Research Methodology and Data Analysis

This assignment delves into a research study that employed a deductive approach. The researcher collected primary data and utilized correlation and regression analysis for interpretation. The deductive approach was chosen due to its analytical nature, simplicity, and ability to yield precise results through statistical tools. The summary highlights the rationale behind selecting this approach and its contribution to drawing universally valid inferences.

Running head: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION
AND THEIR AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE
CHINESE LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
A critical analysis of brand image, value and perception and their affect on consumer loyalty
within the context of the Chinese luxury fashion sector
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Table of Contents
Methodology....................................................................................................................................2
Research Philosophy........................................................................................................................2
Ontology..........................................................................................................................................3
Epistemology...................................................................................................................................4
Adopted Research Philosophy.........................................................................................................8
Research Approach..........................................................................................................................9
Adopted research approach............................................................................................................15
Reference List................................................................................................................................17

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Methodology
Introduction
This methodology section provides justification on use of methodology by the researcher in
order to achieve research objectives as mentioned in the introduction chapter (VanPatten &
Williams, 2014). In this section, research philosophy is explained that includes both ontological
and epistemological. Justification is even given after this section on which is the best research
philosophy that should be adopted by the researcher in this given research study and that aligns
with the research topic. The present segment explains research approaches and suggests the best
approaches that can be used by the researcher for the current research study (Tuohy et al., 2013).
Research Philosophy
It is essential to consider the fact that underlying epistemological assumptions particularly have
critical implication on any of the selected research philosophies. In addition, research philosophy
help in guiding the researcher to look at the world around them in various ways and help them to
decide the most suitable research strategy and method that need to be adopted by the researcher.
Here, researcher plays an important role and need to pay attention to the given epistemological
assumptions and it had been marked positive impact on what they do and their perceptions of
what had been examined as well (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Ontology
Ontology is the science or learning of human beings as it particularly deals with the life of
realism. In addition, ontology is a scheme of conviction that portrays an understanding of a
personality on what constitutes a fact (Tarone, Gass & Cohen, 2013). Furthermore, ontology is
connected with a particular question of whether societal entities required to be explained as
subjective or objective. Therefore, objectivism as well as subjectivism can be treated as two
major characteristic of ontology. Ontology mainly moves around with epistemology that informs
the theoretical perspective as far as possible. In that case, the main purpose or aim of social
science is to highlight the social reality. It is because every people are unique and think
differently to a specific situation. It is how people look situation and then demonstrate how their
views shape the action that is undertaken within that reality. It is therefore necessary to
investigate the ontological distinctions during the research process as it help researcher for
uncovering the facts on how the perceptions of human nature impact on the approach that adopts
to reveal social truths.
Here, objectivism means portraying the place where social entities exist in actuality that is
external to social actors and connected with their existence. In addition, objectivism is an
ontological place that extends societal phenomenon as well as the meaning have an survival that
is self-governing of social actors (Roberts, 2013).
On the contrary, Subjectivism deals with societal occurrence that is created from awareness as
well as resulting actions of those societal actors that are concerned with their existence. In

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
addition, constructivism can be explained as ontological location that explains societal
phenomenon as well as meaning that had been accomplished by social actors (Blumberg, Cooper
& Schindler, 2014).
Research Philosophy Ontology- The view of researcher regarding the
nature of reality or human being
Pragmatism Multiple
Selected view that answers the research question
External
Positivism Objective
External
self-determining of societal actors
Realism Exists separately of human thoughts as well as
attitude or information of their survival or realist
but it is actually interpreted through social training
or decisive realist (Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler,
2014).

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Epistemology
Epistemology is a branch of beliefs that is concerned with the sources of information. In
addition, epistemology deals with potential, sources, nature as well as restrictions of information
in particular field of study. Furthermore, epistemology is the study of the criteria whereby the
researcher categorizes what constitute proper knowledge sources (Reynolds et al., 2014).
There are various sources of knowledge that relates particularly with business research and
divided into further categories and these are as follows:
Intuitive Knowledge- This source of knowledge is based on faith, belief and intuition.
Here, human feelings actually plays important role in this source of knowledge as
compared to reliance upon facts and information (Neuman & Robson, 2014)
Authoritarian knowledge- This source of knowledge is based on information that had
been collected from valid and reliable sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles,
academic books and authentic websites (Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler, 2014).
Logical knowledge- This source of knowledge is based on creation of getting access to
new knowledge by applying logical reasoning (Gast & Ledford, 2014).
Empirical knowledge- This source of knowledge is based on objective facts that had
been properly established as well as demonstrated at the same time (Matthews & Ross,
2014)
Epistemology takes into account historical perspective, idealism, constructivism, empiricism as
well as essentialism and progressivism. To that, empiricism as well as rationalism can be again

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
categorized under the field of epistemological learning that connects directly to trade studies. In
addition, empiricism mainly recognizes personal experiences that get connected with feelings,
scrutiny and applicable source of information. On the other hand, rationalism mainly deals with
empirical findings that are measured through valid as well as reliable tool as a source of
knowledge (Mackey & Gass, 2015).
Research Philosophy Epistemology- The view of the researcher on
matters relating to what constitutes acceptable
knowledge
Pragmatism Focus mainly on practical applied research that
integrates with various perspectives that help to
interpret the data (Leary, 2016).
Either or both of the observable phenomena as well
as subjective meanings help in providing
acceptable knowledge that is dependent upon the
research questions (Blumberg, Cooper &
Schindler, 2014)
Positivism Mainly focus on causality as well as law-like
generalizations that reduces the level of
phenomenon to the simplest elements (Gast &
Ledford, 2014)
Concerned with only observable phenomena as it

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
help in providing credible and reliable data facts
and information (Humphries, 2017).
Realism Mainly focus on explaining aspects within context
or contexts
It deals with observable phenomenon that help in
providing reliable data and facts
It deals with creation of sensations that are open to
misinterpretation or critical realism (Blumberg,
Cooper & Schindler, 2014)
Insufficient data that refers to inaccuracy in
sensation or direct realism through alternative
means (Glesne, 2015)
Adopted Research Philosophy
From the above explanation on research philosophy, it is now important for the researcher to
decide upon which philosophy methods need to be selected for current research study on “A
critical analysis of brand image, value and perception and their affect on consumer loyalty within
the context of the Chinese luxury fashion sector”. The researcher had adopted Positivism
Research Philosophy (Gast & Ledford, 2014). The reason for selecting Positivism by the
researcher was the factual knowledge gained through observation that includes measurement that
is trustworthy at the same time. To that, positivism mainly depends upon quantifiable

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
observations that lead to statistical analysis. Here, researcher had collected primary data so
Positivism research philosophy is the only way to get access to statistical data collection
information from the respondents. Positivist approach had been selected by the researcher and as
it is the belief that the researcher is independent to conduct the research as per own and that can
be purely objective by nature. Here, independent purely means a situation where the researcher
maintains minimum interaction with the research participants or respondents at the time of
carrying out the research activity. As per Positivist Paradigm, it is purely based in facts as well as
considers that the world is external and objective. There are mainly five principles of positivism
philosophy that need to be illustrated to make the selection more feasible and apt. The first
standard is that there are no differences in the reason of question in the field of science. The
second principle of positivism philosophy is that the research should aim to explain as well as
predict relating to some specific topic. The third principle is research should be empirically
observable such as human senses (Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler, 2014). The fourth principle is
science is not the same as common sense where common sense should not be allowable to bias
thinking in the research findings. The fifth principle is science must be value-free as well as
judged only based on logic.
Research Approach
There are three types of research approach that need to be evaluated at the time of conducting the
research study. The three types of research approach are deductive research approach and
inductive research approach.

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
To explain in detail, it actually means significance of hypothesis to the study that is the main
difference between the deductive and inductive approaches. Here, deductive approach means
testing the legality of hypothesis or theories or hypothesis (Gall, Gall & Borg, 2014). On the
other hand, inductive approach refers to an approach that contributes to the emergence of new
theories as well as generalization.
There is lot of difference present among these three research approaches and it is properly
illustrated below with proper justification:
Deductive Inductive
Logic Deductive approach is used when
premises are true and then the
conclusions also must be true
Inductive approach is used when
the known premises are used and
generate untested conclusions
Generalizability General to public Specific to general
Theory Theory falsification or verification Theory generation as well as
building
Use of data Data collection is properly used for
evaluating proposition or
hypothesis that is related to an
existing theory
Data collection is properly used for
exploring a given phenomenon,
theme identification as well as
patterns and creation of conceptual
framework

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Deductive approach
Deductive approach means developing a hypothesis that is based on existing theory and then
designing a research strategy for testing the hypothesis. Deductive approach refers to reasoning
from specific to general. This approach might be tested to look if the relationship or link obtains
on more general situations. This approach can be explained by means of hypothesis that can be
easily derived from the propositions of the theory. In addition, the deductive approach deals with
deducting conclusions from premises or propositions. In case of deductive approach, the main
focus is on causality that begins with hypothesis.

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Theory
Hypothesis
Observation or Test
Confirmation or
Rejection
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Figure: Deductive Process
(Source: Flick, 2015)

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Observations or Tests
Pattern
Theory
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Inductive approach
In case of inductive approach, it does not take into account any formulation of hypothesis. This
approach starts from research questions as well as aims and objectives that need to be achieved at
the research process stages (Gast & Ledford, 2014). Inductive approach is concerned with
qualitative research where there is no set of rules as well as the studies may have deductive
orientation as well. In case of inductive approach, it concerns with generalizing new theory that
emerges from the data. In this approach, researcher uses research questions for narrowing down
the scope of the study.
Figure: Inductive Process

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
(Source: Flick, 2015)
Deductive approach Inductive approach
Availability of time Relatively short-time for
completing the research study
No time limit to complete the
research study
Wealth of literature sources Abundance of sources Scarcity of sources
Risk Risk avoidance No specific theories emerges
together so risk is accepted
Adopted research approach
After evaluating all the three discussed research approaches, the researcher had selected
deductive research approach at the time of conducting the research study. The researcher had
collected primary data and interpreted the data by using correlation and regression analysis
(Blumberg, Cooper & Schindler, 2014). It is for this reason the researcher uses deductive
approach as it starts from general to particular. By using this method, researcher can come up
with derived new conclusions from basic assumptions or from truth that is established from other
methods. It takes into account reasoning process that starts from certain laws and principles that
are assumed to be true for analyzing certain facts on the research topic. The researcher had used
deductive approach because it is simple as it is analytical by nature. The data generated from
deductive approach is exact as there is use of statistical tools such as regression and correlation
that help in bringing exactness and clarity in the overall research study (Gast & Ledford, 2014).

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
This research approach help in drawing inferences that has universal validity as they are based
on general principles

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A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAND IMAGE, VALUE AND PERCEPTION AND THEIR
AFFECT ON CONSUMER LOYALTY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHINESE
LUXURY FASHION SECTOR
Reference List
Blumberg, B. F., Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business research methods. McGraw-
hill education.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2014). Applying educational research: How to read, do,
and use research to solve problems of practice. Pearson Higher Ed.
Gast, D. L., & Ledford, J. R. (Eds.). (2014). Single case research methodology: Applications in
special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.
Glesne, C. (2015). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.
Humphries, B. (2017). Re-thinking social research: anti-discriminatory approaches in research
methodology. Taylor & Francis.
Leary, M. R. (2016). Introduction to behavioral research methods. Pearson.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.
Matthews, B., & Ross, L. (2014). Research methods. Pearson Higher Ed.
Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2014). Basics of social research. Pearson Canada.