Reasons for Using Mixed Research Methods in Property Research - Essay Example

Research Methods - Property Research Reasons for using Mixed Research Methods in Property Research Neil Crosby et al (2006) use an analysis of secondary data obtained from Investment Property Data Bank (IPD) lease data and also interview and questionnaire surveys of participants in their work on exit strategies for business tenants. The survey was conducted in two parts; the first being a pilot study of set research interviews with a sample of property agents and solicitors. The findings of the interview survey were used to design the questionnaire survey of four main participants in the leasing process. "The aim of the second survey was to collect information on the detail of agreed lease terms and on the negotiations across a much wider spectrum of the market than could be obtained from the interviews" Neil Crosby et al (2006). Different set of questionnaire were sent to tenants, landlords, solicitors and letting agents. The survey of the landlords, letting agents and solicitors were framed as representing an investigation into their overall activity rather than transaction specific questions. In the case of property research a mixed method of analysis of secondary data and survey and questionnaire method is often employed to conduct the research. Through the analysis of the secondary data the research would be able to get the numerical data for the completion of the empirical studies relating to the study, while the interviews and surveys bring out the qualitative aspects of the subject under study. In property researches meaningful results can be obtained only when the researcher combines quantitative data and qualitative information in his studies. In order to achieve the research objectives of ascertaining the impact of quantitative variations and to identify the salient features of different market mechanisms on the impact of the subject under study the adoption of mixed research methods is the appropriate suggestion. For instance in the study Corsby et al (2006) the interviews and surveys combined with the data provided by IPD made the research meaningful and gave precise answers to the research questions. Property Research Studies are not only used for Instrumental purposes to Underpin policy, but should also have a Normative Purpose Basically a clear and concise knowledge of the ontological and epistemological assumptions that explain the research studies and the process of research is necessary to (i) understand the interrelationship of research methodology and methods, (ii) avoid the resulting confusion on discussions relating to theoretical debates and approaches to social phenomena and (iii) be able to have a complete recognition of one's own and also others' position with respect to the issues related to the study (Jonathan Grix). The achieving of the above objectives along with the other objective of fully grasping the directional relationship of key components of the research process logically substantiates the view that the research studies are to have a normative purpose in addition to the instrumental purpose. It is important that the research studies encompass a normative approach so that the logical, directional relationship between the key components of research is clearly understood. Unless the normative purpose is taken into account, the quantitative data may not show the impact and influence of the questions the researcher is asking and also the type of project the research has undertaken to study. It is also not possible that a research may begin with the inference on any of the quantitative data at any stage. The researcher cannot first choose the research method and work backwards through the methodology to achieve his/her research objectives. By taking into account the normative purpose the researcher is allowed to follow a method-led approach to the research study than a question-led research. This makes the research questions point towards the most fitting research method. Unless a normative approach is followed the logic of interconnectedness between the key components of research may not work leading to a poor question-method fit. It is important to remember that research should be judged on the basis of how the constituents of research logically fit together and not merely by the methods that are being used. This implies that the property research studies are not only used for instrumental purposes but also have a normative approach. Uses and Limits of Property Research Studies in Practicing Behaviours and Social Phenomena Roy Black and Julian Diaz (1996) conduct a behavioural research on the nature of problem solvers in negotiating the sales price of properties that have value characteristics for comparison with properties having similar characteristics. The study dealt with the heuristics use of problem solvers. A heuristic assumes the shortcut method used by a problem solver for the processing of information. Tversky and Kahneman (1974) classified three categories of heuristic behaviours: representativeness, availability, and anchoring and adjustment. Newell and Simon (1972) suggest the theory of human problem solving in which they advocate that the limited amount of processing capacity in human short-term memory compels rather unconsciously the problem solver to resort to cognitive shortcuts which are also known as heuristics. The Study by Black and Diaz (1996) takes the hypothesis that the negotiators will exhibit heuristic behaviour. While variables like skill, financial incentives, and time pressure have major influence on the real estate property negotiations, the use of information has been identified to be of crucial importance. Under normal circumstances logic presupposes that the negotiators should capture both property specific and market information. However with a strong impulse to use less of cognitive efforts the negotiators tend to make more use of shortcuts which gives rise to heuristic approaches. The limitation here is that the negotiating parties tend to anchor specifically on asking prices while not paying attention to or devaluing critical market and property information. This has a major impact on their judgments and resultant decisions. Black and Diaz (1996) point out "in seeking cognitive efficiency, real estate negotiators will be strongly influenced by asking prices even when such prices are incongruous in the face of conflicting property-specific and market information, and that these shortcuts will influence settlement price results". Advantages and Disadvantages of using Secondary Data in Property Research Jones et al (2003) in their article studies the impact of property market on British Enterprise Zones on their utility in the promotion of economic development of the UK. The study has made empirical studies on the Enterprise Zones by using several secondary data. The secondary data have been used to assess the long term influence of Enterprise Zones on the local property market. While the primary data source is the Scottish Property Network (SPN) which provided data on the individual properties, the authors collected the secondary data from the public records. The secondary based on the market evidence collected from the agents and the earlier studies provided some insight in to the study relating to the impact of property market on the Enterprise Zones. But still the market information collected from the property agents some minor under representation. However in view of the fact that such secondary data collected from the earlier studies though suffering from some deficiencies formed the basis for the research. The disadvantages of using the secondary data is found in that the earlier studies suffered a shortcoming of being qualitative and narrow and hence were not able to provide a meaningful basis for the property research analysis. A number of valuation difficulties in calculating the precise effects of availability of property and rates relief on the properties have made the available secondary data of lesser utility value to the researcher. The authors found the earlier studies made by James (1991) and Wilder and Rubin (1996) were having data and methodological problems which hampered definitive research conclusions. The secondary data covered only the comparisons of rents and yields on and off zones in the UK and there are a number of other potential property market impacts on the logical existence of Enterprise Zones in the UK that need to be assessed for getting a meaningful analysis of the impact of the Enterprise Zones. Semi Structured Interview Schedule - Perceptions of People in Using Public Transport in Sheffield UK Part A General Demographic Information 1. Your Age Group: Less than 18 years 18 - 22 years 23 - 27 years 28 - 32 years 33 - 35 years Above 35 years 2. Gender: Male Female 3. Marital Status Single Married Other Do not want to say 4. Education Level Secondary Degree Master's Degree Above Master's Degree 5. Employment Status: Full time Part time Private Business Self Employed Unemployed Student 6. Annual Income Level Up to 24,000 24,001 - 36,000 36,001 - 48,000 48,001 - 60,000 Above 60,000 Part B Questions on Public Transportation 1. How often you use public Transport - Daily/Weekly twice/other periodicity 2. What is the approximate distance you travel using the public Transport 3. What is the general purpose of your travel - personal, to attend to work or other 4. In your opinion what is the level of service provided by the public transport - fair/reasonable/satisfactory/good/excellent 5. What are your suggestions for improvement in the public transport system Critical Reflection of the Pilot Interview The above semi-structured questionnaire was used as a pilot on five respondents to assess the effectiveness of the interview questions. While the demographic questions were answered by all the five respondents well enough to gather the necessary information, the questions on the part relating to public transportation were not deep enough to evolve the kind of information and opinion the survey wanted to bring on the survey of public transportation. This was due to the following reasons: The questions were considered too general to evoke the response required The question relating to the purpose of travel did not really contribute to the survey results Similarly the question on the distance travelled did not also give any weight to the survey The mode of transport is not specified in the question In view of the above shortcoming the questions in Part B relating to the public transportation needed to be revised as below: 1. What is the public transportation you normally use for your travel Rail/Bus/Taxi/Others 2. what in your opinion is the problem you face in using the public transportation Less Frequency/Highly Crowded/Limited stops/discourteous service/improper timings/poor maintenance/other - please specify 3. How frequently you use the public transportation - daily on a routine basis/occasionally 4. Do you consider the travel by pubic transportation cheaper/moderate/expensive 5. In your opinion what is the level of service provided by the public transport - fair/reasonable/satisfactory/good/excellent 6. What are your suggestions for improvement in the public transport system Things to be Considered by a Researcher using Texts within Property Research According to Keith Jacobs (1999) the housing and urban policy research has now become multi-disciplinary, eclectic, and more reflexive. However there have been criticisms leveled against the investigation into property research using discursive approaches under discourse analysis methods. One of the major criticisms is that the studies have become too abstract, over-theoretical and have also become narrow focused on using texts or spoken words. Another major criticism is that the discourse analysis has started using ideas and concepts which are mainly constructed through language through a social process dependent much on the material existence, entirely independent of the discursive element being present (Imrie et al., 1996, p. 1259; Hacking, 1997, p. 14) However in order to overcome these criticisms Keith Jacobs (1999) suggests that the research studies on property research should demonstrate a strong empirical focus on the practices of the policy and for doing this the researcher should not endorse an extreme idealist epistemology implying the material world is contingent upon his/her perception. He further reiterates that language used in the text should be a vital component of how the researcher conceptualizes the world and not merely a representation of an underlying reality. It is imperative for the research to be more effective and meaningful that the conceptual framework should be more attached to the empirical research. The language of the text and the property research should take into account (i) the Textual analysis, (ii) emancipator research, and (iii) ideological exegesis The textual analysis is considered important for the reconstruction of the dominant discourses and for relating these discourses to frameworks that are broader. By using a proper text the researcher should be able to construct an incisive critique of the contemporary policies. The researcher should use "a more accurate description is a reformulation in which competing ideologies have appropriated each other' s vernacular as a way of securing legitimacy"(Keith Jacobs, 1998) rather than a mere displacement. Advantages and Disadvantages of using Case Studies in Property Research Nicola Morrison (2003) in the article 'Assessing the need for key-worker housing' has used the case study method for assessing the nature and extent of the key-worker problem in Cambridge. The case study has been used to demonstrate the stages of a research process that is comprehensive enough to scrutinize the housing needs of key workers. For the purpose of research Morrison (2003) has used the case study method with extensive surveys with employers and employees in the area. Normally the surveys are likely to provide only an indication of the key problem. By adopting the case study method the research has also studied the employee turnover issue which the research project in addition to the identification of the problem. The research approach of the project of Morrison (2003) involving the case study drew evidences from published statistics on affordability problems that exist in the Cambridge as well as extensive surveys with employers and employees. Though the published statistics provide a starting point in examining the affordability problems, the case study suffered from the problem of putting together the total number of people falling between those eligible for housing assistance and those who have the ability to access market housing could not be precisely established. This is an inherent drawback of case study method where intricacies of data can not be established. Thus in the case of the study by Morrison (2003), quantifying precisely the extent of the key-worker problem had been a difficult proposition. Similarly the case study could not fully address the issues concerning the employers and employees in connection with key-worker housing problems. Thus case study method adopted by Morrison (2003) was not comprehensive enough to define the key-worker housing issue in an extensive manner. References Black, Roy T. and Diaz III, Julian (1996) 'The use of information versus asking price in the real property negotiation process', Journal of Property Research, 13:4, 287 - 297 Hacking I. (1997) Taking bad arguments seriously, London Review of Books, 19(16), pp. 1416 Imrie, R., Pinch, S. and Boyle, M. (1996) Identities, citizenship and power in the cities, Urban Studies, 33, pp. 12551261 Jacobs, Keith (1999) 'Key Themes and Future Prospects: Conclusion to the Special Issue', Urban Studies, 36:1, 203 - 213 James, F.J. (1991) The evaluation of enterprise zone programs, in Enterprise Zones: New Directions in Economic Development (edited by R.E. Green), Sage, CA, pp. 225-240. Jonathan Grix 'Introducing Students to the Generic Terminology of Social Research' Institute for German Studies University of Birmingham Jones, C., Dunse, N. and Martin, D. (2003) 'The property marketimpact of British enterprise zones', Journal of Property Research, 20:4, 343 - 369 Neil Crosby, Cathy Hughes, Sandi Murdoch (2006) 'Exit Strategies for Business Tenants Journal of Property Research Volume 23 Issue 3 September 2006 pp 215-235 Newell, A. and Simon, H.A. (1972) Human Problem Solving. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Nicola Morrison 'Assessing the need for Key-Worker Housing: A Case Study of Cambridge Department of Land Economy University of Cambridge Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1974) Judgement under uncertainty; Heuristics and Biases Science, 185, 1124-31 Wilder, M.C. and Rubin, B.M. (1996) Rhetoric versus eality: a review of studies on state enterprise zone programs, Journal of the American Planning Association, 62(4), 473-91. Read More