VoIP Call Analysis - Research Proposal Example

?Research proposal: "VoIP call analysis" ment of the Problem Globalization has brought about the need to exchange data and information on constant basis among people at different locations of the world. Coincidentally, as the need to bridge communication gaps between people at different locations increased, technology also came in to make this task quite easier and realistic. Technology, led by the advent of the Internet has brought about several forms of advanced communication with Voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP) acting as the bedrock of this modern advent (Melvin, 2004). A challenge that has however remained with the use of VoIP for the years however has to do with the subject of quality of service delivery to users. Most often than not, users are faced with basic problems, which include link problems leading to packet losses, mouth-to-ear delays, and jitter of VoIP (Melvin, 2004). These problems generally undermine the quality of service involved in the use of VoIP. It is against this backdrop that the present research proposal has become necessary in coming with receiver endpoint interventions based on the use of empirically trusted system like the Empirix Hammer Call Analyzer in curtailing the problems. Aims and Objectives The proposed research is backed with an overall aim of analyzing VoIP calls to come out with receiver endpoint interventions that will curtail basic problems that affect the quality of service in the use of VoIP. This is indeed a generalized aim that will be achieved upon achieving a number of specific objectives. These specific objectives could be listed as follows: 1. To identify sources of major factors that hinder quality of service in the use of VoIP. 2. To scrutinize how issues of poor quality of service in the use of VoIP discourage the use of VoIP. 3. To outline various interventions that can be used in solving issues of poor quality of service in the use of VoIP 4. To subject the specific call testing software tool, Hammer into scrutiny in finding how it can be used to swiftly locate, test, and diagnose issues in complex IP environments (Empirix, 2012). Open Question 1. What are the core sources of factors that hinder quality of service in the use of VoIP? 2. In what ways do issues of poor quality of service in the use of VoIP discourage the use of VoIP among modern internet users? 3. Which kind of interventions can service providers put in place to solve issues of poor quality of service in the use of VoIP? 4. What are the strengths and opportunities available to the Empirix Hammer Call Analyzer in finding how it can be used to swiftly locate, test, and diagnose issues in complex IP environments (Empirix, 2012)? Hypothesis A model based on the notions of intrinsic, perceived and assessed quality of service in the use of VoIP olds the key in overcoming major issues of quality of service in VoIP usage. Research Method/Approach The proposed research shall specifically follow the qualitative research design. This means that data shall be collected qualitatively by relying on secondary data. Secondary data collection has often been recommended for technical researches of this nature as they present the researcher with the opportunity to gaining assess to data from reliable and empirical sources in a specific field of study (Goldman, Cahill, and Filho, 2009)). To this end, the researcher shall employ the use of subjective case study to critically study a prevailing situation on quality of service associated with VoIP. What this means is that a couple of existing researches that have tackled quality of service in VoIP usage shall be sampled and focused on. Much attention shall however be given to the case of Empirix Hammer Call Analyzer as an intervention in solving most of the identified problems. As part of the case study, the researcher shall also review literature extensively because the review of related literature would in the long run act as the researcher’s data collection procedure. As part of the approach in conducting the research and for that matter data collection, major themes shall be developed three main areas namely: Sources of poor quality of service Interventions in dealing with poor quality of service The use of Empirix Hammer Call Analyzer in curtailing prevailing challenges Specifically on the interventions in dealing with poor quality of service, the researcher shall limit data collection to how a 3-tier model namely intrinsic, perceived and assessed notions of quality of service can be tied together to identify and rightly categorize the challenges that come with quality of service in VoIP service delivery. It is based on the identifications made with each of the three legs of the model that appropriateness of the Empirix Hammer Call Analyzer in addressing general problems of quality of service shall be assessed. Data Analysis Plan In direct consonance with the research approach, the researcher shall adapt a qualitative data analysis approach to the proposed research. This means that the researcher shall not make use of mathematical and numeric indices in the analysis of data. Rather, data analysis shall be based on personal judgment of the researcher, which is backed by literature. As part of the presentation of data, the researcher shall make use of diagrams and illustrations from experiments and set ups that may be arise in the conduct of the research. Such qualitative data analysis would certainly make the interpretation of data easier and more accessible to all users of the research (Goldman, Cahill, and Filho, 2009). Potential problems In the proposed research, there are a number of foreseeable limitations that the researcher is likely to face. Considering the fact that the research approach is going to be based on secondary data collection rather than primary data collection, there exists the likelihood that the researcher will not be in a position to authenticate the reliability of a given source of data (Price, 2009). Again, the proposed research is one that is technical intensive. What this means is that the researcher would need access to several real apparatus, software and other gadgets to use. Since these gadgets, software and apparatus are produced by different IT companies, the tendency that generalizing results based on a specific outfit would undermine the validity of results is higher. For this reason, the researcher will be forced to access and use as many gadgets, software and apparatus as possible, that come from different outfits. This is indeed going to be a challenge that can create the potential problem of time consumption as this is an academic research and it is limited to a specific timeframe. CITED WORKS Melvin, Hugh. The Use of Synchronized Time in VoIP Applications. Unpublished Thesis. 2004 Goldman, Emmanuel, Cahill, Tom, & Filho, Robert. 2009. Experiences that develop the ability to think strategically. Journal of Healthcare Management, 54(6), 403–417. [Jones e-global library: Academic Search Premier] Price, Ruth. 2009. Following strategies less traveled. Industrial Engineer, 41(3), 36-29. Jones e-global library: Academic Search Premier Empirix, 2012. IP, VoIP Network Testing Tools. http://www.empirix.com/solutions/products-services/hammer-call-analyzer.aspx Read More