Research difficulties

Undertaking a research project can be a very rewarding experience. Inevitably, however, there are also certain pitfalls. Below is an indication of some of these, and how best to avoid them.

Time

It surprises everyone who starts a research project just how long it can take to achieve such simple things as making appointments, designing and testing questionnaires, etc. Sometimes it is necessary to re-visit early respondents for
further clarification or extend the survey sample beyond the original expectations – all of these activities can and do take a considerable amount of time to consider, evaluate, organise and complete.

Dissertation aims

The specified aims of a project will establish the boundaries that define the scope of the research. Consequently all data collection processes and the analysis of the data should be specific to the aims of the research.

Organising information

As the title and purpose of a new project becomes established, researchers inevitably become highly sensitive to their information requirements. Background information is collected at an ever increasing rate and can accumulate into an overpowering burden. Some form of information handling system is essential. Time will be always be a problem, consequently it makes good sense to handle information only once – read it, record it and store it for subsequent use if necessary.

Preparing draft chapters

During the ‘dead times’ of any project (for example whilst waiting for feedback for the proposal) it is always worthwhile to write up any material that has already been collected in draft format. Introductory chapters and a literature review can often be completed well before external data has been collected or analysed.

Communications

Dissertations will be marked by an academic tutor and will be subject to a system of second marking. The project should aim to communicate effectively the aims and achievements of the research process to an “informed reader”.

Limitations

Conclusions and recommendations must be drawn from the data as collected, analysed and presented in the project. They should be relevant to the aims of the project and will be limited by the scope of the research. Course members will be expected to critically examine data and not just present information as an attempt to justify any preconceived conclusions. They should develop the ability to distinguish valid from spurious research.

The Research Process

The literature survey

Reviewing the literature will inform the nature of the research question and objectives. You are encouraged to use the various electronic search facilities, journal articles, and classic texts to identify and understand well-established and more recent thinking in the area.

A critical evaluation of the literature in your chosen field of study must be undertaken to produce a clear and logical argument that informs and reflects on your research questions and objectives. During this process you are required to identify the appropriate theories, models and conceptual ideas. The literature review will form one or more chapters of your dissertation depending on the nature of your research. Remember to keep a record of your bibliographic material, and reference all cited authors and texts taken from the literature.

During this stage of the research process you may want to consider the following questions:

What sort of literature is likely to be relevant to any defined project and its objectives?

• In what discipline (management, psychology, sociology, etc.)?
• in books, periodicals, company reports?
• unpublished?

How do I undertake the literature research and acquire the relevant items?

• how shall I survey the literature?
• how many different surveys shall I carry out?
• how long will this take?
• how shall I know when to stop?
  

What am I looking for in the literature?

• what are the main general arguments and themes in the subject area?
  

• how much is relevant?
• who are the main authorities in the field?
• what are the major findings?
• are any of particular relevance to this project?
• are there any significant omissions as far as this project is concerned?
• is it necessary to look elsewhere?
• what are the concepts and definitions commonly used?
• which of these should be adopted and why?
• what theories, models, conceptual frameworks are used?
• which of these are relevant to this project?
• what research methods are commonly used?
• are any of relevance to this project?
• is it necessary to read further in the literature on research methods?
  

How do I record and classify what I have read?

• what form of note taking will be appropriate?
• what form of classification should be used?
• where should the emphasis be placed upon the material collected?

Your literature search should be both systematic and thorough. It is important to appreciate that before you undertake a literature search you need to define the subject you are researching. This is an obvious point, however it is too frequently overlooked. If you are researching the role of advertising in reducing nicotine consumption amongst teenage females you will need to examine the literature in the pertinent areas of advertising, communications, social marketing, consumer behaviour and healthcare marketing. Please remember to record the information you find during the search, this should include the FULL reference i.e. author(s), year, article title, journal title, dates, volume/issue, publisher, publication location. You should also make a note of the page numbers of any quotations you record.

Information searching is time consuming and laborious, it is advisable to start consulting books and journals as soon as possible. Guidance on using the Library resources can be found by clicking here.

Choice of research methods

Research methodology

You are encouraged to use a methodology that is appropriate to the research question and objectives. You must justify your choice of research methodology i.e. the advantages and disadvantages of doing primary qualitative and quantitative research, and secondary research, and explain why the research methods i.e. interviews, questionnaires, observation are for data collection. Think about the specific issues of why, what, how and when. Are they relevant to your research objectives?

You will need to decide how you are going to analyse the data collected (quantitative/ qualitative). There are appropriate techniques available and these should be discussed.

There should be one chapter in the final dissertation that discusses your research methodology. You are required to discuss your intended research design, and consider the limitations and implications of your chosen approach (time, costs, knowledge, access). Transparency throughout the research process is essential. You should seek to ensure that you are able to provide evidence of your research and data collection. It is good practice to keep and store diaries, correspondence with your client, completed questionnaires, video/audio tapes of all interviews, photographs etc. Markers have in the past asked students to provide evidence of the research. What specific organisational (or other on-the-ground) material do the objectives of the project require to be collected?

Data collection

(Note: please make sure you follow the guidelines on Client Relationships if you are doing an organisation-based dissertation.)

Collecting data is an extremely time consuming process. Be realistic about the effects of time and resource limitations on your data collection objectives.

You might want to ask yourself the following questions:

• what kind?
• activities, types of people, attitudes, feelings, intentions, memories, etc.
• who ‘owns’ this material?
• is it confidential, very private, a guarded secret?
• how can they be persuaded to share this information?
• reciprocity?
• when will these people or the material be available?

What data collection methods will be used?

• how will the material be collected from these people?
• observe them, hassle them, infer from their statements or behaviour?
• what data collection techniques exist for this purpose?
• questionnaires, interviews, tests, diaries, etc?
• how difficult are these techniques likely to be in relation to this project?
• what time do they require to prepare for and use?
• what sort of analysis do they require?
• statistical?
• is enough known about them to make an effective choice?

What more can be learnt?

• what techniques will be chosen in the light of the answers to the above?
• why?
  

What preparations will have to be made in order to start the data collection process?

• identification of population and sample?
• requests for assistance?
• a plan or timetable of activities?
• will an existing questionnaire be used or will a new one be written and designed?
• will training in the particular research techniques be required?
• will a pilot study be conducted?
• will computer assistance be required?
• SPSS?
• will pre-paid envelopes be supplied?
• will a private room be required?
• how will confidentiality be maintained?

Fieldwork

What are the influences/constraints upon undertaking fieldwork?

• in terms of the overall project schedule?
• in terms of personal timetable availability?
• in terms of respondents timetable availabilities?

What time is needed/available to undertake the pilot study?

How long will each interview require – for completion and for analysis? How will the interviews or questionnaires be scheduled within the time available for the project?

When will the fieldwork be undertaken – during the day or during the evening?

What are the expected costs of photocopying, postage, travelling, audio-tapes etc?

Who will bear these costs?

Will special arrangements be required regarding the conduct of the interviews, photocopying, postage etc?

Will a preliminary letter of invitation/explanation/assurance of confidentiality to respondents be required?

What will be provided to respondents in exchange for their time and co-operation? Some feed-back? A copy of the final project? Some other incentive! Or will participation be sufficient reward to them?

Will the questions being asked generate anxiety or fear in your respondents? If so how will this be handled?

Analysis

During this phase of the dissertation it is likely that you will become overwhelmed by the amount of data that you have collected. You will need to go back to your research objectives and decide what themes will be focused on and identify what data does not assist you in reaching your conclusions. How detailed will the analysis be? Will all categories be covered from the material collected?

Will tape-recorded interviews be transcribed? In whole or in part?

How will spoilt or incomplete questionnaires be dealt with?

How will respondents be identified or will they remain anonymous?

Will quantitative or qualitative analysis be appropriate? Or both?

If quantitative will correlation be looked for? What tests of significance will be appropriate?

If qualitative will the weight or frequency of the replies require assessment?

How will this be done? Will the method of data collection permit this?

If quantitative how will something of particular significance be identified? Does the data collection method facilitate this?

If qualitative how will associations between categories be identified? Does the system of data collection help this?

How will individual quotations be identified, stored and retrieved?

Will a spreadsheet be used or a computer package?

What methods are to be used for identifying and keeping trace of aspects which need further investigation to complete the analysis?
How can the results of the analysis above be understood? Are there any concepts, conceptual models in the literature which explain or illuminate
them? Are there any organisational facts or situations which throw light on them?

Are some of the results unexpected and not explicable as above? Can they be explained in some other way? Do they form a pattern which suggests a new conceptual model?

Do the results meet the aims of the study? In what way and to what extent? Is further material required?

What will be done if these results do not meet the aims or lack interest, significance or novelty? If they are far from clear cut?

Conducting interviews

Many researchers decide to use face-to-face interviews as an appropriate means of acquiring information. One advantage of interviewing is its
adaptability. A skilful interviewer can follow up leads, probe responses, investigate motives and feelings which a questionnaire can never do.
However, there are difficulties. It is a time-consuming and highly subjective technique so there is always a danger of bias.

Wording the questions carefully, noting and analysing the responses are demanding tasks.

Both interviews and questionnaires can heighten expectations of change within an organisation. If an interview has been conducted or a questionnaire has been circulated, staff will often expect management to respond to criticisms. This can also affect the subject’s response. Care should be taken to explain quite clearly the purpose of any interview or questionnaire.

Before conducting interviews consideration should be given to all of the following:

• has an appropriate sampling technique been used?
• do questions allow for a full response?
• are all responses noted (how – with a tape recorder!)?
• the possibility of interviewer bias with the interviewer leading the respondent either consciously or subconsciously.
• is interviewing the right method?
• would questionnaires be better?
• would longer, better considered written responses be more appropriate?
• can the responses be effectively analysed?
  

Designing questionnaires

Questionnaires are probably the most common method of information collection. They are cheap to administer, can be sent to a large number of
subjects and provided they are well designed are relatively easy to analyse. Questionnaires are, however, difficult to design. Finding the right words, the best layout and the method of distribution most likely to yield a good response is skilled work. The following factors need to be considered:

Planning

Structure the questionnaire to aid subsequent analysis. Decide the role of open ended questions in advance. How will non-responses to some questions be handled?

Question structure

How will questions be structured (dichotomous or multi-choice) or open questions or both? How will scaling techniques be used? Will ranking
techniques be used? Will flash-card questions/choices be of use? Will incomprehensible jargon be avoided?

Questionnaire design

How can the presentation of the questionnaire be improved? Can the questions be easily read? (do not over photo-reduce).
Is the layout consistent?
Are the questions in the appropriate order? Is the questionnaire too long? Are all instructions unambiguous?
Is the respondent thanked and given clear instructions what to do with the completed questionnaire?

Purpose of questionnaire

Do your respondents know:
(a) why the research is being undertaken?
(b) what they gain as a result of completing your questionnaire?

Questionnaire testing

Are the instructions, questions, analytical procedures and likely responses to be tested? Is it possible to test on sufficient, appropriate people?
Will there be time to modify the research in the light of test results?

Distribution

By post or personal delivery?
Will post paid envelopes be included?
Are there deadlines for responses?
Is there an incentive to complete the questionnaire?
Will all responses be identified, anonymous or optional?
Will non-respondents be followed up?

Client relationships

Some projects will be organisation based, hence the relationship that is established between the researcher and the client organisation will be extremely important. In several respects this relationship resembles that of consultant and client. The following information is aimed at maximising the opportunities that such a research project offer.

The ‘consultant–client’ relationship must be understood by both parties to  achieve satisfactory results. This is likely to require the researcher being investigated and vice versa. A comparison of the client’s definition of the project and the researcher’s definition provides the basis of a sound working relationship, throughout the project. Such a comparison requires discussion. It will be important to establish the boundaries of the research into the organisation. This will probably involve investigation into the organisation’s resources including access to data and people. Confidentiality needs to be agreed – what is acceptable to the organisation and the question of access to information.

In addition to the key person in the client organisation there may be further
participants involved:

• liaison officers
• employees doing work related to your project
• managers and other employees who will be interviewed, asked to supply documents, consulted on various aspects of the project
• managers and other employees who are not involved in the project but would like to know about it
• managers and other employees who may be affected if the recommendations are implemented.
  

Relationships with all these people must be considered in advance and managed accordingly.

Access to information is a basic issue. If a client withholds access to information, for whatever reason, and it is deemed that this information
concerns the problems to be solved, the researcher must attempt to negotiate. It must also be remembered that clients often forget to pass on some information or consider it unimportant or unreliable although the researcher may find it useful!

Pitfalls

The research dissertation is the culmination of the Masters Programme, as such, it presents a considerable challenge. In our experience there are a number of common difficulties encountered by students. This section seeks to outline various issues which need careful consideration.

Time

The preparation of the dissertation takes place within strict time constraints. This calls for careful and methodical planning by students. A research dissertation has a number of stages which are both resource and labour intensive. This requires careful dissertation management to allow for ample time to conduct a comprehensive literature review, collect sufficient data for analysis, and finally to write up the report. It is very easy to overrun on time and not to allow sufficient time to write up the dissertation.

Dissertation structure – the importance of reviewing work

Partly as a consequence of poor time management, but also as a result of the challenge of producing an extended piece of scholarly work, many students encounter problems with the fluency and structure of their dissertations. It is vital, as a part of good research practice, to allow time to self-review a dissertation prior to submission. For students writing in a second language, this stage is particularly important and extra attention should be paid to it. It is always a good idea to ask a friend to read through your work to see if the structure is logical and the content clear and concise.

Feasibility

The limitations of time that are placed on a dissertation necessitate a student to consider very carefully what is a realistic dissertation objective. This requires careful consultation with the dissertation supervisor. In particular, the student needs to consider in some detail how they will obtain the data required for the analysis. This raises an issue of access to a data set such as an organisation and, if a dissertation is investigating senior management decision making, support from senior management will need to be secured. Similarly, a questionnaire study necessitates thought as to the design, the timing, the cost and the mechanism for managing responses. In short, many dissertations encounter serious difficulties through unrealistic objectives being coupled with an inability to operationalise the idea into a practical research plan.

Many students, through no fault of their own, experience problems over access to a data set midway through a research dissertation i.e. an organisation may get taken over, may go out of business, or access may simply not materialise. Any thorough research plan will consider this risk and will have provision for a contingency plan.