Guidelines to Chapter three Research Proposal Writing
By Anthony M. Wanjohi
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This chapter describes
in detail the strategy that was used by the researcher in conducting the
research. It includes the following research design, sampling and sampling
procedures, and description of research instruments, data collections
procedures and data analysis procedures.
3.2 Research Design
The design of this study
will be based on survey research in which data will be collected for the
objectives of the study. The research is based on the study of factors
affecting the effectiveness of revenue collection in Kenya Revenue Authority
(KRA) head quarters in Nairobi. The choice of survey research as opposed
to other research designs was motivated by the following factors, first, survey
research provides for a suitable instrument for collecting a large amount of
data. Secondly, it provided a practical framework for collecting a large sample
of composing groups and thirdly, survey studies have strong data reliability.
3.3 Target Population
A population is any set
of persons or objects that possesses at least one common characteristic (Busha & Harter, 1980). The target population
of this study will include the management team and the staff in Kenya Revenue
Authority (KRA) head quarters in Nairobi.
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Procedures
Sampling is a procedure,
process or technique of choosing a sub-group from a population to participate
in the study. It is the process of selecting a number of individuals for a
study in such a way that the individuals selected represent the large group
from which they were selected.
A sample is a smaller
group or sub-group obtained from the accessible population (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). This subgroup is carefully selected to be
representative of the whole population with the relevant characteristics.
3.4.1 Sample of the
management team
3.5 Description of Data
Collection Instruments
According to Mugenda and Mugenda (1999)
questionnaires give a detailed answer to complex problems. Additionally,
questionnaires are also a popular method for data collection in deduction
because of the relative ease and cost-effectiveness with which they are
constructed and administered. Questionnaires give a relatively objective data
and therefore, are most effective. In this study, Questionnaire will be used as
the main instrument of data collection from the staff members.
Interview guide will be
used in this study since it generally yields highest cooperation and lowest
refusal rates, offers high response quality and takes advantage of interviewer
presence and it is multi-method data collection that is it combines
questioning, cross-examination, probing techniques (Owens, 2002). In this study
interview guides will be used to solicit information from the top managers.
3.6 Validity of Research
Instrument
The term validity
indicates the degree to which an instrument measures the construct under
investigation. For a data collection instrument to be considered valid, the
content selected and included must be relevant to the need or gap established.
Before the actual study, the instruments will be discussed with supervisors.
The feedback from the supervisors and the experts will help in modifying the
instruments.
3.7 Reliability of
Research Instrument
Mugenda and Mugenda (1999) defined reliability as a measure of the
degree to which a research instrument yields consistent results or data after
repeated trials. An instrument is reliable when it can measure a variable
accurately and obtain the same results over a period of
time. However, reliability in research is affected by random errors,
the pre-test helped the researcher identify the most likely source of errors
and hence respond to before the actual study. Test re-test method will be used
to pilot the questionnaires, which do not form sample of the study. Reliability will be
calculated with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS). A correlation coefficient greater or equal to 0.6 will be accepted
(George and Mallery, 2003).
3.8 Data
Analysis Procedure
Both quantitative and
qualitative approaches will be used for data analysis. Quantitative
data from the questionnaire will be coded and entered into the computer for
computation of descriptive statistics. The Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS version 11.5) will be used to run descriptive analyses to
produce frequency distribution and percentages. Tables will also be used to
summarize data. The qualitative data
generated from interview guide will be categorized in themes in accordance with
research objectives and reported in narrative form along with quantitative
presentation. The qualitative data will be used to reinforce the quantitative
data.
References
Busha, C. H. and Harter, S. P. (1980). Research Methods in Librarianship:
Techniques
and Interpretation. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, Inc.
George, D. and Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple
guide and reference. (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.
Mugenda, O. M. and Mugenda,
A. G. (1999). Research
Methods: Quantitative
and Qualitative Approaches. Nairobi: Acts Press.
Mugenda , M and Mugenda, G.
(1999). Research Methods:
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Nairobi: Acts Press
Owens, D. (2002). School Resources, Social and Student Achievement. Nairobi.
Longman
Publishers.
Suggested Citation in
APA
Wanjohi,A.M.(2010). Guidelines to Chapter three Research Proposal writing. KENPRO Publications.Available online at http://www.kenpro.org/papers/guidelines-to-chapter-three-research-proposal-writing.htm
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