The History Of The Consideration Of Data Collection Method

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

An investigation into how and why students choose to study at the University of Southampton’s School of Management

Research background

The UK universities nowadays are facing an increasing competition in the global markets of international education. Thus, in order to sustain in such a fiercer market, British higher education institutions have to equip themselves with the necessary ‘marketing intelligence’ and a deeper understanding of their students’ perception. (Binsardi & Ekwulugo, 2003). Specifically, it is important for educational providers to have a clear grasp of the factors influencing students’ decision-making and choice process in applying for a specific university. This understanding would help universities to deliver the proper service quality to students and to differentiate themselves among competitors. As for students, the choice of higher education institution to study is a significant decision in their life which may not only create success of their careers but also their families (Baharun, Awang and Padlee, 2010). Students are therefore tending to be more selective in choosing an university (Binsardi & Ekwulugo, 2003).

The University of Southampton’ School of Management is considered as one of the UK’s leading management schools – ranked in 15th position on the Complete University Guide (2013). However, this university experienced a drop in undergraduate intake in 2012 (Guardian News, 2012). Therefore, this study aims at investigating how and why students choose to study at the University of Southampton’s School of Management to help school managers finding what students expect about the institution and designing the suitable programs as well as positioning strongly in the competitive educational market.

Literature review

University choice process

According to Maringe (2006), past studies linked the decision making process in the choice of an institution with the ‘buying behavior’ theory of Kotler & Fox (1985). anH Chapman (1984), one of the first people who apply the purchase behavior to education, suggested that when selecting an institution, students will go through a number of stages: pre-search, search, application, choice and registration. He also stated that in each stage, students are affected by different elements in selecting a university.

Factors influencing students’ choice of institution

James et el. (1999) suggested that the significant factors influencing the student’s choice of universities were field of study preferences, course entry conditions, course and institutional reputations, distance from home and institutional characteristics. Vrontis, Thrassou, and Melanthiou (2007) considered the various influences such as environmental, individual and institutional factors to develop their higher education student-choice model. They suggested that these determinants comprise: environment (economic conditions, influences of parents, informal networks); high school characteristics (e.g. social composition, quality); characteristics of higher education institution; and personal attributes. Briggs (2006) recommended the most influential factors including: academic reputation, distance form home, location, job prospects, teaching quality, quality of faculty, research reputation, social life nearby and entry requirements. Other than these elements, Simoes & Soares (2010) added costs, facilities, programs availability, quality of education.

Information source

In the decision-making process of institution, students can access different sources to acquire relevant information. Previous studies on the information requirement of students found that students have tendency to consider the information sources provided by the university (e.g. websites, brochures) more importantly than interpersonal sources (e.g. parents, friends) or career services (Veloutsou et al., 2004; Briggs., 2007 cited in Simoes & Soares, 2010).

Overall research question

- Why do students choose to study at the University of Southampton’s School of Management?

- Which factors of university related attributes do students consider the most important when choosing the University of Southampton’s School of Management?

- How do students choose to study at University of Southampton’s School of Management?

- What are the most influential sources of information that impact student’s decision in selecting the University of Southampton’s School of Management?

- Is there any relationship between choice factors and individual characteristics in selecting the University of Southampton’s School of Management?

- Does specific individual factors such as gender, academic aptitude, field of study affect differently preferences of information sources?

Research objectives:

- To identify the most important factors associated with student’s choice in selecting the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

- To investigate the most important sources of information that impact students in choosing the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

- To assess the impact of individual attributes on student’s choice of studying at the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

- To evaluate whether there is a difference in factors of choice criteria by gender and by field of study.

- To examine whether there is relationship between some individual factors and preferences of information sources.

A quantitative research proposal

Research Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1: Institutional reputation, research and teaching quality, program availability, costs, location and facilities are the most important factors in determining student’s choice of the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

Hypothesis 2: University website, influence of former and current student and teachers are the most used sources of information.

Hypothesis 3:There is a relationship between choice factors and individual characteristics in choosing the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

Hypothesis 4: There is differences among student’s field of study in selecting the most highlighted information source.

Hypothesis 5: There is no significant differences between gender in choosing the most used information source.

Sampling method

The sampling method used in this study will be probability sampling. With this method, the chance of being selected from the population is equal for all cases. It is often associated with survey research strategies (Saunders et al., 2009). The process of this method could be divided into four steps:

Figure 2.2: 4 stages of probability sampling’s process(Saunders et al., 2009, p.214).

Firstly, the sampling frame of the research will be the list of students of the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

Secondly, the sample size of this study will be decided once determining the total population which is the number of students of the University of Southampton’s School of Management. According to Saunders et al. (2009), different sizes of population require different minimum sample sizes given that the margin of error is 5%. The actual sample size can be calculated using the formula:

( Saunders et al., 2009)

Thirdly, this study will use stratified random sampling techniques as students in the School of Management are divided into different departments and into undergraduate and postgraduate. In this method, the sampling is accurate and easily accessible, and the relative cost is low given that the list of strata is available (Saunders et al., 2009). Additionally, using pure random sampling may lead to the sample not being representative to the population unless there is a large sample size. In contrast, proportionate stratified random method ensures the representativeness of the sample to the population (Mitchell & Jolley, 2007).

Lastly, after being collected, the data should be compared with data from other sources to check the representativeness of the sample ( Saunders et al., 2009).

Data collection

Consideration of data collection method

According to Saunders et al. (2009), there are a number of techniques by which data can be collected such as questionnaire, observation, interviews or utilization of secondary resources. In this research, the principal data collection method is questionnaires. Firstly, online questionnaire helps the researcher to quickly access to the students through email addresses or websites. (Wright, 2005). Moreover, it takes significantly less time to deliver the questionnaires and receive the answers (Taylor, 2000). Otherwise, other techniques such as observation and interviews are more challenging because of the sampling size and the time shortage.

The questionnaires could be developed by referencing the questionnaires designed in previous studies such as Maringe’s (2006) research about university and course choice factors or Simoes and Soares’s (2010) research on information search and choice factors in selecting higher education institution. The researcher will use the questionnaires of Simoes and Soares’s research (2010) which comprises three sections: (1) individual characteristics, (2) information sources, (3) choice factors. The factors will be grouped into categories. The type of questions used is numeric-rating scale which require participants to rank the chosen factors on a scale of 1-10 from the least important to the most important in order to show the importance attached to each factor.

Questionnaire administration

Administering the online questionnaire will be implemented through the following steps:

Step 1: Set up a questionnaire at https://www.isurvey.soton.ac.uk/

Step 2 (Pre-survey contact): Send email to the list of students to advise them about the survey, request their help.

Step 3: Email the link of online questionnaires to students with a covering letter. Post the questionnaire link on university’s websites or share it in social network or groups page.

Step 4: After one week, collect the response; send the first follow-up email to thank for early responses and remind non respondents on the questionnaires or repost the link on the websites.

Step 5: During the next three weeks, check data analysis software and the response rate. In case that the response rate is low and the system does not work well, there will be follow-up activities.

Data analysis

Data obtained from questionnaires will be coded and analyzed using the computer program SPSS which supplies the tools for statistical tests (Norusis, 2008). The data would be presented in descriptive statistics which are not be able to be categorized numerically (Saunders et al., 2009).

In order to test hypothesis 1 and 2, as mentioned previously, respondents rank the given factors according to their level of importance. These data are classified into category, mean scores and standard deviations for each category will be computed. Based on mean aggregate percentages, the relative importance of factors will be shown in the bar chart to compare the highest and lowest result. With regards to hypothesis 3, MANOVA test will be applied to examine whether there is a relationship between individual characteristics and the given choice factors in selecting the University of Southampton’s School of Management. According to Malhota (1999, cited in Baharun et al., 2011), MANOVA allows to examine group differences across multiple dependent variables at the same time. In order to test the relationship between the most used information source and the variables "gender", "field of study", a chi-square test will be utilized. Chi-squared test is used to examine the association between two parameters and to detect the differences among the groups. (Saunders et al., 2009)

A qualitative research proposal

Research methodology

There are numerous research methodologies in qualitative research such as case study, grounded theory, survey research, ethnography and action research. Meanwhile, case study research is likely to be best suited to this study. Firstly, Saunders et al (2009) highlighted that this research method is considerably able to answer the question "why" and "how" which is the research question of this study. Moreover, the case study strategy is most frequently used in the exploratory or explanatory research which is the approach of this research (ibid.). Additionally, it is a strategy involved in investigating a particular person, social setting, event, group or organization (Berg, 2001) which is, in this research, the University of Southampton’s School of Management.

Sampling method

In qualitative research, the non-probability sampling is widely used as the sampling method (Saunders et al., 2009). This method provides a range of alternatives sampling techniques such as quota sampling, purposive, snowball sampling, self-selected and convenience sampling. The most appropriate sampling method for this study is self-selected sampling. Firstly, the time consumption and cost involved in using self-selected sampling are relatively low since advertisements of research could be publicized through appropriate media such as social media channels or university websites to attract the participation of students. Secondly, the time spent for receiving the response is lower compared to quota sampling. These two reasons are important since time and cost for doing the dissertation is limited

Saunders et al. (2009) asserted that there is no rules in choosing the suitable sample size for non probability sampling techniques except quota sampling. According to Guest et al. (2006, cited in Saunders et al., 2009), 12 in-depth interviews should be sufficient for the research about the common points among a homogenous group but be not enough for a heterogeneous group. Groves et al., (2009) suggested that the general expected sample size is 25-30 cases by which the sample could be representative for the population.

Data collection

The research procedure would involve in the semi-structure and focus group interview since the aims of this research is to explore the wide range of opinions and behaviors of students about determinants on university’s choice. Saunders et al. (2009) mentioned that the data collected from interviews are more reliable and valid. Moreover, the researcher spend less time and expense on semi-structured interview than structured interview and observation. The semi-structured interviews also gives the researcher more flexibility since the questions may vary from interview to interview and depending on the flow of the conversation. However, there is also a list of questions to be covered (ibid.).

List of appropriate questions:

What are your field of study?

How old are you?

Why do you choose to study in University of Southampton’s School of Management?

What elements of the university did you consider when you choose University of Southampton’s School of Management, e.g. reputation, job prospects, ease of entry, costs...?

Which three of the above are the most important and why?

How do you know about University of Southampton’s School of Management? Is there word of mouth or university websites, brochures, guides or any other source of information?

Who is the influential people on your decision to choose a university? How much influence they have on selection of University of Southampton?

Which source of information influence the most your decision of studying at University of Southampton’s School of Management? Why?

Data analysis

Data from interview will be audio-recording. After undertake interviews, data would be analyzed in the following steps:

Summarizing: After making transcripts of recorded audio, the content would be summarized. This would make data easier to store and interpret (Patton, 2002).

Categorizing or coding: The data would be categorized into concepts and themes following two stages: ‘developing categories’ and ‘attaching these categories to meaningful chunks of data’ (Saunders et al., 2009). The first stage is undertaken by using terms from collected data, respondents and from literature to label for each concept. The second stage is to mark these labels in the interviews (ibid.) For instance, the fact that a participant rank institutional reputation as highly important factor that influences the university choice could be coded IR-H.

Description building: This stage involves concepts and themes being systematically examined to identify the relationships and patterns. For example, there could be the association between the individual factors such as academic aptitude and preference of the source of information.

Presenting findings: Findings and results will be formulated through the description or by discussing different concepts together (Rubin and Rubin, 2005).

Critical evaluation

Critical evaluation for two proposals

Figure 4.1. The research ‘onion’ – Source: Saunders et al., 2009

Research philosophy

In terms of research philosophy, Saunders et al. (2009) suggested four philosophies which are positivism, realism, interpretivism and pragmatism. Interpretivist approach provides the ‘understanding differences between humans as social actors’ (ibid.). The purpose of this study is to explore different perspectives of different people in their choice criteria when selecting the University of Southampton’s School of Management. Thus, this philosophy is more likely to be appropriate in this research. Moreover, interpretivism is highly suitable for the research on ‘organisational behaviour, marketing and human resoure management’ (ibid.). Otherwise, regarding to ontology, interpretivist philosophy is subjective, changeable and dependent on participants compared to positivism which is objective and independent of social actors. As regards to this research, the reasons why and how students choose the University of Southampton are dependent on each student’s perception in varying ways as a result of their interpretations of their knowledge about the institution.

Research approach

Creswell (2002, cited in Saunders et al., 2009) highlighted that the choice of research approach relies on the ‘emphasis of the research’, ‘the nature of research topic’, time and resource availability. In this study, inductive approach seems to be more suitable. Firstly, the aims of this research are to gain deeper understanding of the nature of problem which is the underlying reasons leading to students’ choice of the University of Southampton’s School of Management rather than to examine the connection between variables. Developing such understanding is the emphasis of inductive research. (ibid.). Secondly, although deductive approach is low-risk and quicker strategy, it does not allow alternative explanations. Deductive strategy is dependent on the final choice of theory and the hypothesis (ibid.). Thus, the exploring and understanding of the context could be restricted by the number of variables. In this case, there would be a risk of some reasons being missed due to the limit of variables number.

To undertake inductive research, qualitative methods would be chosen. Qualitative research has a number of advantages which are suitable for this research rather than quantitative approach. Firstly, its strengths is to supply information about the contradictory behaviors, opinions of individuals. This approach is also effective to identify intangible factors such as gender roles, socioeconomic element, ethnicity (Mack and Woodsong, 2005). Additionally, qualitative methods aims to answer the question "what", "how" and "why" instead of "how many", "how much" which is asked by the quantitative research (Patton, 2002). Moreover, qualitative methods are more flexible than quantitative methods. In fact, quantitative research requires to think thoroughly the important question to ask and the possible answers. Instead, qualitative approach tends to give ‘open-ended’ questions that enables participants to respond in more details (Mack and Woodsong).

Research strategy

The case study will be used as the research strategy of this study. Firstly, the case study strategy enables the researcher to answer the questions "how" and "why" which are the main research questions of this study. Secondly, this strategy relates to the research about a particular phenomenon within a real life setting which are in this research the choice factor determining students’ choice of the University of Southampton. Regarding survey research, although it is less time consuming and financial spending, this method is usually associated with deductive approach (Saunders et al., 2009).

Research choices

Due to the limit of time and resource, mono method would be more appropriate in this case. Regarding multi-method, the triangulation might ensure the reliability and validity of research but it is a complex process which requires several stages (Green et al., 2002). Thus, it is not suitable in case of time shortage and resource constraints. Otherwise, mixed-method research seems to be the best choice as it combines both quantitative and qualitative. However, mixed-methods are criticized for being costly, time consuming (Bryman, 2006), risky and lack of guidance on how to undertake a mixed-methods research (Brannen, 2009).

Time horizons

The cross-sectional research will be selected as time horizons in this research. Firstly, Saunders et al. (2009) argued that while longitudinal research aims at studying change and development, the cross-sectional research is to study the ‘specific phenomenon’ at a ‘specific time’. In fact, the purpose of this research is to identify the reasons for students’ choice of the University of Southampton’s School of Management instead of studying about the development. Additionally, since this research are limited within a given time and resource constraints, the cross-sectional research is appropriate. Furthermore, data collected from longitudinal research is more dynamic, however, new rounds of data could possibly change the findings (Thomson and Holland, 2003)

Data collection and analysis

The choice of data collection and analysis techniques should be associated with other layers of research onion. Since the research choice is mono method, data collection and analysis techniques are required to be single and corresponding (Saunders et al., 2009). Thus, to correspond with qualitative research, semi-structured interviews is data collection technique and data analysis would follow the stages mentioned in Section 3.4.

List of necessary resources

Resources which should be considered are data access, equipment and finance (Saunders et al., 2009). Sources of literature review could be found in the library, electronic journals and articles, academic sources namely webcat, sciencedirect.com, google scholar or other useful sources such as university website, website of some online newspaper.

For data access, to invite participants in interviews, the researcher could contact the schools’ receptions to get list of student emails or advertise about the interview on university websites or leaflets.

Activities and dissertation timeline

C:\Users\Huong\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\Dissertation timeline(3).png

Figure 4.3: Gantt chart for dissertation timescale

No

Tasks

Duration (days)

1

Choose area of interest

7

2

Read and research around the topic

7

3

Write proposal

14

4

Examination revision

30

5

Draft literature review and methodology section

12

6

Submit to supervisor and receive feedback

5

6

Revise literature review and methodology chapter

5

7

Advertize about interviews by mail, leaflets

4

8

Develop questions for semi-structured interviews

5

9

Contact initial students for qualitative sample

2

10

Conduct interviews

5

11

Analyse data

15

12

Draft findings chapter

12

13

Update literature read

3

14

Complete draft of other chapters

10

15

Proof reading and editing drafts

10

16

Print and submit dissertation

1

Table 1: Main activities list

Risk and ethical issues

Risks

There are a number of potential risks during the research process. With regards to data access, schools’ receptionists might not provide student details. Furthermore, the number of students who accept participating in interviews might be low because of summer vacation. Time management should be also prioritized in the research process. In fact, analyzing data in qualitative research is time consuming and challenging. Findings might be affected if researcher does not concentrate on data analysis.

Ethical issues

Ethical issues may happen in any stages of the research: data access, data collection, data analysis and findings generating (Saunders et al., 2009). Moreover, qualitative research is likely to have more ethical concerns than quantitative research (ibid.). Two key ethnical concerns in every project are consent and confidentiality (Patton, 2002). It means that participants should be asked for consent before taking part in interviews or doing questionnaires. Additionally, they should be protected for their privacy. Furthermore, Mack and Woodsong (2005) added more research ethics principles including respect for persons, beneficence, justice and respect for communities. Respect for persons means ensuring the autonomy of participants. Beneficence relates to a commitment to minimizing the risks and maximizing the benefits to participants. Justice means ‘a fair distribution of the risks and benefits from the research’ (ibid.)