Reflective Report on Research Methods and Processes

This reflective report covers reflection on research methods and processes, including research methodologies and learning points. It aims to support self-critical consideration of research and professional development.

Project 2 - EMBA: The
Reflective Report
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CONTENTS
REFLECTIVE WRITING...............................................................................................................3
Research Methods and Processes................................................................................................3
Literature and Sources.................................................................................................................4
My learning..................................................................................................................................4
My Critical Thinking and my ideas.............................................................................................5
Barriers Met.................................................................................................................................5
Objectives....................................................................................................................................6
My Professional Development....................................................................................................6
Findings and Outcomes...............................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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REFLECTIVE WRITING
Reflective report can be recovered as a piece of writing and an analytical practice that
summarizes critical reflection of an individual on particular subject. In this, real or imaginary
event, passing thought, interaction scene on memory is described by the writer and reflection
adds meaning in it. It encourages a person to think regarding his or her personal reaction to the
particular event or situation (Alrashidi and Ullmann, 2019). It is a reflective report which covers
reflection on my own experience that I get during undertaking the module. It aims to support my
ability to be self-critical regarding my research. This reflective report is developed to support my
self-critical consideration of research as well as associated skills. It includes reflection on my
learning during MBA program and the process of performing research. it includes reflection on
research processes, research methodologies along with the main learning points that could be
applied to other situations.
Research Methods and Processes
The third chapter in the research study is research methodology which includes various
methods which are used in the research to carry out it in systematic manner. Research onion is a
framework which is mostly used in this part which consists of six layers including research
philosophy, approach, strategies, design, data collection method, time horizon. It also covers
limitation of research, sampling and ethical considerations while performing the research. During
undertaking the module, I also learnt about research philosophies and acknowledge that there are
two main philosophies which researcher used in the research. These includes interpretivism and
positivism philosophy. I decided to use quantitative research method for performing the
investigation, so I utilised positivism research philosophy along with deductive research
approach. Apart from this, I also learnt about different strategies of research including case
study, experimental research, survey, interview etc. and based on their advantages and
disadvantages and the type of study, I decided to conduct survey study and use questionnaire for
collecting primary data. In addition to this, I utilise both primary as well as secondary method of
collecting data which helped me in gathering a lot of data on the topic and makes it easy for me
to draw valid conclusion based on that data (Pasternak and Rigoni, 2015).
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Literature and Sources
While performing literature review on the topic, I found that many internet sources are
available through which I gather data. However, my tutor taught me that at the time of searching
sources, it is necessary to ensure that the source through which data was taken must be authentic
and ensure that the article or journal selected is not older than 10 years to maintain the accuracy
of research outcomes. This learning assisted me in collected accurate data on topic. At the time
of performing research, I gained knowledge regarding different sources which could be utilised
to collect information on the research topic. My tutor taught me that there are two types of data
collection methods through which primary and secondary data can be collected. The first hand
data can be collected through primary sources and the second hand data can be collected through
secondary sources like books and journals. My tutor also taught about advantages and advantage
of using each method with the help of which I was able to analysed that for performing primary
investigation, it is very necessary for me to have good communication skills. As for collecting
primary data, I need to conduct survey or interview in which I need to interact with other people
to get answers on the questions. I chose to conduct survey through using questionnaire tool
which consist of several questions and respondents are asked to fill those (Naber and
Wyatt ,2014).
My Knowledge
By undertaking this investigation, I learnt so many things not only about the topic but other
areas also related to the topic. This helped me in gaining deep insights on the subject area which
ultimately improved my knowledge base that will help me in future in gaining good employment
(Poldner and et. al., 2014). The experience that I got by performing the investigation will assist
me in future in performing further research on the similar or other topic in more effective and
appropriate way. It plays crucial role in my own personal and professional development which
will fuel my career growth in future. Apart from this, I also gained knowledge about different
research methodologies that can be utilised in the research study (Shum and et. al., 2016). My
tutor also taught me about which methodology is I can use in which type of research
investigation. I learnt that the methodologies are selected based on the nature of research. By
studying all the subjects, I gained a lot of knowledge regarding each area which help in
improving my knowledge base and enabled me to learn so many things.
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My learning
From the MBA program, I learnt about how to manage things and organise them in
appropriate way. It also helps in improving my communication skills along with team working,
research and other skills also and make me able to performed well during the module. Some this
major dissertation project, I learnt about how to interact with other people for collecting data and
how to search authentic sources over the internet which can be utilised in research. I learnt that
while collecting secondary data, it is necessary to ensure that all the data must be gathered from
authentic sources. And my tutor also taught me that the data must not be older than 10 years. So,
I considered both the things at the time of gathering data and collected secondary data from
authentic sources only which were not older than 10 years. Use of authentic sources is very
necessary in order to ensure that all the information which are collected is valid and reliable and
it also assisted in ensuring that the outcomes drawn are accurate.
My Critical Thinking and my ideas
I am a student pursuing Executive MBA course. There are various subjects which I studied
in the MBA program including marketing, human resource management, economics, strategic
management, accounts and finance, leadership, QRM and e-business. Undertaking the module,
several activities and task are assigned by my tutor which I need to perform. My tutor assigned
me with the task to prepare a dissertation. I needed to prepare a dissertation on a particular topic
and I decided to perform it on Marketing as it is a wider subject area. I felt nervous initially this
was my first time when I was assigned with the task to prepare a dissertation (Al-Rawahi and Al-
Balushi, 2015). I never prepared a dissertation before and I don't know at that time about how to
prepare a good dissertation. But during studied in the module, my tutor taught me that about the
chapters which are included in the dissertation and the methodologies which are considered to
develop a dissertation in a systematic way. I learnt about several chapters that are included in the
dissertation in the class. These chapters include introduction, literature review, research
methodology, data analysis and interpretation, discussion, conclusion, recommendation and
reflection.
Barriers Met
I also faced difficulties at the time of gathering primary data as it was not possible for me
to go anywhere and distribute questionnaire to the respondents to fill immediately due to
outbreak of covid-19 pandemic. I faced many difficulties because of a spread of virus and not
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able to collect enough data analysis and interpretation. However, instead of going outside, I
made use of email and send the questionnaire to the personal mail of the respondents to get
responses on the questions associated with research. Through this way I was able to collected the
data appropriately. While performing the dissertation, one thing that I learnt by my classmates is
team working. Initially, my team working skill was not good due to which I was not able to
perform effectively in the team. But after sometime, when my tutor assigned group activities and
task, I participated in the group and learnt how to work effectively in a team. My teammates
helped me a lot whenever I faced difficulties in performing my roles and responsibilities and
encourage and motivate me to perform well in the team (Shum and et. al., 2017). As a result of
this, my team working skills gets improved and now I am able to perform well in the team. Good
communication skills are very necessary for encouraging people to fill the questionnaire
appropriately. Initially, my communication skills were not so good due to which I faced many
difficulties to interact with other people and ask them to fill the questionnaire.
Objectives
The main objective behind performing this investigation is to perform the study
systematically. It covers some chapters, performing those in an effective manner will assist in
conducting study appropriately. Introduction is the very first chapter which is included in
dissertation and is a base for overall dissertation. it includes information about research aim,
objectives and questions along with background, significance and rationale of study. The second
chapter is literature review in which different articles and journals are reviewed which are
published previously and viewpoint of different authors are compared on the particular research
topic and different themes associated with it. It is a kind of secondary data which is collected
through books, journals and previously published data (Kurunsaari, Tynjälä and Piirainen, 2016).
The fourth chapter is about data analysis and interpretation in which all the gather data is
analysed and interpret by using appropriate method and based on that analysis and interpretation,
the outcome is drawn on the research. On the basis of that, conclusion and recommendations are
provided and reflection is given on the overall experience that an individual given by performing
the investigation. All these are taught to me by my tutor which helped me in carried out the
dissertation appropriately (Lane and et. al., 2014).
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My Professional Development
The overall experience of undertaking the Management of Business Administration program
and performing research was very excellent. This highly contributed in improving my learning
and knowledge base which will help me in future in getting good employment in a reputed
organisation. However, I feel that I need to more work upon my communication skills as still I
am not so good in the communication. So, for improving my communication skills, I will
undertake professional classes to improve communication. I will also take help of online sessions
and videos made on communication in order to enhance my communication skills and be able to
interact effectively with others (Vassilaki, 2017). My improved communication skills will also
help in my future career growth. Apart from this, the other skill on which I need to work upon is
team working skills. For improving the skill, I will not participate in group activities and task so
that I can learn how to perform well in the team and able to improve my team working skills. All
this will help in my both personal as well as professional development and the learning and
experience which I gained from undertaking the MBA program and performing research will
highly contribute me in my career growth and gaining good employment.
Findings and Outcomes
From the overall reflection, it has been find out that by reflecting on my own experience and
learning, I found that I have various strength and weaknesses. By knowing about my weak areas,
I am able to work upon them and improve those effectively. The learning experience that I get
from undertaking the module will help me in my personal and professional development. It will
also help me in getting good employment in future and fuels my career growth effectively. By
performing any activity or task, the knowledge and learning gets enhanced which enable me to
perform that particular task in more appropriate way in future. Reflective writing helps me in
encouraging to think upon my personal reaction towards specific situation so that I may be able
to reflect effectively on it which ultimately helps in improving my future performance.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alrashidi, H., Joy, M. and Ullmann, T.D., 2019, July. A reflective writing framework for
computing education. In Proceedings of the 2019 ACM Conference on Innovation and
Technology in Computer Science Education (pp. 295-295).
Al-Rawahi, N.M. and Al-Balushi, S.M., 2015. The Effect of Reflective Science Journal Writing
on Students' Self-Regulated Learning Strategies. International Journal of Environmental
and Science Education, 10(3), pp.367-379.
Kurunsaari, M., Tynjälä, P. and Piirainen, A., 2016. Students’ experiences of reflective writing
as a tool for learning in physiotherapy education. In Writing for professional
development (pp. 129-151). Brill.
Lane, R., and et. al., 2014. Quality reflective practice in teacher education: A journey towards
shared understanding. Reflective Practice, 15(4), pp.481-494.
Naber, J. and Wyatt, T.H., 2014. The effect of reflective writing interventions on the critical
thinking skills and dispositions of baccalaureate nursing students. Nurse Education
Today, 34(1), pp.67-72.
Pasternak, D.L. and Rigoni, K.K., 2015. Teaching reflective writing: thoughts on developing a
reflective writing framework to support teacher candidates. Teaching/Writing: the journal
of writing teacher education, 4(1), p.5.
Poldner, E., and et. al., 2014. Assessing student teachers’ reflective writing through quantitative
content analysis. European Journal of Teacher Education, 37(3), pp.348-373.
Shum, S.B., and et. al., 2016, April. Reflecting on reflective writing analytics: Assessment
challenges and iterative evaluation of a prototype tool. In Proceedings of the sixth
international conference on learning analytics & knowledge(pp. 213-222).
Shum, S.B., and et. al., 2017. Towards reflective writing analytics: Rationale, methodology and
preliminary results. Journal of Learning Analytics, 4(1), pp.58-84.
Vassilaki, E., 2017. Reflective writing, reflecting on identities: The construction of writer
identity in student teachers’ reflections. Linguistics and Education, 42, pp.43-52.
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