Date : 30 November 2020 Course : PHD7011 Research Methods 2: Quantitative

Assignment 3

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

RESEARCH METHODS 2: QUANTITATIVE

(PHD 7011)

ASSIGNMENT 3

PREPARED FOR

ASST. PROF. DR. CHEE WEI MING

PREPARED BY

MOHD SHAHIDAN BIN ZAINUDDIN ZAINAL ABIDIN

202009060023

SUBMISSION DATE

30TH NOVEMBER 2020

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Date : 30 November 2020 Course : PHD7011 Research Methods 2: Quantitative
Assignment 3

PART A: Data Analysis and Findings Interpretation (50 marks)

Instruction: Please interpret ALL the SPSS outputs below as detail as possible.

(1) Demographic Information (10 marks)

Please describe the details of respondents who participated in the research.

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Answer:

(1) Demographic Information

In the gender frequency table, we could see the percentage analysis of the group
set. You could see, from 100 respondent, 51.7 percent of the sample is male and 48.3
percent of the sample is female. It means, we use more males than females in this
research.

The participants of this research mostly come from the level of income more than
RM2999 with 29.8%. While the second goes to income level within range of RM1000 to
RM1999 which contribute 29.1%. Next income level of the respondent is contributed
23.8% of the total and there are come from the group which have an income within
RM2000 to RM2999. Income level of below RM1000 contribute the least number of
respondent which is only 17.2% in this research.

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(2) Correlation Analysis (20 marks)

Based on the correlation analysis, please describe and explain in details for each

variable and relationships among those variables.

Answer:

From the table above, the correlation between Resources and Income takes
value 0.528. This represents a moderate positive correlation. The correlation is given in
the table, along with a significance value and a sample size which in this case is 151.
This is the number of observations in which both Resources and Income where
observed. We can test if this correlation is significantly different from zero which will
depend on (i) the magnitude of the correlation and (ii) the number of observations on
which the correlation is based. The p value (quoted under Sig. (2-tailed)) is .000
(reported as p < .001) which is less than 0.05. We therefore have significant evidence to
reject the null hypothesis that the correlation is 0. We would report the result as follows:

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The variables Motivation and Income were significantly and moderately positively
correlated r = .528, N = 151, p < .001
The correlation between Strategies and Income takes value .182. This correlation
is small but positive. The p value (quoted under Sig. (2-tailed)) is 0.025 (reported as p <
.001) which is less than 0.05. We therefore have significant evidence to reject the null
hypothesis. We would report the result as follows: The variables Strategies and Income
were significantly and slightly positively correlated r = 0.182, N = 151, p < 0.05.

The correlation between Strategies and Resources takes value -.088. This
correlation is negative. The p value (quoted under Sig. (2-tailed)) is 0.281 (reported as p
< .001) which is more than 0.05. We accept the null hypothesis and would report the
result as follows: The variables Strategies and Resources were not significantly
correlated.

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Date : 30 November 2020 Course : PHD7011 Research Methods 2: Quantitative
Assignment 3

(3) Regression Analysis (20 marks)

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Date : 30 November 2020 Course : PHD7011 Research Methods 2: Quantitative
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From the SPSS outputs, it generated FOUR (4) tables regarding to Linear Regression

Analysis as illustrated above. Please interpret in details by considering all information as

provided.

Answer:

Variables Entered/Removed

The regression analysis using Revenue as the outcome variable and the
variables Branding and Prices as predictors. These measure the. We expect that
better Revenue would be associated with lower Prices and a higher Branding given.

Model Summary

This table provides the R and R Square values. The R value represents the
simple correlation and is 0.352 (the "R" Column), which indicates a high degree of
correlation. The R Square value (the "R Square" column) indicates how much of the
total variation in the dependent variable, Revenue, can be explained by the independent
variable, Branding and Prices. In this case, 12.4% can be explained, which is small.

ANNOVA

The next table is the ANOVA table, which reports how well the regression
equation fits the data (predicts the dependent variable). This table indicates that the
regression model predicts the dependent variable significantly well. Look at the
"Regression" row and go to the "Sig." column. This indicates the statistical significance
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of the regression model that was run. Here, p < 0.005, which is less than 0.05, and
indicates that, overall, the regression model statistically significantly predicts the
outcome variable. From this table show that Branding and Prices are significantly useful
in explaining Revenue.

COEFFICIENTS

The Coefficients table provides us with the necessary information to predict

Revenue from Prices and Branding, as well as determine whether income contributes
statistically significantly to the model (by looking at the "Sig." column). Furthermore, we
can use the values in the "B" column under the "Unstandardized Coefficients"
column. To present the regression equation as:

Revenue = 2 + 0.104(Price) + 0.141 (Branding)

With one-unit increase in Price, the Revebue increases by 0.104. The coefficient
is positive which would indicate that more Price are related to more Revenue.

With one-unit increase in Branding, the Revenue increases by 0.141. The

coefficient is positive which would indicate that more events are related to higher
Revenue.

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PART B: Long Essay Questions (50 marks)

Instruction: Please answer ALL questions below. Each question carries 10 marks.

1. What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? Include

mention of possible differences in purpose, method, data sources, and data analysis.

Answer:

Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs. It is used to test or

confirm theories and assumptions. This type of research can be used to
establish generalizable facts about a topic. Common quantitative methods
include experiments, observations recorded as numbers, and surveys with closed-
ended questions (Syed Muhammad, 2016).

Qualitative research is expressed in words. It is used to understand concepts,

thoughts or experiences. This type of research enables you to gather in-depth
insights on topics that are not well understood. Common qualitative methods include
interviews with open-ended questions, observations described in words, and literature
reviews that explore concepts and theories (Syed Muhammad, 2016)

Data Collection Methods

Quantitative data collection methods are:

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• Surveys: List of closed or multiple choice questions that is distributed to

a sample (online, in person, or over the phone).
• Experiments: Situation in which variables are controlled and manipulated to
establish cause-and-effect relationships.
• Observations: Observing subjects in a natural environment where variables can’t
be controlled. (Joy Frechtling, 2002)

Qualitative data collection methods

• Interviews: Asking open-ended questions verbally to respondents.

• Focus groups: Discussion among a group of people about a topic to gather
opinions that can be used for further research.
• Ethnography: Participating in a community or organization for an extended period
of time to closely observe culture and behavior.
• Literature review: Survey of published works by other authors.

(Joy Frechtling, 2002)

Analyzing Data

Analyzing quantitative data

Quantitative data is based on numbers. Simple math or more advanced statistical
analysis is used to discover commonalities or patterns in the data. The results are often
reported in graphs and tables.
Applications such as Excel, SPSS, or R can be used to calculate things like:

• Average scores
• The number of times a particular answer was given

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• The correlation or causation between two or more variables

• The reliability and validity of the results. (Roxana Trigueros, 2018)

Analyzing qualitative data

Qualitative data is more difficult to analyze than quantitative data. It consists of
text, images or videos instead of numbers.
Some common approaches to analyzing qualitative data include:

• Qualitative content analysis: Tracking the occurrence, position and meaning of

words or phrases
• Thematic analysis: Closely examining the data to identify the main themes and
patterns
• Discourse analysis: Studying how communication works in social contexts

(Roxana Trigueros, 2018)

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2. Write the essential elements required in a Method Section for an intervention

research study.

Answer:

The essential elements required in a Method Section for an intervention research study
are follow:

Participants

In this part of the method section, you should describe the participants in your
experiment, including who they were (and any unique features that set them apart from
the general population), how many there were, and how they were selected. If you
utilized random selection to choose your participants, it should be noted here.

At the very minimum, this part of your method section must convey basic
demographic characteristics of your participants (such as sex, age, ethnicity, or
religion), the population from which your participants were drawn, and any restrictions
on your pool of participants.

This part of your method section should also explain how many
participants were assigned to each condition and how they were assigned to each
group. Were they randomly assigned to a condition, or was some other selection
method used.

Information on participants helps other researchers understand how your study

was performed, how generalizable the result might be, and allows other researchers to
replicate the experiment with other populations to see if they might obtain the same
results.
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Materials

Describe the materials, measures, equipment, or stimuli used in the experiment.

This may include testing instruments, technical equipment, or other materials used
during the course of research. If you used some type of psychological assessment or
special equipment during the course of your experiment, it should be noted in this part
of your method section.

Design

Describe the type of design used in the experiment. Specify the variables as well as the
levels of these variables. Clearly identify your independent variables, dependent
variables, control variables, and any extraneous variables that might influence your
results. Explain whether your experiment uses a within-groups or between-groups
design.

Procedure

The next part of the method section should detail the procedures used in your
experiment. Explain what you had participants do, how you collected data, and the
order in which steps occurred.

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3. Describe the report writing process in both qualitative and quantitative research.
What features to they have in common, and how might they differ?

Discuss with reference to examples of qualitative and quantitative research.

Answer:

Qualitative

The report of a qualitative study may take many forms, both those common to
more quantitative research and also forms likely to be unfamiliar to those who conduct
only experimental research. The best advice for the beginning researcher is to
recognize that it is not unusual for even experienced researchers to feel overwhelmed
by the amount of data to be analyzed and described, as well as to feel a lack of
confidence that the interpretations and conclusions the researcher has drawn represent
"the truth." Most authors simply advise writers to "do it," or to "begin" to write and refine,
and write and refine again. A later section will discuss ethical issues and criteria for
evaluating the quality of a study. As with analysis, there exist many books of guidelines
and advice for writing qualitative research reports. In this section we will briefly discuss
a few of the issues.

In writing up a qualitative study, researchers have many choices of presentation

styles. Consider qualitative researchers fortunate in that there is not one accepted
convention for writing qualitative reports. If a case study, the report may include
considerable quantification and tables of enumerated data, or it may take a strictly
narrative form. Recent studies have been reported in more nontraditional forms, such as
stories, plays, and poems showing what is happening for these participants in that
setting.

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Quantitative

Describe the methods used in collecting data for the report. Discuss how the data
was collected. If a survey was used to collect data, tell the reader how it was designed.
You should let the reader know if a survey pilot test was distributed first. Detail the
target population, or the group of people being studied. Provide the sample size, or the
number of people surveyed. Tell the reader if the sample was representative of the
target population, and explain whether you collected enough surveys. Break down the
data by gender, race, age and any other pertinent subcategory. Tell the reader about
any problems with data collection, including any biases in the survey, missing results or
odd responses from people surveyed.

Create graphs showing visual representations of the results. You can use bar
graphs, line graphs or pie charts depending to convey the data. Only write about the
pertinent findings, or the ones you think matter most, in the body of the report. Any other
results can be attached in the appendices at the end of the report. The raw data, along
with copies of a blank survey should be in the appendices as well. The reader can refer
to all the data to inform his own opinions about the findings.

Write conclusions after evaluating all the data. The conclusion can include an
action item for the reader to accomplish. It can also advise that more research needs to
be done before any solid conclusions can be made. Only conclusions that can be made
based on the findings should be included in the report.

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4. Describe procedures for optimal item construction in survey research, and

procedures for obtaining a high response rate.

Answer:

The heart of any survey research project is the survey itself. Although it is easy to
think of interesting questions to ask people, constructing a good survey is not easy at
all. The problem is that the answers people give can be influenced in unintended ways
by the wording of the items, the order of the items, the response options provided, and
many other factors. At best, these influences add noise to the data. At worst, they result
in systematic biases and misleading results. In this section, therefore, we consider
some principles for constructing surveys to minimize these unintended effects and
thereby maximize the reliability and validity of respondents’ answers.

The following are proven strategies that increase survey response rates:

1. Choose the Appropriate Type of Survey

Each type of survey differs in terms of their characteristics, advantages and

disadvantages. For instance, the online survey method is ideal if your target population
includes people age 13 to 18 years old, but not if the survey requires elderly people
since the latter don’t usually have an access to the Internet. Selecting the right type of
survey based on your survey goals is crucial in achieving your expected survey
response rates.

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2. Follow the Kiss Principle

“KISS" stands for “Keep It Short and Simple". Create a questionnaire that is brief
and concise and does not contain complicated questions. Such complex
questions include lengthy or too many open-ended questions. In terms of conducting
an interview survey, make the interview as structured as possible by means of asking
thought-out questions and only a few probing ones. When it comes to the cover page,
only include a brief greeting, information about you and your organization, the purpose
of the survey and the pledge of anonymity or confidentiality (optional).

3. Add a Personal Touch to the Invitations

Studies show that there is an increase of 5% or more in the survey response

rates when the invitations in email, web-based, or interview surveys contain personal
salutation pertaining to the potential respondent.

4. Provide Incentives

Nowadays, people are more likely to respond to surveys if there is a ‘concrete’

benefit from the survey for their participation and completion. The incentives, which
raise response rates by 10% to 15 %, can be in cash or in-kind. In web surveys,
participants are given a cash incentive that range from RM1 to RM50. Some give
incentives lower than RM1 for 1 minute surveys or higher than RM50 for ‘VIP’ surveys
or those answered by medical professionals, degree holders, etc. In-kind incentives can
be gift certificates, movie passes, small tokens, prizes, and others.

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5. Follow Up and Remind the Respondents

According to the study conducted by Quintessential, an increase in survey

response rates may come from reminding non-participating recipients or non-completing
respondents within 10 days after sending the first invitation.

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5. Describe the similarities and differences among grounded theory designs,

ethnographic designs, and narrative designs. Define each carefully, and provide
examples. Why might there be considerable overlap among these categories?

Grounded theory designs

Whereas a phenomenological study looks to describe the essence of an activity

or event, grounded theory looks to provide an explanation or theory behind the events.
You use primarily interviews and existing documents to build a theory based on the
data. You go through a series of open and axial coding techniques to identify themes
and build the theory. Sample sizes are often also larger (20 to 60) with these studies to
better establish a theory. Grounded theory can help inform design decisions by better
understanding how a community of users currently use a product or perform tasks.

For example, a grounded theory study could involve understanding how software
developers use portals to communicate and write code or how small retail merchants
approve or decline customers for credit.

Ethnographic designs

Ethnographic research is probably the most familiar and applicable type of

qualitative method to UX professionals. In ethnography, you immerse yourself in the
target participants’ environment to understand the goals, cultures, challenges,
motivations, and themes that emerge. Ethnography has its roots in cultural anthropology
where researchers immerse themselves within a culture, often for years! Rather than

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relying on interviews or surveys, you experience the environment first hand, and
sometimes as a “participant observer.”
For example, one way of uncovering the unmet needs of customers is to “follow
them home” and observe them as they interact with the product. You don’t come armed
with any hypotheses to necessarily test; rather, you’re looking to find out how a product
is used.
Narrative designs

The narrative approach weaves together a sequence of events, usually from just
one or two individuals to form a cohesive story. You conduct in-depth interviews, read
documents, and look for themes; in other words, how does an individual story illustrate
the larger life influences that created it. Often interviews are conducted over weeks,
months, or even years, but the final narrative doesn’t need to be in chronological order.
Rather it can be presented as a story (or narrative) with themes, and can reconcile
conflicting stories and highlight tensions and challenges which can be opportunities for
innovation.
For example, a narrative approach can be an appropriate method for building a
persona. While a persona should be built using a mix of methods
including segmentation analysis from surveys in-depth interviews with individuals in an
identified persona can provide the details that help describe the culture, whether it’s a
person living with Multiple Sclerosis, a prospective student applying for college, or a
working mom.

- END OF EXAMINATION PAPER -

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References

Joy Frechtling, (2002). An Overview of Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection

Methods. Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation. National Science
Foundation. US

Rousseau, F. L. & McKelvie, S. J. (2000). Effects of bogus feedback on intelligence test

performance. Journal of Psychology, 134(1), 5-14.

Roxana Trigueros, (2018). How to Analyze and Interpret Quantitative / Qualitative Data
and How to Write Conclusions and Recommendations Qualitative and
Quantitative Research. University Of El Salvador.
Saatcioglu, O. & Erim, R. (2009). Aggression among Male Alcohol-Dependent
Inpatients who Smoke Cigarettes. The Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary
and Applied, 143(6), 615-624.

Steptoe, A., O’Donnell, K., Marmot, M. & Wardle, J. (2008). Positive affect and
psychosocial processes related to health. British Journal of Psychology, 99(2),
211-227.

Syed Muhammad, 2016. Methods of Data Collection. Basic Guidelines for Research: An
Introductory Approach for All Disciplines (Page 201-275). Book Zone Publication.
Bangladesh.

Todd, J. et al (2009). Slow motor responses to visual stimuli of low salience in autism.
Journal of Motor Behaviour, 41(5), 419-426.

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