1} What is Research Methodology ?

Ans)

Research Methodology

“Methodology” implies more than simply the methods you intend to use to collect data. It is often necessary to include a consideration of the concepts and theories which underlie the methods. For instance, if you intend to highlight a specific feature of a sociological theory or test an algorithm for some aspect of information retrieval, or test the validity of a particular system, you have to show that you understand the underlying concepts of the methodology.

When you describe your methods it is necessary to state how you have addressed the research questions and/or hypotheses. The methods should be described in enough detail for the study to be replicated, or at least repeated in a similar way in another situation. Every stage should be explained and justified with clear reasons for the choice of your particular methods and materials.

There are many different ways to approach the research that fulfils the requirements of a dissertation. These may vary both within and between disciplines. It is important to consider the expectations and possibilities concerning research in your own field. You can do this by talking to your tutors and looking at dissertations written by former students on your course.

2} What are the components of Methodology ?

Ans)

Important components of your research strategy

There are a number of components to the research strategythat you select to guide your dissertation. These components include things like your chosen: (a) research design; (b) research methodology; (c) approach within a research methodology; (d) research method(s); (e) use of longitudinal data; (f) sampling strategy; and (g) data analysis techniques.

In some cases, since your chosen research strategy includes so many components, your dissertation title should only include those components that were particularly important to your study. These components of research strategy are highlighted blue text.

Research design

To illustrate the research design that was used, whetherqualitative, quantitative or mixed methods (or other words that mean more or less the same thing):

• Qualitative research design
  Barriers to Internet banking adoption: A qualitative studyamong corporate customers in Thailand
  The direct marketing-direct consumer gap: Qualitative insights
  The impact of market and organisational challenges on marketing strategy decision-making: A qualitative investigation of the business-to-business sector
  Success factors for destination marketing web sites: Aqualitative meta-analysis
• Quantitative research design
  An empirical investigation of signalling in the motion picture industry
  A quantitative method for structuring a profitable sales force
  An empirical analysis of price discrimination mechanisms and retailer profitability
• Mixed methods research design
  A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict

Research methodology

To illustrate the research methodology adopted:

Implementation of Deming's style of quality management: An action research in a plastics company

Organisational knowledge leadership: A grounded theory approach

Networking as marketing strategy: A case study of small community businesses

The impact of pay-for-performance on professional boundaries in UK general practice: An ethnographic study

Approach within a research methodology

To emphasise an approach within a broader research methodology. We used the word approach because someresearch methodologies are not straightforward, but can be approached from a number of different angles; that is, there are different approaches that can be adopted within these research methodologies (e.g., instrumental, exploratory andcomparative approaches within case study research):

Mentoring women faculty: An instrumental case study of strategic collaboration

Knowledge management in practice: An exploratory case study

International strategic human resource management: Acomparative case analysis of Spanish firms in China

Research method(s)

To highlight a particular research method(s) that was used:

Consequences of the psychological contract for the employment relationship: A large scale survey

Eliciting knowledge management research themes and issues: Results from a focus group study

Stream restoration in the Pacific Northwest: Analysis of interviews with project managers

Use of longitudinal data

To emphasise that the data you used extends over a number of years (use of longitudinal data) or the study was conducted over a long time period (although only the former is likely to apply to dissertation research, since this is usually only a few months long):

Effects of impression management on performance ratings: A longitudinal study

The dynamic nature of conflict: A longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance

Sampling strategy

To highlight some aspect of your sampling strategy (i.e., thesituated nature of your study):

• A country, group of countries or region
  High-involvement work practices, turnover and productivity:Evidence from New Zealand
  Organisational citizenship behaviour of contingent workersin Singapore
  Corporate governance in Scandinavia: Comparing networks and formal institutions
  Corporate governance, ownership and bank performance inemerging markets: Evidence from Russia and Ukraine
• An industry
  Business networks, corporate governance and contracting in the mutual fund industry
  Accelerating adaptive processes: Product innovation in the global computer industry
• A type of organisation
  Hybrid organisational arrangements and their implications for firm growth and survival: A study of new franchisors
• A group or committee
  Earnings management and corporate governance: The role of the board and the audit committee
• People
  Toward a better understanding of the psychological contract breach: A study of customer service employees

Data analysis techniques

To emphasise a particular data analysis technique used:

Do their words really matter? Thematic analysis of U.S. and Latin American CEO letters

Academics as professionals or managers? A textual analysis of interview data

The role of rhetoric content in charismatic leadership: Acontent analysis of Singaporean leader's speeches

Business corruption, public sector corruption, and growth rate: Time series analysis using Korean data

Marketing international tourism to Australia: A regression analysis

Now that you have a sense of these different components, it is time to think about creating your dissertation title. When you have done this, you need to think about the style of your title. Since dissertation titles often follow a specific written style (e.g., APA style, MLA style, AMA style, etc.), which explains when to capitalise words, which words to capitalise, how to deal with quotation marks, abbreviations, numbers, and so forth, we provide some guidance in