Research Methodology
Question:
Discuss About The Grounded Theory Constant Comparative Method?
Personality trait has been found to a characteristic that allows determining level of performance for particular employees (Bryman, 2015). Within the scope of hospitality sector personality trait has been found to be a factor that affect job performance hence can allow distinguishing an employee from another. There have been found to be a number of characteristics of personality traits that can be used to predict behavior and hence performance relative to an employee. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has been used for conducting personality tests based on several parameters. This Indicator helps analyze relevant trends of personality as openness, neuroticism, extroversion and conscientiousness. Through survey among the hotel staffs and management level employees and analyzing collected data, the scholar will aim at connecting these trends in personality to their performance levels. The scope of this current discussion pertains to analyzing personality traits of employees in Hilton Hotel of Australia by analyzing weak personality traits against stronger ones. The scholar in this section of the study aims at providing a suitable research method that is well match and can help determine results for the study through data collection procedures and techniques.
Research methodology is the most critical part for any project as it entails identification of procedures adopted for completion of a study. It defines techniques and processes adopted for purpose of data collection along with its analysis for arriving at desired results for the study (Hair, 2015). For the purpose of this study, the scholar had selected post-positivists research method, which is based realistic point of view. It is a rather critical realist approach that establishes theory being revisable with observation having errors. Ethnography approach with post-positivists methods were used for describing employee cultures with their habits and mutual differences. The study will aim at connecting job performance with that of personality traits. The foundation of this method is based on analysis of personality traits based on various models of personality (Neuman, 2013). The primary data was collected here with open ended as well as closed ended questions. Open ended as well as axial coding was used for interpretation of the collected sample data based on five personality traits of the subjects.
The core aim of defining a research methodology is to delineate factors that cause the problem to arrive at solution for the study. Selecting an appropriate research design helps in-depth analysis relative to the challenge (Gläser, 2013). Qualitative research design has been adopted for this study to correlate personality traits of individual employees with that of job performance.
In order to analyze the phenomenon stated, there needs to either be inductive reasoning or deductive reasoning adopted. In Inductive reasoning a process of observing phenomenon then a conclusion is drawn (Zikmund, 2013). In order to conduct this study the process of inductive reasoning has been applied, where personality traits theories are analyzed for connecting them to job related performances. Questionnaire (as detailed in the appendix) was used as instrument in the study. Open ended questions were used to collect data from the employees. Closed ended questions were also used to cover a wider spectrum in the limited time period of the survey.
Data Collection
It is integral to adopt a research process particular to a study as constructivism or positivism or critical realism or pragmatic be selected (Bernard, 2017). In Constructivism method, primary aim of the scholar is to understand senses that are derived from the world. As per this method, often qualitative analysis is selected. On the contrary positivism is much more a scientific research procedure for arriving at results of a study based on experiments. The other two methods as critical realism or constructivism mixed approaches are used (Eriksson, 2015). In this study scholar has adopted constructivism process for drawing results from real world understanding.
In order to analyze data for a particular study, a population for conducting such study has to be ascertained (Gill, 2010). The population is selected such that it can reveal trends and features of the entire set evenly. From the entire population a sample set is designed that can reflect nature and characteristics for the entire population set. A population sample is selected such that it can allow conducting the study in limited span of time period. Moreover, the population sample has to have diversified characteristics of the entire population set such that results can be arrived at accordingly. The scholar has collected data from management level employees and staff level employees at Hilton in Australia for analyzing personality traits of employees. Non probabilistic sampling technique has been used for the purpose of this study. In random stratified sampling technique samples are drawn from the entire population in an even manner randomly. For primary data collection employees were divided into different strata were asked about their experience of working at the hotel Hilton. There were staffs who were working from last 20 years in hotel Hilton and some of them were just six months in their jobs, these employees were not included in the sample survey. Management level employees were also interviewed for their views on staff requirement criteria for job execution and about ways of staff handling. A priori approach was taken to select the sample size.
Data collection is the key procedure for conducting any type of research. Data Collection can be done from sources primary or secondary in nature. Primary data is information that is collected by scholar and is first-hand information (Taylor, 2015). Primary data was collected from panels, focus groups, interviews, surveys and so on. Secondary data on the other hand has been collected from Hilton hotel employee service records. Few of the secondary data sources were company publications, newspapers, internet sources, government publications and so on (Williams, 2011). The scholar for this study has adopted primary data collection method by means of survey through questionnaire. The scholar met the hotel employees in the staff cafeteria after their working shifts. The location was chosen to provide the correct ambience for the interview. The interviews were recorded after obtaining verbal agreement and the interviewer kept a separate note of nonverbal cues during the interview. After the interview session, focus groups were created with careful attention to diverse variables from ethnography down to length of service. The survey data was gathered and collated across all focus groups based on their customer interaction levels. Special attention was paid during the interview while the scholar was collecting qualitative data about customer satisfaction and experience about any untoward instances recalled by the interviewees.
Analysis
Qualitative data analysis is a recursive procedure which helps interpreting results from nonlinear pattern of data for which data coding techniques are used. There are two data coding techniques used for the study as Open Coding and Axial Coding (Kolb, 2012). The collected data was labeled considering the common behavioral properties and type of employment. Open coding theory (Sekaran, 2016) was applied by analyzing every answer line by line, even word by word. The subjective responses were parameterized based on the themes and pattern of the responses. Axial Coding core theme is disaggregated through qualitative data analysis (Grounded Theory) where axial coding is utilized using deductive and inductive techniques. For the purpose of this analysis axial technique is used and all codes and parameters thus generated are integrated for a graphical as well as quantitative analysis in the study. The sample data were organized with the help of fuzzy scoring where more weightage was given to the open ended question than closed ended ones. The weighted average score of each participant was collected for further analysis. The names of the participants were validated and the biasness factor was also taken into account as the interview was conducted after the duty schedule of the employees (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).
In order to conduct any research procedure it is important that ethical procedures are used. The scholar for the purpose of this study has adopted ethical procedures (Cohen, 2013). The research has abided by all basic procedures needed to conduct the study. The following ethical procedures have been adopted for the study.
- The scholar in order to conduct the study disclosed all details of the study along with its aims to all its participants. All participants consent was obtained prior to conducting the study.
- Assurance of the non-disclosure of participants name was given before the study, only feedback and results obtained from them were used.
- The scholar has not adopted personal biasness in any form for the purpose of conducting the study.
The study has tried to attend to all possible areas of the problem; however there have still been certain limitations that the study has not been able to attend as below;
- The study has been conducted on Hilton Hotels in Australia hence employee feedback has been obtained from that region. The scholar has not made any efforts to collect data from employees of Hilton Hotel from worldwide locations.
- The scholar has conducted the study using qualitative data and its subsequent analysis. The scholar has not made efforts to collect quantitative data and analytical procedures for the same.
- Moreover, the study is not a representation of the entire population.
References
Bernard, H. R. (2017). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Rowman& Littlefield.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2013). Research methods in education. Routledge.
Eriksson, P., &Kovalainen, A. (2015). Qualitative methods in business research: A practical guide to social research. Sage.
Saunders, M. N. (2011). Research methods for business students, 5/e. Pearson Education India.
Gläser, J., &Laudel, G. (2013, March). Life with and without coding: Two methods for early-stage data analysis in qualitative research aiming at causal explanations. In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Vol. 14, No. 2).
Hair, J. F. (2015). Essentials of business research methods. ME Sharpe.
Kolb, S. M. (2012). Grounded theory and the constant comparative method: Valid research strategies for educators. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 3(1), 83.
Neuman, W. L. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson education.
Sekaran, U., &Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Saunders, M. N. (2011). Research methods for business students, 5/e. Pearson Education India.
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., &DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Williams, C. (2011). Research methods. Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER), 5(3).
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods.Cengage Learning.
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