Research proposal part 2. (1600 words)

Research Methods

Coursework 2

C39RE

My friend’s research proposal.

USER ID-

NAME-

COURSE COORDINATOR- Dr. Esinath Ndiweni

WORD COUNT- 1972

Research Aim

This research aims to explore the future of UBER in the United Arab Emirates after the rise of Driverless Cars, how it will affect the people participating in the shared economy and how will the rise of driverless cars affect the economy, Uber and its employees.

Objectives

· To evaluate pre-existing research on the future of Uber in the shared economy.

· Understand the effect of driverless cars on jobs

· To evaluate if participants of the sharing economy like Uber drivers are going to still benefit in the future.

· To list out practical solutions for Uber as a company to have sustainable future.

Philosophy

Research Philosophy is the belief of which way data about a particular case should be gathered and it defers because it is the researchers perception of the objective and how they prefer to carry it out. When implementing any research, it is important to understand the research philosophy as this helps in clarifying research designs and create a personalized design for the particular case study. (Bahari, 2019) A research philosophy can be further broken down to Ontology and Epistemology, Ontology is the study which focuses on what contains reality. Researchers understand how things are and how they work. Ontology is broken down to two subcategories, Objectivism and Subjectivism, Objectivism states that an individual's perspective doesn't alter reality, whereas Subjectivism states believes that reality can be shaped by perspective where every individual has a different perspective which means that there are multiple versions of the same reality. (O'Gorman and MacIntosh, 2019).

Epistemology focuses on the nature of information, this method of study assumes based on how knowledge or data is created and used. The assumptions are classified into positivism and interpretivism. A case study could be viewed in a Positivistic way or an Interpretivistic way, the methods would allow you to generalize the study(Positivistic) or the study would focus on an individual case only.(Interpretivist) (Research Philosophy - Research Methodology, 2020)

The interpretivist approach in this case would be more advisable as the data is less statistical and more theoretical, the sample group is closed to a single company and its employees. The validity of the data collected in this study is higher as it is mostly primary. The main key for researchers is to study the participant in its natural environment however they need to acknowledge the fact that doing this would affect the participants in the study. This approach would also help us understand the factors which would impact the subjects leadership in the desired market. (Research Philosophy - Research Methodology, 2020)

Research Approach

This case study follows the Inductive approach, an inductive approach focuses highly on the data collection and generation methods and focuses lightly on the analytical methods used to interpret this information. The approach is a data driven approach and does not merely focus on testing hypotheses, instead obtains an understanding of the concept, to do this the researcher would primarily use secondary information readily available to derive concepts, framework and structures. (Chetty, 2016)

Therefore, in this research, previous research carried out by other researches which align with the objectives and aim will be studied and understood for a different perspective, with little to no hypotheses.

Data Collection Methods

There are various methods of data collection, two paths which researchers can take are qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative path focuses on factual data and finds correlation like statistical data being used to create line graphs. Researchers try to control variables when they have quantitative data to narrow down the findings. (McLeod, 2019) Qualitative data observes the variables instead of controlling them and is richer instead of finding factual data. The method believes that objective reality doesn't exist and that reality is purely subjective, depending on the individuals participating in that reality. Research which follows a qualitative approach explores and seeks to explain why and how an assumption is made. (McLeod, 2019)

Few methods to collect qualitative data are close-ended surveys, online quizzes, open-ended surveys, questionnaires and interviews and focus groups. These methods of data collection effect the quality of the research and the validity of the research which drives the study. For this case study, qualitative method has been selected as collecting the data from Uber drivers and other participants of Uber's shared economy could not have close ended questions and the questions would need to be more open so the participants could express their thoughts. (Jovancic, 2019)

This research would firstly take advantage of the previous secondary data to find out Uber's plans for the future and relate different data together to find a correlation like the rise of driverless cars in other markets and its effects on Uber's decisions for the future of its vehicles. Content Analysis would be used which is a method used in analyzing

qualitative data, in this analysis we'll create a coding unit to understand how many secondary articles back up the aim of this research being conducted. (Willard, 2019)

The research will also use other data collection methods like interviews with Uber drivers to ask them questions about their satisfactory level with the job and to understand the impact of losing their jobs. Interviews help the researcher collect data directly from the interviewee due to that the data is rich and personalized so it is trustworthy. The interview will be semi-structured to get specific answers and opinions. (Jovancic, 2019)

The third method would be questionnaires which would be used to understand the demographic of the sample used for the research which helps us understand who would get affected by this change. The questions would be close-ended like multiple-choice questions, likert-scale and yes/no questions. (Jovancic, 2019)

The research combines the use of qualitative and quantitative data to get an improved evaluation by balancing the limitation of one research by the strength of another for example :- Interviews are time consuming so questionnaires are used to save time spent in the research for simple questions like demographics.(Better Evaluation, n.d.) If one of the data is used solely it increases the risk of having too many detailed and non significant conclusions or too many general conclusions without context. Used together the quantitative data gives you the answers for "what" and qualitative data answers the question "why" to have an overall answer. (Mozyrko, 2020)

Data Analysis Methods

Qualitative Data is made up of words, rich text, observations of behaviors, etc and is analyzed using a different method compared to quantitative data. To derive a meaning of this kind of data is not possible as we do not understand all the variables and neither can we control them if we understand them, which is why we use qualitative data to explore the topic rather than coming to a conclusion. There are four steps to analyze this data. First, the researcher has to go over the data multiple times to get familiar with it. Secondly, the researcher should find a connection with the research objectives. The researcher will then develop a structure using the raw data and its relationship with the objective, this is done through coding or indexing. One of the methods would be coding demographics like age, gender or economic status. Lastly, after developing the structure the researcher identifies a pattern and connects the data to the research questions to develop a better understanding and to validate the objective. (Bhatia, 2018)

This research will use template analysis. This method of analysis is a form of thematic analysis, the main focus in the analysis is on hierarchical coding. However, to balance the analysis a strong structure is created to analyze the data which can be changed over time as it is flexible unlike thematic analysis. The main pillar for the analysis in template analysis is setting a coding template. The steps carried out to perform template analysis start with increasing the familiarity of the data which should be analyzed, the data is highlighted by the key data points and advanced further into the analysis. The data is then organized into themes and grouped with relevance. After grouping the data the researcher creates a template to code the data and applies it to the found data. If there are any changes required, the code is modified and adjusted according to the found data or it is finalized. (Brooks, McCluskey, Turley and King, 2014)

Ethical Issues

Ethics come from the Greek philosophy of moral life. The term ethics is used to set up a boundary between tolerable and intolerable behavior. These ethics are followed to ensure that the participants aren't physically, emotionally or mentally harmed in any way by the research. Ethical codes have changed over the years as we've understood more about the human mind and the methods of communication that could harm our mental health. Ethics is subjective because it depends on the character of the researcher, some researchers would have higher sensitivity towards unethical behaviors and some would behave neutrally. (Mintz, 2017)

The main ethical issues faced with qualitative research is to protect the participants. Few of the issues the researcher should be concerned about are informed consent, confidentiality, protection of vulnerable participants, voluntary participation, etc. (Marianna and Fouka, n.d.)

Informed consent focuses on giving participants to enter and exit the research whenever they please, so they are aware that it is voluntary for them. They are provided with full information of the research, what will happen to the information, how it will be analyzed, who all are going to have access to it and purpose of the research before they enter the research. After the participant is briefed, consent is obtained from the participant to receive the participants information. (Informed consent, n.d.)

Another ethical issue the researcher should focus on would be the confidentiality of the participant. The first proposal should be anonymity, if the researcher believes it is not possible to give anonymity then the researcher should promise confidentiality of information and only use the information which is required. (Mcleod, 2015)

Lastly, the researcher should focus on the protection of participants, in this case if the participant gets stressed about the loss of their job because of the replacement of Uber drivers with driverless cars and the researcher should focus on vulnerable groups and give them special care. If incase it is necessary to cause distress to the participant then the researcher should debrief them appropriately. (Mcleod, 2015)

Research Structure

Schedule of work	Date	Timeline
		Duration (days)
Introduction	8 September	8
Aims, objectives	16 September	10
Literature review	6 October	20
Theoretical context	24 October	17
Data collection	10 November	15
Data analysis and interpretation	25 November	20
Potential impacts of the research (including pros and cons)	15 December	15
Structuring and completing the first draft	30 December	20
Reviewing the final draft	19 Jan	20
Final Research	8 Feb

The research structure is broken down into six chapters. Chapter one highlights the outline of the research and gives a brief understanding of the research background and reasoning of the selection of this research. The chapter further moves into the aims and objectives. The second chapter evaluates previous researches in the same area and reviews the models, frameworks and literature used in those researches. The chapter then explains and identifies the problems in the previous researches and shows the areas to be improved and how it will be carried out. Chapter three presents the methodology of the research and explains the process and issues in carrying out the particular research, which means going over the methodology, research design, data collection methods, sample structure and the ethical issues. Chapter four presents the primary data collected through the research and highlights the findings made by this primary data in charts. Chapter five states the conclusions and analysis to show the achievement of the research aim and objective. The final chapter concludes all the work and summarises the entire study to show the level of achievement of the research and highlights the limitations and future scopes of the same study. (Dudovskiy, n.d.)

References

1. Bahari, S. (2019). Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research Strategies: Contrasting Epistemological And Ontological Assumptions. [Online] Sainshumanika.Utm.My. Available At: Https://Sainshumanika.Utm.My/Index.Php/Sainshumanika/Article/View/256/253 [Accessed 23 Mar. 2020].

2. O'gorman, K. And Macintosh, R. (2019). Mapping Research Methods. [Online] Heriot-Watt University. Available At: Https://Researchportal.Hw.Ac.Uk/En/Publications/Mapping-Research-Methods [Accessed 24 Mar. 2020].

3. Research-Methodology. 2020. Research Philosophy - Research Methodology. [Online] Available At: <Https://Research-Methodology.Net/Research-Philosophy/> [Accessed 25 March 2020].

4. Chetty, P., 2016. Importance Of Research Approach In A Research. [Online] Project Guru. Available At: <Https://Www.Projectguru.In/Selecting-Research-Approach-Business-Studies/)> [Accessed 27 March 2020].

5. Mcleod, S., 2019. [Online] Simplypsychology.Org. Available At: <Https://Www.Simplypsychology.Org/Qualitative-Quantitative.Html> [Accessed 28 March 2020].

6. Jovancic, N., 2019. 5 Data Collection Methods For Obtaining Quantitative And Qualitative Data. [Online] Leadquizzes. Available At: <Https://Www.Leadquizzes.Com/Blog/Data-Collection-Methods/> [Accessed 27 March 2020].

7. Willard, E., 2019. [Online] Available At: <Https://Www.Tutor2u.Net/Psychology/Reference/Research-Methods-Content-Analysis%20)> [Accessed 25 March 2020].

8. Betterevaluation.Org. N.D. Combine Qualitative And Quantitative Data | Better Evaluation. [Online] Available At: <Https://Www.Betterevaluation.Org/En/Rainbow_Framework/Describe/Combining_Qualitative_And_Quantitative_Data> [Accessed 29 March 2020]

9. Mozyrko, B., 2020. [Online] Usabilitygeek.Com. Available At: <Https://Usabilitygeek.Com/Benefits-Of-Merging-Quantitative-And-Qualitative-Data-In-Ux-Studies/> [Accessed 30 March 2020].

10. Bhatia, M., 2018. Your Guide To Qualitative And Quantitative Data Analysis Methods - Atlan | Humans Of Data. [Online] Atlan | Humans Of Data. Available At: <Https://Humansofdata.Atlan.Com/2018/09/Qualitative-Quantitative-Data-Analysis-Methods/> [Accessed 31 March 2020].

11. Brooks, J., Mccluskey, S., Turley, E. And King, N., 2014. [Online] Available At: <Https://Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov/Pmc/Articles/Pmc4960514/)> [Accessed 31 March 2020].

12. Mintz, S., 2017. [Online] Available At: <Https://Www.Ethicssage.Com/2017/03/Why-Do-We-Need-Ethics.Html)> [Accessed 31 March 2020].

13. Dudovskiy, J., N.D. Research Structure - Research-Methodology. [Online] Research-Methodology. Available At: <Https://Research-Methodology.Net/Research-Methodology/Research-Structure/> [Accessed 3 April 2020].

14. Researchsupport.Admin.Ox.Ac.Uk. N.D. Informed Consent. [Online] Available At: <Https://Researchsupport.Admin.Ox.Ac.Uk/Governance/Ethics/Resources/Consent> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

15. Marianna, M. And Fouka, G., N.D. What Are The Major Ethical Issues In Conducting Research? Is There A Conflict Between The Research Ethics And The Nature Of Nursing?. [Online] Hsj.Gr. Available At: <Https://Www.Hsj.Gr/Medicine/What-Are-The-Major-Ethical-Issues-In-Conducting-Research-Is-There-A-Conflict-Between-The-Research-Ethics-And-The-Nature-Of-Nursing.Php?Aid=3485> [Accessed 1 April 2020].

16. Mcleod, S., 2015. Psychology Research Ethics | Simply Psychology. [Online] Simplypsychology.Org. Available At: <Https://Www.Simplypsychology.Org/Ethics.Html> [Accessed 2 April 2020].