MBS520 PRACTICE EXAMINATION

Q1) Data collection method for addressing the research topic:

For the conduction of any research project, the data collection part is the most important part (Wolgemuth et al. 2015). Data collection is the process to gather and measure information regarding the variable of interest. For collecting data for this research, it would be better in collecting the primary qualitative data.

Interview, experiment, survey and observation are various forms of method for collecting primary data.

For the conduction of the research on the lecturer on the Murdoch universities, it would be better in conducting an interview strategy. In that case, it is effective in conducting the semi-structured interview. In semi-structured interview, a meeting is conducted among interviewer and interviewee where interviewer does not ask the formalised list of the question. The researcher mainly asks questions that are open-ended, which allows interviewer to make a discussion with the interviewee. The case study clearly demonstrates the fact that the researcher wanted to examine the link among the work performance among the lecturer of Murdoch and “working from home”. Therefore, for collecting the in-detailed data about the research topic, interview strategy is important (Kallio et al. 2016). Researcher mainly develops a set open-ended question for the interview that is semi-structured in nature so that it can be helpful in collecting the responses of the lecturer. For performing the semi-structured interview, it would be better in conducting the face-to-face interview. By conducting the semi-structured interview, the research is intended to collect information about the advantage of the work from home and how it can improve the performance of the lecturer. The example of the question that would be asked to the lecturer is:

• What are the benefits of working from home for the lecturer?
• Do you think that it improves the knowledge level among the students?
• According to you, what are the differences among work from home and work performance?

Justification:

The researcher has decided to collect the primary data because data must be gathered from Murdoch University. The reason behind collecting qualitative data is it can help the researcher in accessing the feelings and thoughts of the lecturer regarding the working from home opportunity with betterment. Moreover, the collection of qualitative data is also helpful for the researcher in understanding the experiences of the lecturer. The researcher has decided to apply the interview strategy because it helps in collecting information about the question of the research with betterment. Moreover, the process of the interview can be controlled with efficiency by the researcher. It is decided to conduct the interview strategy because it helps in gaining in-depth knowledge about topic. Interview is advantageous because interview usually have a higher response rate. Moreover, interview strategy is effective in obtaining information about the perception, personal feeling and opinion. Therefore, for answering research question with efficiencies, this process is perfect. Encourage and develop two-way communication is the best reason behind considering the interview (semi-structured). Moreover, it offers an opportunity to the interviewer in learning the answer to the question. It also helps the researcher in learning the reason behind the answers. The semi-structured interview allows the respondents to discuss sensitive issues. 

Q2) Appropriate sampling technique for each of the research method:

Sampling refers to the processes that are generally used in the statistical analysis where the predetermined numbers of observations are mainly taken from the large set of population. For the selection of the respondents, utilisation of the proper sampling strategy must be used. Two different sampling are there that shows below:

In Probability sampling, researcher mainly chooses the samples from a large number of populations by considering the theory of probability (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2016). Therefore, for a participant to be selected as the sample respondents, they must be randomly selected. In the non-probability sampling, the researcher select the samples by considering the subjective judgment of the researcher rather than considering the random selection. It is a less stringent method (Sharma, 2017). This method is highly dependent upon the expertise of the researcher. Therefore, the main differences among the two sampling technique are random selection is not appropriate in non-probability, whereas, vice versa is true for probability sampling. Other differences is theory of probability related rationale is not true for non-probability, whereas, probability sampling does. 

Therefore, for selecting the respondents for the interview, it would be better in selecting a non-probability sampling strategy. This is because, in the non-probability sampling, every member does not have equal chances to be selected in the research (Etikan & Bala, 2017). Therefore, this sampling strategy mainly selects those sample respondents who have knowledge about the research issue.  With the help of this sampling technique, the researcher must select 5 to 6 lecturer of Murdoch University to collect the responses about the impact of work from home on the lecturer’s performance.                                                                                For the conduction of the interview, those sample responders are important who have an effective knowledge about the work from home and its importance on the organisational performance for Murdoch universities. Therefore, those people have an effective knowledge about the fact who are involved in work from home. Therefore, the researcher must select the lecturer of Murdoch University. Random sampling technique is not appropriate in this case because skilled personnel are necessary for this context that has an effective knowledge about the research topic. Non-probability sampling is effective in that context because compared to the probability sampling; this sampling technique is highly time and cost-effective. This sampling technique identifies the appropriate respondents very easily who can offer specialised information, therefore, this sampling technique is very easy to use. There are different non-probability samplings such as convenience sampling, expert sampling, purposive sampling, haphazard sampling, snowball sampling, modal instance sampling and many more. Among these non-probabilities sampling, convenience sampling is the sampling strategy that is appropriate here. This is because; this sampling technique involves the collection of a sample from a convenient place. In that context, the convenient place is Murdoch University where lecturers are selected for data collection.

Q3) Limitation in the research design in data collection and sampling:

The main error associated with the non-probability sampling is it is highly difficult in knowing the fact that how well a population can be represented (Etikan, Alkassim & Abubakar, 2016). Moreover, calculating the margins of errors along with the confidence intervals is difficult.

The researcher can also face difficulties in evaluating the quality of the proposed research. There can be transferability in qualitative research. Transferability is synonymous with the generalizability in qualitative research. Transferability is generally established by providing evidence to the readers that the study findings of the research are applicable in other situation, contexts and population.

The researcher has decided to conduct a face-to-face interview on the lecturer. However, it is really difficult for the researcher in arranging a face-to-face interview. This is because lecturers live in different locations which increases the costs of transportation. Moreover, lecturers have a busy schedule, therefore, it is difficult for them in participating in the face-to-face interview session. Moreover, arranging the consent of the university to conduct research on the lecturer is very difficult tasks. This fact can create a limitation for the researcher.