Chapter III : Methodology
3.1 Research Design
Research design is the conceptual structure within which the research is conducted. It
is composed of the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. The
study will be a basic research since the main goal of the study is to increase the
scientific knowledge and the understanding of risk management in aviation industry.
Whether the research question should administer questionnaires or conduct interviews
can be answered by looking at the research onion that describe stages that ought to be
followed while defining an effective methodology.
This study will be based on Interpretivism philosophy; a inductive approach will also
be used, since data are collected and a theory developed from the data analysis.
Interview will be conducted to understand how safety management system can really
help to manage and control risk in aviation industry. The research is qualitative in
nature since the data collected will be non-numerical.
3.2 Research Philosophy
According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornbill (2012), research philosophy is referring
to a system of belief and assumptions about the development of knowledge which a
phenomenon should be accumulated, analysed and utilized and the philosophy
adopted contains significant assumptions about the manner by which researcher see
the world. Positivism is a philosophical theory which states that knowledge is derived
from the experience of natural phenomenon or which is capable of logical or
mathematical proof. Realism in philosophical term is which objects are ontologically
independent of someone's beliefs, conceptual scheme, linguistic perceptions asd
perceptions.
This research is based on Interpretivism. Interpretivism is a philosophical theory that
is essential for researcher to recognize difference between humans in their individual
role as social actors. The actors Interpretivism argues that we should try to understand
social phenomena from the point of view of those people who are being studied. This
emphasizes the difference between conducting research among people rather than
objects such as trucks and computers (Saunder et al., 2012). Interpretivists contend
that only through the subjective interpretation of and intervention in reality can that
reality be fully understood and the study of phenomena in their natural environment is
key to the interpretivist philosophy (Saunders et al., 2012).
3.3 Research Approach
According to Saunders, et al. (2012), research approaches are mainly based on the
research philosophies, whereby the deductive approach is commonly used by
researchers with positivism philosophical theory, while inductive approach is usually
based on interpretivism philosophy.
This research is based on inductive approach as research philosophy is interpretivism.
The purpose is to understand better the nature of the problem. Data will be collected
through interview and the result of the analysis would be the formulation of a theory.
Research utilizing an inductive methodology is likely to be particularly concerned
with the settings in which such occasions were taking place. Hence, the study of a
small sample of subjects might be more suitable than an enormous number as with the
deductive methodology (Saunders et al., 2012).
3.4 Research Strategy
According to Saunders et al. (2007), there are seven research strategies: experiment,
survey, case study, action research, grounded theory, ethnography and archival studies.
The choice for a research strategy is based on the research questions and objectives,
the existing knowledge, the amount of time available for the study and the amount of
resources available (Saunders et al., 2012).
This is phenomenological research. Creswell (2013) explains that phenomenology is
an approach to qualitative research that focuses on the commonality of a lived
experience within a specific gathering. The central objective of the approach is to
arrive at a depiction of the idea of the specific phenomenon. Guided by the
phenomenological research paradigm, this research uses qualitative research to
explore social or human problems. This means that while conducting the
study in a natural setting the researcher will build a holistic picture, and will analyze
the words of the respondents, in order to construct a detailed view of the information
(Creswell, 1988). Therefore, this qualitative research project is conducted based on an
interpretive design using a naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).
3.5 Research Choice
Based on the research choice, there are three different choice that could be taken up,
which is qualitative, quantitative and the mixed of both. Qualitative research
incorporates multiple realities, by realities he meant a person’s experience and
behaviour and is not statistical. On the other hand, he said that quantitative research
on those aspects of social behaviour which can be quantified and patterned, in other
words, numerical data collected from the society. In this case, qualitative research is
chosen because risk management techniques focus on identifying the threats and
likelihood of risk event in aviation industry.
3.6 Data
According to Saunders et al. (2012), secondary data is the data which already been
collected for some other purpose, perhaps processed and subsequently stored. There
are three main types of secondary data: documentary, survey and those from multiple
sources. Primary data is collected by researchers themselves through observation,
interviews and questionnaires. For this research, primary data will be collected using
questionnaires. Questionnaires tend to be used for descriptive or explanatory research.
3.7 Instrumentation
As stated by Cresswell (2009), researchers gather the data on an instrument or gather
information on a behavioral. In qualitative interviews, the researcher conducts
face-to-face interviews with participants. These interviews involve semi-structured
and generally open-ended questions that are intended to draw out views and opinions
from the participants (Cresswell, 2009). The questions typically an ice-breaker
question at the beginning followed by 4-5 questions that are often the sub questions in
a qualitative research plan. There will be probes for the 4-5 questions, to follow up
and ask individuals to explain their ideas in more detail or to elaborate on what they
have said.
3.8 Data Collection
In qualitative research approach, Creswell (2013) explained that data collection form
interviews should be based on the sources of data in the qualitative
study questions. The purpose of the interviews data collection were to
establish the rapport of trust, field notes, open-ended questions, and semi-structured
style (Miles & Huberman, 1994). A semi structured interview was used for this study
as it provided for a short period of time in which the interview was open-ended but
still followed a predetermined set of questions.
Semi-structured interviews are used to seek information from people about a specific
issue or topic on individual and personal experiences (Hennink et al., 2011). For this
research, semi-structured interview was appropriate because it allowed the author to
modify and guide the conversations towards the appropriate topics and issues which
in this paper is risk management in aviation industry. The advantage of the structure
guide is to facilitate the comparing and analysing of resources rather than going to
irrelevant directions while the limitation is in its ability to offer new interesting rich
results, while the discussion guide allows a good deal intuition of the hermeneutic
reading as it is open to what the interviewer feels is relevant to talk about based on the
interest of the event to ensure a rich account of interviewees’ experience, knowledge,
ideas and impression that may be considered and documented (Alveeson 2011). The
author will able to maintain the flow of interviews by adjusting the pace which suited
both the interviewer and interviewees. Therefore, interviewees will be more freedom
and comfortable to have the conversation (eg. elaborate, express or discuss their ideas)
during the interview. This interview method will allow the author to have direct
interaction with interviewees, gain better personal relationships and obtain a more
in-depth understanding.
3.9 Sampling
For this research, purposeful sampling is recommended as the technique is widely
used in qualitative research for the identification and selection of information-rich
cases for the most effective use of limited resources (Patton, 2002). This will include
identifying and selecting individuals or groups of individuals that are especially
knowledgeable about or experienced with the specific topic or phenomenon
(Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2011).
There are no specific rules when determining an appropriate sample size in qualitative
research. Qualitative sample size may be determined by the time allotted, resources
available, and study objectives (Patton, 1990). For phenomenological studies,
Creswell (1998) recommends 5 to 25. Thus, this study will comprise between 5 to 20
interviews with respondents until the information gathered is sufficient. Invitations
will be sent to qualified respondents. The objective was gathering more in-depth
information and perceptions through interviews, and representing it from the
perspective of the research participant.
3.10 Data Analysis
This research study followed the Creswell’s (2013) six steps during the process of
qualitative data analysis. Step one is the organization of research and preparation of
data analysis through transcribing interviews, typing up field notes, or sorting the data
into different types depending on the sources of information. Step two is reading all
the data to gain general sense of the information and to secure the opportunity to
reflect on the importance of the data. The third step is coding the data. Research tend
to organize the data collected by categorizing them before bringing meaning of the
information. In the fourth step, coding process is used to come up with a description
of people, setting, or themes for analysis. It is important when it comes to design more
specific descriptions for different forms of research initiatives. The fifth step is to
advance how the description and themes will be represented in the qualitative
narrative. For instance, a researcher may use a narrative passage to confer the result of
analysis. Last but not least, the sixth step is to make an interpretation or meaning of
the findings/results. This step requires researcher to ask him or herself about the
knowledge or lessons gained.
3.11 Ethical Consideration
Ethical considerations relate to all phases of the research process. With thoughts for
participants, research sites, potential readers, studies can be designed that involved
ethical practices (Cresswell, 2009). Research ethics refer to the appropriateness of
your behavior with the rights of those who corresponding to the privileges of your
work. They related to yourself and make sure there’s no harm happened to anyone
involved in the research. Potential ethical issues are ought to be perceived and
considered from the start of your research (Saunders. et al., 2012). As researches
envision data collection, they must fully respect the participants and the sites of
research.
This research will harm any of the participants and respect vulnerable populations
(Cresswell, 2009). In this proposal, the researcher develops an informed consent form
for participants to sign before they involve in the research. This form acknowledges
that participants' rights will be protected during the whole process of research.
Another issue to comply about confidentiality is that some participants may not have
any desire to have their identity remain confidential. In the interpretation of data,
researchers need to provide an accurate account of the information. In order to protect
personal information of the interviewees, they will remain anonymous throughout the
whole research from data collection to data analysis.
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