Chapter 3 Research Methodology This chapter describes the various research methods and methodologies that can be used

for conducting the research . The research methodology is based on the research onion . The research process can be detailed using the research onion which is divided into five sectors and each sector is explained in the upcoming sections. The following diagram shows the framework of research onion. Research methods The research methods are of three types . This include qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods The qualitative research method is used to collect and interpret the data that are related with bahaviour , attitudes etc of the topic under study and quantitative is used to collect and interpret data using statistical or mathematical calculations with the help of charts, tables , graphs etc. The mixed method is a combination of both qualitative and quanitative methods in which the disadvantages of both the methods are eliminated and the advantages of both methods are added. In this research topic , the researcher has used the mixed type of research method. The reason for selecting this method is that the research needs both qualitative and quantitative data for analysis and interpretation so that the better outcomes can be made for the research under study.

Research philosophy Knowledge can be interpreted , developed and can be influenced in various contexts and hence it is a complex phenomenon. While considering the research, the research philosophy is all about the perception and views of the researcher in which the knowledge can be constructed in different ways. In the literature, there are mainly three research philosophies which includes philosophies of positivism,

philosophies of interpretivism and philosophies of realism. In each philosophy , the knowledge is constructed in its own distinctive way. As the research philosophy has got a great relevance in the research methodology, it is very important for the researcher to apply it on the research process. Positivism is applied when the research demands scientific reasoning and law-like generalizations. This is required in the process of constructing the knowledge. This philosophy facilitates replication as it is characterized by more transparent structure. In the philosophy of realism , it highlights the improperness of discovering the interactions of people in the natural science style . The philosophy of realism is close to philosophy of positivism. The existence of numerous external social objectives can influence peoples interactions as well as in the construction of knowledge. The realism is the philosophy that identifies this external social objectives.

In this research study, the researcher is using the philosophy of interpretivism. There is avail reason for the researcher to select this philosophy for the research topic. This is because the research topic under study requires the application of critical interpretations and progressively establishing research conclusions. Hence, the researcher opted the philosophy of interpretivism for the philosophical framework of the research study. Research approach There are two types of approaches from where the researcher can apply them in the research which includes deductive and inductive. Deductive approach is usually used for conducting the scientific research in which the researcher formulates the hypothesis first and then it is tested and examined for establishing the theory. While considering this research study, the researcher is using inductive research. The reason for selecting the inductive as the research approach is that initially the

researcher evaluates the available research variables critically,and then formulate the theory gradually. Moreover, the researcher is able to modify the emphasis of the research based on the findings of the research which allows the researcher to have flexibility throughout the research process. Research strategy The research strategy is considered as the tool of the researcher which can be applied for finding out the solution for the research question. There are mainly six research strategies which include action research, survey, experiment, case study, grounded theory and ethnography. For this particular research study, the researcher has opted case study and survey as the research strategies. The reason for choosing survey as the research strategy is that it helps to gather the statistical data and also to collect the data that are related with individuals behavior. Time Horizon Time horizon is an important feature of the research process. In the literature, two types of time horizons are mentioned . They are longitudinal and crosssectional. In longitudinal time horizon of the research process, the researcher can conduct the research over a long period of time whereas in cross-sectional time horizon, the researcher has to complete the research within a short period of time. For this research study, the researcher has chosen the cross-sectional as the time period for the research study is very limited . Since the research is conducted as a part of academic course, the researcher should need to complete the research within a short period of time. Data collection method As the current research process needs to put an insight into the research phenomenon and want to evaluate it under a new light, it can be considered as an exploratory one.

For this research study, the researcher has chosen the focus group interview for collecting the data. The researcher is also using the in-depth interview s. This is because the researcher needs to explore the phenomenological literature that shares a common strategy and also need to extract the expertise from the field of specialists. Hence, this research study should need both secondary and primary data. Secondary data Secondary data are the data that has been already published by some other researchers and can be used as a reference for the other researchers for conducting their study.This secondary data can be collected from various sources mainly describing multiple sources. The secondary data from multiple sources can be classified into two which include area based in which academic sources are included and then time series based which concentrate mainly on the commercial issues. The researcher is able to construct a balanced and analytical project by using the multiple source data. The secondary data gives solid foundation of the theories Primary data The primary data is gathered by conducting the in-depth interviews. The researcher is using the multi-method research process as the research needs both primary and secondary data for the analysis. Both the data is mutually dependable on each other.

Interview This method is really suitable for the research topic under study as the data gathered from the response of the respondents are truly corresponding to the aim of the researcher for analyzing, interpreting and putting into a new insight rather than making any law-like generalizations. This method is usually used in conducting exploratory research.

The interview allows the researcher to have flexibility in collecting the data either through face to face or through telephone. In either of the two ways, they do not affect the results of the research. Moreover, this method allows the researcher to be free from time constraints which is usually a problem for the researchers. The researcher has interviewed about 5 HR professionals of HSBC. The interview questions were already prepared by the researcher which consisted of 10 questions that are relevant and important for answering the research question. Questionnaire The researcher has used this method for collecting the data as it saves time and get sufficient information. The researcher has distributed about 100 questionnaires among the employees of HSBC at the time of tea and lunch break. The questionnaire consisted of miscellaneous types of 15 questions which was found to be very interesting for the employees to answer it. Sampling Sampling can be simply defined as the choosing of respondents. To be more clear, it is very difficult to participate the entire population in the research. But the researcher can make choices to get the possible samples from the entire population. Thus, sampling process helps the researcher to select the respondents for primary data collection from all the possible samples. There are many sampling techniques available for the research like simple random sampling, probability sampling, non-probability sampling etc In the research, it is very difficult for the researcher to collect the data from the whole population. Hence, the research uses one from among the various sampling technique method for picking out the required number of respondents who can be the representatives of the whole population. In this particular research study, the researcher used the simple random sampling method for the research. This sampling technique is used because any individual can participate or involve in the research. Validity and reliability of the research

The research is said to be valid when the given data and its interpretations are found to be reliable and precise. The reliability is proved by testing with repeated trials by using the same methods that the researcher has used in the research. If the outcomes of the repeated trials are found to be the same, then the research is considered to be reliable. This research study is valid and reliable as the researcher has used the reliable methods and techniques for conducting the research and there is match between the analysis and interpretations.