Research Methodology For Conducting An Essay On Organic Personal Care Products In China.

Conducting the research related to the organic personal care products in China in a legitimate way. discusses the research approach take, the research philosophy used and the design for the research that is followed in the research study.

The purpose of research methodology chapter is identification of various methods, research tools and research techniques that can help in conducting the research in a legitimate way. The various research tools and methods needed to implement a research are identified in the chapter of research method. Not only have the theories, the research methodology chapter identify various tools and techniques associated with a research (Al, 2013). The research is based on organic personal care product in China.  The research methodology chapter will be outlining the details of chosen research philosophy, research design and the ethical issues associated with the research. This is one of the most prominent chapters of the research project as it helps in identification of the processes that helps in identification of the data collection processes and analysis technique required to find answers of research questions and the aims and research objectives. It has been identified that there are certain concerns associated with the organic care products in China. For finding answers to the identified research problem a primary research method is followed. In the following paragraphs, the research methods, research philosophy, research approach and research design that are identified for the research is identified.

This subsection of methodology chapter recognizes the different approaches and methods associated with a research.  A positivism research approach is chosen by the researcher for leading the research study (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2013). A deductive research approach is chosen for utilization of the appropriate logical process and rationale associated with a research project. The deductive approach is chosen for the research project as the research is associated with the collection of information from the primary sources. This Data collection process involves collection of data from primary sources as it will help in information collection from the individual who have a firsthand knowledge in the research area.  The method outline for the research project is indicated in the following table-

Table 1: Representing the Chosen Methodological Tools

The table above outlines the research methodological tools that the research study has made use of. The following section of the research report identifies the research philosophy, research design and data collection processes.

The research philosophy mainly involves the source, nature and development of knowledge associated with the research. Research philosophy therefore deals with the phenomenon associated with the process of data collection and analysis of the data (Brown & Stowers, 2013). Each phase of the research project is associated with the assumptions associated with the sources and nature of knowledge. The research philosophy that is chosen for the research reflects the assumptions that are based on the research strategy that is followed in this project. There are mainly four research philosophies which include the pragmatism research philosophy, positivism research philosophy, realism research philosophy and interpretivism research philosophy. The research philosophy of positivism mainly adheres to the factual knowledge that is gained through trusted observation (Chandra & Sharma, 2013). While following the positivism approach, the researcher’s role is mainly limited to data collection and interpretation of the data. Thus, it can be said that the positivism research approach mainly depends on quantifiable observations, which in turn lead to statistical data analysis. The pragmatism research philosophy on the other hand only deals with the concepts that is relevant only if it is supported by legitimate actions. Thus, positivism and interpretivism approach can be described as two mutually exclusive paradigms, which are associated with the nature and sources of knowledge. On contrary to that, the realism research philosophy is mainly based on the finding independence of the reality from human mind. It is therefore, based on assumptions of scientific approach and development of knowledge. The interpretivism philosophy for research study integrates the human interest into a study.

Research Philosophy

The choice of a research philosophy is largely impacted by certain practical implication. The researcher has made use positivism research philosophy for this research study. The justification for choosing positivism research philosophy is elaborated in the following section.

The positivism research approach provides the researcher with a highly structured data that helps in better management of the research (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). The positivism research philosophy mainly deals with the factual knowledge along with the quantifiable observations. Since the research project will be evaluating the organic personal care product in China, its sales and its marketing perspective, the choice of this research philosophy is found to be appropriate and justified for the research.

In order to evaluate the sales and the marketing strategies associated with the organic personal care products in China, it is essential to identify the research approach to be followed in the research project. The research approach that is associated with academic researches includes the deductive approach, inductive approach and abductive approach. The deductive approach in a research project is mainly associated with development of hypothesis based on the existing theories (Novikov & Novikov, 2013). The inductive research approach is associated with inductive reasoning. The inductive reasoning mainly starts with observation and the theories associated with a research process. The abductive research approach or abductive reasoning sets to address the weaknesses associated with the research. The abductive reasoning is considered to be the third alternative associated with the research project. The research has chosen a deductive research approach for conducting this research project.

The deductive research approach that is undertaken for the research study is found to be appropriate mainly because it deals with appropriate data collection and data analysis of the existing data. In this research report, a hypothesis has been set up already and for testing and proving the hypothesis, the choice of deductive research approach is justified for the research research.

The research design is mainly divided into two groups which are exploratory research conclusive research and descriptive research. The research design is mainly defined as a research plan that helps the researcher in finding solutions to the research questions (Mitchell & Jolley, 2013). The main aim of the exploratory research design is studying the different context and research area. Consecutively, the conclusive research does not enable the researcher in changing the research design. A descriptive research design is followed in conduction of the research project. The appropriateness of making use of this research design in research study is elaborated in the following section.

A descriptive research design is found to be appropriate for analysis of organic personal care product in China as this research design mainly deals to the cross sectional analysis of the logical plan (Salaberry & Comajoan, 2013). By following a logical research plan, the researcher is bale to direct the investigation towards its fulfillment. Thus, the choice of descriptive research design is justified for the research project.

Data collection is one of the most significant aspects of a research project. The data associated with a research work is mainly divided into two categories, which are primary data and secondary data. In accordance to the types of data, the process of data collection is sub divided into two types, the primary data collection method and secondary data collection method (Thomas, 2013).  The primary data collection methodology is associated with the collection of the information from legitimate sources having firsthand knowledge about the research subject. . The primary data is mainly collected through the process of online surveys, interviews and observation (Dang & Pheng, 2015). Interview helps the researcher to collect data from the operational personals or experts associated with a research. The interviews can mainly be conducted by face to face interview process or by telephonic interview (Neuman, 2013). However, the online surveys are considered to be one of the most widely used approaches for collection of data associated with the research. One of the major limitations associated with the primary data collection method is that the data collection is associated with the availability of the research respondents.

Justification for choosing positivism approach

The secondary data collection methodology deals with collection of data from the available secondary sources such as books, journals and the research papers. One of the most significant benefits of secondary research is that, a large amount of data  is available for analysis. Since the data is collected from the legitimate sources, the chances of presence of vague data in the research are quite less.

For this research, the researcher has chosen both primary and secondary data collection process in order to gather details about the personal care products in China. This will help in collection of data associated with its sales, marketing strategies and the investments that are made on organic personal care products in China (Taylor,  Bogdan & DeVault, 2015). Collection of both primary and secondary data for this research project is therefore justified for this researcher and the researcher needs to evaluate the annual reports of the companies to understand the sales of organic personal care products (Ragin, 2014). Conduction of online surveys is important as well in order to understand people’s perspective regarding the use of organic personal care product and its popularity in China. Therefore, collection of both primary and secondary data for the research is necessary.

Since the research study deals with the collection of both primary and secondary data, a sample population is chosen for collection of primary data. An online survey is conducted in ordr to collect people’s views regarding the choice of organic personal care products and its popularity in China. For that, a sample size of 50 respondents is approached to attend the survey.  The sample is chosen by following the method of probability sample (Clemence, Doise & Lorenzi-Cioldi, 2014). In this sampling method, each member of a population has a non zero change of participating the survey for which they are approached. The non probability sampling method has not been chosen for this research project in this sampling method, only a certain group of members of a population has the chance of participating in the survey (Flick, 2015). In probability sampling method, the simple random sampling is chosen to select the respondents of the survey. The simple random sampling is considered to be the most straightforward probability sampling strategy (Neuman, 2013). The simple random sampling technique allows each member of the population to participate in the survey (Brannen, 2017).  Apart from that, the data will be taken from the secondary data sources in order to collect the data about the sales and marketing strategies associated with organic personal care products in China.

Followed by data collection, it is important to identify the process of data analysis. There are mainly two processes of data analysis, which are qualitative data analysis and quantitative data analysis. The qualitative data analysis process mainly deals with the data that is associated with the non numeric information that includes interviews, transcripts, video and audio recordings. The qualitative data analysis mainly deals with content analysis, narrative analysis, discourse analysis and framework analysis (Silverman, 2016). The collected data from the secondary sources in this research study has undergone qualitative data analysis method. The quantitative data analysis on the other hand is expected to turn the raw numbers in a meaningful data associated with the application of rational and critical thinking (Pierce & Sawyer, 2013). A quantitative data analysis process is therefore associated with the finding of the evidences for supporting and rejecting the hypotheses associated with the research project (BNS & HV, 2013). Therefore, following a quantitative data approach for this research is essential. The researcher has chosen both qualitative and quantitative data analysis method for this research project.

Research Approach

The data collected from the online surveys followed a statistical analysis in MS Excel.  The choice of data analysis in Excel spreadsheet appropriate as it is a cost effective approach and the files can be easily sent as email attachment (Panneerselvam, 2014). This will help in accurate analysis of people’s views regarding the organic personal care product in China. Along with that, the data collected from the secondary sources has undergone a qualitative data analysis in order to understand the marketing trends and strategies for organic personal care products in China. Therefore, the choice of qualitative and quantitative data approach is appropriate for this research study.

In academic and scientific researches, the collection and analysis  of the data is associated with certain ethical considerations that are needed to be followed. In direction and accumulation of the data necessary to conduct a research project, it is essential for the analyst to distinguish between the right and wrong arrangements (Novikov & Novikov, 2013). The moral considerations are needed to be followed by the researcher to collect and analyze data in a legitimate manner. In adherences to the fundamental ethical guidelines, that the researcher needed to follow in conduction the research project is as follows-

1. It is essential for the researcher to respect the safety of all research participants related to the collection and examination of the data.
2. The researcher has the responsibility to maintain information privacy shared by the research participants so that the research study is conducted in the legitimate way possible.

3 One of the most significant ethical considerations associated with a project includes obtaining the permission from the research participants.

4. The anonymity of the research participants are needed to be maintained while conducting the research study. Anonymity in data collection and data analysis process is needed to be maintained.
5. For communicating the data associated with the research, transparency is needed to be maintained. Correct information obtained from the participants is needed to be communicated so that misquoting of the information is strictly prohibited in the data analysis process.

This academic research is associated with the existence of certain limitations associated with the project. The research limitations are as follows-

1. Reliability: The research study is related with the collection and examination of the data collected from 50 respondents. Since a limited respondent group is chosen that give rise to the limitation of reliability in the collected data.
2. Time Constraint:Time constraint is another significant research limitation associated with a research project. The research has been conducted in a limited timeframe which is a significant limitation of the project.
3. Budget Constraint: Along with the time issues, there was certain budget issues associated with this research which is another significant limitation of this research. 

References 

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