Research Methods

Contents
Introduction: ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Task 1 (Question 1) ................................................................................................................................. 2
1.1

Select the research Question ................................................................................................... 2

1.2 Factors that contribute to the process of the successful research question ................................... 2
1.3 Justify the choice of research question ......................................................................................... 3
2.1 Conducting the research to find the literature relevant to the research question .......................... 4
2.2 Undertaking a critical review of the key literature for inclusion in a research proposal .............. 5
Task 2 (Question 2) ................................................................................................................................. 6
3.1 Evaluate the techniques for use with quantitative data in a research proposal ............................. 6
3.2 Evaluate the techniques for use with qualitative data in a research proposal ............................... 7
4.1 Evaluate the appropriate research methodologies in terms of research proposal.......................... 8
4.2 Choose an appropriate methodology in terms of research question.............................................. 9
4.3 Justify the methodology selected in terms of the research question ............................................. 9
5.1 Record findings on the research question, literature review and methodology in agreed format
.......................................................................................................................................................... 10
5.2 Summarise and present the findings using suitable methods ...................................................... 10
5.3 Critically analyse the findings..................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................................ 11
References: ........................................................................................................................................... 11

Research Methods

Introduction:
This report is about the various research methods to be followed at the time of doing the
research on the community interaction importance and knowledge sharing within the
community, where in the researcher wants to start the website for the exciting community of
the shop teachers where the various ideas can be shared and the forum can be valued. The
assignment helps in understanding the various research methods to be considered for
analysing the research problem. Starting from selection of the research question, the various
factors considered for framing the successful research question and the proposed literature
review and various conceptual models of the research area and various research
methodologies will be discussed and Analysed under this report.

Task 1 (Question 1)

1.1 Select the research Question

The research question is the first and foremost steps that the researcher has to take in order to
undertake the research. The research question might be clearly and accurately be defined and
choosing the research question is the main element for the both qualitative and quantitative
research and in different cases, it might precede the structure of the study framework (Donald
Cooper, Pamela Schindler, 2013). Selecting the research question is very important and
challenging aspect for any research, as per the given scenario the research question selected is
To investigate the social interaction among the teachers in an online learning community
and their contribution for knowledge sharing. The research focus will be more on the
community practices through online social interaction and how the altruistic sharing of the
ideas would help in preserving and strengthening the community (K.Saunders, D. M., Lewis,
D. P., & Thornbill, D. A, 2009).

1.2 Factors that contribute to the process of the successful research question
For the research process, the heart is the research question, where in without it the research
cannot be done. At the time of research problem formulation various factors that contribute to
the research process need to take into consideration which are identifiable and eminent at the
researching the problem with hypothesis. Four P factors are important which the research will
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Research Methods

revolve about; the four Ps are the programmes, problems, people and phenomena
(K.Saunders, D. M., Lewis, D. P., & Thornbill, D. A, 2009). The alternative and research
hypothesis are to be considered at the time of research analysis. The research question should
be clear and evocative which helps in catching the reviewer interest and easy for him to
understand it. The questions need to be evocative due to the way which they engage with the
topics that are challenging; these will pose the various approaches that are innovative for the
problem exploration. The research question selected is relevant as it is relevant to the social
group, society and the literature and research method will give better weight for the reviewers
(Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S, 2005).
Problem statement and research Questions:
In response with the exploration call, the study will focus more on the affective social
dimensions of the learning and sharing community online. The main explicitly of the study
purpose is to explore the various levels and features that issues that are related with the
development of community relationships online and the influence of the participants sharing
and learning outcomes and processes. The research investigation is directed by main research
questions like
How the social relationships are developed in the online community?
How the interests and objective of the learners in social communication for teachers
community?
How does the social interaction will influence the teachers in sharing process?

1.3 Justify the choice of research question

As the researcher wants to understand the contribution of shop teachers community in
sharing the knowledge, concerns and problems and to deepen the collective knowledge on
regular basis, the research question helps in understand the present situation of the teachers
community participation in sharing the ideas and knowledge. This will help the researcher to
understand the present scenario and by research methods the researcher can understand how
the website can be designed for effective communication and easy to participate through
various groups of teachers worldwide and this will help in strengthening the community
selflessly and to understand whether the knowledge has been considered as the valuable tool.
The research question is always the beholders eye, as there are various general better
practices criteria that have to be used in accessing the justification for analysing the research.
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The research question has been well posed scientifically and can be stated in a hypothetical
form which helps in the research analysis and design with systematic credibility (Blumberg,
B., Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S, 2005). The research question that is formed is accessible
for the required data with minimum cost and efforts and the units to be analysed can be easily
identified. Finally the research question helps in extending the acceptance of the phenomena
which the present knowledge can be easily elaborated and extended (Donald Cooper, Pamela
Schindler, 2013).

2.1 Conducting the research to find the literature relevant to the research
question
The literature review part involves different areas on online community and social interaction
and primary focus will be on the community environment and participation of community in
sharing the knowledge, problems and various concerns. The literature review is an instrument
which will formulate various questions that are covered from the research questions. Various
aspects of social interaction and its effectiveness and various ideas of the individuals in
participating in knowledge enhancement and sharing, all these will be discussed along with
the benefits and problems in the literature review (Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and Schindler,
P.S, 2005). The literature review will be divided into three areas, where in first area will
cover the online community social relationships development, the main intent is to provide
the vision on how these relationships are measured and perceived and the various impacts in
the long term. Second area will cover various learning tasks, social interactions among the
group and the technical platforms among the members and these three dimensions and the
different social presences are the main predictors for the community effectiveness which is
developed by the instrument of survey in measuring the presence of the distant learners.
These three factors have been influencing the individuals in the social involvement of the
behaviours with the social context, online interactivity and communication with related to the
information sharing. The third area is about the influence of the social interaction in the
process of sharing (Donald Cooper, Pamela Schindler, 2013).
The following diagram shows the various issues to be covered in the literature review based
on the research question. The various approached need to be used in the literature review to
have clear understanding.

Research Methods

2.2 Undertaking a critical review of the key literature for inclusion in a research
proposal
Critical review has to be undertaken for the important literature to include in the research
proposal. It is an objective where the critical analysis and summary of the appropriate
research availability is to be done and its goal is to bring up the reader with updates with the
present literature on the topic selected and form the goal basis like justifying the area of
future research (K.Saunders, D. M., Lewis, D. P., & Thornbill, D. A, 2009).

A good

literature review will gather the data about the subject in particular from various sources. The
literature review will contain a proper research and the strategy selection and a good structure
is required in enhancing the readability and the flow of the review. Exact use of the
terminology with easy English is significant and jargon has to be kept less and more
referencing is important throughout the report. Through the briefing of the literature review,
it is evident and clears that most of the studies on the online social interaction by
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Research Methods

communities in sharing knowledge will concentrate on developing the various perspectives

and to emphasize the practical interface and tasks that are instructional (Donald Cooper,
Pamela Schindler, 2013). There might exist few empirical gaps in the understanding of the
social dimensional impact, contingency factors impact and input variables on the outcomes of
the learning, so the further research will help in exploring the development of social
interaction of the communities.

Following the above process will help in going the right phases by step wise in the research
process.

Task 2 (Question 2)
3.1 Evaluate the techniques for use with quantitative data in a research proposal
In the process of research proposal various techniques of quantitative data need to be
evaluated for determining and gathering the proper literature. Whilst the literature focus
might depend on the total purpose as there are various strategies that are useful in analysis
stage which will help in writing and constructing the better review. There is no agreement or
consent whether to undertake the type of the research, based on the planning and the total
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approach in data collection one should decide in following the type of the research
(Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S, 2005). Data can be found effectively wither
through the primary or secondary research and it is important that the researcher understand
different ways in collecting the data and can decide which can be used or both can be used
based on the requirement of the information. At the research stage all the data collection
methods could supply the quantitative data which is in numbers and statistics and the various
approaches based on the research topic. The quantitative research will take the objective
position and the approach is real and hard. The favourite methods under this type are the
experiments, surveys and would attempt for the hypotheses test or various statement with a
view to simplifying from the particular data that is collected. This approach basically depends
on counting and measurements that requires analysing and collecting the data that is
numerical and to apply the tests that are statistical (Donald Cooper, Pamela Schindler, 2013).
This study is a longitudinal study and the questionnaires will be sent to the participants by the
open-ended questions which are qualitative in nature and then the statistics will be done and
the findings will be discussed and recommendations will be provided based on the data
(Joseph et al, 2011).

3.2 Evaluate the techniques for use with qualitative data in a research proposal
The qualitative research is the data collected and analysed by the researcher using methods of
qualitative analysis like using the unstructured interviews, observation of the participants
hence to gain the knowledge and understanding of the principal reasons and the motivations,
behaviours, preferences and attitudes of the people (Marshall, C. and Rossman, G. B, 2006).
With this qualitative approach, the emphasis will be more on the hypotheses generation from
the data collection than that of the hypothesis testing. The qualitative data basically in the
form of the text like the interview transcriptions or the documents that are original; on the
other hand it might also include the non-text information like audio, pictures, video
recordings tables etc. (K.Saunders, D. M., Lewis, D. P., & Thornbill, D. A, 2009).
The following table will help in deciding which approach will be useful with various tools
and methods.

Research Methods

4.1 Evaluate the appropriate research methodologies in terms of research

proposal
The methods of quantitative in the research need to be applied for collecting the data and that
need to be measured in various forms and will be analysed statistically. The quantitative
research process will be followed the methods, procedures and other analysis forms and the
results are reported based on the undertaken research (Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and
Schindler, P.S, 2005). This standardisation will enhance the objectivity where the quantitative
methods could be used in comparing the groups and analysis is basically done with statistics.
Moreover this method/technique is depending on the various meanings that are derived from
the results and numbers that are numerical in nature and data to be standardised. The
quantitative methods are provided by using the statistics and numbers by way of presenting
the questionnaire to participant and getting answers; then tabulating them and summarizing
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Research Methods

the collected data and next is the data analysis and finally to make the conclusions
(K.Saunders, D. M., Lewis, D. P., & Thornbill, D. A, 2009).
The qualitative research will be offering various understanding and insights of the
participants which cannot be obtained by the quantitative approach; it aims in studying the
deeper subject by collecting the data which is not biased from various researchers and
sources. In this research in-depth interviews will be conducted by emails, face to face
interviews to learn about the perspectives of the individuals and community norms and to
understand the peoples feelings, experiences and opinions. Here the sequence followed for
this research is ask or observe the open ended questions to get answers, then record and
analyse the answers; interpreting the data; if needed asking more questions required to get
answers; theorising the data and finally to draw the conclusions (C. R. Kothari, 2009).

4.2 Choose an appropriate methodology in terms of research question

As the research is on the interpersonal and social interaction online and knowledge sharing,
this qualitative study will be exploring the development of the social connections, the
participation of the individuals is through the online communication and questionnaire with
open-ended questions. The participants are selected for this research in two types; one is
already registered in the community and other type of participants who dont have any idea.
Data will be collected and analysed by way of summarizing the main themes. The findings
will reveal the importance and effectiveness of social interaction in the community that has
various elements than that of the one to one social interaction. This study will suggest being
more contributively and supportive which is the initial point in enhancing the better
relationships in sharing and learning online in various ways. The qualitative and quantitative
approach both will be followed for the research (C. R. Kothari, 2009).

4.3 Justify the methodology selected in terms of the research question

The above discussed process has given an outline on the research process that is going to be
adapted and followed. The first step is the selection of the topic of research as the topic is on
the social interaction and online community effectiveness, then the next step is the literature
review where it has been divided into various phases by way of making the theoretical
literature in a qualitative way based on the research question and then the various sources and
materials will be analysed and will form a better knowledge of the keywords and will define
the capacity of the literature review through the data collection (Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R.
and Schindler, P.S, 2005). Then the process is about the data collected and information and
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Research Methods

to formulate the better vision in building up the content and help in plan of action for the next
process of the research. Then the research process will be designed which helps in framing
the better and qualitative questions to get the better data and results expected and hence if the
information was appropriate by using the both the qualitative and quantitative methods, it will
help my report in matching to the research aims and objectives, even though there are
different technique types, the best way is the effective way of presenting the literature and
data collection methods helps in interpreting, analysing and presenting the depth of the report
and the research (Donald Cooper, Pamela Schindler, 2013).

5.1 Record findings on the research question, literature review and methodology
in agreed format
After the research question is framed, based on that the literature review is drawn on basis of
the research aims and objectives and finding will be taken into consideration by using various
research methods, it is important to see and get the reliable information (K.Saunders, D. M.,
Lewis, D. P., & Thornbill, D. A, 2009). It is very important to see that the research ethics has
been followed and pilot testing has been conducted before giving the questionnaire to the
participants, it will helps in correcting the probable mistakes and ensuring that the more
repetitions will not be there in the data. By being familiar with the content and the
background of the research it helps in getting better information in the changing world. At the
time of working this research, it is required to ensure that sample is the main possible
representative hence to check various responses and the accuracy is important and it depends
on the phrasing of the question. Various procedures need to be considered like inductive,
deductive approach etc. to get better research effectiveness (C. R. Kothari, 2009).

5.2 Summarise and present the findings using suitable methods

After the answers has been received, then the finding need to be summarised in calculations
which is easy to understand and easy to review. The suitable methods like summarizing in
tables, graphs and percentages will help the researcher to analyse critically the finding. After
summarising, the findings should be presented through various designs and graphs, so the
reader will find easy in understanding the findings (Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and
Schindler, P.S, 2005).

5.3 Critically analyse the findings.

Critical analysis of the findings will help in analysing the research and taking a step further by way of
reading the background and putting together the findings in the context will help in providing the
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Research Methods
probable reasons on the process and how it worked on the results (Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and

Schindler, P.S, 2005). Findings need to be compared and contrasted based on the results and
the previous studies. With the evidences need to explain the findings, so that the reader can
understand the effectiveness and consequences and the reports should be meant to be
informative and the findings need to be discussed relevantly (Donald Cooper, Pamela
Schindler, 2013).

Conclusion:
Hence following the research methods and various research techniques in the research
process, will help the researcher to get the reliable and competitive data that is required for
the research. Various researchers follow various research methods based on the research topic
and its applicability in collecting the data and information.

References:

Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S. (2005). Business Research Methods,
Maidenhead, McGraw-H

C. R. Kothari (2009). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. London:

New Age International Pvt Ltd Publishers. 74-98.

Cohen, L. Lawrence, M. Morrison, K. (2007), research methods in education.

Creswell, j. W. (2002), B., Money, A. And Swartz, E. (2002). Doing research in

business and management: an introduction to process and method. London: sage
publications.

Donald Cooper, Pamela Schindler (2013). Business Research Methods. 12th ed.
London: McGraw-Hill/Irwin;. 12-108.

Jankowicz, A. (2000). Business Research Projects (3rd ed.). Thomson Learning

Joseph F. Hair, Mary Wolfinbarger Celsi, Arthur H. Money, Phillip Samouel, Michael
J. Page (2011). Essentials of Business Research Methods. Newyork: M.E. Sharp inc.
36-82.

K.Saunders, D. M., Lewis, D. P., & Thornbill, D. A. (2009). Research Methods for
Business Students (5th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.

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Kervin, J. (1999). Methods for Business Research (2nd ed.). Reading, MA, Addison
Wesley

Marshall, C. and Rossman, G. B. (2006) Designing Qualitative Research, 5th Edition,

London, Sage Publications.

Oppenheim, A.(2007) Questionnaire Design, Interviewing adn attitude Measurement

(New ed.). London, Pinter

Robson, C. (1993). Real World Research. Oxford, Blackwell

Wells.P. (1994). Ethics in Business and Management Research.

Witmer, D., & Katzman, R. C. (1999). From Paper and pen to screen and key-board:
towards methodlogy for survey research on the Internet, in Jones S., Doing Internet
Research Thousand Oaks,. CA, Sage.

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