Research Methodology and Philosophy
Discuss about the Comparison B/W Qualitative And Quantitative Approach.
With advent of technology and improved standard of living in Pakistan it has been observed in the literature review that there is a growing trend of e-commerce acceptance in Pakistan. The country has been adapting to the changes in the world market and e-commerce giants deem the country as an opportunity as well. In this assignment the research methodology is going to be discussed, which includes the ways and means that the research will be done. The e-commerce industry in Pakistan will be studied with the help of the tools of research. It has been concluded in the research that the industry has support from the government in order to develop and grow, the industry is also encouraging employment as well as improving the conditions of the local business.
What are the opportunities of E-commerce in Pakistan?
H0: There are no positive opportunities of E-commerce in Pakistan
H1: There are positive opportunities of E-commerce in Pakistan
What are the challenges in the e-commerce industry in Pakistan?
How is the industry impacted by the several factors of the business environment?
Undertaking a research is a process of several steps of action that helps the researcher to conclude and finalize the outcome of the research. As there are a number of steps involved the procedure has to be organized and planned so that the researcher can focus on the major aspects of the study.
The topic of the research is regarding the e-commerce industry in Pakistan in order to understand the scope of the industry in the country. The process that will be undertaken to conduct the research will include collecting of new information from the consumers of e-commerce in order to understand their requirements. The study will also focuses on the perspective of the leading companies management who operate in this industry to determine what they consider to be their scope of improving the business and what are the support they are receiving from the authorities in their business. The information that will be received will be analyzed in order to identify country specific data and information which is observed to be missing in the literature that has been reviewed (Flick 2015).
It is important to determine the research philosophy in as all other aspects of the research is dependent upon the philosophy that will be used to conduct the study. It is essential as it sets the tone of the study and forms the base of the research. There post positivism, interpretivism, realism and pragmatism.
Research Approach
The philosophy that will be used in this study is pragmatism as the mixed approaches will be used in the process of achieving the conclusion of the study. This philosophy states that there are more than one ways which can be employed in order to reach an interpretation. The research question that has been discussed above will be the focuses of the study. In this philosophy both the philosophy of positivism which includes statistical and factual knowledge as well as interpretism that includes an observation and theme wise analysis of the topic. The pragmatic approach of the Study will help in providing a holistic perspective to the study from the consumer end as well as from the industries end. The philosophy of the research is essential to determine as it backs up the logic of the approach and the research design that has been initiated.
Research approach is the process by which the information or the data that will be gathered are analysed. There are two parts of research approach, the data collection and the data analysis; it is the plan which is used to implement the process of research study.
In academic research there are two commonly used approaches, these are: inductive and deductive. In the Inductive approach the researcher intends to create a concept or theory based on examination and analysis. The inductive approach seeks to produce understanding and comprehendible data from the ones that are collected in order to recognize patterns establish relationships to build a theory; however, in this approach the researcher can choose to take references from the previous literature that has been observed to create the research questions or the research aim.
On the other hand in the deductive approach the researcher tries to analyse the existing theories and concepts and develop new findings on the topic (Flick 2015). The researches of previous authors are used in order to form the foundation of the research process (Creswell, 2014).
In this research study the approach that will be adopted in order to reach the aim of the study will be deductive in nature, as literature has been reviewed on the topic and new information will be gathered and analysed based on the previous literature and the models (Bryman and Bell 2015). The advantage of using this approach is that there are possibilities of measuring the concepts in a quantitative manner. There are also chances of generalising research findings to a certain extent.
Data Collection and Analysis
This aspect is essential as it impacts the tools required to gather new information. The strategy that the researcher will take will depend up on the factors that have been stated above. The strategy that the researcher can incorporate in the research can be divided in three parts: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed. The process that the researcher undertakes depends upon the variables and the kind of research that the topic requires (Flick 2015).
Quantitative research methodology is referred to as the process by which the variables of the research are represented by numerical and graphical representations in order to logically associate and conclude the research results. Rational reasoning supported by arguments and numeric valuation is considered to be an essential part of the quantitative approach (Flick 2015). The importance of this strategy is: to identify and provide an explanation to the variables of the research, to establish a cause-and-effect relation between the variables that has been identified; to gather new data by using instruments that can be converted in to numeric values, to analyze the variables with the help of the numerical tools in order to reach a conclusion. A structured framework is followed in the quantitative approach in order to arrive at a concrete conclusion (Clemence et al., 2014). The interpretation of the data that is collected in the process of qualitative research is established in the following ways: tables, charts, graphs, statistics etc. (Ragin, 2013).
Qualitative research ensures that the data that is collected is analysed in a comprehensive manner in order to reach a conclusion based on theories, concepts and models that has been previously reviewed. In order to gather an in-depth perceptive about the variables of the research and to develop opinions and ideas based on the findings (Venkatesh et al. 2013). Qualitative research provides understanding regarding the advantages, opportunities as well as the barriers and the challenges which are associated with the variables of study it also supports in making proving a hypothesis and arriving at an idea. The most important aspect of undertaking this kind of research is to come up with new and innovative ideas and concepts. The data that is collected is explained using language (Choy 2014). The variables that are derived from the data collection tools are divided into themes in order to make the explanation process vivid and holistic (Creswell, 2013). The usually used methods in the process of qualitative research are: focus groups (group discussions), individual interviews, and participation/observations The tools that are used in the process can be either used in structured, unstructured or semi-structured techniques. The sample size is typically small, and respondents are selected to fulfill a given quota.
Conclusion
As is evident from the name the strategy that is used in this kind of approach used both the method in order to conclude the research. As there can be more than one variable or aspects associated with the topic therefore different approaches are required to come to a conclusion. In this study mixed approach will be taken as it has been established that the philosophy of the research is pragmatic and thus both the methods will be used in the study to analyse various aspects associated with the research. In order to answer the research question of the study, the researcher will have to understand the perspective of both the buyers as well as the people from the industry. In order to get an in depth and holistic idea of the e-commerce industry it is important to understand the behavioural aspect of the consumers and the buyers to establish the change in the demand and requirement. On the other hand the people from the industry will be able to provide insights regarding the aspects that are associated with the industry in terms of technology, support from the government, how the changes of the economy of the country is impacting the growth of the industry, what are the global factors that are affecting the business etc.
There are two types of data collection methods that are used in the research, primary and secondary. The literature review that has been performed earlier helps in collecting information regarding the variables of the research that has already been established by various researchers. The collection of information from the existing literature is called secondary research; the function of the secondary research is to form an idea about the basic concepts of the topic. It also helps in formulating the tools and methods that will be used in order to reach a conclusion. On the other hand, primary data collection is the process of gathering new information with the help of various tools and instruments. According to the requirement of the topic and the strategy undertaken by the researcher the tools are decided (Choy 2014).
To conduct the study the researcher will undertake qualitative method to interview the managers of the e-commerce companies of Pakistan; the interview will be semi-structured in order to ensure effective communication. An online survey will be conducted to understand the dynamics and the decisions of the consumer and this can be represented with tables and statistical interpretation of the new information.
The sampling is the process by which a group of people from the population is selected in who fits the prerequisites of the research. The sampling method that has been selected in order to conduct the research is random (Flick 2015). At least 70 respondent of the survey will be analysed and 5 managers of the top e-commerce companies in Pakistan will be interviewed in a semi-structured questionnaire in order to gather new information and country specific information regarding the e-commerce industry (Flick 2015).
The interview will be analysed in a thematic, themes will be drawn up based on the answers that are provided by the interviewee. On the other hand, SPSS will be used to arrive at a conclusion from the information that will be collected from the survey (Flick 2015).
The limitations of the budget are as follows:
Budget`: The budget of the research is a limitation hence the researcher has to conduct telephonic interview rather than a face to face interview. In order to cut the cost online survey will be used which leads to the next limitation.
Lack of reliable information: The lack of credibility information which is utilised in the study is one of the essential features which impact the research (Flick 2015).
Time factor: Any study has time restrictions which make up for a significant limitation in a research as the general factors that affect on the whole progress of the research is time dependent.
Lack of Universal information: There are various process that has been developed in the process of research and using the one which is the best fit for the study is a challenge (Choy 2014).
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Activity |
Week1-2 |
Week 3-4 |
Week 5-6 |
Week 7-8 |
Week 9-10 |
Week 11-12 |
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Selection of topic |
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Review of the research topic |
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Gathering of secondary data |
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Theme based analysis |
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Gathering of primary data |
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Analysis of data |
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Conclusions and recommendations |
Conclusion
It can be concluded form the above discussion that the process of research that will be undertaken by the researcher will follow the mixed approach as the philosophy that has been taken in the process is pragmatic. Both the perspective of the customer as well as the people from the industry are required hence this approach has been taken.
Reference List
Borg. B.L., 2010. Methods of conducting Research Mc Hill Publication management , London
Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2013. Researching Tools for business. (11th Edition) London: London University Press
Choy, L.T., 2014. The strengths and weaknesses of research methodology: Comparison and complimentary between qualitative and quantitative approaches. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(4), pp.99-104.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner’s guide to doing a research project management . Sage.
Gale, N.K., Heath, G., Cameron, E., Rashid, S. and Redwood, S., 2013. Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research. BMC medical research methodology, 13(1), p.117.
Lewis, S., 2015. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches management . Health promotion practice, 16(4), pp.473-475.
Liamputtong, P., 2013. Qualitative research methods.
Neuman, W.L., 2013. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pearson education.
Panneerselvam, R., 2014. Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
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