Marketing essay
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intro2.pptxAssignment Clinic b
Assignment Clinic B
Assessment B: Research Instrument
(70%)
Deadline: 28 April 2021
(Wednesday) at
15:00 via Turnitin
Wordcount: 3000 words (+/-10%)
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Assignment Question: The Social Impact Team
In this assignment, you should focus your discussion on the process of developing either a qualitative or a quantitative instrument. In your essay, you must provide clear rationale to justify your methodological choices by drawing on relevant research theories and readings introduce to you in your module. Explain the research procedures involved in operationalising your research design. Lastly, reflect on the limitations of your research design and discuss the ethical issues that may arise in your study. You are expected to cite academic references to support your arguments.
.
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Research Instrument: Quas OR Quans – Choose one
Justification and Rationale – a sound rationale for a research design is one that:
Consistent – from Research Objectives – Methods
Logical Research Design (how the set up of research instrument work )
Appropriate and Creative use of Interviewing Techniques
Grounded in Academic/Research Theories
Your Role:
Designer of Research
Research Procedure– how you operationalise the research
Limitations – critical reflection, how they can be addressed, would you do things differently
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DO NOT CONDUCT ACTUAL FIELDWORK/PRIMARY RESEARCH PROPOSAL – ASSIGNMENT A ReSEARCH INSTRUMENT – Assignment B
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Suggested structure
Section 1: Introduction (app 400 words)
Research Aim/Obj and/or Hypothesis (no word limit – bullet points)
Section 2: Critical evaluation of methodology (app. 800 words)
Section 3: Developing Research Instrument (app. 1200 words)
Section 4: Critical Reflection: Limitations of the Study (app. 600 words)
NO NEED FOR CONCLUSION – Section 4 acts as conclusion
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Section 1: Introduction (app. 400 words):
Briefly introducing the SIT research topic and state the information gap/area for the topic. Why addressing this gap is important for SIT to address.
A brief literature review on greenwashing and/or eco-consciousness (suggested reading in brief) to highlight the gap in existing study
If you are designing qualitative research, outline (in bullet points) your research objectives for this study.
If you are designing a quantitative survey, outline a series of hypothesis you wish to test. (HYPOTHESIS ONLY)
NO word limit for the above. Can be the same as Assessment A.
Briefly explain who your target population is for this study. There is no need to discuss your sampling plan here
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Section 2: Critical evaluation of methodology (app. 800 words)
First, explain which research philosophy (interpretive/positivist) you intend to ground your research. Which research design (exploratory, conclusive) are you using and why?
Have you chosen a qualitative (exploratory) or quantitative (conclusive) research design? Justify your reasons.
Is your research cross-sectional or longitudinal? Why?
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Justification/Rationale of your Methodology (overarching research design is key.
Specifically, explain how your chosen philosophy enables you to address the research objectives outlined in your introduction.
Saunder et Al’s Research Onion – Outside In
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Section 3: Developing Research Instrument (app. 1200 words)
Option A: Qualitative Research Instrument
Interview Guide for Focus Group/In-Depth Interview
OR
Observation Guide for Ethnography
Option B: Quantitative Research Instrument
Structured Questionnaire
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You must first design your research instrument.
Consider how you design your research instrument in relation to the research objectives and/or hypothesis (Very important for quantitative research)
In the essay itself, you will discuss how you go about developing the research instrument and your research design
Make sure you include your research instrument in the appendix
Section 3: Option A (Qualitative)
In the essay, provide an explanation of the research process involve – i.e. how do you intend to carry out your research study
Focus Group: Why focus group? How does it address the information need of this research? How do you design your focus group? Is your group composition homogenous or heterogeneous? What criteria would you use to design your group composition (e.g. eco-conscious and not eco-conscious)? Why? What is the duration of your focus group? How many people will you be recruiting per group? How many groups do you intend to conduct? Who will be the moderator? Justify your focus group design choices. Where is the focus group taking place (formal or informal setting)? Why?
In-depth Interview: Why in-depth interviews? How does it address the information need of this research? Who are you interviewing – if you are interviewing different types of participants (eco-conscious and not eco-conscious), what criteria do you use? Why? How many interviewees for each criteria? Where will take place?
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Researcher’s Role: Reflexivity (Unit 7)
What are the roles of the researcher?
How researcher should reflect on their pre-conceptions, do you assume the role of a co-author? Or do you treat the interviewing process as a passive question and answer exercise.
Reflect on how the phrasing of your questions and probing, non-verbal cues can impact on how your participants relate to you.
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Qualitative Research Instrument
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT (Interview Guide)
How did you develop your interview guide
What type of interviews do you intend to conduct? Semi-structured or unstructured? Why?
What topic areas do you intend to cover? How do you probe for richer answers? Justify your interview design choices.
Are you using direct and/or indirect questions? Are you using any projective techniques? Show example to demonstrate.
How do you intend to probe for richer answers?
Are you using any props/visual stimuli?
How do you ensure the flow of the conversation? Funnelling?
Demonstrate how your topic areas and type of questions enable you to address the information need.
ATTACH YOUR INTERVIEW GUIDE IN THE APPENDIX
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Topic Guide -
General Question – to warm up
Topic by Topic
Under each topic – open ended questions
Probing Questions
Prompts (Visual, Hypothetical)
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Direct: Participants are asked direct or undisguised questions about a particular topic
What do you think of Waitrose in terms of its image as a supermarket brand?
What are your opinion of convenient food?
Indirect: Participants are asked indirect questions about a particular topic to enable them to 'project' their views in the guise of a third person, or object.
Can you describe the sort of people who shop at Waitrose?
People who buy convenient food is ____________
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Direct and Indirect Interviewing Techniques
Probing lies at the heart of qualitative interviews
A form of elicitation technique
Used to encourage a participant to elaborate on his/her answers
Allow participants to go deeper in his/her discussion and expression of a particular topic.
Elicitation technique can takes the form of a
Verbal prompt
Non Verbal prompt
Visual prompt (photographs, props/objects)
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Probing
Association
Completion
Construction
Expression
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4 types of Projective Techniques
Try Use Projective Techniques – Unit 4
Sentence Completion (People who buy ‘convenience food’ are _____)
Top of Mind Brainstorm (When I mention the word “convenient food” what words spring to your mind?)
Thought Bubbles- Cartoons
Psycho-drawing
Collages
Photographs
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Section 3: Ethnography
What type of observation do you intend to carry out?
Is your observation overt or covert? Do you intend to participate in the activities of your participants or would observe from a distant? Why?
Would you be interviewing your participants on-site? Justify your ethnographic design choices.
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Qualitative Research Instrument
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT (Observation Guide)
How did you develop your observation guide?
What will you be observing? (people, objects, space, behaviour, specific occasion, rhythm, mundane activities, time)? People-object interaction, people-space interaction, people-people interaction/power dynamics
How do you engage in descriptive, focussed and selective observation?
What are the roles of the researcher? Active participant/Distant observer?
Are you doing on-site interviews while observing or follow up the observation with interview?
How are you recording your observation/interview? Photography/Video/Fieldnotes?
If photography/video is used – who will be taking the visual imagery? Researcher? Participants? CCTV? Why?
What ethical implications do you need to consider
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Option B: Quantitative Survey
Consult the hypotheses and research objectives in Section 1.
Based on the quick secondary research of existing research (e.g. on eco-consciousness and greenwashing) you have conducted, see if you can adapt existing measures to use (see Seminar 3 for example).
Design a questionnaire to test the hypotheses outlined in the introduction above. Attach the interview/observation guide and supporting prompts in Appendix A.
In the essay, you need to explain how you develop your questionnaire.
If you have consulted existing research to develop your hypothesis and measures – you can explain this here (But keep it short).
Here you simply need to identify the variables you are testing, existing measures you intend to employ. Then consider whether you intend to
‘replicate’ the existing measure but testing it with a different sample, or
do you intend to address a research a research a gap (i.e. test relationship between variables that have yet to be addressed in existing relationship).
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E.g. conceptual framework: Eco-Consciousness: Existing Literature (Sanchez, 2010)
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Definition of variable
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The global environmental crisis is in a critical state
Likert Statement
We are too concerned about the environment not about price or affordability
I am an active supporter of specific pro-environmental issues (e.g. water management etc)
I consider myself to be informed about environment-related issues
It is very difficult for a person like me to be able to do anything for the environment
I believe we should pay more for eco-friendly product
Option B: Quantitative Research
Based on your hypothesis, explain and justify the types of measures (e.g. nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio) you intend to use. Justify and illustrate how these measures address the hypotheses above.
Where possible consider what types of scale you intend to use (comparative/Non-comparative).Demonstrate how these address the hypotheses.
How does the design of your questionnaire motivate participants to participate and complete the survey in a way that minimize response error?
How do you structure your questionnaire – general questions to personal questions
Briefly discuss the statistical analyses (e.g. descriptive, inferential, association, differences and predictive) you intend to use to address your research hypotheses. (UNIT 8-9)
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Section 4: : Critical Reflection: Limitations of the Study (app. 600 words)
Conclude your essay by critically reflecting on the limitations of your research design and instruments.
Ethical Implications (not mandatory but desirable) - Unit 10
Discuss how you intend to mitigate these limitations.
Or if these limitations cannot be addressed in the current study, consider how future researchers who intend to carry out similar study could address these limitations.
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Appendices
Appendix A: Research Instrument
Optional Appendices
Visual Prompts
Conceptual Framework (not mandatory) – especially for quantitative research
Existing Measures – especially for Quantitative Research
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Marking Criteria
Appropriate Research Instrument
Understanding and application of research theories
Reflection
Coherence and progression
Presentation, writing style and structure
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