Activity Project 3: Research Methodology Assessment Answer

Research Methodology

Research Paradigm

The research philosophy or paradigm elucidates how the study is designed and carried out and how the know-how is generated that describes the nature of the study. There are two common research paradigms, namely positivism, and interpretivism. Positivism is the paradigm which elucidates and interprets the society by rational interpretations. On the other hand, the interpretivism paradigm emphasizes rather than elucidates individuals' diverse experiences (Junjie and Yingxin 2022).

For this study, the scholar employs the positivism paradigm due to numerous reasons. Firstly, the scholar wants to be objective and consider a practical approach to the study. Besides, the statistical assessment is fundamental to the positivism paradigm that adheres to the structured study processes to reveal a single and objective reality. Furthermore, being disconnected from the respondents enables the scholar to be neutral. Henceforth, the scholar is capable of differing between cause and feelings, science and individual experiences. This paradigm is chosen as suitable since it enables the scholar to utilize a regulated and structured style to develop the study via recognizing a research subject, developing hypotheses, and utilizing a sufficient study method. Lastly, it is chosen since this paradigm assists, in case of the massive size of the sample, to yield authentic conclusions and generalize the findings to a population. In this study, when examining the relationship between sustainability accounting and financial performance, the scholar needs to have objective observations that can be measured which in this scenario will be the data of food businesses in Bedfordview. It can be said that the choice of a positivist paradigm during the research helps the scholar to remain objective and interpret the quantitative data (Park et al. 2020).

Research Design

The research design indicates the roadmap for the study since it offers directions on how the study might follow the established criteria to accomplish the study. Nevertheless, to investigate the concerned issue, a comprehensive research design is crucial. There are three major research designs namely explanatory, exploratory, and descriptive. The exploratory design focuses on the event wherein the scholar is unaware of the subject matter and desires to investigate the conclusion of the chosen issue. The explanatory study design focuses on elucidating the relation between two or more variables. The descriptive design defines the attributes of the problem under consideration (Hassan and Khairuldin 2020).

For this study, the scholar employs a descriptive design since it enables quantitative methods to be utilized in the evaluation of the study data. Moreover, this design advocates the investigation of the research variable at a specific time with minimum intervention from the scholar, hence nurturing neutrality in comprehending how the variables collaborate. Also, this design is chosen to mathematically develop any relation that exists between the dependent and independent variables of the research. Of five research designs namely case study, experiment, archival research, survey, and grounded research, the scholar decides to choose the survey strategy which is mainly linked with the deductive approach and is utilized to gather quantitative data that can be assessed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Also, this design is chosen in this study as the research objectives for this study associate more closely with the questions of what and how much (Turale 2020).

Population of Study

As per Stratton (2021). there is no doubt that the study's target population encompasses the whole set of objects or components that possess the pertinent data needed for the study. It is noteworthy that the research objectives of the study are vital to define the population of the study. In the case of this study, the research objective for the main study element deals with studying the importance of sustainability accounting on the financial performance of Food companies in Bedfordview. Therefore, the criteria utilized to choose the study population include:

• Individual businesses involved in sustainable practices in the food sector.
• Individuals employed by food companies in Bedfordview

As per Muzhinji and Ntuli (2021), in South Africa, food companies have been confronted with unprecedented strain from ecological change intensified by the growth of agri-food businesses which are integrating their strength into the worldwide food chain. For this study, the sample is gathered from the individuals employed in the food businesses in Bedfordview, South Africa. A total of 5 food businesses in the area of Bedfordview, South Africa were chosen as the sample population. Consequently, it is crucial to investigate the relevance of sustainability accounting on the financial performance of the food businesses in the chosen region. The participants from the chosen food businesses are members of senior management and middle management. The scholar decides to seek the maximum engagement of participants from senior management positions like CEO, CFO, and so on of the chosen food companies on account of their effective knowledge and practices in the area of sustainability accounting.

Sampling Method and Sample Size

According to Bhardwaj (2019), sampling indicates a set of small individuals from a massive population to carry out a study. There are two methods of sampling namely probability (representative) sampling; and non-probability (judgemental sampling). Probability sampling is mainly related to the survey-linked study approaches wherein it is vital to make suppositions based on the population sample to attain the study objectives. Probability sampling is of a few types including cluster; stratified random; systematic; multi-sampling; and simple random sampling. On the other hand, non-probability sampling offers a set of methods to choose samples based on the subjective judgment of the scholar. The types of non-probability sampling techniques include quota; snowball; purposive; self-selection; and convenience sampling. The main variance between these two sampling techniques is that probability sampling is a familiar prejudiced sample while non-probability is an unknown and impartial sample. For this study, the data is collected from a total of 50 participants chosen from five food companies in Bedfordview, South Africa. Selecting companies from a single industry increases the chances of refined outcomes because of identical sustainability accounting practices that are beneficial while evaluating the data. The most suitable sampling method for this study is probability sampling. More specifically, the scholar uses a stratified random sampling technique which requires the segmentation of the sample population into two or more disjoint sub-groups. From every sub-group, the scholar will draw a random sample. This technique is chosen as suitable since it offers a more representative sample when compared with systematic random sampling (Makwana et al. 2023).

Data Collection Method

According to Sileyew (2019), there are two methods of collecting data namely primary and secondary. The primary data entails general data gathered by the scholar directly from vital sources. For this study, the primary data is collected using the self-administered questionnaire survey. The self-administered questionnaire is preferred over the interview-administered questionnaire since the prior one is usually less time-consuming and more appropriate for a large sample size. However, interview-administered usually have a greater response rate and momentously lessen the probability of the participants misunderstanding the meaning of the question as the scholar can answer directly to any queries.

As the current research chose quantitative techniques, has a comparatively short timeline to complete, and needs a large sample size, a self-administered survey questionnaire is used. It was further decided to distribute the survey questionnaire and gather the resultant data through the Internet. The virtual survey is utilized to make and carry out the survey. The link to the survey will be provided by mail to the primary contacts in every food company. The primary contact person will then provide emails to the people in their companies with senior management experience. A separate link is sent to every food company so the response rate for individual companies can be traced. Nevertheless, the finished survey questionnaires are automatically randomized on input into the virtual database to secure the anonymity of the chosen participants (Guest et al. 2020).

The secondary data indicates the one that has already been gathered via primary sources and made readily accessible for scholars and entails research articles, literature from papers, newspaper articles, books, and so on. There is no doubt that the available literature plays a vital role in supplementing the study, offering a robust foundation for the research objectives' theoretical outline and further development. The secondary sources that can be used in this study entail peer-reviewed journal articles in areas of sustainability accounting and financial performance concerning food companies. Other secondary sources that are used in this entail annual reports of companies, CSR and sustainability reports of companies, corporate governance reports of companies, industry reports, government websites, and so on (Jacobsen 2020).

Questionnaires Development

To capture the answers of participants to the questions, the majority of the questions in the survey questionnaire are scored on a five-point Likert scale wherein a score of 1 means strongly disagree and a score of 5 means strongly agree. Such answers from the population are coded into a statistical tool for subsequent evaluation and the production and interpretation of findings. The questions for the survey questionnaire for this study are demonstrated below:

Data Analysis Method

Data analysis encompasses investigating, classifying, tabulating, or recombining the gathered data to address the starting propositions. It is about making inferences on the relation between the data variables which the study is made to verify to address the research objectives. It is vital to utilize a suitable method to analyze the data from primary sources. To analyze the collected quantitative data from the survey, the scholar uses SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software. The data is taken from the survey site to the SPSS in an MS Excel file to conduct statistical analysis. The data collected from the survey questionnaires is mainly and firstly evaluated for frequency distribution and the central tendency measures. Diagrams like bar graphs, pie charts, and others are utilized to demonstrate the data. Descriptive statistics define and compare a variable's data values in numbers and emphasize on the areas of dispersion and central tendency. (Mishra et al. 2019).

References

Bhardwaj, P., 2019. Types of sampling in research. Journal of Primary Care Specialties , 5 (3), pp.157-163.

Guest, G., Namey, E. and Chen, M., 2020. A simple method to assess and report thematic saturation in qualitative research. PloS one , 15 (5), p.e0232076.

Hassan, S.A. and Khairuldin, W.M.K.F.W., 2020. Research Design Based on Fatwa Making Process: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Higher Education , 9 (6), pp.241-246.

Jacobsen, K.H., 2020. Introduction to health research methods: A practical guide . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Junjie, M. and Yingxin, M., 2022. The Discussions of Positivism and Interpretivism. Online Submission , 4 (1), pp.10-14.

Makwana, D., Engineer, P., Dabhi, A. and Chudasama, H., 2023. Sampling Methods in Research: A Review.

Mishra, P., Pandey, C.M., Singh, U., Keshri, A. and Sabaretnam, M., 2019. Selection of appropriate statistical methods for data analysis. Annals of cardiac anesthesia , 22 (3), p.297.

Muzhinji, N. and Ntuli, V., 2021. Genetically modified organisms and food security in Southern Africa: conundrum and discourse. GM Crops & Food , 12 (1), pp.25-35.

Park, Y.S., Konge, L. and Artino, A.R., 2020. The positivism paradigm of research. Academic medicine , 95 (5), pp.690-694.

Sileyew, K.J., 2019. Research design and methodology. Cyberspace , pp.1-12.

Stratton, S.J., 2021. Population research: convenience sampling strategies. Prehospital and disaster Medicine , 36 (4), pp.373-374.

Turtle, S., 2020. A brief introduction to qualitative description: A research design worth using. Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research , 24 (3), pp.289-291.

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