zxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn

University of Hertfordshire
AIP-Research Methods
Module Leader: Dr Mariana Dodourova
Module Code: 7BSM1018

Hemant Singh Panwar Student ID: 11745576 Word Count: 1710 09-April-2012

The oxford dictionary defines research as the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions (OCD, 2012). It fundamentally forms the foundation of any form of learning universally. Everybody undertakes research in one form or another in their usual everyday routine. It can range from simple searching for information over the internet to detailed research into articles and journals in search for some specific information. I have used different research methods throughout my academic and professional career. However since I was open to the elements to complex business problems for the first time I knew that this module would definitely help me gain additional skills to deduce these complex business problems. Hair et al. (2006) defined business research as a truth seeking function that gathers, analyzes, interprets and reports information so that decisions in business become more concrete and effective. Most of the decisions in the business world are based upon extensive researches and facts. Since we had to work with clients on live projects where any decision should be equally backed up with lots of relevant data and sufficient evidence would have to be present in order to claim the findings appropriate. After being assigned the client which happened to be my second option, I interacted with my client to find out a lot more about the project apart from the brief provided by them. In a way this also incorporated the research method of interviewing my client formally to get an in-depth business problem and then interpret in my own terms to gain a better understanding of the problem. At the end of the day it all depends how do we extract and use the knowledge thus gained through the research. Creswell (1998) suggests that the knowledge evolves, emerges and is inextricably tied to the context in which it is studied. This suggests that the business research one conducts is tied to the business problems and would result in further understanding of the problem and making it easier to crack. I further researched into my clients business problem and developed the management proposal highlighting the clear Aims and objectives of the study and how I am going to achieve them. During the first few lectures it became clear to us that the module would definitely help us in building up research skills which are obligatory to solve business cases and provide effective solutions to the client. However first few sessions proved to be really confusing, partially because none of us had the background in these skills and also because the faculty seemed to have an impression that we are aware of the basics of these research techniques. According to me the only disconnect between us as the audience and the lecturers as the presenter happened due to assumption that we are aware of

the basics of most of the things. This signifies the use of traditional lecturing to deliver the information which should have been made much more interactive. This could have helped in gaining an insight of the knowledge that the recipients possess about the subject. A pre-assessment would indeed have provided the level of knowledge we possessed. McIntosh (1996) suggests that only lecturing is frequently one way process unaccompanied by discussion, questioning or immediate practice which makes it less effective teaching method. The content of the lectures were un-doubtfully useful in building up the business proposal and also to define our project aims and objectives. It helped me establish the kind of research I was undertaking and the approach I had to take in order to get to effective business solutions by conducting researches and use techniques which would be best suited for the purpose. While starting off with my management overview I had to review what sought of business research methods would be appropriate for the kind of research I was undertaking by discussing with my Supervisor who helped me choosing the appropriate methods and also gave me reasons why they were the best suited. While I should have got the answer for this question in the research methods session, I got it from somewhere else as she asked me how much I know about these methods and if I need help in choosing what would be best for my research. Polit and Hungler (1999: 155) suggest that research design is like a blueprint which outlines the approach to the study. The information provided to us was very effective for us to develop the research design; however I personally felt that this information could have been best imparted through interaction and dealing with some of the researches students were to take during the course of AIP. After all the research design is very critical for any projects and holds the projects together like glue. We werent sure of what methods we could use for our research and how it would prove more relevant for our business case in comparison to any other business case that others were doing until we took it individually with our supervisors. Some of the lectures proved to be very effective for me personally as they were from my field of interest for e.g. Data analysis and data management delivered by Dr. M. Cottee and Dr. Paul Taylor. I had previously studied data management in my undergraduate course and was keen in learning new software and techniques used for it. Software like SPSS and Excel were introduced to us and their application to data analysis was explained to us. While again the information provided was enough to conduct the analysis, new software like SPSS which is a complex one could have been practically explained by going to the LRC computers and explained practically. Another interesting topic of sampling strategies which was delivered by Dr. Paul Taylor

was an integral part of our research. This particular lecture not only helped me in gaining skills to be used in the AIP but I could also apply these in my Collective Enterprise module. I could not understand why this was only meant to be part of the AIP while it could have proved to be really effective in our other modules as well and could have helped us in defining the research design for Collective enterprise project. While some aspects of the research methods such as different sampling and questionnaire techniques etc were easy to understand some other areas related to data analysis were equally hard to understand as they were based upon mathematical formulas which I wasnt aware of. I knew that these would be really important for me in both near and distant future; however I was unsure about a lot of things like calculating the sample size and the concept of confidence intervals until I read further about it on my own and cleared my doubts. One of the lectures conducted by Prof. Ralph Stacey who had earlier taught us in our Leadership and Change module helped us in gaining the difference between reflective and reflexive writings and the need for that. He has been an impressive figure for me since I liked his way of teaching and the way he makes people understand complex things in much less complex ways. He introduced us to the concept of ethnography which helps in developing the profiles of those who are being studied. In essence for my particular project where I have to establish customer profiles based upon various factors involving their lifestyles, incomes and tastes etc. this concept would prove to be very helpful to me. This lecture enabled me to establish that different individuals in the groups may possess different identities and may behave differently under various circumstances. Dalal (1998, p190) descries identity as a phenomenon that is embedded in a network of social interactions and relations. In essence he highlights those different interaction levels of different peoples helps in shaping their distinct identities within a homogenous group as well. It is therefore consider various social interactions and relations before getting to a conclusion within a group. The session also provided the distinction between reflective and reflexive writing which could prove to be really valuable in the future. Prof. Keith Randles session on Case studies and interviewing also helped a lot in deciding various factors that I had previously overlooked while deciding how to interview people to get a much more un-biased in detail information. It helped me develop a critical view while selecting whom to interview and how to extract the data from them and also how to select the interviews from the group available. While further reading into the suggested readings for this session I found out that authors like Bryman (2012) and Morse (2000) suggest

that while deciding on how many persons to interview and what the sample size should be, they should consider five factors. These five factors include Saturation, minimum requirements, and theoretical underpinnings, heterogeneity of the population and the breadth/scope of the research. While his book also provides arguments for the appropriate number of people to be interviewed with authors like Warren (2002) suggest the number to be in between 20-30, other authors like Gerson and Horowitz (2002: 223) argue that fewer than 60 interviews cant support convincing conclusions and more than 150 produce too much material to be analyzed effectively and expeditiously. Thus it has to be clearly defined using the above mentioned five factors in order to get satisfactory and concrete results.

In conclusion the module was of great importance to all of us, and did equip us with a lot of useful skills to be used in our AIP and in other modules as well. However a lot of knowledge could have been imparted in a much interactive way which would have generated a lot more interest within the audience. The member of staff for this module was thus far the most experienced and knowledgeable lecturers I have had a chance to learn from. It could have been my fault as well due to which I was unable to grasp much more than I did by not asking questions and clearing my doubts. However it is arguable because most of the students still had that opinion that the lecturers assumed that we knew the basics of the course before it even started.

References: Anderson, L. (2006) Analytic Autoethnography, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35, 373-395 Bryman, A. (2012) Social Research Methods, fourth edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Definition of Research available at http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/research [Accessed on 06-April-2012] Dalal, F. (1998) Taking the group seriously: Towards a post-foulkesian group analytic theory, London: Jessica Kingsley Gerson, K., and Horowitz, R. (2002). Observation and Interviewing: Options and Choices, in T. May (ed.), Qualitative Research in Action. London: Sage. Hair, J et al. (2006) Research methods for business, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Morse, J.M. (2000). Editorial: Determining Sample Size, Qualitative Health Research, 10: 3-5. McIntosh N. 1996. Why Do We Lecture JHPIEGO Strategy Paper #2. JHPIEGO Corporation: Baltimore, Maryland. Polit, D.F. & Hungler, B.P. (1999). Nursing research: Principles and methods. 4th edition. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott Warren, C. A. B. (2002). Qualitative Interviewing, in J. F. Gubrium and J. A. Holstein (eds), Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Method. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.