RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 Introduction

The process of collecting data and information to use it in making a decision is referred to as research methodology. This could be done by creating a survey to develop findings of your research question. Information can be obtained through questioners, interviews, reading publications and other methods, which could provide primary information or secondary data.

Primary sources of information entail venues where the data are obtained originally. They include sources like interviews, questioners where the researcher obtains first hand information. The secondary sources are they sources that provide second hand data. Data obtained from the secondary sources is not from the original source, rather it is reported. Sources of secondary data include books, newspapers, journals where the researcher can go and obtain information, which has already been obtained (Kumar,2010).

This research deals with the descriptions of activities and aspects that were involved in the study. The subsections include; research design, study area, target population, sampling procedure and sample size, instrumentation, data collection procedure, instrument for data collection, reliability test for the data collection instrument, validity test for the data collection instrument, data analysis and the research ethics.

Research Design

This study adopted a descriptive research design, which sought to collect the information from primary or secondary sources related to the Mark and Spencer Company. Descriptive research is that whose major purpose is the description of the state of affairs, as it exists at present. The design involved ranges from the survey, which describes the status quo, the correlation study that examined the relationship between variables in developmental studies, which sought to determine changes over time. A descriptive research match with the purpose of this study, as its intention is to examine the different factors that customers face when buying the Mark and Spencer products.

Quantitative and Qualitative methods

Qualitative research refers to research, which is primarily exploratory in nature. Usually it is used to gauge the reasons behind certain opinions or motivations. It normally gives insights into a major issue or problem. It forms the main hypotheses through which quantitative research is going to be based on. The research normally helps users of the information understand opinions and thoughts and why a certain occurrences are happening. Methods of data collection are usually structured or semi-structured depending on requirements for collecting information.Most qualitative data are obtained through the administering of questionnaires, one on one or face interviews to ensure the validity of the data.

Quantitative research normally uses numerical data to quantify an opinion or thought, which can be easily transformed into statistics, which are used. It quantifies behaviors, opinions, attitudes and other physiological variables from a large population size. With quantitative research, it usually uses data, which is measurable to create facts, which helps to uncover certain patterns in research (kuada,2012). Methods of data collection are well structured and examples include surveys. Most of the surveys conducted either through online platforms, telephone interviews and so many form part of quantitative research.

Sampling of Target Population

Sampling is the process of selecting a unit of the population, which is chosen for study. the sample contains similar characteristics of the whole population. There are various methods of sampling, which include random sampling, stratified sampling and cluster sampling. In random sampling every unit in the entire population has the chance of being selected. It gives every individual participant in a particular population an equal opportunity to be selected without considering demographic factors. Research has shown it to be one of the best methods since it is not biased in its selection of respondents (Chance, 2013).

In stratified sampling, the sample population is selected based on the same characteristics. The same characteristics usually involve such demographic factors such as race, gender, age. Hence it is not one of the best sampling methods to use since it may take a population sample that has the same characteristics giving similar answers to questions. The cluster method of sampling involves dividing the population into groups. These groups, maybe in terms of income levels, social status or age. This will also give a similar end result due to similarities in the groups of people.

The location in question is Dubai with a population of around five million people. There are about two million expatriates. The target population in this research was to survey the population in Dubai who were continually interacting the Mark and spencer company as well as some of its products. A sample size of 50 was randomly selected over the overall population size. The reason for selecting 50 was because it’s easier to work with the number and at the same time it takes short time to analyze.

The reason for using random sampling was for its convenience and diversity that it provides in my research. The selected sample represented customers of different gender and age. Questionnaires were administered to the respondents of the study. After conducting the survey, i used the likert scale to scale the responses in the survey research.

Data Collection Procedure

This is the process of obtaining information from the target group and measuring it to derive a certain conclusion (Hussain,2011). Data collection methods vary depending on the type of the research be it a business research, scientific research or in the field of sociology. The greatest concern for any data collection method is to ensure that the information collected is honest and accurate. Deriving a convincing and quality conclusion of the study depends much on rich data analysis and quality evidence provided. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire.

The primary source of data refers to the raw data, which is usually gotten from a primary source for a specific purpose. Primary source in that no other person has the same data and the user of the information wants to answer a specific question or wants to achieve a specific objective. It is usually gotten mainly through interviews or experiments in case of scientific projects.

With primary data, it is gotten mainly through interviews or answering of questionnaires. The main advantage of this data is that a researcher can focus on the main objective of the study focusing more on the issues relating to the study. It is also very expensive and time consuming to obtain. It is expensive in terms of having to source for raw materials needed for the research as well as having to print questionnaires or conduct interviews which require sophisticated devices to collect the data.

With secondary sources, this is where the research has already been done and documented in the form of books, journals and other methods of storing information. It is research which is already documented and is normally used to conduct further research and act only as a guide. With these researches, they can cover a wider scope achieving more objectives. This is so in that you have a wide range of sources from whereby you can obtain information. This research is inexpensive and consume less time.It is inexpensive since the cost of putting the research into an actionable format has been incurred by the previous researcher. Incase of the digital sources found in the libraries they consume less time to find since they are readily available through search engines.

An Open ended questionnaire a questionnaire which requires well thought out and very careful answers. It does not give the respondent a chance for yes or no answers. The answers in this type of questionnaire have to be well structured and show a clear understanding of what the researcher is asking.I  used a scale of between 1-5. The scale uses lower figures to make it easier for data analysis since the sample size is larger. With a shorter scale the researcher is able to have a consistent pattern of data which are easily memorized and do not a lot of calculations to achieve the desired results.

I took printed questionnaire to the respondents across the town, who are the customers of the enterprise. The respondents were expected to respond to the questionnaire, which was collected for data analysis. The questionnaires were based on a likert scale formula.

The data collection procedure was faced with challenges, as I was not able to conduct my survey to the M&S company employees and the manager in order to seek more information for my case study. The reason i was not able to conduct it is because they did not not reply my e-mails in order to arrange for an interview. For this reason, my research will be based on reviews from customers alone.

 

Data Analysis and Presentation

I ensured reliability, and verification had been checked out completely. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The reason for using the descriptive statistics is due to its ability to summaries data through quantitative description. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the customer’s knowledge of the organization products and the performance of the organization in context to the sale of its products. The analyzed data were presented using pie charts, and percentages. I also used statistical tools such as percentages and pie charts that were used to present the data. This enhanced the presentation of findings in a way they were understood easily (Khan, 2011).

References

Chance, B. (2013). Rapid mixing and sampling techniques in biochemistry proceedings. New York: Academic Press.

Kumar, R. (2010). Research Methodology : A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Khan, J. (2011). Research methodology. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation.

Hussain, T. P. (2011). Research Methodology in Physical Education. oklahoma: Pinnacle Technology.

Kuada, J. (2012). Research Methodology: A Project Guide for University Students. Chicago: Samfundslitteratur.