RESEARCH METHODS

RESEARCH METHODS

1 Introduction

The research aim is to find out factors which underpin customer loyalty in Sainsbury supermarket. The analysis will involve the examination of strategies and methods Sainsbury used to strengthen customer loyalty. The research methods chapter is concerned with methodological issues and involves five topics. The first topic will assesses and validates the research methods used in the study. The second topic discusses data collection methods and procedures. The third topic addresses the primary data which will outline the sampling and data collections procedure. Data analysis will be talk about in the fourth topic. The fifth subject matter will summarise ethical issues and limitations of the research.

2 Research Methodology

The methodology used will answer the question and address the research objectives. The research will use an inductive approach. According to Saunders et al (2007) an inductive approach will not need to start with any predetermined theories or conceptual framework, involving the development of theory as a result of the observation of empirical data.

The inductive approach is applied where there is no need to start with hypothesis as in deductive approach. The research will be conducted at Sainsbury supermarket Calcot brunch in Reading to find out what factors underpinning customer loyalty. This will involve interviewing sample of employees, their managers and customers. The purpose is to find out the answer of research question and analyse the data and use them to formulate a theory. Research using an inductive approach is likely to be particularly concerned with the context in which such events were taking place. Therefore the study of small sample of the subjects might be more appropriate than a large number as in deductive approach. (Saunders et al, 2007).

3 Research Design

There are numerous research design, however I have chosen a case study design, (Yin, 1983) The case study has been widespread research strategy which deals with psychology, sociology, political science, business, social work and planning. The reason for choosing case study is because case studies arise out of the desire to understand phenomena within a given context. (Yin, 1994). Yin, (Ibid) defines a case study as an empirical inquiry that

·         Investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when

·         The boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.

The research will be a single case study as a structure that will convene all aspect all aspect of project collectively where the research will focus on one branch of Sainsbury supermarket at Calcot in Reading.

According to Yin, (2003) there are three types of case studies which he details as exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. I will use an exploratory case study as a valuable means of finding out ‘what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to asses phenomena in a new light’ (Robson, 2002) Cited in (Saunders et al, 2007). Also I will use descriptive study as an additional to exploratory research. Robson, (2002) stress that the object of descriptive research is ‘to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations’. (Cited in Saunders et al, 2007).

.4 Data Collection Methods

Data will be collected from company database and employees which will consist of both primary and secondary data. The data will be collected from interviews, conducted with number of managers who will explain the role of the whole organisation in helping to increase customer loyalty and how it affects organisation and customers. Other employees will be interviewed to further address the aims and objectives of the research.

4.1 Research Instruments

The research instrument or tools are means of collecting information for a study (Kumar, 2005) these involves data collection, data analysis and data interpret. The instruments which will be used in this research are questionnaires and will be divided into three groups; questionnaires for interview to managers will be in appendix A, questionnaires to employees will be in appendix B and questionnaires to customers will be in appendix C.

4.2 Primary Data Collection

Primary data like questionnaires and interviews will be gathered from employees and customers who will provide the conception of phenomenon from various perceptions. The interview will involve open ended questionnaires at start and closed ended questionnaires at the end of interview. According to IDRC, (2010) the open ended interview will give interviewees the chance of expressing themselves more, also:

·         Allow the researcher to explore more deeply into issues of attention being raised.

• Bring issues not previously thought of when planning the study may be explored, thus providing valuable new insights on the problem.
• Provided information in the respondents’ own words might be effective as examples or illustrations, which add interest to the final report.
• Often, re-reading an answer in a later phase of the analysis offers the possibility for different interpretations in relation to other data collected, which would have been impossible if the answer had been pre-categorised.

Bell, (1999) emphasise that questionnaires are appropriate means of gathering different information promptly and fairly inexpensively on condition that you are adequately well-organised to leave behind questions which are unnecessary to the main task.

 Saunders et al, (2007) detailed three types of interviews which are structured (standardised), semi-structured and unstructured or in-depth interviews (non-standardised). The chosen interview for this research is unstructured or in-depth because is going to be useful in an exploratory study to ‘find out what is happening and to look for new insight’ (Robson, 2002) Cited in (Saunders et al, 2007). The data will be recorded by using written notes and audio recording in case some points are missed in writing process. Sample size frame will be provided to facilitate the access of employees and customers.

and averages.

4.3 Secondary Data Collection

 Secondary data is information already collected for other purposes (Kumar, 2005). According to Kervin, (1999) the secondary data can be raw data, where there is less or no processing and compiled data that have achieved some form of assortment or have been summarised. The secondary data can be quantitative and qualitative in nature (Saunders et al, 2007). 

The secondary data in this research will be gathered by analysing documents like magazines, archives and annual reports from the Sainsbury supermarket which will provide the picture of customer loyalty in the company. The information from retail industry statistics will be helpful to understand the food industry as a whole with considering customer loyalty and meet the objectives of research; also it has to provide advantages when used and less costs as well as data access. (Saunders et al, 2007). Also I have use publications and journals, online database, university database and books.

4.4 Data Analysis and Interpretation

The collected primary data from questionnaires and interviews are analysed by using three steps, Data Preparation; where will be checked for accuracy, entered into the computer, transformed, developed and documented a database formation which links the different measure. Descriptive statistics; where the data will be illustrated its features which provide the outline about the sample and measure. Also graphics will be analysed and create quantitative data. Lastly is inferential statistics; where questions, model and hypotheses will be examined. (Trochim, 2006).

For the data to be useful it needs to be interpreted and reduced from each group of respondents separately to produce meaningful information. Saunders et al, (2007) these data can be qualitative or quantitative data and (CAQDAS) a computer aided qualitative data analysis software used to help to analyse the data. I compared the data from managers, employees and customers and recorded the data using tables, percentages

3.5 Reliability and Validity

Trochim (2006) suggest that reliability and validity are not separate ideas as many of us think. These two are related to each other because both of them are targeting the concept which is on trial for measurement. Riege, (2003) argue that for establishing validity and reliability in case study research realism technique is appropriate mode as case study has inductive nature for discovering and building theory rather than testing theory though analytical. The sources of data from the managers, employees and customers measured and if found that the results are the same, this means the data are reliable and valid. Joppe, (2000) defines reliability as:

“The extent to which results are consistent over time and accurate representation of the total population under study is referred to as reliability and if the results of the study can be reproduced under a similar methodology, the research instrument is considerable to be reliable.” (Cited in Golafshani, 2003).

Reliability depends on the stability of data and where the data is obtained. A high degree of stability indicates a high degree of reliability, which means the results are repeatable. (Golafshani, 2003). The primary data is reliable as a result of interviews and questionnaires from different variables since reliability due to be obtained from word of mouth and taped recorded.

The concept of validity is not a single, inflexible or common but “rather a contingent construct, inescapably grounded in the processes and intentions of particular research methodologies and projects”. (Winter, 2000).

3.5 Sampling Techniques
 Mugo, (2010) sample is a finite of statistical population whose properties are studied to gain information about the whole (Webster, 1985). Sampling is the process of selecting units (eg people, organisations) from a population of interest so that by studying the sample may fairly generalise the results back to the population from which they were chosen. (Trochim, 2006).

The sampling techniques are divided into two types: probability or representative sampling and non-probability or judgemental sampling. The research of finding factors underpinning customer loyalty will need sampling because data cannot be collected from the entire population. The techniques used in this research is non-probability sampling and use convenience sampling method, where I will interview customers randomly at the shop floor Sainsbury supermarket in Calcot Reading as I don’t know which customer will agree to be interviewed the sample selection will continue until the required sample size has been reached (Saunders et al, 2007).  

The sample frame of this research is 5 employees within them 2 are managers and 5 customers within them 2 are men and 3 women and of different age. The population size of this size is generalised with 10 peoples, as this research is an inductive approach it does not require large number of population size. The aim is to answer research question and objectives.

REFERENCES

Yin, R. K. (1983-1984 ed). The Case Study Method: An annotated bibliography. Washington, DC: COSMOS Corporation.

Yin, R. K. (1994). Application of case Study Research. 2^nd ed. SAGE Publications Inc.

Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study Research. Applied Social Research Methods Series Volume 5. 3^rd ed. SAGE Publications Inc.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A. (2007). Research Methods for Business Studies. 4^th Ed, London, Prentice Hall.

Kervin, J. B. (1999). Methods for Business Research. 2^nd ed. New York. HarperCollins.

Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology: step-by-step guide for beginners. 2^nd ed. Sage Publications Ltd.

Mugo, W.F. (2010). Sampling in Research. [On line]. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Mugo/tutorial.htm. [Cited on 12/8/2010].

The International Development Research Centre, (2010). Module 10B: Design of Research Instruments; Interview Guides and Interview Skills. Science for Humanity. [Online] http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-56614-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html. [Cited in 12/8/2010].

Bell, J. (1999). Doing your Research Project. Open University.

Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, Vol. 8 No. 4, p. 596-607.

Riege, A. M. (2003). Validity and Reliability tests in case study research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol. 6 No.2, p.75-86.