Morse and Niehaus Research. Essay Sample.

3.1 Research purpose

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The purpose of the research is collect information from various themes on what a new entrepreneur in the image consultancy business needs to consider when starting it in Nelson, New Zealand. The researcher intends to use secondary research method for the proposal because it is cost and time effective. Secondary data technique is the collection of information from already existing publications that are relevant for ones topic of study. The information gathered from the sources will be useful in identifying the beauty perceptions, skills and competence and sources of capital which are major issues that may affect the upcoming business. The information that is required for this proposal will be extensively researched to look out for all best publications relevant to the image consultancy business in Nelson and will facilitate easy answering of the research questions that are related to the study. The chapter has outlined the methods of data collection, data analysis and the credibility of the secondary data.

3.2 Research design

A research design involves the tools and methods that are used in the composition of the research components in a coherent and logic manner to attain the intended research objectives. There are various types of research design which include descriptive, comparative, experimental and correlation designs (Morse and Niehaus 2009). A researcher needs to consider the design that will have the best ability to assist in answering the research questions of the study. The research focuses on starting a new image consultancy business in Nelson, New Zealand and there is the need to recognize the outcome of the business if it started. The best design to use will therefore be the descriptive method which will enable the researcher to analyze the research objectives as intended. Descriptive research involves the description of the features of the research topic without making variations on them (Salkind 2010). It is linked to the qualitative analysis and the decisions made finally are from the observations a researcher makes during the research. The research intends to use qualitative analysis to analyse the observations made in relation to the secondary sources of the data that is collected. The rules and regulations of the beauty industry in nelson, the skills and competence required and the beauty perceptions will need to have an elaborate description to find how a new business will manage to succeed in the market which makes descriptive research method the most suitable method to use.

3.3 Data collection method

There are two types of collecting data, the primary and secondary (Phillips and Stawarski 2008). The image consulting business will be a start-up business hence it is not possible to use primary method of collecting data from the business. It is a cheaper to use secondary collection of data than obtaining primary information and it yields more information to a researcher than when relying on primary data alone. The data is also available and enables a researcher to take less time to research on secondary data rather than collecting primary data (Smith 2008). The data is as well entirely adequate to draw conclusions and solve a researchers problem. Hence, only external sources of secondary data are reliable for this study.

The various sources a researcher will use to search for secondary collection of data are various external secondary sources such as academic books, journals, government statistics, commercial services and trade associations data (Hamilton 2005). Government statistics could be from expenditure or social surveys were done, production statistics, export and import statistics and agricultural statistics. Industry reports and New Zealands news reports could offer adequate secondary research data on the study of the new business. The researcher will also use internal data from various organizations such as he service records, registers, financial statement and budgets (Vogt 2010). There is need for credibility of the data collected because secondary sources of data have accuracy queries hence credibility will of assistance to identify if the sources used are relevant for the study.

3.4 Credibility of secondary data

Credibility is the analysis of whether a secondary source of data is reliable or unreliable for a research (Franklin and Carlson 2011). There are various ways one can determine the credibility of secondary sources. Some issues are considered to evaluate the credibility of sources. A researcher needs to identify the publisher and the purpose of the publication. The publisher could be a reputable publisher, university press or government agency. One also needs to identify the author and his background, experience and past writing as well as whether the publication is retold or a first-hand account. It is also important to identify when the source was published and if it current or out of date. The organization of the publication is also important to consider to identify if it is logically done or is repetitive.

The various steps followed in the process are as follows.

The researcher needs to first identify the opportunities and issues that will be involved in the collection of data. External and internal assessments are conducted to enable him or she understand what is happening inside and outside the market.

There should be a selection of the opportunities and issues and then set goals in the collection of data. It involves setting goals of the study.

The researcher them plans for the methods and approach to use in the research to come up with the most appropriate data collection method. It involves how the data will be collected, the geographical areas for data collection and the interest groups to be involved in the study.

There is a collection of data using the method chosen above.

The data is then analyzed and interpreted qualitatively or quantitatively

The researcher then acts on the data such as coming up with strategies to overcome the limitations or issues that were concluded from the study.

3.5 Data analysis method

Qualitative data analysis is the process where the research idea is discussed from the information gathered from the secondary sources of data obtained. Quantitative data analysis on the other hand is the inquiry of numerical data using statistical tools such as SPSS. The data gathered on the topic of study will be analyzed using qualitative method to come up with the intended findings on the business plan carried out on the research. Qualitative method is used because the secondary data has to be analyzed based on the features and be used for the business plan to be performed. There is no numerical data or survey that is to be done hence making qualitative analysis appropriate. The analyzed information will be useful in answering the research questions for the new image consultancy business intended to be started in New Zealand.

3.6 Limitations of the research

Every research has its limitations linked to the use of secondary data. The research may have issues on the assurance and quality of the data collected. There is also a limitation on the researchers perception of the quality of service that will be offered in the new consultancy business. The research will offer an analysis on the legal and operational services of the new business but may lack the comparative information required to come into conclusion on the intended customers in Nelson.

3.7 Ethical considerations

The research involves limited ethical issues because the research has focused on the use of secondary sources. The study uses books, websites and journals to collect data which are all acknowledged properly to indicate the authors of the various information gathered from these sources. The credibility of the sources has also being performed thus there may no ethical considerations for this study.

3.8 Summary

The research has been performed from government websites, journals and books among other trusted secondary sources of data. Descriptive research design is to be used for the study to be done and the collected information will be analyzed qualitatively. The credibility of the sources of information has been performed thus all secondary sources of data used are reliable for the study. There has also been acknowledgement of the authors where various citations have been done from the secondary information.

References

Franklin, B. and Carlson, M. (2011). Journalists, sources and credibility. New York: Routledge.

Hamilton, J. (2005). Primary and secondary sources. Edina, Minn.: ABDO Pub.

Morse, J. and Niehaus, L. (2009). Mixed method design. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Left Coast Press.

Phillips, P. and Stawarski, C. (2008). Data collection. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Salkind, D. (2010). Encyclopedia of Research Design. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Smith, E. (2008). Using secondary data in educational and social research. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/Open University Press.

Vogt, W. (2010). Data collection. Los Angeles: SAGE.