The inner layers of the research onion were looked at holistically with one decision impacting another. Saunders et al. (2009) describe 7 main forms that research may take: experimental; survey; case study; action research; ethnography; archival; and grounded theory. These forms are further compounded by the choices and time horizons of the study. Some forms are desirable to use such as longitudinal survey which tests the same sample population over a period of time, but due to the constraints of the dissertation itself only a few forms are appropriate. At this stage the choice of research philosophies, approach, and limitations of the research culminate to shape the research strategies and choices; together with the time horizon and constraints of the dissertation module they establish the final data collection and analysis.
Figure 6: Research Onion (Saunders et al, 2009)
The inner layers of the research onion are concerned with how the data will be collected. Due to ambitions aforementioned, an open- minded research philosophy and a pragmatic mixed method approach sets the scene for research which encompasses both qualitative and quantitative data which covers a broad scope of purposes, which is useful for exploring and gaining insights to a new area.
Quantitative research is useful for understanding the underlying reasons and motivations of the population. Qualitative research, often associated with interpretivism utilises a rich but small number of cases using unstructured data collection techniques and non-statistical data analysis to understand the problem (Bryman & Bell, 2007) thus the following two strategies (in the next section) were explored.
Next Section: https://jl00282.wordpress.com/dissertation-part-1/mixed-methodology-2/research-onion/research-strategy/
The New Exchange 