Name:Mir Habib Ul Latif

ID:1510175

Research onion model based on Admission Interest Data

Analysis
1. Introduction:
The research onion was developed by Saunders et al. (2007)[1]. It illustrates the stages that must be
covered when developing a research strategy.When viewed from the outside, each layer of the onion
describes a more detailed stage of the research process (Saunders et al., 2007).
The research onion provides an effective progression through which a research methodology can be
designed. Its usefulness lies in its adaptability for almost any type of research methodology and can be
used in a variety of contexts (Bryman, 2012)[2].

Fig 1: Research Onion Model (Saunder 2007)

2. Research Philosophy:

A research philosophy refers to the set of beliefs concerning the nature of the reality being investigated
(Bryman, 2012)[2]. It is the underlying definition of the nature of knowledge. The assumptions created by
a research philosophy provide the justification for how the research will be undertaken (Flick, 2011) [3].
Research philosophies can differ on the goals of research and on the best way that might be used to
achieve these goals (Goddard & Melville, 2004)[4]. These are not necessarily at odds with each other, but
the choice of research philosophy is defined by the type of knowledge being investigated in the research
project (May, 2011)[5]. Therefore, understanding the research philosophy being used can help explain the
assumptions inherent in the research process and how this fits the methodology being used.

There are various philosophies explained in the research onion; the major standpoints relate to
● Philosophy of Ontology
● Philosophy of Epistemology
● Philosophy of Axiology

Ontology
This philosophy makes you aware of the nature of reality. You ask yourself different questions while
using this research method. You try to find out how the world operates. It also makes you learn the
process of the construction of the society. It also helps you in knowing how society impacts our
surroundings.

Epistemology
Next research onion philosophy is the epistemology. It tries to find the acceptable knowledge and
addresses the facts according to that. Here, you have to define the acceptable knowledge about the field of
your research. It is also a must for you to give information you acquired after rigorous testing.
You use epistemology mostly for the scientific research purposes. It is like that because it helps you in
finding the information that you can prove without a doubt. Positivism, critical realism and interpretivism
are the philosophical positions relate with epistemology. You can learn it to get an in-depth idea of the
epistemology.

Axiology
Axiology helps you learn how valuables and opinions impact the collection and analysis of your research.
Here, you don’t have to eliminate or balance the impact of it.

2.1 Philosophical Instance:

Objectivism
In the research onion, objectivism makes you aware of a social phenomenon. It helps you to learn the
different meanings social phenomena may have on the social actors. For example, a sunny day is a social
phenomenon. Some people may find it pleasing and others may not.
So, through objectivism, you may learn how a social phenomenon impacts different people.
Constructivism
Constructivism discusses the opposite of what objectivism says. It says that social actors are responsible
for creating social phenomena. Hence, you must use constructivism philosophy if you have to research
such a topic.
For example, we make laws to stop crime. People are the ones who commit crimes. So, people are
responsible for the new rules coming from time to time.

Positivism
Next in the research onion is the positivism. Positivism comes up with the research questions and
hypotheses that you can test. With positivism, you can find the explanations measuring the accepted
knowledge of the world. An example of it is the law of gravity.
It is the type of body of research that other researchers can also take to find the same outcome. Here, you
give importance to get the quantitative results. It may lend you to statistical analysis.

Realism
Realism and Positivism are quite similar. It says that social reality and you are not dependent on each
other. It will not let them give biased results. However, realism says that scientific methods are improper.
It separates the realism and positivism.
In the research onion, realism says that you can revise every theory. It further explains that you can not
find the reality without continuous research. Realism says that you don’t need to hesitate in using new
methods of research.

Interpretivism
Interpretivism helps you in interpreting how people participate in the social and cultural life. In other
words, you can learn what people understand about their own and others’ actions.
It can help you in understand a culture. Furthermore, you can also learn about the cultural existence and
change through learning about the ideas and valuables. Some meanings may also prove helpful for you in
the same.

Pragmatism
Constructivism and Objectivism are the ideal ways to conduct a research in the views of pragmatism. You
can also judge a topic from one or both viewpoints about the impact of the social actors.
You can use these views to create a practical approach to research. It is essential in the research onion.
You can use it to come up with the solution of the problems.

Justification and Observation on Project Annex:

The pragmatist view will be suitable for the current study to explore the relationship between the school
wise student interest and the overall school wise distribution of the student . According to Simpson [14]
pragmatism seeks to account for lived experience and is part of the history of social science. Pragmatism
argues that the most important determinant of the epistemology, ontology and axiology adopted in a study
is the research question. This suggests that the research questions and objectives are the most important
factors in research philosophy; one may be more appropriate than the other for answering particular
questions. Thus, it can be argued that mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative, are possible, and
possibly highly appropriate, within one study [1].

3. Research Approach:

Two types of approaches are outlined here: the deductive and the inductive approach.

Deductive Approach
The deductive approach develops the hypothesis or hypotheses upon a pre-existing theory and then
formulates the research approach to test it (Silverman,
2013)[6]. This approach is best suited to contexts where the research project is concerned with examining
whether the observed phenomena fit with expectations
based upon previous research (Wiles et al., 2011)[7].

Inductive Approach
The inductive approach is characterised as a move from the specific to the general (Bryman & Bell,
2011)[10]. In this approach, the observations are the
starting point for the researcher, and patterns are looked for in the data (Beiske, 2007)[11]. In this
approach, there is no framework that initially informs
the data collection and the research focus can thus be formed after the data has been collected (Flick,
2011)[3].

The Quantitative Approach

As the name suggests, this approach is concerned with quantitative data (Flick, 2011)[3]. It holds a
number of accepted statistical standards for the validity
of the approach, such as the number of respondents that are required to establish a statistically significant
result (Goddard & Melville, 2004)[4].

The Qualitative Approach

The qualitative approach is drawn from the constructivist paradigm (Bryman & Allen, 2011)[2]. This
approach requires the researcher to avoid imposing
their own perception of the meaning of social phenomena upon the respondent (Banister et al., 2011). The
aim is to investigate how the respondent
interprets their own reality (Bryman & Allen, 2011)[2}

Justification and Observation on Project Annex:

We chose inductive approach since there is no framework that is initially informs the data collection and
the research focus can thus be formed after the data has been collected.We will observe and analyse the
data and then make a hypothesis
4. Research Strategy:
Sarantakos defined research method as “the theory of methods” (Sarantakos 2012; p. 465)[17], or the way
through which a researcher makes sense of the object of inquiry. Within research methodology, research
strategy assumes as the “general plan of how the researcher will go about answering the research
questions” (Saunders et al. 2009; p. 90)[1]. Research strategy is of seven types:
1. experiments,
2. surveys,
3. case studies,
4. ethnography,
5. grounded theory,
6. action research and
7. archival research.

Justification and Observation on Project Annex:

We chose archival research strategy because our project annex data is based on administrative records and
the source of the data are historical (2014-2019).

5. Time Horizons:

The Time Horizon is the time framework within which the project is intended for completion (Saunders et
al., 2007)[1]. Two types of time horizons are specified within the research onion: the cross sectional and
the longitudinal (Bryman, 2012)[2]. The cross sectional time horizon is one already established, whereby
the data must be collected. This is dubbed the ‘snapshot’ time collection, where the data is collected
at a certain point (Flick,2011)[3]. This is used when the investigation is concerned with the study of a
particular phenomenon at a specific time. A longitudinal time horizon for data collection refers to the
collection of data repeatedly over an extended period, and is used where an important factor for the
research is examining change over time (Goddard & Melville, 2004)[4].

Justification and Observation on Project Annex:

Cross sectional studies are limited to a specific time frame. The study based on project annex is also
limited to a specific time frame and hence the cross sectional time horizon is used.
6. Data Collection and Analysis:
Data collection and analysis is dependent on the methodological approach used (Bryman, 2012) [2]. The
process used at this stage of the research contributes significantly to the study’s overall reliability and
validity (Saunders et al., 2007)[1].

7.Research Design:
The research design is the description of how the research process will be completed. It is a framework
which includes the considerations that led to the appropriate methodology being adopted, the way in
which the respondents were selected, and how the data will be analysed (Flick, 2011)[3]. There are a
number of different characteristic research designs, namely the descriptive, explanatory, and the
exploratory.

8. Data analysis and technique:

The final layer in the research onion relates to the techniques and procedures taken. In the
research, both secondary research and primary research were utilised. The secondary research
entailed the research and use of relevant academic literature, related reports and press articles.
For the primary research, a structured questionnaire was developed and utilised with respondents
providing their inputs through the questionnaire provided. This was the key research instrument utilised in
the research. The structured questionnaire focused on the corporate social responsibility actions of
Chevron and how these fit with the principles and objectives of Chevron. The structured questionnaire
was designed so that this would be answered by the respondents easily as these are close-ended questions.
This is an advantage in the research as this ensured that the questions would be easily and consistently
understood by the respondents with the tabulation of the results also easily achieved with the design of the
questionnaire.
Another research instrument used was Microsoft Excel with this software application utilised for
presenting the data graphically. For some of the responses to the questionnaires, the researcher
was in touch with the respondents through email.

9. Conclusion:
For Project annex data is collected from iras which record the admission system of IUB,an observation
technique is used to analyse the data because it give an unobtrusive way to collect data.Gathering
firsthand information in the field gives the observer a holistic perspective that helps them to understand
the context in which the item being studied operates or exists. Since the data is collected between fixed
amount of time the cross-sectional method is used for time horizon and also inductive research approach
is used by analyzing the data.

10. References and Bibliography:

1. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research Methods for Business Students, (6th
ed.) London: Pearson.
2. Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3. Flick, U. (2011). Introducing research methodology: A beginner’s guide to doing a research
project. London: Sage.
4. Goddard, W. & Melville, S. (2004). Research Methodology: An Introduction, (2nd ed.) Oxford:
Blackwell Publishing.
5. May, T. (2011). Social research: Issues, methods and research. London: McGraw-Hill
International.
6. Silverman, D. (2013). Doing Qualitative Research: A practical handbook. London: Sage.
7. Wiles, R., Crow, G., & Pain, H. (2011). Innovation in qualitative research methods: a narrative
review. Qualitative Research, 11(5),
8. Snieder R. & Larner, K. (2009). The Art of Being a Scientist: A Guide for Graduate Students and
their Mentors, Cambridge: Cambridge University
9. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: methods and techniques. New Delhi: New Age
International.
10. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods (3rd ed.) Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
11. Beiske, B. (2007). Research Methods: Uses and limitations of questionnaires, interviews and case
studies, Munich: GRIN Verlag.
12. Feilzer, M. Y. (2010). Doing mixed methods research pragmatically: Implications for the
rediscovery of pragmatism as a research paradigm. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(1),
pp.6-16.
13. Newman, I. (1998). Qualitative-quantitative research methodology: Exploring the interactive
continuum. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University
14. Simpson, B. (2009). Pragmatism, Mead and the practice turn. Organization Studies, 30(12),
1329-1347.
15. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Incorpo‐ rated.
16. Harter, N. (2007). Clearings in the forest: On the study of leadership. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue
University Press.
17. Sarantakos, S., 2012. Social Research, Palgrave Macmillan.