Name: Neliswa

Surname: Mabele
Student number: 25ha2202334
Module: Applied Research
Boston City Campus

Question 1
1.1 Inclusion Criteria
The requirement that must be met by members of the specified demographic in
order for them to be given consideration for the research project are known as
inclusion criteria. The necessary qualities that study participants must possess in
order to be eligible to participate are known as inclusion criteria. The study
question and intend results are reflected in these criteria.

Exclusion Criteria
The things that will make someone ineligible for the study are known as
exclusion criteria. After then, these people will be eliminated from the sample
population. For instance, pregnancy is regarded as an exclusion factor in a
number of clinical medication trials.

1.2
 Eligibility criteria: To guarantee consistent waking conditions, the study
focuses on full-time workers with at least six months of experience. Contract
workers, part times and those employed for fewer than six months are not
included.
 Language profit: The three primary languages spoken in the Western Cape of
South Africa are English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa. Participants must be fluent
in these languages.
 Challenges Anticipated: The study team’s specialists face difficulties include
a small pool of qualified participants that could affect sample size and
generalisation, a possible dearth of employee engagement and sampling bias
if some departments are over or underrepresented.
Question 2
2.1 Positivism
- Positivist research uses scientific methodologies and empirical facts to support its
claims. This worldview relies heavily on scientific data.
Realism
- Seeing things as real and existing outside of the imagination is the focus of realist
study.
Interpretivism
- the interpretation of occurrences by the researcher and research participants is
essential to interpretivist research
Objectivism
- Objectivism is predicated on the notion that objects exist independently of the
intellect and that occurrences can be seen as existing independently of the human.
Subjectivism
- Subjectivism aims to see phenomena as a part of the individual, in opposition to
objectivism.
Pragmatism
- Seeing events in terms of their potential for practical application to the environment
is a key component of pragmatic thinking.
Question 3
3.1
Advantages of insourcing
 Knowledge and insight: to obtain
a foundational understanding of
the organisation, researchers do
not require training
 Internal staff development: It
gives internal staff members
opportunity to learn.
 Direct access to participants:
employee databases and the
intranet may make it simple for
researchers to get in touch with
participants.
 Rapport: because the workers
work together and are familiar
with one another, a degree of
trust may already exist.
 Cost: since the researcher work
for the company, they are
already compensated, thus there
are no further costs.
Advantages of outsourcing
 Lack of familiarity and insight:
being outside the organisation,
the external agent may be better
able to observe problems without
being influenced by internal
dynamics being they are not a
part of it.
 Lack of conflict of interest:
Because there are no internal
connections, the outsourced
agent is impartial and
independent, making them more
likely to be based.
 Cost: if more research is
required, it might be less
expensive to outsource than to
train internal staff members and
cover their overtime.
 Time and expertise: it’s possible
that external consultants are
Disadvantages of insourcing
 Employee familiarity and insight:
may be skewed either positively
or negatively with one another.
 Conflicts of interest: employees
may become biased of they have
too much familiarity with the
company.
 Costs: in order to make up for the
extra work done, current
employees may need to receive
overtime pay and training if there
is a shortage of time or
experience.
Disadvantages of outsourcing
 Lack of familiarity and insight: it
would take more time to try to
increase the external consultant’s
organisational expertise.
 Rapport: the employees could be
reluctant to talk to the consultant
because of their lack of familiarity
with them.
 Cost: in general, outsourcing is
more expensive. Should more
time be required to become
acquainted and build rapport,
cost can go up.
 better qualified than internal
researchers if they are
appropriately hired.
 Willingness to communicate:
because they don’t personally
know the external consultants, or
because there is less chance that
the information will be shared
with other employees of the
company, employees may be
more open to communicating
with them.

3.2 Relevance pertains to the relatedness of research in your study. In other words,
you should ensure that the research you are reviewing has some connection to the
research problem that you are planning to address. Valid sources are sources that
contain information that you are able to trust. Sometimes, it is difficult to determine
whether information that is reported is based on a researcher’s personal opinion, or
whether the information has been gathered and reported on in a professional and
academic manner. They can usually assess how valid information is by looking at its
source, as well as by how the research was conduct.

Question 4
4.1 Before- after between- group design:
 This method compares the results in two or more groups before and after an
event to determine how time or an event has affected something. The
baseline data that is subsequently utilised place is gathered by the researcher
in the ‘before’ part. Results of the intervention or incident are documented in
the ‘after’ section. Between-group designs typically have an experimental
group and a control group.
Before- after matched design:
 This quasi-experimental design is quite similar to the experimental design that
was previously mentioned; however, participant matching is done based on
certain criteria rather than random assignment isn’t always a possibility,
especially in organisational contexts, the matching helpful. Although this
method is advantageous, it also means that groups are not comparable to one
another due to the differences between them.
4.2 – Online media
- Social network
- Blogs
- Forums
Question 5
5.1) Qualitative research
 It allows for greater detail and depth of subject materials.
 It is based on human experiences and observation, which can provide rich
and nuanced insight.
 It is flexible and adapted to the incoming or available data.
 Can capture changing attitudes within a target group such as consumers of a
product or services or attitude in the workplace.
 Provides a much more flexible approach.
 Research are not bound by the limitations of quantitative methods.

5.2) Qualitative research

 Is a valuable approach that involves collecting and analysing non-numerical
data to gain insights in to concept, opinions and experience.
Examples:
 “they also conducted surveys and interviews with local farms to gather
insights into their farming practices and challenges”.
 “this included analysing historical crop yield data, soil quality report and pest
population trends.
 soil quality decline due to overuse of fertilizers. Increasing pest resistance and
potential benefits of climate informed planting schedule.
 Strategies for soil and pest management and adjustments to farming practices
based on climate patterns.
 identifying factors causing the decline in crop yield and develop sustainable
solution.
 In collaboration with the local farmers. Janet and her research team decided
to conduct research study to address this problem.