Online Consumer Shopping Motivations for Luxury Products - Research Paper Example

Research Methodology Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Research Methodology 4 2. Research Philosophy 4 Ontology 4 Epistemology 4 3. Research Approach 4 Deductive Research 5 Inductive Research 5 4. Data Sources 5 Primary Data 5 Secondary Data 6 5. Data Collection Approaches 6 Quantitative Methodology 6 Qualitative Methodology 7 Chosen Methodology 8 6. Data Collection Method 8 Focus Group 8 Interviews 9 Surveys 9 7. Data Analysis Method 9 8. Research Design 9 9. Sampling 10 10. Validity 10 Internal Validity 10 External Validity 11 11. Reliability and Ethics 11 12. Summary 12 Reference List 13 Bibliography 15 1. Research Methodology This part of the study discusses the methodology which has been adopted for addressing to the research topic (Perry, 1998). The research has been made related to the topic ‘whether online shopping motivates the customers towards purchasing luxury products’. This part of the study would be sub divided into various segments, each part displaying some specific portion of the research methodology which has been implemented. 2. Research Philosophy Ontology Ontology is the initial point that will lead to the own established theoretical framework. It refers to the study of assumptions related to the nature of the social reality, what are the units that constitute this reality and how they interact with each other (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe, 2002). Epistemology It is the branch of research philosophy which mainly focuses on the scope and nature of the knowledge. It is also referred to as ‘the theory of knowledge’ (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe, 2002). 3. Research Approach There are mainly two types of research approaches. One is the deductive research approach and the other is the inductive research approach. Deductive Research Deductive research approach helps in testing the validity of the research study in waterfall manner (Shaheen, n.d). This model follows a series of procedure i.e. theory establishment, followed by hypothesis generation, observation of the behavior of variables and then reaching the conclusion. Inductive Research Inductive research approach is a useful tool for converting the observation into theoretical conclusion (Shaheen, n.d.). This model follows a series of procedures i.e. observation of the behavior and relationship between the variables, identification of the type of relationship, establishing a suitable hypothesis and then reaching to the conclusion. 4. Data Sources The study requires collecting primary as well as secondary data in order to satisfy the research objective. Primary Data The Primary data is collected by the researcher himself/herself for conducting the research work. The primary data is generally collected by gathering the responses of the customers participating in the close ended survey that have been conducted for carrying out the research work. There are many forms of primary sources such as responses of the participants in the surveys, interviews etc (Somekh and Lewin, 2005). Secondary Data The secondary data is collected by reviewing the literatures that have been made on the same topic earlier. Secondary data collection is the process of collecting data where someone other than the user gathers the entire set of data (Vaivio, 2008). The data collected from the secondary research has helped to reach to the research objective in an appropriate manner. The secondary data sources like newspapers, journals, books, and data obtained from company websites and different working and research papers published by various academic scholars are utilised while conducting any research work. The collection of these data helps in proceeding in the research process in an appropriate manner. 5. Data Collection Approaches Quantitative Methodology The quantitative research methodology is such a research methodology which involves various computation techniques or statistical calculations (J. Hussey and R. Hussey, 1997). The methodology takes into consideration various statistical data for carrying out the research work. According to J. Hussey and R. Hussey (1997), the use of questionnaire based survey does not seem to be useful for addressing to the research problem of all types. When the research study comprises of numerous realties, the methodology that should be taken into consideration is quantitative research methodology. Generally, the quantitative research methodology conducts close ended survey for carrying out the research work (Lietz, 2010). Qualitative Methodology The qualitative research methodology concentrates on the words as well as observations for expressing the reality and interpreting the result. It helps in interpreting the results of the research study in much comprehensive manner (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The methodology plans for describing the individuals in their natural situations. It helps in finding out the actual reason behind occurrence of some natural phenomena. The qualitative methodology analyses the research problem in terms of human belief, culture, social behaviour etc. It is a process of analysing the qualitative data based on the quality. This research methodology is highly descriptive in nature and it uses data on a large scale for the analysis purpose and represents them by plotting on the graph. Specifically, the qualitative research methodology does not take into consideration statistical calculations while conducting the research work and makes attempt for conducting the research on the basis of the responses of the participants of the research. The data collection techniques that are utilised in the qualitative research methodology include interviews, responses in the open ended surveys and observations from various secondary data researches. It makes use of unstructured interviews in the ordinary days. The quantitative as well as qualitative research methodologies are highly descriptive research framework for addressing to the research problem and carrying out the research work. Both the research methodologies are equally important. There exist dissimilarities in these two types of research methodologies. Sometimes, mix of both the research methodologies also help in carrying out the research work effectively. Chosen Methodology The research study has opted for quantitative research methodology because it is best suitable for carrying out the research work and interpreting the result in an appropriate manner. The responses of the customers participating in the close ended survey would be collected by means of Likert’s scale that would help in conducting the analysis in quantitative manner. Based on the analysis of the primary data that has been collected, an appropriate result would be interpreted. It has helped to have a transparent view about the reasons which motivate the customers in purchasing luxury products. Moreover the primary research has made it easy to find out the trends of changes in customers choices or preferences. 6. Data Collection Method According to Saunders et al. (2003), the data collection technique used for conducting the research comprises of various elements including secondary data collection, interview, sampling, observations, surveys etc (Saunders, 2003). This particular research study has utilised three elements out of the above mentioned five elements in order to collect the data and perform the analysis. They are mentioned below: Focus Group Focus group is generally the form of qualitative research where a particular group of individuals are questioned about their beliefs, opinions, attitudes associated with a service, product, advertisement, packaging or other factors (Eisenhardt, 1989). In this method, questions are asked to an interactive group where the participants have the freedom to interact freely with the other group members (Yin, 1994). Interviews Interview is the conversation between two or even more individuals where question is asked to the interviewee (McLeod, 2007). The interviews are mainly used in qualitative research methodology for conducting the research work. Surveys Survey includes the procedure of sampling of individuals from a large range of population. The procedures used for data collection include close ended surveys and questionnaire surveys (McLeod, 2007). The researcher has conducted close ended survey for collecting the responses of the customers by means of likert’s five point scale and understanding their purchasing behaviour towards luxury products via online shopping. 7. Data Analysis Method Data Analysis method describes the framework that have been utilised for carrying out the research work. The primary data from the close ended survey would be collected using Likert;s scale and would be analysed with the help of statistical tool SPSS. Reliability test and then Anova test would be done for interpreting the result of the research. 8. Research Design Research design is the systematic plan of addressing to a research problem (Bryman and Bell, 2007). It can be classified into descriptive, semi experimental, correlational, meta-analytic and experimental. In this research study, the researcher has implemented questionnaire design for conducting close ended survey in order to interpret the result of the research study. The research design has been planned in this manner in order to provide higher accuracy to the research work. 9. Sampling Sampling is the selection of one subset of individuals who are being selected from a large range of population for estimating the features of the entire population. It is not possible to collect the responses of a large range of population easily. In such case, the researchers select a set of individuals who represent a large range of population. In this study, the sample size that has been chosen for conducting the close ended survey of the customers is 80. It would help in estimating their perception related to ‘online marketing as a motivational factor for the purchase of luxury products’. 10. Validity According to Eisner (1991), a research work requires collection of quality data for its completion in an effective manner. The research quality is mainly dependant on the validity. It is a signal about the soundness of the research work. Validity in the data collection methodology mainly measures whether the findings are reflecting the phenomenon being claimed for assessment in real. There are mainly two types of validity: Internal Validity It helps in reflecting the extent till which the conclusion derived from a research work is acceptable (Kidder, 1981). The internal validity is composed by minimizing the system errors. External Validity The research methodology must include a detailed description for maintaining transparency in the entire research work (Kidder, 1981). The researcher requires giving description of the methodology which has been implemented at the time of conducting the research so that the transparency of the study is maintained in a proper manner. The research study has designed an effective close ended survey for increasing the validity. The researcher has made use of statistical methods for carrying out the reliability and descriptive tests of the responses of the customers in the close ended survey using SPSS (Pallant, 2007; Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). This has been done for increasing the external validity of the research. The researcher has made use of various sources such as newspapers, peer reviewed journals, online data bases and books for maintaining the validity. 11. Reliability and Ethics Reliability refers to authenticity or extent of reliance of the research analysis (Webb and Gray, 2012). The accuracy, comprehensiveness and consistency of research study helps in maintaining the reliability in the research work. The consistency in the findings of the analysis helps in determining the extent of reliability of the data that has been collected (Webb and Gray, 2012). In order to increase the reliability, similar set of procedures have been carried out by the researcher repetitively. Ethics refer to a set of principles that should be followed by the researcher while conducting the research work in order to maintain the accuracy of the interpreted result. There are various ethical issues that are taken into consideration at the time of planning or designing the research methodology and carrying out the research work. The researcher needs to abide by the framework of the Market Research Society for maintaining the standard code of conduct which has been set (MRS, 2010). In this study, the researcher has taken into consideration various sensitive issues like avoidance of manipulation in the actual data collection or any other sort of misrepresentation. The researcher should make immense effort for analysing and then interpreting the findings of the research work in accurate manner. 12. Summary The research methodology has been implemented based on information and data resources collected for conducting the research work. The main framework utilized for collecting evidences in order to explore the research question which has been framed previously is called the research design (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2003). There are mainly two types of research strategies (Malhotra, 2004). One is the qualitative research strategy and the other is the quantitative research strategy. In this research study, quantitative research strategy has been adapted for analysing the particular research topic. There are mainly two types of research approach. The study has adopted deductive research approach for conducting the research work. The main reason behind opting for this research philosophy is that it is best suitable for satisfying the research objectives. It would also highlight the ethical considerations taken into account by the researcher while conducting the research study (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Reference List Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2007. Business research methods. Oxford, England : Oxford University Press. Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Lowe, A., 2002. Management research: An introduction. California: Sage Publications Ltd. Eisenhardt, K. M., 1989. Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14 (4), pp. 532-550. Eisner, E. W., 1991. The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Hussey J. and Hussey R., 1997. Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Kidder, L., 1981. Research methods in social relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Inston. Lietz, P., 2010. Research into questionnaire design, a summary of the literature. International Journal of Market Research, 52(2), pp. 249-272. Malhotra, N.K., 2004. Marketing research: An applied orientation. New York: Pearson Education Ltd. McLeod, S., 2007. Psychology research methods. [online] Available at: < http://www.simplypsychology.org/research-methods.html> [Accessed 19 November 2013]. Miles, M.B. and Huberman, A.M., 1994. An expanded sourcebook qualitative data analysis. London: Sage Publications, London. MRS, 2010. Code of conduct. [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 November 2013]. Pallant, J., 2007. SPSS survival manual. New York: McGraw Hill Education. Perry, C., 1998. Processes of a case study methodology for postgraduate research in marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 32(9/10), pp 785-802. Saunders, M., 2003. Research methods for business students. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2003. Research methods for business students. London: Prentice Hall. Shaheen, S., No Date. 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Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. MRS, 2010. Code of conduct. [online] Available at: [Accessed 19 November 2013]. Babbie, E., 2010. The practice of social research. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Read More