With reference to your research project, critically evaluate the choices you faced in planning your research design

and selecting your methods. Make reference to relevant theory to support your discussion and illustrate how theory helped you to make these choices. By Zhenbin Zheng (09239463) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction In this essay, it will introduce and evaluate that how the market research for Hayse & Finch (a manufacturer and supplier of church supplies) is designed and being implemented. The planing of the research design and the selections of methods will be illustrated and evaluated by referencing to relevant theories. As McGivern (2009, pp47) described that qualitative research is concerned with rich and detailed description, which arms to get below the surface, beyond the spontaneous or rational response to the deeper and more emotional response. Based on the problems Hayse & Finch facing, the major research objective is to investigate the size and value of potential markets. Data will be selected significantly as qualitative both of primary and secondary, and be collected mainly from in-depth interviews. In the main body of this essay, the reasons of the choices in planning the research design and selecting data collection methods will be illustrated and evaluated in details of sampling strategies, questionnaires and projective techniques for interviews, and how the data will be analysed. Research Design and Data Collection As defining the problem is the first of planning and designing research (McGivern, 2009 pp.64). After meeting with Hayse & Finch, its business problem can be defined as declining in church market, and it is considering to enter new market. Based on this business problem, the research problem had arisen and clarified as searching information of why church market declined and how Hayse & Finch could innovate its business. Then the objectives of the research have been identified as showed as Appendix 1. Findings of the research will be used to describe the situations of two potential markets which Hayse & Finch are considering to entry, and how Hayse & Finch entry the new markets. Due to the end use of the research findings, the nature of research is classified as conclusive research, an integration of description and explanation

(McGivern, 2009 pp.73). Based on the nature of research and the research objectives, the source of data will be mainly collected from primary research. Primary data will be collected from interviews by face to face, by telephone, and by email, which will be evaluated in later section in this essay. Data gathered through primary research will provide information regarding research objectives. In order to develop interview questions and a framework of analysing the potential markets, data will be gathered form competitors' websites, arming to reach an understanding of how the church market changed and how the competitors are innovating their businesses. In order to develop an in-depth understanding of potential markets, data will be collected from qualitative research through interviews chiefly. As Fossey et al (2002) claimed that qualitative research aims to develop an understanding of the meaning and experience dimensions which in relation to humans' lives and social worlds, by addressing relevant questions. Moreover, Strauss and Corbin (1990) suggested that qualitative research is a broad umbrella term for research methodologies of describing and explaining individual's or a group of people's experiences, behaviours, interactions and social contexts. As one of our research objectives is to assess the strength of the current brand from a customers point of view compared with competitors in both current and new markets, collecting qualitative data can be significantly effective to described and explain Hayse & Finch's potential customers' behaviuors and interaction. In relation to the question selection, unlike quantitative questions are fixed and answered one followed another, qualitative questions are designed to be flexible and responsive to context, but reflect to the aim of achieving in-depth understanding, examples will be provided as Appendix 2. Based on these main characteristics of qualitative research, qualitative research is selected as the method of data collection for our research project.

Qualitative Interviews Qualitative interviews, as a 'guided conversation' (Rubin and Rubin, 1995, quoted in McGivern, 2009 pp.171) or 'conversations with a purpose' (Burgess, 1984, quoted in McGivern, 2009 pp.171), are more flexible which arm to explore a topic in depth. As Bloom and Crabtree (2006) described that the purpose of the qualitative research interviews is to contribute to a complete understanding of interviewees' conceptual and theoretical meaning of their life. Based on our project, the objectives of data collection is to understand the potential customers' behaviours of choosing clients for rerenovation, thus, qualitative interviews are significant appropriate for data collection. As described above, interview questions we selected are flexible and responsive to

contexts, semi-structured interviews are being applied in our data collection, which are often "organized around a set of predetermined open-ended questions, with other questions emerging from the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee s" as Bloom and Crabtree (2006) described. Qualitative interviews are being implemented through three main forms: face to face interviews, telephone interviews, and email interviews. Face to face interviews have been considered as superior data collection technique because of its flexibility and great potential (Leeuw and Desiree, 1992). The questionnaire
selected for face to face interviews is partly structure, example as showed as Appendix 2, which is based on the different answers from the interviewees, but every question is asked around the original purpose which arms to gather detail information for an in-depth understanding of potential customers' behaviours and potential markets' current situation. Although face to face interviews can provide detail and quality of data for the research, geographical factors have to be concerned as the limitations of implement. Therefore, telephone interviews are the other method of data collection for the research. Due to the specificity of telephone interviews, interviewers have to record the interviewees' answers by hand at the same time of conversation with interviewees. Therefore, in order to gather information within a limited period of time, a structured questionnaire has to be selected, which means that the quality of data is hard to be controlled. So the sample size for telephone interviews is little bigger than that for face to face interviews, which arm to gather comprehensive information for the research. As a supplementary method of data collection for our research, email interviews are implemented with a structured questionnaire showed as Appendix 3. This structured questionnaire is sent to a wider potential interviewees such as managers or owners of stately homes. However, with the limitations of email interviews, such as no assistance from researchers, and a loss of non-verbal communication, the rate of receiving answers is low, and the quality of data is low as well. As the advantages of qualitative interviews described above, in order to gather comprehensive information, in-depth face to face interviews and telephone interviews are implemented as the main methods of data collection for our research project, with supplementary from email interviews. Sampling

References

Barbara DiCicco-Bloom & Benjamin F Crabtree, 2006,

The qualitative

research interview,

Medical Education 2006; 40: 314321 de Leeuw, Edith Desiree

Data Quality in Mail, Telephone and Face to Face Surveys. T. T. Publikaties, Plantage Daklaan 40, 1018CN Amsterdam 1992

Ellie Fossey, Carol Harvey, Fiona McDermott, Larry Davidson,2002, "Understanding and evaluating qualitative Research", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry,2002 36:717732 Strauss A, Corbin J. , 1990, Basics of qualitative research . California: Sage.
Appendixes Appendix 1: Research Objectives 1. Investigate the renovation market size and value 2. Assess the viability of Hayes and Finch entering each market segment 3. Investigate the level of competition in the renovation market 4. Assess the strength of the current brand from a customers point of view compared with competitors in both current and new markets 5. Identify which marketing techniques are most effective at connecting with potential customers

Appendix 2: Examples of Interview Questions Mather and Smith Interview What Market Segments do you target? How do you advertise? What is the level of competition like? What do you believe differentiates you from your competitors? Does that mean that you charge less than competitors? Due to cost saving by owning a foundry?

Do you need any accreditation? How do increase traffic to your website? What do you believe your customer expectations are? Do you have any idea of the value of the market? Are the National Trust involved at any stage? So are you on a client list for the National Trust? How did you get on their list? Farcroft Interview What market segments are you aware of? How do you advertise? Where are you based? Do you operate online, have a website? Concentrate on google rank? How would you describe the level of competition in the market? How do you think you are differentiated? Do you have or need any accreditation? What do you believe your customer expectations are? Do you know the value of the market? How is the National Trust involved in the market? Appendix 3: Email Interviews Questionnaire 1What type of items do you generally need restoring? 2How much do you get charged for these items? 3Do you have an idea of how much you spend on restoration in a year? 4Is there a steady need for restoration throughout the year or is it more unpredictable? 5How did you find out about the companies that you use to restore the items? 6Do you have a client list for companies that you work with? 7If so, how would a company get on this list? 8How long do companies take to restore the average item? 9Do they pick up the item and deliver it back for you when its finished? 10Are certain restoration projects completed in-house? 11How often, if ever, do you communicate with other stately homes? 12Do you subscribe to any magazines related to historic and stately homes?