primary research and therefore the secondary research will be executed prior to the primary research. 3.6.2. Primary research The second type of research used is the primary research. This research is used just after the secondary research. The fresh data initially gathered by the researcher based on live data is called primary research (Khan, 2009). The data is not published anywhere as this data is gathered afresh (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). The researcher gathers data from its original sources in this research hence called primary research. The primary research is conducted by the researcher himself. There is a deep involvement of the researcher in this type of research.

In primary research the personal involvement if the researcher is very vital (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). Primary and secondary research both been employed by the researcher in this type of research. In the upcoming sections of this research the data collection methods used by the researcher are detailed (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009) 3.7. Data collection methods We now discuss about the various data collection methods used by the researcher in the research after having discussed the secondary and primary research methods. 3.7.1. Secondary data collection methods The internal data will be gathered from the sources which the data has been already collected in the research as the researcher has detailed in the previous section (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). During the data collection, the researcher needs more time and cost for conducting the secondary phase of the data collection. Here the researcher has no control over the data collection (Panneerselvam, 2009). However, as proved before, the secondary data are more accurate as proved before. 3.7.1.1. Secondary data from internal sources As explained by McBurney & White, 2009, the secondary data from the internal sources refers to the data which is gathered from internal atmosphere of the organization. In the secondary sources, if the data form an organization is available to a researcher, then this would be taken as internal data (Panneerselvam, 2009). The important examples in internal sources in the secondary data are detailed in the below sections: The sales records Marketing activities plan and its details Cost information Customer feed back These are a few of the data which the researcher receives from within an organization. Certain internal data has been used by the researcher in this research. However, gathering internal data in the research is difficult (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). An example for an organization that stores internal data carefully within an organization is Barclays (Saunders,

Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009). From the internal secondary sources in the research, the researcher was not able to get plenty of data. Just the sufficient data needed to apply in this research was got by the researcher (Goddard & Melville, 2007). 3.7.1.2. External secondary data collection The external data collection and external sources are different when compared to the internal data collection. The availability of data is the main difference (Kumar, 2008). The subject whom the researcher undertakes in the research is related to the external data. University libraries and other college libraries are the major sources of secondary data collection (Krishnaswamy, Sivakumar, & Mathi, 2009). Rayat London and the British library were mainly used for data collection by the researcher. Online libraries have also been another source for data collection apart from these (Panneerselvam, 2009). In gathering secondary collection in the research, Google books, book boon and Ebsco have also been used. The researcher has not used any other internet sources in order to collect secondary data. 3.7.2. Primary data collection methods In data gathering method, the primary data collection method is very important (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). Primary data can be used for current studies and also for future use as well (McNeill & Chapman, 2006). The methods used by the researcher for the primary data collection has been explained here. 3.7.2.1. Observation method As the name suggests, the researcher gathers information by observation. The observation can either be direct or indirect (Goddard & Melville, 2007). The researcher can observe the people or the particular incident which come under the research, in the observation method (Kothari, 2010) The integrated marketing communication by Barclays and the communication process with the customers has been observed by the researcher in this research (Goddard & Melville, 2007). This helped the researcher to experience the IMC approach in the communication. Qualitative research can be gathered with the use of observation method. 3.7.2.2. Interview method In the primary research, the researcher has used the interview method. Qualitative method is gathered in this type of interview method. There are two types of interview methods, such as

personal interview and telephonic interview (Singh, 2007). In the telephonic interview method, the researcher speaks to the subjects via telephone (McBurney & White, Research Methods, 2009). Here in our research, the researcher has conducted personal interview and the employees at Barclays has participated in the interview (Khan, 2009). Four questions were included in the research interview structure. 3.7.2.2. Questionnaire method From the questionnaire, the quantitative data in the research is obtained. This is the less time consuming and the most cost effective method when compared to the various primary data collection method (Blessing & Chakrabarti, 2009). Here the researcher has distributed 100 questionnaire and gathered data from those who replied (Goddard & Melville, 2007). The results of the data gathered from the primary sources have been detailed with the support of charts and tables by the researcher. 3.10. Sampling Sampling is an important part in the research. Here the participants are the samples in the research (Goddard & Melville, 2007). With a goal to gather data, the researcher has randomly taken 100 customers from the entire population in order to distribute the questionnaire (Khan, 2009). In this type of research, the researcher has used random sampling method.