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UNIT CODE HI6008

UNIT NAME BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT

DUE DATE 28/05/2021

GROUP NUMBER 171 (SOLO GROUP)

GROUP MEMBER DETAILS - This section must be completed for all contributing members.
Members not listed will not receive marks.

STUDENT STUDENT NAME SECTION

NUMBER COMPLETED
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WOC3202 PRYANKA

DECLARATION
We certify that:

☒ This assignment is our own work.

☒ We have acknowledged and disclosed any assistance received in its preparation and cited all
sources from which data, ideas, words (whether quoted directly or paraphrased) were taken.

☒ This assignment was prepared specifically for this unit only.

☒ The reference list is truthful and accurate and in Holmes approved referencing style.

STUDENT SIGNATURE / NAME

(only one required on behalf of group) Pryanka

BUSINESS RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

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 Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................3

Justification of the Research Questions.......................................................................3

Research Methodology.................................................................................................4

Proposition of the Adopted Research Methods........................................................4

Research Philosophy................................................................................................4

Research Approach..................................................................................................5

Research Design.......................................................................................................5

Research Strategy....................................................................................................6

Research Types........................................................................................................6

Data Sources............................................................................................................7

Sample Size, Sampling Techniques and Population................................................7

Methods of Data Collection.......................................................................................7

Techniques for Data Analysis...................................................................................8

Ethical Considerations..............................................................................................8

Sample Survey Questionnaire......................................................................................9

Anticipated Findings...................................................................................................10

Conclusion..................................................................................................................10

References.................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
With the extended usage of digital technologies, it is evident that blockchain
innovation has been changing the existing monetary framework. This has been
baring the middle-class population from the financial framework and the government
cannot overlook this at all. Digital currency is undoubtedly been a dicey plan, which
has been entering into the monetary framework of banks. Cryptographic money
seems to be an essential part of the financial system in the recent times. Though
digital currencies may not help the middle-class much, such currencies offer a simple
to-utilize, advanced option in contrast to fiat monetary standards. In this report, an
effort has been made to come up with a clear justification of the research questions.
In addition to this, the current report also aims to highlight the research methodology
and paradigm, which shall be adopted for the purpose of carrying this research
further. The report will also shed light on some of the survey questions intended for
the purpose of directing this report. Anticipated findings of the research will also be
highlighted through this report.

Justification of the Research Questions

The research aims to answer the questions like what is bitcoin and its impact on the
world? Such questions have been included in the research to come up with a clear
understanding of the concept of cryptocurrency or digital currency. Questions like is
it a cash or merchandise further helps to develop an in-depth understanding of the
digital currencies and how they are being used. The reason behind incorporating
research questions like what is at the centre of digital currencies will help to focus on
the concepts of bitcoins. This will further help to understand the concept of currency
exchanges between the individual records and digital wallets. Furthermore, the
research aims at answering the questions such as, why cryptographic form of money
is useful. This question is essentially to be answered as this will help to develop an
in-depth understanding of the benefits, which digital currencies are likely to bring in
this era of digital technologies and advancements. The research is also focused
towards answering the questions such as how different nations have been controlling
the capital or cash, which flows in and out through these digital currencies. This will
help to understand the cryptographic forms of money can be utilized to dodge these
capital controls and charges—legitimate or not—which has prompted expanded

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interest with respect to customers and organizations. Therefore, numerous nations
have begun getting serious about the unlawful employments of digital currencies for
tax avoidance or illicit buys or deals abroad.

Research Methodology
Research methodology for a particular research can simply be described as the
contextual framework for the research (Ragab & Arisha, 2018, p6, (3)). In this
research, research methodology will be used to simply identify certain procedures
and techniques, which can be used for the purpose of selecting, processing and
analysing the information gathered on the research topic. This section will further
help to evaluate the overall reliability and validity of the research being conducted.
Research methodology will act as a theoretical framework for the research and will
therefore, help to guide ethe research in the right direction while taking into
consideration the direct and indirect variables associated with the research. The
processes adopted for carrying research further helps to make the research more
informative and also helps to ensure that the research aims and objectives are being
met. The research methodology chosen for this particular research will help to guide
the research further through the methods of data collection and the analysis
techniques deployed for the purpose of analysing the data.

Proposition of the Adopted Research Methods

The methods of data collection and the analysis techniques used for the purpose of
guiding this research make use of logical considerations (Roggema, 2017, p2, (4)).
The research methodology section for this research will include research philosophy,
research design, research approach, research strategy, research type, data
collection methods, sampling techniques, data analysis techniques and ethical
considerations associated with this research. This will help to analyse the concepts
associated with the research and will further help to view the research from an
observable phenomenon. The scope of arguments being presented through the
research will further make this research clear.

Research Philosophy
To put in simple words, research philosophy deals with the source, nature and
development of knowledge closely associated with a research topic. Research
philosophies help to understand the ways, in which the data gathered from different

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sources can be interpreted and thereafter, findings can be made and conclusions
can be drawn from the data gathered. Research philosophy can further be
understood by diving it into three namely realism, positivism and interpretivism.
Since, interpretivism research philosophy does not leads to concrete findings, it may
not be relevant in the case of this research. Realism can also be omitted in this case
as it will only lead to the analysis of individual theories and concepts and may not
present a relationship between them. Therefore, the current research will focus on
positivism as the research philosophy. This research philosophy will help the
researcher to come to a clear conclusion based on the findings. This will further help
the researcher to logical conclusion. Furthermore, focusing on positivism will also
help the researcher to come up with credible and unbiased qualitative and
quantitative data for the research (Park, Konge & Artino, 2020, p694 (5)).

Research Approach
For the purpose of choosing appropriate research approach, it is extremely vital to
take into consideration the aim an objective of the current research. Research
approach can be bifurcated into two namely inductive approach and deductive
approach. Taking into consideration the aim and objectives of the current research, it
is evident that deductive approach will be more beneficial as compared to inductive
approach. Following deductive research approach will help to collect a wide variety
of data and information closely associated with the research topic and the
independent as well as dependent research variables. Furthermore, concentrating
on deductive research approach will help to take a top-down approach, which will
help to focus on the core areas of the research by eliminating all the other
information gathered (Armat et al., 2018, p220 (2)). To ensure that the research is
comprehensive in nature, it is necessary to eliminate unnecessary data, which is
possible if deductive approach is taken. Furthermore, to align the existing theories
wit the data collected through primary and secondary data sources, deductive
research can prove to be extremely beneficial. Owing to the nature of the current
research, inductive approach may not be a sound option as we do not aim to take
into consideration the formulation and creation of new theories.

Research Design
Research design refers to the overall strategy, which has been deployed by the
researcher to define a logical plan, which shall help in handling and responding to

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the research questions by collecting, interpreting, analysing and discussing the
qualitative and quantitative data gathered through primary and secondary data
sources. It can simply be described as the framework of research methods and
techniques. Research design can be either exploratory, explanatory, descriptive or
evaluative in nature. Since, this research is based on logical explanations, therefore,
descriptive research design is the most appropriate alternative for this research.
Descriptive research design will help the researcher to come up with logical
explanations taking into consideration both the pros and cons of the research topic
and the research variables (Rahi, 2017, p2 (1)). For developing a critical
understanding of the research topic, focusing on descriptive research design is
essential. Evaluative research design can also be adopted for the purpose of
carrying this research further as it will help to evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages of using digital currencies.

Research Strategy
The current research will make use of qualitative research for the purpose of
collecting data, which is mostly primary in nature. Primary data will be gathered from
human respondents through surveys and interview questions. In addition to this,
research strategy used for the current research also focuses on secondary research
through the data available from other literary sources. Gathering data from human
respondents will help to gather real time and first-hand data for the research and
therefore, will help to proceed with the research in the real time environment. For the
purpose of gathering accurate numerical data with high precision, surveys will be
used. This will not only help to gather ample data in short term but will also help to
save sufficient cost. Keeping the situation of the pandemic in mind and the
guidelines, which need to be followed as precautionary measures, the data gathered
for this research will be through online surveys and telephonic interviews.

Research Types
This research takes into consideration both primary and secondary research. To put
in simple words, primary research involves human participants, from whom the data
and information is gathered for the purpose of directing the research in the real time
settings (Chu & Ke, 2017, p290 (4)). This will also help to improve the validity and
credibility of the research. On the other hand, secondary research can be described
as desk research, which is based on the data gathered from already existing data

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and information associated with the research topic. This will include research
material, which is published in research reports, journal articles, newspaper articles
and other similar documents.

Data Sources
For guiding this research both primary and secondary data sources have been taken
into consideration. Primary data will be collected directly through the human
participants, who have knowledge about cryptocurrencies and monetary frameworks.
Participants of surveys and interviews will be the people, who choose to participate
based on the knowledge they have regarding the topic being discussed. The
secondary data sources will be literary sources such as books, journal articles,
newspapers, government reports and peer-reviewed articles (Ruggiano & Perry,
2019, p92 (3)). For completing the research review of the current research, only
those secondary sources have been chosen, which present a critical analysis of the
research topic and presents a clear line of argument for the research. This will
further help to authenticate the arguments associated with the research topic and the
variable of research.

Sample Size, Sampling Techniques and Population

The population chosen for the purpose of conducting this research are the
professionals and students working in the field of finance, who have sound
knowledge of digital currencies and other financial systems. The population will also
include government officials, who are closely related to finances and flow of cash
and capital in the country. The sample size of professionals and students will be 85
and that of government officials will be 35. For the purpose of choosing the right
sample size, it is important to deploy effective and efficient sampling techniques. In
this particular research random probability sampling technique will be used to ensure
that unbiased opportunity can be given to the participants, who wish to take up the
survey (Sharma, 2017, p751 (2)). Convenience non probability sampling technique
will be used for the purpose of choosing the participants for the interview. This will
help to ensure that only the people with sufficient knowledge of the research topic
take up the telephonic interviews.

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Methods of Data Collection
To ensure that the research proceeds in the right direction, both primary and
secondary data for the research will be gathered through online methods of data
collection. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the guidelines issued as the
precautionary measure for the research, conducting offline surveys and interviews
may not be possible. Therefore, surveys will be conducted through online forms,
which will be mailed to the participants on their provided email IDs. Similarly, the
interviews would be conducted by communicating with the participants over
telephone calls. A structured questionnaire is used to conduct the surveys, which
contains close ended multiple-choice questions, some of which might have their
responses on the Likert scale. Interview questions on the hand will be semi-
structured and open-ended questions, which shall be asked only to the participants,
who have sound knowledge of the research topic.

Techniques for Data Analysis

Deciding upon the techniques for analysing the data depend extensively on the type
of data, which needs to be analysed. In the current research qualitative data will be
collected based on survey and interview questions. Transcripts will be used as a
technique in the current research for the purpose of analysing the information
gathered through the interview questions. For analysing the responses provided by
the survey participants, the responses will be arranged in a tabular format. The
frequency of the responses will be mentioned there along with their percentage so
that accurate data can be used for guiding the research. Total number of
respondents will also be indicated in the table. For developing an in-depth
understanding of different research variable and for determining a relationship
between them, the data shall be represented making use of pictorial representations
such as bar graphs, pie charts, scatter diagrams, histograms and many more.

Ethical Considerations
The primary data, which shall be collected for the purpose of this research will be
gathered with the consent of the participants. No participants shall be forced to be a
part of this research. Furthermore, whatever primary or secondary data is being
collected for this research will be represented in its true form without any kind of
alterations. Personal information shared by the participants will not be used for any
other purpose. Work of other scholars and researchers used for the purpose of

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making this research more informative will be duly acknowledged making use of
appropriate referencing styles.

Sample Survey Questionnaire

Q1. Your age is in which age group?

 20-30 years
 31-40 years
 41-50 years
 51-60 Years
 61 Years and above

Q2. Which background do you come from?

 Student with Finance as majors

 Student with Finance as minors
 Finance professionals

Q3. Do you have sufficient knowledge about cryptocurrencies?

 Yes
 No

Q4. Are you aware with the term bitcoins?

 Yes
 No

Q5. Do you agree with the statement that cryptocurrencies have transformed
financial systems?

 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree

Q6. Is the middle-class population adversely affected by the advent of digital

currencies?

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  Yes
 No

Anticipated Findings
The data, which shall be gathered for this research through a number of primary and
secondary sources will help to achieve the aim and objectives of the current
research and will also help to answer the research questions. The data and
information gathered through various sources will highlight the increasing use of
digital currencies and the pros and cons associated with its use. Its favourable and
unfavourable impacts will be clear on the market and the financial system. On
completion of this research, it will also be easy to understand the management of
cryptocurrencies by governments of different nations.

Conclusion
With digitisation of almost everything we come across, digital currencies or
cryptocurrencies have managed to gain immense popularity over a period of five
years. There is no doubt about the fact that cryptocurrencies have made a major
impact on the world, bot in a positive and negative sense, which cannot be ignored
at all. The current research focuses on developing an in-depth understanding of the
global impact of cryptocurrencies. Identifying and following an appropriate research
methodology will help the researcher to move closer to the successful completion of
the research while taking into consideration the research variables.

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References
Armat, M.R., Assarroudi, A., Rad, M., Sharifi, H. and Heydari, A., 2018. Inductive
and deductive: Ambiguous labels in qualitative content analysis. The Qualitative
Report, 23(1), pp.219-221.
https://search.proquest.com/openview/32956906e1921f445d3c0819da8b5f5a/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=55152

Chu, H. and Ke, Q., 2017. Research methods: What's in the name?. Library &
Information Science Research, 39(4), pp.284-294.
https://www.academia.edu/download/62008934/Research_methods__Whats_in_the
_name_20200206-125751-1lsoql3.pdf

Park, Y.S., Konge, L. and Artino, A.R., 2020. The positivism paradigm of
research. Academic Medicine, 95(5), pp.690-694.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anthony-
Artino/publication/337693284_The_Positivism_Paradigm_of_Research/links/6051f80
3458515e8344ed4d2/The-Positivism-Paradigm-of-Research.pdf

Ragab, M.A. and Arisha, A., 2018. Research methodology in business: A starter’s
guide. Management and Organizational Studies, 5(1), pp.1-14.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohamed_Ragab7/publication/321769066_Res
earch_Methodology_in_Business_A_Starter's_Guide/links/5a311456aca2724bf7218
5bf/Research-Methodology-in-Business-A-Starters-Guide.pdf

Rahi, S., 2017. Research design and methods: A systematic review of research
paradigms, sampling issues and instruments development. International Journal of
Economics & Management Sciences, 6(2), pp.1-5.
https://www.academia.edu/download/54953128/research-paradigms-sampling-
issues-and-instruments-development-2162-6359-1000403.pdf

Roggema, R., 2017. Research by design: Proposition for a methodological

approach. Urban science, 1(1), p.2. https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/1/1/2/pdf

Ruggiano, N. and Perry, T.E., 2019. Conducting secondary analysis of qualitative

data: Should we, can we, and how?. Qualitative Social Work, 18(1), pp.81-97.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1473325017700701

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Sharma, G., 2017. Pros and cons of different sampling techniques. International
journal of applied research, 3(7), pp.749-752.
https://www.academia.edu/download/58765080/Pros_and_cons_of_sampling.pdf

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