CHINHOYI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING
Name Surname Reg. Email Address Cell
Number Number
Tariro C Nota C20141935I Tarironota13@gmail.com 0786210026
Lovemore Marange C20142515B lovemoremarange20@gmail.com 0785421528
Rumbidzai Chauke C20143139W chaukerue@gmail.com 0771454215
Dumisani J Mvundla C20142948N djaymvundla@gmail.com 0774460305
Innocent Gwangwara C20142924X innocentgwangwara114@gmail.co 0782247740
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COURSE: Business Research Methods
COURSE CODE: CURMCS223
LECTURER: Mr chikazhe
ASSIGNMENT: ASSIGNMENT 1
DUE DATE: 26/02/22
LEVEL: 2.2
QUESTION: Research is an overall positioning shaping the way the study is to be
accomplished. Can be qualitative, quantitative or mixed method approach”.
Explain how a researcher can make use of ALL the 3 research strategies.
Introduction
Research methods are various ways in which a researcher can use to collect or gather
information. These methods can be qualitative, quantitative or mixed approach. These 3 different
methods have different approaches to access the information required and are used by the
researcher differently in accomplishing the study at that given time. Henceforth, the detailed
explanation of how the researcher can use all the 3 research strategies is as follows:
Qualitative Method
Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data {i.e Text, video or
audio} to understand concept, opinions, and experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth
insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research. This method is where data is in form
of words, narrations and descriptions to mention but a few. In qualitative research the
participants are expects and the researcher is there to learn. It is open ended dynamic in nature
and provides flexible depth of understanding lastly researcher ideas can be evaluated.
Qualitative research is commonly used in the humanities and social sciences, in subjects such as
sociology, anthropolly, education, health sciences, history, e.t.c. Qualitative questions examples
include: “How can teachers integrate social issues into science curriculums?! How is anxiety
experienced in the world?” and so on. Qualitative research approaches include grounded theory,
ethnography; action research and phenomenological research. Firstly grounded theories involve
researchers collecting rich data on a topic of interest and develop theories inductively. Secondly
ethnography is when researchers immerse themselves in groups or organizations to understand
their cultures furthermore, action research involves researchers and participants collaborating
link theory to practice to drive social change. In conclusive phenomenon or event by describing
and interpreting participants lived experiences.
There are some of the most common qualitative methods which include
Observation
It is whereby you record what you have seen, heard or encountered in detailed field notes. How
can the researcher use observations? Researcher can take field notes with observations and
reflected on your own experiences of the company culture.
Interviews
It involves personally asking people questions in one on one conversation. How can the
researcher can use interviews? - A researcher can conduct in depth interviews with employees in
your office to learn about experience and perspective in greater detail.
Surveys
It involves distributing questionnaires with open-ended questions. How can a researcher use
surveys? He can distribute open-ended surveys to employees across all company’s offices by
emailing to find out if the culture varies across locations.
Quantitative method
It is the process of collecting numerical data through standardized techniques then applying
statistical methods to drive sight from it. The goal of quantitative research method is to collect
numerical data from a group of people then generalize those results to a larger group of people to
explain a phenomenon. Researchers use quantitative method when they want to get objective or
conclusive answers. An example of quantitative research is when a survey is conducted by the
researcher to understand the amount of time a doctor takes to tend to a patient when the patient
walks into the hospital. A patient satisfaction survey template can be used by the researcher to
administer to ask questions like how much time did a doctor takes to see a patient, how often
does a patient walks into a hospital, and other such questions
Gather research insights
In this research method researchers deploy mathematical frameworks and theories that pertain to
the quantity under question. Quantitative research templates are objective elaborate and many
times even investigational. The results achieved from this research method are logical, statistical
and unbiased which the researcher can use without any doubt in it. Data collection happened
using a structured method and conducted on a larger samples that represent the entire population.
Quantitative research characteristics some distinctive characteristics of quantitative research are:
Structured Tools: The researcher uses structured tools such as surveys, polls, or questionnaires
to gather quantitative data. Using such structured methods helps in collecting in-depth and
actionable data from the survey respondent.
Sample size: Quantitative research is conducted on a significant sample size that represents the
target market. The researcher uses these sampling methods when deriving the sample to fortify
the research objective.
Quantitative data: Usually researchers use quantitative data by presenting them on tables,
charts, graphs, or any other non-numerical form. This makes it easy for researchers and others to
understand the data that has been collected as well as prove the validity of the market research.
Quantitative research example: If any organization would like to conduct a customer
satisfaction (CSAT) survey, a customer satisfaction survey template can be used. Through this
survey, an organization can collect quantitative data and metrics on the goodwill of the brand or
organization in the mind of the customer based on multiple parameters such as product quality,
pricing, customer experience, etc. This data can be collected by asking a net promoter
score(NPS) question, matrix table question, etc. that provide data in the form of numbers that can
be analyzed and worked upon.
Mixed Method Research
It is a research method used by researchers to collect and analyze both quantitative and
qualitative data within the same study. Growth of mixed methods research in nursing and
healthcare has occurred at a time of internationally increasing complexity in the healthcare
delivery. Mixed method research helps the researcher to draw on potential strengths of both
qualitative and quantitative methods further more allowing researchers to explore diverse
perspectives uncover relationships that exist between the intricate layers of our multifaceted
research questions. As providers and policy makers strive to ensure quality and safety for
patients and families researchers can use mixed methods to explore contemporary healthcare
trends and practices across increasingly diverse practice settings.
The key word is ‘mixed’, as an essential step in the mixed methods approach is data linkage, or
integration at an appropriate stage in the research process. Purposeful data integration enables
researchers to seek a more panoramic view of their research landscape, viewing phenomena from
different viewpoints and through diverse research lenses. For example, in a randomized
controlled trial (RCT) evaluating a decision aid for women making choices about birth after
caesarean, quantitative data were collected to assess the knowledge change, levels of decisional
conflict, birth choices and outcomes, Qualitative narrative data were collected to gain insight into
women’s decision-making experiences and factors that influenced their choices for mode of
birth.
conclusion
In a nutshell, all the three research methods play a greater role in assisting the researcher in
gathering data for processing. Researcher attains greater knowledge and understanding of the
social world through using quantitative methods. More so, in addition quantitative findings are
made easy to understand to the researcher as necessary context is provided by qualitative
methods. Thus, qualitative and quantitative link at some point as they help a researcher to gain a
more complete picture. Subsequently mixing the methods integrates benefits of both methods by
possibly avoiding limitations of a single approach. Consequently, research strategies is really an
positively shaping the way the research is to be accomplished
References
-Creswell, Plano Clark etal (2003)
-Morse (1991, paragraph 122)
- Gay, Mills and Airasian (2009)
-For qualitative approach methodology -- www.scribbr.com
Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications,
Incorporated. Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2007)
