Week 6

07/21/2019

Strategy for Data Collection Comment by musgr: The word introduction is no longer used in APA 6th. Simply restate your title and begin your paper.

I. Introduction

Research is oftentimes immersive and requires unwavering dedication to achieve the best results. But that is not all. For starters, this exercise begins from statement of the problem which is further broken into research questions. While attempting to answer the questions, the researcher will arrive at the most appropriate answer to the problem posed earlier on. An important part of the process of getting answers to the questions is data collection and analysis phase (Silverman, 2016). To be sure, this is the phase where the study will get the details of what conclusions should be drawn concerning the matter at hand. With this in mind, this paper sets out the data collection strategy of the study. Particularly, the paper will rely on Phenomenological Study and Case Study research designs to come up with the data collection plan. These designs will be defined and explained in detail. Further, the paper will develop and explain a data collection process for each design and finish off with a discussion of how the two designs can be combined or manipulated for the most optimal effect. Comment by musgr: Remove the word “But” and “Which” from academic writing. It aids in clarity. Comment by musgr: reword Comment by musgr: the Comment by musgr: See Appropriate Language https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/using_appropriate_language/index.html Comment by musgr: Fix spacing after each paragraph

II. Selected Research Designs

For starters, this study seeks to find out and explain the role which financial intermediaries play within the asset portfolio management sector in relation to investors and the NYSE-listed firms. Further, the study endeavors to investigate the advantages which investors enjoy when they choose to let financial intermediaries manage their assets. The following are the research designs which will be used to formulate the data collection strategy:

a. Phenomenological Research Design

Qualitative research methods is simply one which focuses on the micro-level of issues. According to Corbin, Strauss and Strauss (2015), qualitative research is naturalistic and one that affords the researcher a deep understanding of the research problem. Particularly, this kind of research gets into the details at the individual level, societal level, and on a much broader scope, at cultural level. Particularly, a Phenomenological study design is one which helps to focus a qualitative study on the particular issue at hand. This research design provides the most appropriate means through which a researcher can describe an activity or an event from a qualitative perspective (Wilson, 2015). Comment by musgr: a Comment by musgr: This needs to be cited properly

· Features of a phenomenological design Comment by musgr: See APA 6th for headings

Some features of a phenomenological research design include the fact that it enables the researcher to make sense of the experiences which people have in relation to a certain situation. Also, this kind of design entails rigorous data collection methods like interviews and conversations which are oftentimes in-depth. A phenomenological design is also characterized by sample sizes which are usually small. In the interviews, questions are oftentimes kept open-ended as a way through which the researcher can fully understand the issue at hand through the respondents’ perspective (Matua & Van Der Wal, 2015).

· Data collection process under a phenomenological design

The first step in the data collection process is to identify the variables which will be measured. This helps to narrow down on the most appropriate sample. Here, the sample size of 25 respondents will be appropriate. The sample will be made up of the investors who have an experience with financial intermediaries. The sampling technique which will be used in Purposeful sampling. This is because the researcher will only need people who have interests in firms listed on the NYSE. Also, data will be collected via interviews, in-depth conversations and questionnaires. Lastly, the researcher will use questionnaires, interview questions and face-to-face conversations as instruments of data collection. Comment by musgr: Research question Comment by musgr: Why? See Mason and Creswell Comment by musgr: Add detail to this section with support from the literature

b. Case Study

A qualitative research is most effective if one gets to appreciate the historical perspective of the matter at hand. In this light, a case study explains an event, entity, organization or even an individual in great detail. The design digs deep to the finer details and looks at an issue from all possible angles (Hancock & Algozzine, 2016). Particularly, this research design affords the researcher the opportunity to interrogate issues from exploratory, descriptive or explanatory angle. As such, a case study can be exploratory, illustrative, critical instance, or cumulative. Comment by musgr: Citation needed

· Features of a case study

Particularly, a case study has a narrow scope in terms of the focus area. This way, the design turns up rich details about the sample under study. Also, a researcher can combine both subjective and objective data under a case study design with the main aim of gaining an in-depth feel of the sample and how the details relate to the research problem. Oftentimes, one is likely to obtain a narrative description of the experience or behavior of the respondents.

· Data collection process under case study

Being a qualitative study, the process of data collection is more or less similar to other designs. However, the major difference comes in when selecting the sample. Usually, the size of the sample here is discretionary and the researcher can decide to choose one of even a thousand. However, the most appropriate sampling technique is purposeful. The methods used to collect data here include analysis of transcripts, observing the participant(s), reading and reviewing documents, and interviews. Analysis of the data could be approached holistically or via coding procedures. Nevertheless, the researcher will prefer a holistic approach since it considers all the collected data and the conclusions arrived at are, as the word suggests, holistic. Comment by musgr: Citation needed

III. Data Collection Plan

Clearly, the two research designs selected are very appropriate during this study. Particularly, it is apparent that in both designs, a purposeful sampling technique is the most appropriate. This is to say that the researcher will pre-select the participants such that only those who will give the most useful/relevant information are selected. This is step is very critical since it is easy to miss crucial steps. This is the point where the researcher will decide which participant matters and, by extension, which data matters (Reybold, Lammert & Stribling, 2013).

The data collection plan will include: First, the researcher will select the most appropriate participants to make the sample. All the participants must be investors who have firms listed on the NYSE in their portfolios. The sample size should not be more than 25 otherwise the study could be too cumbersome and this might jeopardize the final results. Comment by musgr: Study size is determined by saturation

Secondly, the researcher will distribute pre-prepared questionnaires to each one of the participants. These questionnaires will contain the variables which will be measured. Particularly, the study will measure the role which the financial intermediaries play and, specifically, values of portfolios and values of the capital invested. Also, the study will focus on the impact of financial intermediaries on the portfolios which they manage on behalf of the investors. Specific variables which will be measured here include the amount of time investors save, and the level of improvement of their lifestyle. Comment by musgr: number

Thirdly, the researcher will ensure data saturation by conducting follow up interviews. During the interviews, trigger questions will be posed to test the veracity of the information shared at the first instance. Further, the researcher will rely on observation of the participants to beef up the details and to make the data more relevant and useful. Comment by musgr: See Appropriate Language https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/using_appropriate_language/index.html

References

Corbin, J., Strauss, A., & Strauss, A. L. (2015). Basics of qualitative research. sage.

Hancock, D. R., & Algozzine, B. (2016). Doing case study research: A practical guide for beginning researchers. Teachers College Press.

Matua, G. A., & Van Der Wal, D. M. (2015). Differentiating between descriptive and interpretive phenomenological research approaches. Nurse researcher, 22(6).

Reybold, L. E., Lammert, J. D., & Stribling, S. M. (2013). Participant selection as a conscious research method: Thinking forward and the deliberation of ‘emergent’findings. Qualitative Research, 13(6), 699-716.

Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative research. Sage.

Wilson, A. (2015). A guide to phenomenological research. Nursing Standard (2014+), 29(34), 38.