管理類留學生課程dissertation一篇-CHOSING APPROPRIATE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR THIS STUDY

 

Research methodology and chosen research strategy

Research methodology comprising with the research philosophy, research strategies, research activities and research methods employed which is designed for conducting a particular research project (Payne and Payne, 2004). Robson (1993) states that research design is the process during which the research problems, questions or hypotheses are transferred into research projects. 

 

According to the above presentation of research, problem identification is a important step for research. Manstead and Semin (1988) stated that the research problems that you are trying to address determine what strategies and tactics will be selected.

 

Although this is an obvious point of view, it is often neglected by researchers (Robson, 1993). Therefore, it is critical to set up an appropriate methodology according to the research problems / questions.

 

During the process of research design, formulating a appropriate methodology for solving the identified research problem is critical as this would have essential influence on whether or not you can obtain proper data.  

 

Although there are numbers of existing research methodologies, some innovations can be introduced into the available methodologies (Walker, 1997). Walker (1997) also advocates that once researchers identified a critical problem, that was the time to select the appropriate approach - qualitative, quantitative or both. 

 

Taylor (2005) states the aim of quantitative research is to address the quantity perspective of problems/questions, which provide valid and objective presentations. In quantitative research, the relationships among all the variations have been already build in a scientific way.

 

Taylor (2005) also presents that the purpose of qualitative research is to interpret why and how the emergence and the meanings of the addressed questions/problems. In this kind of research the critical issues are to decide what variables are included and to design the compensation research methods, for example with suitable case studies or questionnaire survey.

 

Focusing on the current research project and employing the aforementioned guidelines, this research is defined as an integrated research meaning qualitative and quantitative, where findings from various domains will be drawn. 

 

Within the background of this research, the research aim outlined in sub-section of Chapter 1 presents that the major purpose is to identify a set of CSFs and CFFs and comparing the difference of those factor between Chinese and UK construction projects. The process of establishing the factor set was considered as including two parts which are: (a) determining the methods used to identify the key factors of project manager leadership; (b) establishing a structure for processing and weighting these critical factors.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

Different research methods will be discussed below in terms of their appropriateness to address the above requirements. The presentation will provide rational reasons why those research methods of literature review, interviews, and questionnaire were chosen. 

 

Research methods in relation to objectives

The scope and depth of identified research questions determine what research methods will be selected (Fellows and Liu 2003). Moreover, according to Robson (1993) the type of required data and respondents formulate the foundation of the selection of appropriate research methods. Robson (1993) states that in order to select the most appropriate method for identified research problems, one should be open-minded, but should be constrained by convenience or recent practice.

 

There has been a comprehensive discussion about whether quantitative or qualitative research method is better for construction project research and the conclusion is the combination of these two methods should be used (Runeson, 1997; Love et al., 2002; Abowitz and Toole, 2010). Love et al. (2002) state that triangulation is a critical characteristic of mixed research. Fellows and Liu (2003) point out that the application of triangulation can draw every method’s advantages and minimize or eliminate disadvantages. Except their appropriateness, reliability and viability; research aims, time, and other resource limitations are important considerations in the selection research methods. These are discussed in the subsequent sections.

 

The aim of this research is to identify a set of CSFs and CFFs from the perspective of project manager leadership and compare the different importance of these factors in the context of Chinese and UK construction industry.

 

Therefore, it is important for this research to use the proper tools to collect all the critical factors at the beginning. Establishing a set of CSFs and CFFs involved the review of the project factors which can influence the project performance during the construction stage. In according to the above discussion, the most proper method should be several case studies. However, as the limitation http://www.ttc-switch.com/dissertation_sample/ of time and research budget, it is not practical to track construction projects both in China and UK. The next more appropriate method can be interviews, as the project managers can present valuable data to us during the face to face discussion. Interview can also draw comprehensive and deeply through the interaction between interviewer and interviewee. Such information cannot be adequately or completely obtained through surveys.

 

In order to explore the current practice and problems of the project manager leadership in both Chinese and UK construction industry, comprehensive literature review and individual interview are proper research methods. #p#分頁標題#e#

 

Through literature review, some relevant previous research projects can be employed as a foundation of the current research. The up-to-date data can be obtained from experts during interviews and questionnaire survey.

 

The preliminary set of CSFs and CFFs derived from the detailed literature review. After completing a round of interviews and a questionnaire survey which were conducted to elicit comments on the preliminary design of the proposed set of CSFs and CFFs, the comparison was also conducted. 

 

According to the aforementioned introduction, the research will focus on a comprehensive literature review, a round of interview and a round of questionnaire. The following sub-section makes a briefly introduction of all the research methods employed. 

 

Research methods used in this research 

Literature Review

Literature review was conducted during the whole research project. For example, research problem identification was done and obtained in the preliminary literature review. The comprehensive literature review was conducted to explore the leadership, the CSFs and CFFs.