Research Methods

Dr Ian Pearson

Your MSc Project

Your MSc project is 50% of your final marks
The other 50% is split over 9 modules

1
 Approx. 20% of students failed
to submit a successful
dissertation last year.
y

External Examiner’s Comments

Lack of “value-added” & Structural issues
criticality
ƒ In the literature review ƒ Titles too long
ƒ In the discussion & ƒ Use of questions as titles
implications of their ƒ Poorly defined research
work objectives
References ƒ Objectives must appear
BEFORE literature review
ƒ Too many web
web-based
based
references ƒ Poor time management,
ƒ Incorrect citing of leading to rushed
references conclusions & incomplete
Table of Contents

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 The Importance of Research Methodology
Students fail / lose marks because of a poor
methodological approach:

1 Unfamiliar with
1.
a) research methods available
b) how to use them
c) when to use them

2. Unfamiliar with appropriate analysis techniques & when & how

to use them

3. Do not understand what is required of the literature review

4. Fail to realise the depth of understanding & analysis required at
post-graduate level

Objectives
1. To understand the importance of research
methodology

2. To introduce the major research methods &

techniques

3. To illustrate appropriate choice of research

method/technique

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The Research Process

Student-Supervisor Relationship

Reviewing the Literature

Research Design

Research Methods

Surveys Case Studies Direct Measurement

Planning your Project

Mindmapping

Data Collection & Analysis

Questionnaire Design Quality of Data Analysis Qualitative Data Analysis

Writing an Academic Document

Research Methods (ReMe) Organisation

1. ReMe1 – December
a) Reviewing the literature
b) Supervisor/student relationship
c) Research design
d) Mindmapping
e) Questionnaire design and interview skills
f) Introduction to data analysis

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2. ReMe2 – April
a) Quality of data
b) Analysis of quantitative date
c) Analysis of quantitative date

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 The Research Process

A Project is One Complete

Task
Not a collection of separate, un-related tasks.
1. Obj
1 Objectives
ti
2. Literature Review (to find solutions/answers to the
objectives)
3. Gathering of Primary Data (to fill the gaps remaining
after other people’s work)
4. Analysis (of data gathered from 2 and 3)
5. Discussion ((Your understanding g of the work yyou are
presenting)
6. Conclusions (solutions/answers to the objectives)
7. Future Work (advice to any other student who may wish
to continue the work).

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 Defining your Research
1. Background reading
2. Think about research methods & data collection
3. Consider what your Research Design might look
like
4. Is it possible within the timescale?
5. Do you have the resources available?
q
6. Ensure that it meets the requirements of the
degree

Reading for Research

Purposes:
1. Build background
g knowledgeg & establish
context
2. Establish the state-of-the-art
3. Identify the “gap” & establishing the research
objective/question
4. Accounts of research methods being applied
in ways which are similar to your own plans

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 The Research Objective
Sometimes expressed as a Research
Question:
The single question your project should find
an answer to.

An Example:
The Research Idea:
A study of collaborations between manufacturing companies

„ What type of collaboration? - technological, marketing?

„ UK, European, International?
„ Small or large companies?
„ How would you research this?

The Research Question:

Why do small UK-based manufacturing companies
collaborate with one another on R&D?

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 1.3.2 THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS
DISSERTATION
a. Examining and clarifying literature in the areas of what are the main
reasons causing dissertation failure or poor quality of the dissertation:
i. To derive a comprehensive understandings of views for later field
research design
g ((such as interview and q questionnaire).
)
b. Designing and conducting questionnaire and interview survey based
on literature point of view to examine the main difficulties and problems
which WMG students have encountered in order to determine the key
failure factors and gain greater details of the possible and most
effective area of improvement.
c. Conducting data analysis on the results of interview and questionnaire
to determine the key factors causing dissertation research failure or
poor quality.
d. Focusing on research results, and conducting a literature survey on
how to improve WMG’s dissertation failure rate and overall research
q alit in project management point of view.
quality ie
e. Draw conclusions of WMG key failure factors and recommendations of
improving the current WMG dissertation failure rate or enhance the
quality of research results.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the factors that effect the

creation of a successful dissertation.
2. To find methods for the improvement of
dissertations submitted for a Masters
Degree at WMG.

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 Your Project Conclusions
Every Objective will have a Conclusion.
Every Conclusion will have an Objective.

Objective 4. Identify a method for MSc project planning.

Considering that MSc projects are not complicated (only a
few milestones and only one project operator), the bar
chart methods are more suitable than a network analysis
methods.

For the planning of uncomplicated projects (few milestones

and one operator), bar charts are superior to network
analyses and should be used for MSc project planning.

Objective
To explore the notion of the term carbon footprint by
describing its signification and composition, by
anal sing the drivers
analysing dri ers of carbon footprint red
reduction
ction
and by identifying ways to manage carbon reduction
based in a review of literature.

To learn sufficient to be able to write a dissertation

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 Exploratory
Questions
How much? What?
How many? Who?
Where?
These questions can be answered by:
-Listing effects/factors,
-Counts or frequencies,
-Simple patterns & trends
Large samples of
Representative data
= limited depth & detail
Survey
How many companies
use websites to sell their
products?
A simple count
would answer this
Survey fits
requirements
Surveys produce lists,
counts, frequencies,
simple patterns & trends
Large samples of representative
data = limited depth & detail
Survey
Explanatory
Questions
How?
Why?
Answering these questions requires
deep analysis:
-Before & after effects
-Triangulation of data sources
-Logical links between theory & data
Systematic In-depth study of subject
manipulation (in context) & its impact
of variables & on its surroundings
observation
of the effects.
Experiments Case Study
Why do IJVs often
fail?
Requires an explanation,
suggesting that cause & effect
needs to be explored
Requires deep analysis:
-Before & after effects
-Triangulation of data sources
-Logical links between theory & data
Case Study fits
requirements
In-depth study of subject
(in context) & its impact on
its surroundings
Case Study
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 Literature Review Based Projects
Explanatory questions can also be answered through publically available information

Why do IJVs often fail?

Non-company specific Pseudo-case study

approach approach

Results of other studies Results of other studies

+ +
Information from Company-specific,
news articles, press public information,
releases & corporate enabling you to build
or institutional a “case study”
reports/websites

Data Collection Strategy

1. Type of data to collect
a) Quantitative vs Qualitative
b) Primary vs Secondary

2. How to collect the data

Experiments, Observation, Interviews,
Questionnaires, Documentary Evidence, Archives

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3. Multiple Sources of Evidence
Triangulation

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 Convergence of Multiple Sources of Evidence
Archival
Records Open-ended
Documents Interviews

Fact

Observations
Structured
(direct & participant) Structured Interviews
Surveys

Data Analysis Methods

1. Managing the data
a) Database
b) Tabulate data
c) Organise into categories

2. Analytical method
a) Quantitative data – statistical methods
b) Qualitative data – coding, successive
approximation,
i ti cognitive
iti mapping,i analytic
l ti
comparison, ideal types

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 The Research Outline - PMA

1. What are you going to study & why? - the Research Question
2. What research methods & techniques will you use?
3. Where will you collect the information from?
4. How will you collect the information?
5. How are you going to analyse the information?
6. How long
g will it take to p
perform each stage
g of yyour research?
7. What will the final dissertation look like?

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