Unit 3 Research Project Assignment Cruise Ships

Structure of the research

Introduction
Aim and objectives
Justification of the topic
Justification of the methodologies
Sampling techniques
Data analysis techniques
Issues of the research
Application of the research
Investigation of the research
Recommendations and conclusions.

Time Table

W10

W11

W12

W13

Introduction

Aim and objectives

Justification of the topic

Literature

Timetable

Justification of Methodologies

Sampling techniques

Data analysis techniques

Issues of the research

Application of the research

Investigation of the research

Recommendations

Conclusions

Research methodology, according to Goddard and Melville (2004), refers to the system of methods used in the process of collecting information in a particular area of study or activity. In methodology, researcher uses different criteria for investigating the given research problem. Different sources use different methods for solving the problem. Two of the most important methods for data collection are: primary and secondary research. According to //prosandconsofsecondaryresearch.blogspot.co.uk, secondary research can be described as the most common used method for data collection. It involves accessing information that was gathered from another originator or distributor of primary research. Secondary research includes collecting data from web sites, magazines articles, companies records, marketing research reports, etc.

Advantages

Very easy accessible, having the sources available on website design and development it is much easier to access all the information necessary from any primary research.
Very cost effective, by getting valuable information for little or no cost.
Clarification of research question, by using secondary research prior to primary research to clarify the research focus.

Disadvantages

Quality of research, as the researcher needs to take sufficient steps to critically evaluate the validity and reliability of the information provided.
Not specific to researcher’s needs.
Incomplete information, by not having access to the whole work of the primary researcher.
Not timely, with the ever changing industries, an out of date research may have little or no relevance for the current market situation.

Primary research is the study of a subject through first hand observation and investigation, which involves analyzing a topic, conducting a survey or an interview, carrying out an experiment. Clarke R.J. (2005) Research Methodologies.

Advantages

Researcher is able to explore both qualitative and quantitative issues.
The researcher controls the search to fit their needs.
Enables the researcher to have a greater control over the way that the information gets collected.
The decision on requirements such as goal, objectives, time frame and size of project, belongs to the researcher.

Disadvantages

Primary research can be very expensive in preparing and carrying out the research. Costs can come from preparing the papers for questionnaires and from conducting an experiment of some sort.
The time necessary to undertake primary research is longer than acquiring data from secondary research. To be done properly, primary data collection requires the development and execution of a research plan.
Even if offering information that could prove valuable, some research projects may not be within the reach of a researcher
The research could be out of date by the time the research is finished.

When talking about primary research, we can identify two types of techniques for data collection: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data collection is based on the measurement of amount or quantity, and it is applicable to facts that can be expressed in terms of quantity. The greatest thing about it is that it produces quantifiable, reliable data that are usually generalizable to some larger population. Quantitative analysis allows researchers to test specific hypotheses, while qualitative research is more exploratory. The best method used to collect quantitative data is by using surveys or questionnaires.

Qualitative data collection is concerned with qualitative phenomenon relating to or involving quality or kind. For example when we are investigating the human behavior, why people do certain things, or act in certain ways. Qualitative research data collection methods are:

Interviews are one to one discussions that can last from 15-20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how much information is needed from the subject (Nykiel 2007). They provide accurate and in-depth information about the topic researched, and personalized data can be obtained.
Focus groups are discussions that concentrate on a certain topic, having a trained person to conduct the meeting. According to Nykiel (2007), the person in charge encourages the flow of ideas from participants.
Observation is the technique where the researcher observes the activity of people involved in the topic that is researched. Usually, for the benefit of the research, people should not know that they are being observed, so their behavior will not be influenced by that.

These methods take a lot of time to be applied, and data is usually collected from a smaller sample than in the case of quantitative methods, therefore this makes qualitative research more expensive. In the qualitative approach, the benefits are that the information is richer and has a deeper insight into the phenomenon under study. (Pauline V. Young, Scientific Social Surveys and Research, p.30). The technique the author will use in this research is qualitative, and interviews will be taken to collect data about the selected topic.

When conducting interviews about the entertainment provided on cruise ships the best way to capture fresh impressions is to go on the ship and interview the passengers. The main questions to be asked are:

Which age category you belong to?

18-30 b) 30-45 c) 45-60 d) 60-75 e) 75 and over

What is your gender?

male b) female

Which continent are you from?

Europe b) Africa c) North America d) South America e) Asia

How many times are you traveling on cruise ships every year?

1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4 or more times

Which is your favorite type of entertainment?

active b) passive

Do you find the entertainment provided on cruise ships being of high quality?

strongly agree b) agree c) neither agree nor disagree d) disagree e) strongly disagree

Did you like the variety of entertainment provided on cruise ships?

a) strongly agree b) agree c) neither agree nor disagree

d) disagree e) strongly disagree

Would you book a cruise again to be able to witness more entertainment on board?

a) strongly agree b) agree c) neither agree nor disagree

d) disagree e) strongly disagree

Quantitative collection data techniques include: surveys and questionnaires. According to www.forlearn.jrc.ec.europa.eu, quantitative methods rely on numerical data which are useful in thinking about longer term developments. Advantages of using quantitative methods:

It offers the possibility to handle the information in consistent and reproducible ways, combining figures, comparing data, etc. This confers a much greater precision than simply talking about increases or decreases in a graphic.
It also makes possible the processing of the relevant data in systematic ways to produce trend extrapolations and other forecasts.
It allows comparison of the scale of developments in various circumstances (e.g. estimates the number of people that need a certain product or service)
The interpretation of results can be made in the form of tables, charts and graphics, which can communicate very efficiently with people under severe time-shortage and information-overload.

Disadvantages of the quantitative methods:

Some factors that one tries to measure, such as social and political variables, cannot be represented numerically.
Good quality data are often not available, or not sufficiently up-to-date, and the production of new data may be costly or very time-consuming.
The lack of precision can give a misleading impression of the amount of knowledge really available about the topic in question.
The quantifiable elements of a phenomenon should not be taken as being all of the phenomenon or even all of the most important features of a phenomenon, but often they are and the qualitative elements are disregarded.

Qualitative research data collection methods are: interviews, focus groups and observation. Advantages of the qualitative data collection techniques:

It makes it easier to understand the target market, because the type of questions that are asked during the research begin with the word WHY,which is an open-ended question, and this fact allows to go into more details than other words such as WHEN, WHAT or HOW MUCH.
It is a method that involves a low cost.
It provides depth and detail, by looking deeper than analysis, ranks and counts, and recording attitudes, feelings and behaviors.
Creates openness, by encouraging people to expand on their responses, which can open up new topic areas not considered initially.

Disadvantages of the qualitative data collection technique:

Usually fewer people studied: Because the research focuses on a sample of the population, you can only gather the information that the small group provided, and assumptions cannot be made outside the scope of the sample.
Because it does not allow for statistical data, it can be combined with another research
Difficult to make systematic comparisons: for example, if people give different responses that are highly subjective.
Dependent on skills of the researcher: particularly when conducting interviews, observation and focus groups.

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Sampling techniques

Sample is a limited number of observations selected from a population on a systematic or random basis. //www.businessdictionary.com/definition/statistical-sample.html#ixzz2i0QE8cGF

Retrieved from www.johnmccraess.ocdsb.ca. According to Babble, E. (2001), there are two main categories of sampling methods;

Probability sampling, where each individual in the population is known and every one of them has a certain probability of being selected in the process of gathering the samples.

As described on www.explorable.com, there are three main types of probability sampling techniques:

Simple Random Sampling, is the easiest from the probability sampling techniques. The researcher needs to ensure that all the members of the population are included in the list and then randomly select the desired number of subjects. It can be as mechanical as picking strips of paper with names written on it from a hat while the researcher is blindfolded or it can be as easy as using a computer software to do the random selection.
Stratified Random Sampling, is the technique where the subjects are initially separated into different classifications, like age, gender, nationality, economical status, etc. After that, the researcher randomly selects the final list of subjects from the different strata. It is important to note that all the strata must have no overlaps. Researchers usually use stratified random sampling if they want to study a particular subgroup within the population.
Systematic Random Sampling, is a method where individuals or households are chosen at regular intervals from the sampling frame. For this method we randomly select a number to tell us where to start selecting individuals from the list. For example in a class of 50 students the number to start with is 2 and the frame interval is 5, so your chosen students will be 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27, etc.

2. Non-probability sampling, where not all the members of the population have equal chances of being selected in the process of gathering the samples, and the author can deliberately choose the persons to include in the sample.

The non-probability sampling technique will be the one used in our research, because it is relevant to the qualitative techniques of the methodology.

Reliance on available subjects: this method uses subjects available at a certain point in time, such as stopping people on the street and ask them questions. It is very risky and comes with many cautions. The researcher must not generalize to a wider population, results that have been collected from a convenience sample.
Purposive or judgmental sample: is the one that is selected based on the knowledge of the population and the purpose of the study. The researcher will choose the participants as a result of his personal judgment. He will include in the sample subjects that he believes are appropriate for the topic or representatives of the people with a particular interest. This method takes a small amount of time and is convenient and subjective because the researcher entirely selects the subjects based on his judgment.
Snowball sample: is the research that involves a small sample of people at the beginning and they are asked for others that have the same characteristics. This will lead to the growth of the sample population and more information to be processed for the research.
Quota sample: is specific for researches in which the selection of subjects is made into a sample on the basis of pre-specified characteristics so that the total sample has the same distribution of characteristics assumed to exist in the population that is studied. The researcher aims to represent the major characteristic of the population by sampling a proportional amount of each.

The most appropriate method for our research is the purpose or judgmental sampling, because in this way we can find people that have been on cruises and know about the entertainment provided there, and would be able to give the necessary information and knowledge for the research.

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Sunday, July 29, 2018