Business Research Design and Methodology Assignment 2022

Business Research Design and Methodology
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Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................3
Detailed research methodology....................................................................................4
Quantitative or qualitative research...........................................................................4
Hypothesis.................................................................................................................4
Additional secondary data.........................................................................................5
Sampling size and sampling approach.....................................................................5
Data Collection method.............................................................................................6
Questionnaire design................................................................................................6
Envisaged analysis and interpretation......................................................................8
Expected summary of findings.....................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Influence of social media is growing rapidly in every industry and it is currently being
used as one of the most efficient methods of marketing. Majority of business
organizations are using social media as tool of marketing and advertisement as its
reach is significantly higher as compared to common methods. In addition to that
cost of maintaining social media platform is very low as compared to other methods
of advertisement such as TV commercials and celebrity endorsement. Combination
of certain marketing strategies such a celebrity endorsement with social media
networking can be positive for overall revenue of the organization. In current
business environment business organizations are understanding the importance of
social media and its impact on behaviour of customer (Aral, Dellarocas and Godes,
2013). There have been various studies in which it was evaluated that over the
period of time reach of social media platform will increase significantly in future.
Similarly use of social media as marketing strategy will also increase.
Social media has become one of the most influential platforms through which
business organizations can introduce their product and services. The number of
social media platforms is also increasing which is helpful in business organizations to
reach wide variety of customers. In addition to that social media can provide effective
platform on a global level as different social media tools such as Facebook are being
used in majority of the countries. There are some disadvantages of social media on
business organization as any corporate fraud or any kind of deficiency in business
operations can be exposed easily to customers. In addition to that fake news with
respect to product and services of a business organization can also have negative
impact on overall operations. This type of fake news can be spread by competitors
for irresponsible social media users. It is important for an organization to understand
these advantages and disadvantages and compare them with their own needs and
requirements before using social media platform for their businesses (Rodriguez,
Peterson and Krishnan, 2012).
The main focus of this report will be on conducting research that will help in
identifying the impact of social media on businesses. Marketing strategies will be
primary focus of this research question for use of social media. For this purpose,
three research questions have been developed that will be followed throughout this
research. These three research questions are as follows-
1. What is the adoption rate of social media as a tool of advertisement and
promotion in business?
2. Identifying the impact of social media on revenue generation capacity of
businesses in different industry?
3. Is social media marketing cost-efficient as compared to other methods of
marketing?
All of the above questions will help in understanding the influence of social media in
business organizations. Primary research will be used in the scenario to collect the
data from different business organizations operating in Australia (Paniagua and
Sapena, 2014). It is expected that this research build help in identifying the
relationship between revenue generation capabilities of an organization and use of
social media.
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Detailed research methodology
Research methodology can be defined as the overall structure of the research
procedures that will be included in particular research. These research procedures
include selection of a sample, research methods, data collection methods, etc. it is
important to provide a structure to the research before starting its actual process
(Silverman, 2016). Preparation of structure helps researcher to provide a proper
direction to research procedures. In addition to that research assistant can also be
brief about the research with the help of this structure. Assigning roles and
responsibilities in research also becomes very easy with the help of this structured
research methodology.
Quantitative or qualitative research
Important aspect of developing research methodology is to identify whether research
to be selected would be quantitative or qualitative. Both of these types of research
methodologies have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is important for
analysis of research questions and expectations from research before selecting a
particular methodology. The primary focus of quantitative research is on collection of
data and preferable in research where large number of data will be helpful in making
conclusions (Kumar, 2019). On the other hand qualitative data is focused on the
quality of Limited amount of data collected and it is preferable on research where
quality is the primary factor to be considered.
In the given scenario we have to analyse the influence of social media has on
profitability of business organizations. More accurate and reliable conclusions can be
made in the scenario by collecting more and more cases. Focus of this quantitative
methodology will be on collecting the data from maximum number of business
organizations. On the basis of this evaluation it can be said that quantitative data will
be more preferable in this scenario. It is important to collect data from maximum
number of business organizations to establish the relationship between revenue
generation capabilities and social media (Sekaran and Bougie, 2016). Alternative
use of social media can also be evaluated in business which will help in providing
additional data in this research.
Another important aspect that should be considered while selecting a particular
research methodology is the availability of time and financial resources. Conducting
research with qualitative methodology can be very time consuming and costly. This
is due to the fact that analysis of such data will require expert knowledge for which
experts in the field of research management will be required (Mackey and Gass,
2015). Due to limitation on part of time and finances selection of quantitative
methodology will be most appropriate.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is referred as resources junctions that are required to be taken during
the process of research. Majority of this hypothesis will be on the assumptions made
during collection of data. Use of hypothesis is required when data is being collected
from qualitative methodology. In this scenario data is collected from quantitative
methodology, therefore, there will be no requirement of hypothesis in this scenario.
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Additional secondary data
As it is already defined that this is a primary Research and all the data will be
collected from primary sources. Primary sources are the sources from which data is
being collected specifically for the research under consideration and the data is
collected for the first time. This type of source helps in providing accuracy to the
conclusions made in research. Combination of secondary Research and primary
research can be very beneficial for making conclusions. This is due to the fact that
there are some limitations that are required to be considered during the collection of
primary data (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault, 2015). Primary data in the given scenario
can be collected only from local Australian organizations and making conclusions
with such data for all the business organizations across globe will be very difficult. In
this scenario secondary data can be very useful. Research undertaken by different
authors in different part of the word can be used in order to main conclusions on a
global level. All the data will be collected from local organizations in Australia and
support of secondary data will be taken to make general conclusions.
Literature review is one of the most efficient sources of secondary data as it helps in
getting perspective of different authors with respect to topic under consideration. In
the previous assignment literature review was conducted on use of social media on
business organizations which will be taken as a secondary data in this research
(Sutton and Austin, 2015). The analysis will be done with the help of secondary as
well as primary data.
Sampling size and sampling approach
Selection of the sample is one of the most important aspects of any research
proposal as it is important to select effective and efficient sample data. The overall
efficiency of any research is totally dependent on the accuracy and reliability of data
under consideration. As it is already decided that primary data will be collected for
the purpose of this report with the help of quantitative methodology. Therefore data
will be collected specifically for the purpose of this report. There are different type of
Sampling that can be undertaken by a business organization search is random
sampling, statistical sampling, systematic sampling, etc. in this scenario random
sampling will be used (Quinlan et.al, 2019).
With the help of random sampling, it is decided that total 30 business organizations
will be selected for the purpose of this report. These 30 business organizations will
be selected out of hundred organizations that are currently operating in local area of
Australia. Sampling size of hundred business organizations will be divided into three
categories i.e. large scale organizations small scale organizations and medium-sized
organizations. 10 business organizations will be selected from each of the samples
created as it will help in ensuring that different type of organizations is included in the
sample.
Data will be collected from these organizations with the help of questionnaires and
these questions will be submitted to business organizations in advance through
emails. Time of two weeks will be given to each of the organization to fill out all the
questionnaires and analysis will be done after the collection of data is completed. All
the data will be collected from marketing manager of the business organization
under consideration. For the purpose of this report marketing manager has been
selected as such person will be most aware of the use of social media marketing in
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their business organization. This is due to the fact that all the marketing strategies
are prepared by marketing manager and implemented by marketing department
(Palinkas et.al, 2015). If management is using social media marketing and marketing
manager will be able to provide better review of such marketing strategy. In addition
to the atom marketing manager is also responsible for evaluating whether particular
marketing strategy is working or not. therefore collecting data from marketing
manager will also help in evaluating whether a particular social media strategy has
been beneficial for revenue-generating capabilities or not.
Data Collection method
Two methods of data collection will be used for collection purpose i.e. online survey
and questionnaire. 30 questionnaires will be developed and each of the
questionnaires will be emailed to marketing managers of 30 selected business
organizations. Each of the questionnaire will be containing 10 different questions that
will help in identifying use and influence of social media on business. It is expected
that all the data collected will be accurate and reliable (Paradis et.al, 2016). As this is
quantitative research, therefore analysis of data will not be very difficult to as specific
options will be provided against every question.
Questionnaire design
Selection of appropriate questions in question is also an important aspect of
research methodology as making conclusions will be very difficult questions are very
vague. Questionnaire says that will be distributed to marketing manager of 20
business organizations will contain 10 questions (Bell, Bryman and Harley, 2018).
Each of the questions will be focused on analysing the use and impact of social
media in business organization. Following are the 10 questions that will be included
in questionnaire-
Question 1- In which industry your business organization has been operating?
 Manufacturing
 Retail
 Service
 Others
Question 2- Specify the time period for which your organization has been operating?
 0- 3 years
 3- 8 years
 8 - 15 years
 Beyond 15 years
Question 3- Is social media marketing one of the marketing strategy used by the
organization?
 Yes
 No
Question 4- For how many years is your business organization has been using social
media marketing?
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 0- 1 year
 1 - 3 years
 3 - 5 years
 Beyond 5 years
Question 5- Is use of social media as marketing tool is more cost-efficient as
compared to your traditional marketing strategies?
 Yes
 No
 Similar cost
Question 6- Does revenue of the organization growing with the use of social media
as primary tool of promotion and advertisement?
 Yes
 No
Question 7- Does social media marketing has influenced product recognition and
establishment of brand image in positive manner?
 Yes
 No
Question 8- Is there a positive impact on between revenue generation capabilities
and use of social media marketing in current business environment?
 Yes
 No
Question 9- Is use of social media in increasing the total growth rate of customers in
business?
 Yes
 No
Question 10- Do you wish to continue with social media marketing in the future after
evaluating impact of social media on your financial performance?
 Yes
 No
Envisaged analysis and interpretation
On the basis of basic overview of the current business environment, it can be said
that to this research will be helpful in identifying a positive relationship between
revenue generation capabilities and uses of social media. As it is quantitative
research, statistical tools will be used for analysis and interpretation of data.
Response provided by the marketing managers with respect to each and every
question will be analysed and interpreted separately (Eriksson and Kovalainen,
2015). For example, can be taken with respect to question 6 i.e. "Does
implementation of social media marketing has positive impact on your revenue?” In
this scenario if majority of the marketing manager has responded "yes" to this
question then it can be said that overall impact of social media on revenue
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generation capabilities has been positive otherwise it would be negative. In this
manner conclusions will be made with respect to each and every question.
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Expected summary of findings
It is expected that this research will provide a positive influence of using social media
on revenue and number of customers. In addition to that rapid growth rate in use of
smartphone is also increasing the use of social media. People have started using
smartphones and social media from the age of 13 which broaden outs reach to
target customer by business organizations (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson,
2015). This rapid increase in use of social media and smartphone will definitely be
positive for business organizations that are using social media platform for
promotional activities. Majority of the business organizations are using these
platforms to make customers aware of their product and services.
On the basis of this trend of the current dynamic business environment, it can be
said social media in business will increase and it will have positive impact on
profitability of business. More and more business organizations will be directing their
financial resources towards social media marketing. In addition to that to use of this
platform can be done by any small scale organization due to its cost-efficiency.
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Conclusion
On an overall evaluation of this report, it can be said that efficiency of conclusions
made in particular research is totally dependent on structure of research
methodology. The primary focus of this report was to develop a research proposal
that helps in detailing out all the functions that will be performed in the research. This
research has provided basic overview and structure of functions that will be
performed in the research to identify use of social media among businesses. The
research proposal will be using quantitative data with the help of questionnaires and
online survey. It is expected that this research will help in providing positive
relationship between profitability of Business and use of social media.
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References
Aral, S., Dellarocas, C. and Godes, D., 2013. Introduction to the special issue—
social media and business transformation: a framework for research. Information
Systems Research, 24(1), pp.3-13.
Bell, E., Bryman, A. and Harley, B., 2018. Business research methods. Oxford
university press.
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P.R., 2015. Management and
business research. Sage.
Eriksson, P. and Kovalainen, A., 2015. Qualitative methods in business research: A
practical guide to social research. Sage.
Kumar, R., 2019. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage
Publications Limited.
Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and
design. Routledge.
Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood,
K., 2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed
method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and
mental health services research, 42(5), pp.533-544.
Paniagua, J. and Sapena, J., 2014. Business performance and social media: Love or
hate?. Business horizons, 57(6), pp.719-728.
Paradis, E., O'Brien, B., Nimmon, L., Bandiera, G. and Martimianakis, M.A., 2016.
Design: selection of data collection methods. Journal of graduate medical education,
8(2), pp.263-264.
Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2019. Business research methods.
South Western Cengage.
Rodriguez, M., Peterson, R.M. and Krishnan, V., 2012. Social media’s influence on
business-to-business sales performance. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 32(3), pp.365-378.
Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., 2016. Research methods for business: A skill building
approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Sutton, J. and Austin, Z., 2015. Qualitative research: Data collection, analysis, and
management. The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy, 68(3), p.226.
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research
methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
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