Research Design and Methods of the Study - Assignment Example

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS RESEARCH DESIGN The processing of conducting a research is very comprehensive and covers a range of stages. This is outlined in the research design. According to Melton (2007, p.68), research design is defined as “A detailed outline of how an investigation will be conducted which typically include how data is to be collected, what instruments will be employed, how the instruments will be used and the intended means for analyzing data collected.” A research is defined as the scientific act of conducting investigation aimed at filling the knowledge gap, or offering solution to the identified problem. Design on the other hand is the framework that outlines how the research processes and investigation will be carried out (Melton, 2007, p.57). “A research design encompasses the methodology and procedure employed to conduct scientific research. The design of a study defines the study type (descriptive, co-relation, semi-experimental, experimental, review, meta-analytic) and sub-type (e.g.: descriptive-longitudinal case study), research question and hypotheses, independent and dependent variables, experimental design if applicable, data collection methods and a statistical analysis plan.” “The function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables us to answer the initial question as unambiguously as possible” (Melton, 2007, p.63-5) Research process is long scientific process which starts from theory testing (this is where the prepositions and deductions are made) followed by building relevant concepts about the theory under investigation. Theory building covers for data collection, analysis and inferences. On the hand, theory testing entails the identification of the problem, defining the problem, stating the research objectives, outlining the research questions, research hypothesis and assumptions. Researches which seek to answer the question “what is going on?” are commonly referred to as descriptive research. In many instances, descriptive researches are government sponsored and are mainly focused on variables of interest. Although not explorative, descriptive researches are essential in increasing our knowledge depth and understanding. Researches which seek to explain “why” are referred to as explanatory researches. Therefore, unlike the descriptive research which only seeks to know, explanatory research attempts to explain why the identified problem is ongoing by conducting investigations to help in identifying the root causes and offer solution where possible (Melton, 2007, p.73). Research may either be qualitative or quantitative. The differences between these two researches are outlined by fixed and flexibility of the research. In fixed research, it is worth quantifying the variables under investigation. For instance, when studying variables which can be measured and ranked in an arithmetic or scientific scale, then it represents quantitative research. A study case in the variable under study cannot be measured in any scientific scale constitutes the qualitative research. In qualitative research, the outcome may be known in prior and therefore no need for conducting a scientific test to arrive at the conclusion. Qualitative research is characterized by flexibility (Melton, 2007, p.59). Research can also be identified as being experimental or non-experimental. Like quantitative research, experimental research involves conducting experiments to determine the validity of the research assumptions before making inferences. Non-experimental research is more of theoretical previews which depend on theories and literal works to arrive at the conclusion. This is the most popular research is non-scientific fields. Site, Population and Sample Size This research will be conducted in the financial institutions and capital market authorities which are listed in the reputable global financial markets. The choice of the institution will based on the higher number of arts stocks which are traded and exchanged in these global financial institutions. In addition stock markets offer a wider range of products and services specifically dealing with arts investments and performance portfolio. Therefore, key stock and capital exchange market and bodies will form the major block of the population of the study. The study will not be restricted to capital markets of the United States or Europe but the global exchange markets which trade in artwork as a financial asset. The target groups (population) for this study will be investors drawn from all the leading art investment institutions. However, the population of more interest would be those investors who have opted to strictly invest heavily on artwork at the expense of other valuable financial assets, for instance, painters, media-films and other artistic works. Because of the bigger population of interest, it is impossible to conduct a comprehensive and reliable research which covers all the variable or population of interest. The entire population is large enough, hence making it hard to reach out to everyone. Therefore, there is need to reduce the economic burden of conducting the research given the fact that resources are limited. This calls for sampling the population. Sampling is the process of selecting an economically and statistically desirable size drawn from the population. The sample should be more than thirty percent (Melton, 2007, p.71) of the population. In this research, a sample size of 100 respondents will be preferred. The samples will only be composed of investors drawn from the leading investment institutions. The random sampling technique will be used in choosing the samples. This is because random sampling is relatively economical and it is very fair (Melton, 2007, p.59). Therefore, random sampling guarantees unbiasness and fairness in sample selection. Implementation Plan The plan to implement the content knowledge of art investment is to collaborate and create a unit investment plan, collect student data including stock prices, weighted average records, investors’ surveys, and capital market observations. This data will be collected from both long-term and current investors. Research Strategies and data collection Both primary and secondary data will be relied on in this research. Secondary data will be collected from secondary sources such as literature books, journals, newsletters, magazines, articles, and internet sources. In collecting raw (primary) data, this study will employ interviews and online survey questionnaires. The choice of these strategies is based on the fact that this research is both qualitative and quantitative. In addition, questionnaires and interviews are easy to administer and economical, hence appropriate for this study (Melton, 2007, p.78). Both questionnaires and interviews for this study is highly unstructured and semi-structured. For quantitative research, semi-structured questionnaires are appropriate. The questionnaires are structured using closed and opened ended questions which are ranked in the likert scale (Melton, 2007, p.65). Similarly, this study will use two both self-administered and interview-administered questionnaires to match the needs of the respondents. For the purpose of online survey, the questionnaires will be electronically administered via internet. Variables The dependent variable for this study is investment in artworks while the independent variables are; stock prices, demand and supply, and weighted stock performances. Data Analysis The data collected using online survey questionnaires, face-to-face interview and secondary sources will be analyzed and presented in a number of ways: Qualitative Data Analysis Interviews will be audio-recorded and then transcribed into written form (Melton, 2007, p.76). The audio recordings for this study will be made in the national or official languages. In the process of transcribing the audio interviews, the researcher will ensure that the accuracy and originality of the audio statements are not lost. Quantitative Data Analysis The primary quantitative data sets collected through online survey questionnaires will be coded, tabulated, and then fed into statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The variables will be computed based on the 5-scaled likert scale (Melton, 2007, p.72). Presentation After the analysis, the data will be presented inform of frequency distributions, charts, bar graphs, measures of central tendency and dispersion, and percentage compositions (Melton, 2007, p.58). Timeline The researcher proposes to commence immediately after receiving permission from all the parties involved and prior to that the questionnaires will be prepared. During the intervening period between submission of this proposal and the date of commencement of actual research process, the researcher will talk to the investors and capital market executives to book interview dates as well as draw up the list of respondents to whom questionnaires will be sent. During this time, the researcher will also send out questionnaires to the network of friends and relatives on Face Book and Twitter, providing them a fortnight to respond. Literature review will be conducted in libraries as well as at home, using sources such as internet, online libraries etc, and the researcher will prepare the draft dissertation based on the notes taken during the literature review. Collection of data through interviews, online survey and literature review will take one month. Data analysis and interpretation will be done within 7 days of completion of data collection and appropriate findings will be deduced. Pilot study Pilot study will be conducted in the identified areas. However, the pilot site and population will not constitute the samples. Pilot study is essential in determining the validity and the effectiveness of the research instruments and tools (Melton, 2007, p.67). Limitations of the study This study will be limited to the identified sites and the ideal population identified. Not all the investors in artwork will be covered in research. Similarly, the study will be limited by financial resource and time. Ethical consideration The research will be conducted after obtaining permission from the university senate and my supervisors. All the views collected in this research will be strictly for academic purposes and the respondents’ views will be accorded the much needed confidentiality. Reference Melton, C. (2007), Research design and Methods: Strategies and Choices in the Design of Social Research, London: McGraw. pp.56-78. Read More