FACULTY OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE & POLICY STUDIES

BACHELOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE (HONS)

ADS511: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

& DATA ANALYSIS

TITLE:

CASE STUDY

CLASS:

AM2285F

PREPARED BY :

GROUP MEMBERS STUDENT ID

IYLIA SUHAILAH BINTI AZMI 2021609834

ZUR ASYRA ZALFEERA BINTI MOHD ZAKI 2021461442

PREPARED FOR :

DR MOHD RAMLAN BIN MOHD ARSHAD

QUESTION 1

Explain problem statement. (4 marks)

Problem statement acts as a simple and understandable explanation of an issue that requires

action. It describes the unclear, blank, or unsatisfying situation that requires analysis or

clarification. In a problem statement, the problem is not essentially to be negative. Problem

statements also should be contained with strong support such as from the journal, authority,

theory, and practical.

QUESTION 2

Explain and construct 3 Examples of Research Questions and Research Objectives

(6 marks)

Research questions are the central questions that direct an analysis. Through inquiry,

analysis, and study, a researcher seeks to provide a clear, precise, and targeted response to

this question. The path and goal of the research is greatly affected by the research questions.

For example;

- What are the factors that lead to the unemployment of fresh graduates?

- How does the effectiveness of team-building improve the communication skills

among employees?

- Can delayed retirement give benefits to the workplace in the public sector?

Research objectives are describing the expected outcome. It should be stated clearly

and feasible. It also should support the research questions. For example;

- To determine the teenagers’ perception towards the ageing population of the country.

- To analyse the factors of unemployment among fresh graduates.

- To identify the importance of communication skills among employees in the

workplace.

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QUESTION 3

The research study that we’ll be using in these exercises is the Monitoring the Future Survey

of high school seniors in the United States that has been conducted yearly since 1975. A

major focus of this survey is students’ drug use. Questions about drug use include a variety of

questions about alcohol. One of these questions asked how often during the last two weeks

students had consumed “five or more drinks in a row” which is a common definition of binge

drinking. Let’s assume that we want to explain why some students engage in binge drinking

and others do not. List three concepts that you think might help us understand this

behaviour. For each concept write a paragraph indicating why you think this concept

would be useful in explaining drinking. (10 Marks)

1. Peer pressure

2. Accessibility to alcohol

3. Upgraded alcohol

Nowadays, peer influence or peer pressure can be considered as one of the concepts

that can explain binge drinking. Some people tend to rely on their peers more than their own

family. This behaviour will actually affect their ways of thinking and action to be the same as

their peers. Most students begin drinking alcohol by the time they arrive at college (Borsari &

Carey, 2001, 392) and many view college as a place to drink excessively, in a time-limited

fashion, before assuming the responsibilities of adulthood. Because peers are the most salient

social referents in the college environment, they are a potent influence on alcohol use

(Borsari & Carey, 2001, 392) . Other than that , making new peers in university can be hard

for some people. So the only way that they can think of how to fit in is to drink. This situation

tends to make them too involved in binge drinking. Therefore, the concept of peer pressure

can be an interesting component to be studied regarding binge drinking.

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 One of other concepts that would be useful in explaining binge drinking is the

accessibility to alcohol. We can’t deny that in western countries, it is easy to see and consume

alcohol as they sell it anywhere and everywhere. In fact, the government that has legalised

alcohol should put in place several restrictions on the physical access of liquor, such as

licensing systems, setting a national legal age and prohibiting the use of liquor in public

(Alcohol, 2022). This shows that the less strict countries have been encouraged to put in place

restrictions on the access to alcohol. As concerning for us, a wide access to liquor may lead to

an increase in binge drinking and other social issues such as drunk driving, sexual assault,

disturbance and many more . Therefore, in discovering the access to alcohol, we should focus

on reducing the physical alcohol and finding the root of how young adults are able to have

alcohol and so on. So, binge drinking should be a logical concept to discover.

Last but not least, the alcohol industry has created a wide range of new products of

upgraded alcohol aimed at the youth market, including alcopops, ready-to-drink spirit mixers,

flavoured alcoholic beverages, ‘buzz’ drinks containing stimulants such as caffeine, and spirit

‘shots’, which are often sold in city centre bars by staff mingling among the crowd and

marketing them directly, as opposed to customers making a decision to go to the bar. This

encourages mixing of different shots, rapid consumption of spirits as shots are usually taken

in one swallow, and a general increase in the amount consumed as they are an addition to

customers’ usual bottled beers or ready-to-drink spirit mixers. Also in recent years the

strength of traditional alcohol products such as wines and beers has increased by up to 50%,

in a direct attempt to appeal to a new generation of psychoactive consumers (Mistral, 2013,

46). Therefore, the idea of upgraded alcohol can be one of the concepts that can be used.

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QUESTION 4

Here are three concepts that you might want to include in any study that focuses on political

behaviour. Write a paragraph for each concept indicating how you might measure that

concept. Include the questions that you would want to ask in your survey. (10 Marks)

• Political party

• Voting behaviour

• Likelihood of

• Political party

Political party is a group of persons organised to acquire and exercise political power.

Political parties originated in their modern form in Europe and the United States in the 19th

century, along with the electoral and parliamentary systems, whose development reflects the

evolution of parties. The term party has since come to be applied to all organised groups

seeking political power, whether by democratic elections or by revolution (Duverger, 2023).

The aim of the concept is to show whether the politicians have the right to obtain political

power or not. To be specific, political power means that an individual or group of people hold

authority in a nation's government. With this power, they can do good or evil things because

they have authority over people. Therefore, the qualitative method is one of the ways to

measure the concept through answering surveys and interviews. One of the questions that can

be included in the survey is :

1. “What do political parties do to attract people to vote for them?”

2. “Do political parties show that they have the credibility to obtain political power?”

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• Voting behaviour

Voting is the main form of political participation in liberal democratic societies and the study

of voting behaviour is a highly specialised sub-field within political science. The analysis of

voting patterns invariably focuses on the determinants of why people vote as they do and how

they arrive at the decisions they make. While political scientists have focused on the impact

of political factors like issues, political programs, electoral campaigns, and the popularity of

party leaders on voting behaviour, sociologists typically examine the socio-economic

determinants of support for political parties, noting the relationships between class,

occupation, ethnicity, sex, age, and vote. (Voting Behaviour, n.d.). Therefore, the qualitative

method is one of the ways to measure the concept through answering surveys and interviews.

One of the questions that can be included in the survey is :

1. “Do people vote for their leader based on their gender?”

2. “Does the leader's big influence get more votes?”

• Likelihood of

Likelihood is a concept that underlies most common statistical methods used in psychology

(Etz, n.d., 1). Examining how individuals absorb information in different ways and how the

results of these processes might change attitudes, outcomes, and behaviour are the main

objectives of the elaboration likelihood. Additionally, this paradigm teaches users how to

design more engaging solutions. Persuasion in communication is effective because it provides

a thorough framework for classifying, arranging, and understanding the basic process

underlying attitude change as well as the consistency of attitude and behaviour. An

illustration of a research question is:

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 1. “Do you think the present government is operating in the best interests of the people

living in this country?”

2. “Do you think that the current government could fulfil their promises to the people in

this country?”

QUESTION 5

Identify and define a common research paradigm guiding qualitative research. (10 Marks)

A research paradigm is a method, model, or pattern for conducting research. It is a

system of concepts, convictions, or comprehensions that theories and practices can operate

inside. Either positivism or interpretivism are the two research approaches from which most

paradigms originate. Each research project uses one of the research paradigms as a guide to

develop research techniques and conduct the study in the most ethical and practical way

possible. Even though there were really just two paradigms, social science research has seen

the emergence of several other paradigms from these two. Remember that choosing a

paradigm for your research endeavour necessitates a deep comprehension of the distinctive

qualities of each methodology (Abbadia, 2022).

Choosing a paradigm for a research project is crucial since it lays the groundwork for

the research and methodology of the study. A paradigm looks at how knowledge is seen and

studied, and it states clearly what the goal, driving force, and anticipated results of the study

are. When a research paradigm is used correctly, it gives researchers a clear way to

investigate the subject of interest. In addition to raising the calibre of your work and your

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competency, it provides a methodical and purposeful framework for completing it (Abbadia,

2022).

There are a few examples of paradigm research which are Positivist Paradigm,

Pragmatism Paradigm and Interpretivism or Constructivism Paradigm. In this part,

Interpretivism or Constructivism Paradigm is a method that is used in the majority of

qualitative research conducted in the social sciences. It is based not on the presence of one

reality but on the existence of several realities. Interpretivists contend that because human

behaviour is complicated, it cannot be anticipated with a set probability. Human behaviour is

not readily controlled, like a scientific variable. Interpretivism is the term used to describe

approaches to understanding the universe that depend on reading, interpreting, or grasping the

meanings that people give to the things they do (Abbadia, 2022).

In conclusion, paradigm research is important in the groundwork of research and

methodology of study. In paradigm research also show some examples of methods that can be

used for research and methodology of study. It also shows that there is an example method

that can be used for guiding qualitative research.

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QUESTION 6

Identify and define methods that are commonly used to conduct qualitative research in

Healthcare. (10 Marks)

Qualitative research looks at different social contexts and the people that live in them

in order to find answers to problems (Berg, 2001, 6). Collaborative social research can be

used as the conduct of qualitative research in healthcare. In this approach, it contains several

methods that are commonly used as the conduct of qualitative research in healthcare.

Firstly, observation. This method required the researchers to be engaged with the

community. Although it is to be said that observation methods, researchers are not just

observing the community, but they are mixed with their surroundings. This method also

requires the researchers to understand the community's circumstances and listen to their

concerns (Berg, 2001, 240). For example, the researchers can work together with the

hospital’s employees so that they can understand the health issues and can come up with

solutions that satisfy the employees’ needs.

In addition, the interview method. In this method, there are three types of interview

conduct that the researchers can make which are, structured, semi-structured, and

unstructured. However, the structured interview is usually used in quantitative research

because the response option has been fixed and the questions are also standardised (Dovetail

Editorial Team, 2023). Hence, from this interview method, the researchers can gather very

detailed healthcare information such as healthcare treatment, services, and also health

conditions. This information is according to the respondents’ experiences, beliefs, or

opinions.

In conclusion, this approach As it includes direct collaboration with patients,

communities, and healthcare professionals, this approach is excellent for the healthcare

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industry. It guarantees that, while researching healthcare practices or therapies, various

perspectives and needs are taken into consideration.

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 References

Abbadia, J. (2022, October 3). Research Paradigm: An Introduction with Examples. Mind the

Graph. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from

https://mindthegraph.com/blog/research-paradigm/

Alcohol. (2022, May 9). World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved January 2, 2024, from

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol

Berg, B. L. (2001). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Allyn and Bacon.

Borsari, B., & Carey, K. B. (2001). Peer influences on college drinking: A review of the

research. Journal of Substance Abuse, 13(4), 391-424.

https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/56401573/16573_121530-libre.pdf?152452718

9=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DPeer_influences_on_coll

ege_drinking_a_re.pdf&Expires=1704202309&Signature=fCijJ0YlfBcxrFfpBNQIEE

lOvSIY7mBCgYO5oOjLj19Bgw6dJB

Dovetail Editorial Team. (2023, March 7). Structured Interviews: Definitive Guide with

Examples. Dovetail. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from

https://dovetail.com/research/structured-interview/

Duverger, M. (2023, December 27). Political Party.

Etz, A. (n.d.). Introduction to the concept of likelihood and its applications. Methods and

Practices in Psychological Science, 1-14.

Mistral, W. (2013, May). Binge Drinking: Consumption, Consequences, Causes and Control.

Emerging Perspectives on Substance Misuse, 1, 40-58.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Willm-Mistral/publication/263071382_Binge_Dr

inking_Consumption_Consequences_Causes_and_Control/links/5d3bff5ba6fdcc370a

639d45/Binge-Drinking-Consumption-Consequences-Causes-and-Control.pdf

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Voting behaviour. (n.d.). Oxford Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2024, from

https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803120248958

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