AIM: This assignment assesses the learning outcomes of the Research Methods module. To this end, you are asked to devise a research project, to conduct pilot research, and to analyse your results on one of the following topics:
- Issues related to the development of the society such as tourism development in Oman, Women Entrepreneurs etc.
- A Study on job satisfaction with special reference to any organization in Oman
Project title - A study on human resource planning and succession planning of argelia infenafinded company
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SEVEN TASKS:
1. Give your research a title and develop one research objective. (100 words)
2. Undertake a short literature review. Summarise any theory and evidence relevant to your research objective. (500 words)
3. Briefly explain your research philosophy, approach and strategy. In particular, comment on what makes your research positivist, phenomenological or a hybrid of both. (300 words). In approach whether you have used an inductive or deductivebai6ach. In strategy, whether you have used ethnography, grounded theory or survey strategy in inductive approach. State the reason for your choice of philosophy, approach and strategy.
4. Complete the Faculty ethical approval process for your proposed research using the fast track ethical approval form. The research must be approved by one of the module tutors before undertaking any primary research. Attach the approved form (and mandatory additional documents) to the assignment as an appendix. Briefly reflect on the ethical implications of your research. (100 words).
5. Answer either part (a) or part (b). (300 words plus questionnaire/interview schedule))
a. Design and implement an effective questionnaire (no more than five questions) to research the objective that you specified in Task 1. Your questionnaire should contain one or two (and no more) open-ended questions capable of generating qualitative data. Then explain and evaluate the purpose and design of at least two non-trivial questions. (Your maximum pilot sample size should be 10 respondents.) Attach a blank copy of your questionnaire as an Appendix.
b. Design and implement an effective schedule for a semi-structured interview (with five potential questions) to research the objective that you specified in Task 1. Your schedule should contain one or two (and no more) closed question capable of generating quantitative data. Then explain and evaluate the purpose of at least two non-trivial questions. Comment briefly on what you expect to discover from a semi-structured interview that you could not discover from a questionnaire. (Your maximum pilot sample size should be 10 respondents.) Attach a blank copy of your semi structured interview schedule as an Appendix.
6. Analyse your results in relation to your research objective and attach the raw data collected in an appendix (500 words).
a. Analyse the qualitative data from your pilot research. Briefly summarise and analyse the key themes and issues arising from your responses.
b. Analyse the quantitative data from your pilot research. Give a summary and brief analysis of the results for each question.
7. Evaluate your research in terms of the lessons learnt from the pilot, appropriateness of the research instrument in relation to the research strategy outlined in Task 3, the reliability and validity of your results, etc. (200 words).
Task 1 Distinguish between the broad aim of your research and specific research questions/objectives. One objective/question is sufficient to show that you understand this distinction and to inform the rest of the assignment.
Task 2 Gather and process a more relevant critical review of literature (i.e., that you know how to use different sources, relate your project to debates and disagreements and identify knowledge gaps that provide a rationale for your research objective). For this task, you are required to do enough additional readings to identify four or five relevant non-trivial references for use in the literature review (try to include a mix of newspaper articles, web sites, and academic journals).
Task 3 Explain your research strategy and methodology in terms of an appropriate