Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership: Research Methodology

This report details the research methodology employed to investigate the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on leadership development, specifically within the context of Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) in the Defence Forces (DF). The research adopts a qualitative, post-positivist approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews and a focus group to gather data. The methodology chapter outlines the research philosophy, emphasizing the researcher's interpretivist stance shaped by personal and professional experiences. It justifies the selection of qualitative methods for in-depth exploration of cultural meanings and experiences within DF leadership training. Data collection involved interviews with current and retired military personnel, as well as psychology professionals and senior DF officers, to gain diverse perspectives on EI's role. The data analysis involved coding into thematic groups and in-depth analysis, ensuring ethical considerations were addressed throughout the research process.

CHAPTER THREE – METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN
Introduction
“A methodology shows how research questions are articulated {connected to} with questions
asked in the field….” (Clough & Nutbrown, 2007:23).
The research methodology is an important aspect of the research. It provides direction to the
research provides a blueprint of the research tools, which can be used in the research.
There are two primary purposes of the Chapter of Research Methodology in the dissertation.
Firstly, it will outline the research methods and techniques, which have been used to examine
the potential effect of Emotional intelligence on leadership development in the Senior NCO
rank. Secondly, it will provide the reason behind the selection of different research
philosophy and research approaches in the dissertation. There are a number of research
approaches, research methods and research philosophy (Mason, 2002). However, it is
important to select the best approach for the research, which can justify the research aims and
objectives. . The primary focus of the current research is on the impact Emotional
Intelligence on the leadership training and development in the DF at the Senior NCO rank.
Chapter Two introduced the concept of Emotional Intelligence, the models of Emotional
Intelligence and showed the link between leadership, EI, and the competencies. It also
highlighted the military of other countries, which have developed EI in their leadership
training. The Chapter also introduced the academic research that analyses whether EI can be
thought and developed within the academic sphere. The chapter Two has provided a
theoretical foundation to the research; whereas the third chapter will discuss about the
research methods and techniques, which will be used for the collection of primary data.
Research Philosophy
1

The research philosophy is determined by the personal views of the researcher. In the present
section, there will be discussion regarding the persona views of the author regarding the
philosophy and how they have been shaped by experiences. In the current report, there will
be discussion regarding reality (ontology), discussion about enquiring into knowledge
(epistemology), the type of techniques which will be used to use to achieve the research aim
(methodology) (Betley & Noble, 2017). Finally, the chapter will outline different data
collection methods and analysis used to generate my findings. The current chapter will lay a
solid foundation upon which to build my research.
Ontology
“Your ontological position suggests that people’s knowledge, views, understandings,
interpretations, experiences, and interactions are meaningful properties of the social reality
which your research questions are designed to explore” (Mason, 2002). This mirrors some
degree the ontological position taken in the research, and it will take a interpretivist,
qualitative research process. The researcher’s behaviour and considerations will to some
degree impact the outcomes of the research. The past experiences of the researcher have
shaped the opinion and the ways to deal with circumstances. It is also influence interpersonal
relationships. "The post-positivist social scientist expects a learning part instead of a testing
one". In choosing the research questions for the research, I emphasized that the organization
psychology and leadership emphasize the ontological positions.
“Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the origin, nature, and limits of
human knowledge which focuses on the knower and the known” (Klenke, 2008:17).
In the present research, epistemology has been influenced bydifferent factors. My upbringing
within a military family on both sides, a sporting lifestyle where I have been involved and
engrossed in team sports from my earliest years to over 24 years’ military service within the
2

Defence Forces. All these factors have shaped my views and perspectives on life as I
developed as a person and leader within the military (Gergen & Davis, 2013). My military
service has offered me a wealth of experiences both at home and abroad, including nine tours
of duty overseas serving in Africa, Middle East, and Asia exposing me to multinational
environments’. These experiences have broadened my perspective and aided my leadership
development, character development and contributed significantly to various aspects of my
emotional intelligence.
Methodology
There are different types of research methodologies, namely, qualitative, quantitative and
mixed methods. The researcher has studied all these research methods and selected the
qualitative research methods. The qualitative research methods refer to the method in which
the information collected is qualitative in nature. It cannot be analysed through statistical
means. Further, the qualitative research methods will provide in-depth information regarding
the research.
The qualitative research methodology of semi-structured interviews and a focus group have
been selected as the most suitable research methods for the research.
In the perspective of Bryman, qualitative research can be defined as “the type of research that
usually deals with words instead of figures and statistics.” However, it is a basic and simple
definition. There are several instances in which the researchers use statistical data to
emphasize their research findings (Bryman, 2016). Morrissey provides a comprehensive
explanation of qualitative research as an approach to study that aims at uncovering concealed
aspects of people’s social interactions and practices; how people talk, move and interact in
everyday life and how social context affects this (Atkinson & Delamont, 2010).
3

In the present research, qualitative research is being used. Although it is a time-consuming
process as it requires planning and organising interviews with different stakeholders, it will
facilitate exploring detailed information related to deep-seated cultural meanings of DF
leadership training and experiences. The interview will be conducted with both serving and
the retired military personnel, so that in-depth information can be collected from the
stakeholders. The researcher understands that there are certain challenges associated with
analysis and interpretation of qualitative data; therefore, different methods are used to assure
that appropriate information is collected and no information is lost from the organization.
However, due to the personal experience as a military officer, the researcher can overcome
this challenge (Mackey, & Gass, 2015).
In the interview, the interviewee share their knowledge gained through personal experiences.
The researcher forms a questionnaire and used it as a guide to conduct the interview. It is
considered as semi-structured interview. Face to- face interviews can be used to have deep
understanding and extraction of participant views and behaviours. This in-depth information
cannot be extracted from quantitative research methods. Face-to-face interviews can create a
bond or relationship between thee researcher and interview participants. It will comfort
interview participants and they will easily share their expereince of leadership training and
experiences (Neuman, 2014).
The observation is also a common method to gain information regarding a social
phenomenon. It is used in longitudinal studies and the researcher observes the behaviour of
the sample population without any interference.
Data Collection and Sampling
As mentioned earlier the two primary means of data collection were semi-structured
interviews and a focus group adopting a post-positivist approach in taken. The focus group
was made up of eight senior NCOs who were undergoing their Senior NCOs Course in the
4

NCO Training School in the Military College. They have a wide range of experiences
coupled with vast knowledge of service within the DF both at home and abroad. The
researcher’s aim with the focus group was to establish feedback on the current leadership
training offered to NCOs in their professional development and ascertain their views and
opinions on the possible value of the development of EI training to their professional
development courses.
Interviews were conducted with personnel who have professional qualifications in the area of
psychology to gain their perspective on EI in a military context, develop an understanding for
the possible benefits and restrictions of EI in Senior NCO leadership development within the
DF. The Officer Commanding the NCO Training Wing was also interviewed to gain the
views and reasoning behind the current training syllabus within the NCO Training
Framework and identify possible changes that can be made to these curricula (Marczyk,
DeMatteo & Festinger, 2017). Finally, I spoke to Brigadier General Peter O’Hallaron to gain
an understanding of the views held from DFHQ level on the current thinking of the role of EI
in NCO leadership development.
External professional and academic publications from foreign militaries where EI has been
explored were also used as part of my research into this area.
Data Analysis
The data was initially coded into three groups – the focus groups, the academic view, and the
military leadership. Strong themes were evident in each category, and they were further
analysed through in-depth coding and combination of ideas from each group. This enabled
me to link all topics, formulate a description of the interviews and focus group and support
them with appropriate quotations from the transcripts, hence creating a balanced structure to
present and analyse the data in Chapter 4.
5

Ethical Consideration
Ethics are an integral part of the research. It is important that the researcher abides by the
ethics so that the scientific community can maintain the goodwill of the public. The
researcher will make sure that the collected information is represented in an authentic manner
(Peffers, Tuunanen, Rothenberger, & Chatterjee, 2007). The researcher will also give credit
to the authors, whose work has been included in the research. The interviewer will also
protect the personal information of the interviewees.
Chapter Summary
Having determined my research philosophy, I felt that to best answer my research question I
would carry out a qualitative, post-positive approach using a focus group along with semi-
structured interviews as the most appropriate manner in which to gain data. This choice is
supported by Bass who suggests that qualitative research is better equipped than quantitative
when dealing with leadership. The use of semi-structured interviews as a research instrument
facilitates obtaining “rich, nuanced, descriptive material that reflects the individuals’
understanding” of the subject (Gergen & Davis, 2013) through “face to face interaction”.
These methods were conducted with a variety of both serving and retired personnel with the
relevant expertise and experience in this research area.
6

References
Mason, J. (2002). Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing. Routledge.
Betley, R., & Noble, I. (2017). Visual Research: An Introduction to Research Methods in
Graphic Design. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Gergen, M.M., & Davis, S.N. (2013). Toward a New Psychology of Gender: A Reader.
Routledge.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.
Neuman, L. W. (2014). Social research methods. Pearson Education Limited.
Marczyk, G., DeMatteo, D., & Festinger, D. (2017). Essentials of research design and
methodology. John Wiley.
Peffers, K., Tuunanen, T., Rothenberger, M. A., & Chatterjee, S. (2007). A design science
research methodology for information systems research. Journal of management
information systems, 24(3), 45-77.
Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods. Oxford University Press.
Atkinson, P., & Delamont, S. (2010). SAGE Qualitative Research Methods. SAGE.
7