3. Methodology:
3.1 Introduction:
The study for this thesis will be exploratory research using secondary data collected by the communication agency, MESH Planning. The agency developed an innovative approach called ‘real-time experience tracking’, which involves three stages of data collection. And both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and used in this context in order to get an insight of critical incidents.
This section will start with a comparison of three possible methodologies for data collection: ethnography, survey (or interview) and real time experience tracking. And then sampling and data collection methods will be examined followed by a description of data analysis.
3.2 Research approach selection:
Generally, there could be three appropriate methodologies for collecting data.
Firstly, ethnography is regarded as approach learning about a group of people in their own environment for a certain period of time. The researcher could participate in the daily lives of target population to watch, listen and ask questions in order to get a deeper understanding of how they react towards particular CIs (McGivern, 2006). The adoption of ethnography could bring an insight picture that cannot be obtained through interview, and target population is able to behave in their own way. Nevertheless, one of the most obvious disadvantages is regarded to be high cost and long time-duration. Again, unlike a survey, the studies usually limit in one geographical area or culture, which seems to have little breadth. Additionally, it will easily lead to a bias collection by the first impression of researcher (ibid).
Furthermore, most frequent-used approach like survey or interview is considered to be alternatives for cond...
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...tomer relationship quality and critical incidents. Finally, data analysis will combine both qualitative and quantitative methods.
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Marketing students in specific classes created surveys using Qualtrics; the best questions from these surveys were aggregated by the professors and then administered via email in a convenience sampling method. This means students and professors emailed the survey to other students at Suffolk, students at other schools, friends, and others. The survey information was collected for a period of a couple weeks before being inactive. The results of the survey were then gathered by the professors and properly put into the statistical software SPSS for analysis. The graphs below show a demographic overview of the respondents to give a better understanding of the
According to Irmak, C., Block, L. G., & Fitzsimons, G. J Journal of Marketing Research, published in (2005), XLII (November)
Ethnography is a research method used to explore different cultures from a personal view. Many anthropologists have sought to use ethnography as their main study method because of its specificity and opportunity to get hands on. Those that participate in ethnographies are expected to accurately record detailed accounts of the society in which they are staying, but at the same time maintain a critical distance.
Participant observation is a method of collecting information and data about a culture and is carried out by the researcher immersing themselves in the culture they observing. The researcher becomes known in the community, getting to know and understand the culture in a more intimate and detailed way than would be possible from any other approach. This is done by observing and participating in the community’s daily activities. The method is so effective because the researcher is able to directly approach the people in the community in a natural context as opposed to taking the participant out of their environment. The aim of participant observation is to gain an understanding the subject’s life from their perspective, with the purpose of collecting more detailed information about a community’s habits, opinions, relationships and issues.
To complete the above fieldwork exercise, the method of qualitative research utilised was Ethnography. Ethnography is a method in which the ethnographer or researcher becomes either an overt or a covert participant in the lives of people (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2105). It involves collecting any data that is available to explore the focus of the research (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007). One could suggest Ethnography is a method to study society and culture (Berg and Lune, 2017).
For everything that occurs, there will somehow be something that caused the action to happen. It is more of a cause and effect ideal or simple a reaction to an action. In terms of research academics, independent and dependent variables are concepts or attributes to certain things that occur such as drug use, crime, or domestic abuse. For example, stress or other personal problems may lead to someone to use drugs. Also, poverty may lead someone to commit crime. In addition, a power controlled individual may cause a partnership to suffer physical or verbal abuse.
This section will include the entire approach or philosophy of the researcher used to collect, analyze and interpret the data in this research and involves the researcher’s assumptions related to Ontological, Epistemological, Axiological, and Methodological assumption towards the research. The research will also reflect constructivism perspective as realities will be constructed by participants rather than what objectively observed by the researcher.
Focusing on surveys and questionnaires, and quantitative research methods, it varies on the person getting questioned as to which method they prefer. Some individuals may prefer to fill in a questionnaire, as it is quick and simple for them, whereas someone else would rather have a face-to-face interview because they may find questionnaires to complicated. Giving people the choice gives the more chance of getting a response overall. It is important that the researchers are aware of the advantages and disadvantages because they will then be aware of what method to use, and will know what method is best to use. It is also an advantage to work with experienced researchers in order to find out the best results.
Data Collection and Analysis Questionnaire The research was carried out on both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It began with a quantitative approach—questionnaire. Bryman and Bell (2003) asserted that mail or postal questionnaires are the most popular forms of questionnaires. Another form—self-completion questionnaire—was also common because of the overlap with postal questionnaire to some extent.
The common factor about ethnography, regardless of the society being studied is that the thoughts and actions of the people in these societies depend on a wide range of factors (Pink, S. 2013). Their actions, thoughts, and speech in one society would not be the same, if they were subjected to a different environment. Therefore, for a researcher to fully understand each of the environments, he or she should spend quality time with the people in various social and physical environments. The ease of interaction with people in different societies becomes complicated with the increase in the population and complexity of a society (Mueller, G. 2012, September 10). For instance, in a small-scale society, the most common ethnographic method used is participant observation.
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A research design is defined as a plan or blueprint of how one intends to conduct research (Mouton, 2005:55). A research design focuses on the end product of the research process, that is, the type of study being planned and the type of results aimed at. Its point of departure is the research problem, and hence it focuses on the type of evidence required to address the problem adequately.