Expatriate Students Choice of Mobile Phones in London - Research Proposal Example

? Research Methodology inserts his/her s Department’s Research Objectives To identify the factors that affect expatriate students’ choice of mobile phones in London with a focus on the service providers with which these mobile phones offer contracts, the relative costs of pre-paid and post-paid phones, social factors such as trying to associate themselves with their British peers, as well as compatibility of the students’ own cell phones in London. 2. To investigate the extent to which the above factors influence international students’ choice of mobile phones in London along with the relative importance of each 3. To make a comparison between local UK students and foreign students to assess the different consumer behaviour of the two groups. Research Methodology Research Design Research Philosophy The research shall contain elements of both positivism and interpretivism. The interpretivism philosophy is quintessential to our understanding of how and why international students arrive at a preference for certain mobile phone over another in London. This research incorporates identifying and analyzing the factors behind mobile phone selection by international students in London which have not yet been discussed in the context of UK in various past studies. Since this requires significant level of involvement, the subjective element associated with interpretivism will remain dominant. At the same time, the lack of objectivity related with using the interpretivist approach makes it necessary to adopt a quantitative approach and positivist philosophy for the establishment of our research instrument. Research Approach An inductive approach shall be used to identify common factors behind choice of mobile phones in London by international students which shall be picked up from raw data with subsequent generalizations made for the entire group. Key factors shall be grouped into categories such as cost, availability etc. from raw data and theory shall be developed capturing those factors that are judged to be significant by the researcher. Since the nature of research is qualitative, multiple interpretations may be made from open-ended data obtained through focus groups. Therefore, the findings shall be in large part interpreted in the context of the researchers’ prior experience and/or assumptions. Research strategy Reflecting a blend of positivist and interpretivist approach in our research, a combination of research strategies shall be used including surveys and focus groups. While the surveys are a reflection of the positivist approach, focus groups are suggestive of an interpretivist approach. Inferences regarding the factors that affect choice of mobile phone by international students in the UK shall be made and relationships between these factors shall be determined using quantitative techniques. Focus groups have been defined as a series of discussions that are systematically planned and that obtain target audience’s perceptions in a particular area of interest under an environment that is tolerant and “non-threatening” (Krueger & Casey, 2009). The focus groups shall enable the identification of open-ended, sub-conscious responses from the students that they would otherwise not reveal through direct questions. Projective techniques such as those using images of various types of mobile phones (flip cover, sliding, QWERTY keypad, big screen) shall be shown along with various brands including Samsung, Nokia, Apple, Blackberry and others. This exercise particularly attempts to unravel social motivations such as peer pressure in their new place of study as well as the effect of factors such as security (little/no thefts) and supporting infrastructure such as mobile hotspots and e-shopping that may not be available in the countries to which these foreigners belong. Data Collection As suggested earlier, data shall be collected using focus groups and surveys. The surveys shall include both interviews and questionnaires. A total of 3 focus groups shall be conducted during summer 2013 amongst undergraduate and graduate students in the London School of Commerce. The number of participants in each group shall be 12 with majority of students aged 19-26. These focus groups shall be conducted by an experienced moderator and researcher in common rooms where the environment shall ensure free and non-threatening response from these individuals. Keywords such as pre-paid, post-paid, mobile phones’ compatibility, social norms, income, and security shall be used to direct the discussion. Each focus group is expected to last for 40 minutes. Questionnaires shall include the 5 point rating scale whereby respondents shall be asked to rate the relative importance of each factor behind their choice of mobile phones. Open-ended questions shall also be included. Online surveys provide greater insights without interviewer bias since the respondent can opt to remain anonymous. These are also convenient for students as they require little time. Therefore, approximately 200 questionnaires are expected to be used with 100 online surveys and 100 sent via e-mail to the foreign student body of institutions other than the London School of Commerce. These include Kingston University, London Metropolitan University and the University of Ulster. Interviews provide insights pertaining to the perceptions and personal opinions of respondents by studying their verbal and non-verbal expressions. Since the researcher is present with the respondent, it allows the researcher to control the flow of questions by probing further when and as needed (Zikmund et al., 2012). Unlike, focus groups, interviewees may not be influenced by others in the group since the conversation is one-on-one. Approximately 25 face-to-face interviews shall be conducted in the London School of Commerce. Type of data Both primary and secondary data shall be used for this research. Secondary research shall involve the use of peer reviewed journal articles, books and periodicals with an emphasis on the most recent data regarding the factors of international students in choosing mobile phones in the London. Secondary data may provide us with insights related to demographic factors such as the age, income and place of origin for international students studying in sample UK colleges and universities. Using government agencies’ or the institution’s published information as sources for such data shall enhance the credibility of data obtained. This shall allow provide us with key insights which shall be used to formulate hypothesis and refine the research question. Nevertheless, considering that little research has been previously conducted in this area, the scope for secondary research shall be limited. Therefore, majority of the research findings shall based on exploratory and descriptive findings from primary research. Primary research in the form of focus groups and surveys shall provide us with up-to-date insights on the existing factors that affect choice of mobile phones by foreign students in London. This shall also enable us to gain insights particularly in London (as opposed to UK in general) since previous studies have not addressed this topic in the context of London in particular. Sampling method Stratified Random Sampling shall be used as the population of college and university students in London shall be split into strata based on their age as well as country of origin. This is because foreign students may comprise of various nationalities including Europeans, Americans, Indians, and Pakistanis to name a few. The results of the sample of foreign students taken together shall then be compared to the results of the sample that comprises of local UK students. This method shall enable us to produce accurate and unbiased results (Zikmund et al., 2012). The results are likely to be more representative of the entire student body in London because the results of smaller groups within this population shall have been studied. Considering the diversity in the foreign student body in colleges and universities in London, it would be particularly useful to use this method to represent these accurately. Within this sample, however, students shall be randomly selected from their first to last semesters. Target group The target group comprises of undergraduate and graduate foreign and local students aged 19-26 studying in London School of Commerce, Kingston University, London Metropolitan University and the University of Ulster. Data Analysis Procedure to be adopted The survey data shall be analyzed using SPSS and include mean, standard deviation and t-test for analysis. Ethical issues and Limitations At the very least, the confidentiality and integrity of the subjects in this research shall be maintained. To this end, informed consent shall be obtained from the participants in this study. Every attempt has been made to frame the research objectives and questions as objectively as possible to ensure bias is minimized. During all times we shall remain sensitive to the social and cultural differences amongst our subjects (primarily the foreign student body in London). Although the research aims to fulfill the objectives set forth, it is important to note that there are several unavoidable limitations. First, due to time and resource constraints, a relatively small population size comprising of foreign students in four undergraduate/graduate schools in London shall be studied in this research. Therefore, the generalization of findings to London will be limited in its scope due to limited selection of undergraduate and graduate schools. Second, since students shall randomly be selected from all semesters, this study will not represent a semester-wise break-up of responses. Third, the response rate from online questionnaires is expected to be less than 75%. This is because the absence of the researchers makes it easier to skip these questionnaires more conveniently than otherwise. References Krueger, R.A. & Casey, M.A., 2009. Focus groups: Apractical guide for applied research. 4th ed. San Francisco: Sage. Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C. & Griffin, M., 2012. Business Research Methods. 9th ed. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Read More