Questions:

Assignment:
This assignment is like a capstone to the course. You are to write a paper developing the
research method for your proposed dissertation research based on the problem, purpose,
research questions and design. The design includes (1) the procedure to be used, (2) the
sample design, (3) measurement, (4) data collection and (5) analysis procedures, and other
factors depending on whether you are conducting a qualitative or quantitative design. Justify
why the chosen method and design would be most appropriate for your research questions. In
justifying your chosen method and design, discuss why alternative methods/designs would be
less desirable for your study.
Remember that this is about application, not description. While you also need to justify your
decisions and should corroborate your assertions with scholarly research, this is NOT the bulk
of the assignment instead the bulk of the assignment is the specifics of the design itself.
• Reference attached assignment from previous week (attached to submission) for details
of proposed study
• Proposed research will be: Qualitative Case Study: Single Case
• Focus of study will be: Not-for-Profit Organization with an annual working budget of
less than five million dollars annually
o Questionnaires – to attain general details (gender, age, level of education)
o Non-Participant AND Participant Observation – to evolve study with field notes
o Face to Face Interviews – to provide greater depth of understanding
• Pages: Minimum 12
• Scholarly sources: minimum 10
Recommendation from Professor:
You want to be very specific in this assignment. The most important part of a research proposal
is the identification of the problem, the purpose, the research questions and, if appropriate, the
hypotheses. Remember that the purpose stems from the problem and the research questions stem
from the purpose. The design is intended to provide answers to those research questions. The
research problem, purpose, method and design need to be explicitly detailed.
As you are writing this, you most likely will want to review the course readings. Also, remember
to follow the guidelines of effective scholarly writing including being precise, concise and
avoiding excess verbiage.
Purpose Statement MUST be in the following format:
The purpose of this ________________(strategy of inquiry, such as a case study, grounded theory, or other type)
will be to (explore/understand/ describe/develop/discover) the _____________________(central phenomenon being
studied) for _______________(the participants, such as the individual, groups, organization) at
_____________(research site). At this stage in the research, the _______________(central phenomenon being
studied) will be defined as _______________(provide general definition).
After stating the purpose, briefly describe how the purpose would be achieved, including the variables (quantitative
only), population, sampling approach and size, instrumentation (if any), data collection, and analysis. Ensure that the
purpose aligns with the problem.
Limit the purpose to a single paragraph (~250 words).
Past Sources Used: (the majority of the resources should come from this list please)
Aasland, M., Skogstad, A., Notelaers, G., Nielsen, M., & Einarsen, S. (2010). The prevalence of
destructive leadership behaviour. British Journal of Management, 21(2), 438.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00672.x
Erickson, A., Shaw, B., Murray, J., & Branch, S. (2015). Destructive leadership. Causes,
consequences and countermeasures. Organizational Dynamics, 44, 266-272.
doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.09.003
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2018). Servant
leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly,
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004
Heyler, S., & Martin, J., (2018). Servant leadership Theory: Opportunities for additional
theoretical integration. Journal of Managerial Issues, 30(2), 230-243.
Mumford, M., Todd, E., Higgs, C., & McIntosh, T. (2017). Cognitive skills and leadership
performance: The nine critical skills. The Leadership Quarterly, 2824-39.
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.10.012
Parris, D., & Peachey, J. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in
organizational contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377-393.
doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1322-6
Romanowska, J., Theorell, T., & Larsson, G. (2014). An art-based leadership intervention for
enhancement of self-awareness, humility, and leader performance. Journal of Personnel
Psychology, 13(2), 97-106.
Schyns, B., & Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of
destructive leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 24138-158.
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.09.001
Romanowska, J., Larsson, G., & Theorell, T. (2014). An art-based leadership intervention for
enhancement of self-awareness, humility and leader performance. Journal of Personnel
Psychology, 97-106.
Brannen, J. (2017). Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research. New York, United
States: Routledge.
Cozby, P. C., & Bates, S. C. (2015). Methods in Behavioral Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Hughes, J. A., & Sharrock, W. W. (2016). The philosophy of social research. New York, United
States: Routledge.
Mumford, M., Todd, E., Higgs, C., & McIntosh, T. (2017). Cognitive skills and leadership
performance: The nine critical skills. The Leadership Quarterly, 2824-39.
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.10.012
Schyns, B., & Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of
destructive leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 24138-158.
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.09.001
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A
guidebook and resource. London, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.
Trochim, W. M., Donnelly, J. P., & Arora, K. (2016). Research methods: The essential
knowledge base. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Yates, J., & Leggert, T. (2016). Qualitative research: An introduction. Radiologic Technology,
88(2), 225-231
Yin, R. K. (2017). Case study research and applications: Design and methods. London, United
Kingdom: Sage publications.

Answers:

Introduction

Research methodology has been an important aspect of the research study. It discusses about scientific concept of proceeding in research in order to complete the study. The two types of approach have been qualitative and quantitative approach (Anderson & Sun, 2017). This paper will addresses both hypothetical quantitative and qualitative design plans focusing on the research project. In this case, the social belief and physical reality has not been dependent on the research analysis.  There are several components of the research methodology including philosophy, approach, design, and data collection, sampling method, data analysis, ethical consideration and limitations. Proper justification of each selection has been provided in the study. There will be 20 online journals selected for the secondary method of data collection. All the journals will be peer-reviewed that help in validating the authenticity of journals. Interview has been conducted with managers of the non-profit organizations.

Different types of research models has been existing with both quantitative and qualitative methods having their own set of models. The correlational analysis has been explaining deep research study related to leadership skills in organization.

Research Philosophy

Research philosophy has been helping in providing dimensions and data of the research. Research philosophy focuses on fundamental information of concepts of research topic. Various components of leadership skills can be analysed by use of research philosophy (Yahaya & Ebrahim, 2016). The types of research philosophy have been positivism and interpretivism philosophy. However, research philosophy has been arriving from epistemology paradigm. The positivism philosophy includes dealing with philosophical aspects of the study using reality of components of leadership skills. Positivism deals the factual knowledge gained from actual observation of the components of the research topic. Positivism deals with the quantifiable observations leading to the statistical analyses. It can be notified that positivism philosophy has been empiricist view in knowledge.

Interpretivism deals with the human interaction with the study. Interpretivism researchers focuses on the general human interaction with respect to the research topic. The human interaction in study has been discovered by the interpretivism philosophy (Arnold et al., 2015). Interpretivsm deals with the philosophical identity of idealism and can be used by groups with diverse approaches. The researcher have to be a social activator to influence various people.

Justification of selected philosophy

Positivism research philosophy has been selected in this research. The impact of leadership skills in the organizations have been discussed using the positivism philosophy.  The hypothetical approach can be generated by the use of positivism philosophy. The researcher does not select interpretivism philosophy as it focuses on the human interaction. Intepretivism philosophy does not help in getting data related to leadership skills.

Research Approach

There are two types of research approach including deductive and inductive research approach. The deductive approach focuses on previous theories and concepts of research topic including leadership skills (Saleem, 2015). Deductive approach focuses on objectives of the research study.  The use of the deductive approach helps in developing hypothesis for the research based on existing theory of leadership. As commented by Gong, Li & Chen, (2018), deductive approach is linked with deducing conclusion from propositions. It always initiate with expected pattern which is tested with observations of the research objectives ad questions. It helps in building casual relationships between concepts and variables of the research. It helps in exploring existing theory and tested with validate circumstances. A logic path is always followed by the deductive approach. Deductive approaches involves hypotheses formulation and testing during their research process.

As commented by Maak, Pless and Voegtlin, (2016), inductive approach focuses on inductive reasoning, observations and theories have been proposed towards end of the research process. Inductive approach does not depend in the hypotheses and observation related to the leadership skills. This approach focuses on generating meanings from data collection methods and build a theory on it (Mackey & Gass, 2015). This approach does not help researcher to use existing theories on leadership. It begins with detailed observation of world and move towards abstract generalization and ideas. The researcher tend to develop general relationship with progression of the research.

Justification of selected approach

Deductive approach has been selected in the research as the research is depended in the development of hypothesis. The development of the hypothesis is necessary for the research. Therefore, inductive approach has not been used in this research. Inductive approach does not focus in hypothesis development.

Research Design

As suggested by Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault , (2015), there are three research design including explanatory, exploratory and descriptive research design. Research Design helps in providing accurate outline purpose which helps in providing proper definite purpose for the research. Different types of designs in research helping in guiding researcher for dealing with research project.

As mentioned by Lewis, (2015), exploratory design focuses on ling-term proves of designing the study. This design has been helping in providing link with inductive design of the research. Explanatory research design focuses on connecting different ideas for understanding cause and effect of study. Descriptive research design helps in conducting the research in a descriptive manner. A hypothetical research plan has been built in the research for the hypothetical analysis of study.

Proposed research topic

Leadership styles has been an important aspect of the business organization. Leaders have been lacking in cognitive skills for exhibiting destructive leadership qualities for elevating employee turnover. Therefore, negative leadership qualities have been effectively diminished through the development of cognitive skills. The outcome of quantitative and qualitative research have been providing insight to areas development of leaders for further research in non-profit organizations.

Qualitative Method

Research Questions

Following are the research questions mentioned below:

• How is the lack of cognitive skills of organizational leadership affecting the employee turnover?
• How could increasing cognitive skills in the leadership affect the turnover?

The qualitative case study is a research method that focuses on procuring data through communication with open-ended exploration of the research topic. Therefore, research questions can be answered by this method. This method has been appropriate for the research study as data can be obtained and questioned for analyzing feelings behind responses. Online scholarly literature including peer-reviewed journals and news articles have been used for data collection and employee turnover due to leadership styles of organizational extension in the research. As mentioned by Flick, (2015), the purpose of the study in order to explore relationship between organizational leadership styles for employee turnover in non-profit organization. For establishing relationship between two, different styles and concepts of leadership has been explained. This has been assisting understanding of negative leadership styles affecting the organizations as an individual employee.

Appropriateness

The qualitative approach has been effective in case of defining issues through inquiry and narrow scope in small sample size. It has been acceptable for assuming study for providing hypothesis as a result. The qualitative method has been providing focus on deeper understanding and comprehension for behaviors and beliefs (Vaioleti, 2016). It has been possible for researcher for carrying out and analyze comparison across multiple entities. Therefore, framework and direction of research has been modified with the emergence of new information. The process of coding has been necessary for analyzing

Research Questions

Following are research questions of the study:

• To what extent is the lack of cognitive skills in the leadership affecting the employee turnover?
• To what extent would increasing the leader’s cognitive skills affect employee turnover?

Hypothesis

Hypothesis sets are useful for the quantitative study conduction. Therefore, following are the hypothesis assumed for the research study:

• There is little or no relation between the cognitive skills of the organizational leaders and the employee turnover for a not-for-profit organization.
• There is a prominent effect that a leader’s lack of developed cognitive skills characteristics exert on the rate of employee turnover in not-for-profit organizations.

As commented by Ledford & Gast, (2018),  hypotheses testing will require development of working model for explaining manner in which the leadership skills affecting organization. Survey and questionnaires have been used for obtaining data for analyzing aid in formulation of conclusion. There have been controlled observation for observing research of employees with response to specific actions. Data will be coded for providing predictive statistics of a prospectus of hypothesis for future research. Leadership has been an intrinsic relationship with rate of employee turnover. The level of job satisfaction has been an important aspect of determining leadership skills in the organization (Brinkmann, 2014). The use of self-aware style of leadership have been different effect on the turnover of employee assuming that leadership style is laissez-faire style. However, quantitative research has been presenting generalization developed for using large sample size.

Appropriateness

Quantitative method has been helping in conducting research with the obtained results of objectives. However, data has been collected by investigation, the accuracy of outcome have been high in providing validity to research (Smith, 2015). The quantitative approach has been helping data in numerical system that can allow researcher for conducting statistical test. Leadership characteristics have been correlating the employee retention and turnover in an organization for profit and non-profit organization. Therefore, both qualitative and quantitative methods have been appropriate for the combination of both techniques in obtaining accurate outcomes addressing research aims and questions.

Sample size

There will be 20 online journals selected for the secondary method of data collection. All the journals will be peer-reviewed that help in validating the authenticity of journals (Panneerselvam, 2014). Interview has been conducted with managers of the non-profit organizations. There will be five open-ended questions asked to the managers and their views and answers has been collected as data and information of the research.

Data Analysis

As commented by Neuman and Robson, (2014), data Analysis has been an important aspect of the research. There are two types of data analysis including qualitative and quantitative data analysis method. Quantitative analyses method deals with data collected from primary data collecting method. Raw data has been collected form organizing online survey with 10 participants as employees of non-profit organizations. The analysis has been done using the Likert Scale, range from 1 to 5. Data has been put into the Likert Scale and outcomes and results have been generated using graphs, tables and charts.  As mentioned by Quinlan et al., (2019), the analysis of the charts, tables and graphs have been helping in maintaining analyzing the effect of leadership styles on employee behavior in non-profit organization. Survey and questionnaires have been used for obtaining data for analyzing aid in formulation of conclusion. There have been controlled observation for observing research of employees with response to specific actions. As suggested by Choy, (2014), Qualitative analysis focuses on the data collected from secondary data sources including online journals, articles and books. As commented by Silverman, (2016), the quantitative method or this research has been focusing in the procurement of data from employees and their leaders. Therefore, data collection has been done in order to collect raw data and information from online surveys, questionnaires and observations. However, statistical models have been helping in analyzing collected data with results numerical in nature. Therefore, this data collection process can be less time consuming relative to other data collection methods. Several attributes assigned to the study survey and responses of questionnaires have been presented in statistical data for ease of providing data analysis results. There have been 20 journals selected for the research and collecting data related to leadership styles. Thematic analysis has been used for analyzing secondary data collected from online journals and articles.  There will be three themes created for thematic analysis of data. Themes will be based on the objectives of research.

Accessibility Issues

There have been different issues faced by the researcher in this research. There have been difficulties in the data collection techniques during survey. Participants have not been answering properly. There answers have been hypothetically and randomly. Therefore, the validity of the data have not been organized. As commented by Humphries, (2017), participants have been judging the company in the current issues faced by them. Therefore, there have been problems in answering questionnaires. Online scholarly literature including peer-reviewed journals and news articles have been used for data collection and employee turnover due to leadership styles of organizational extension in the research. Conduction of the interview has been a difficult task as fixing appointment with managers have been difficult. As commented by Dang and Pheng, (2015),  the mangers were not ready to provide their valuable time for the interview. However, researchers managed to conduct an interview with them. The purpose of the study in order to explore relationship between organizational leadership styles for employee turnover in non-profit organization. The financial condition of researchers have not been good to use modern techniques in the data analysis. The time bound has been another problem for the researchers.  The time period provided for the research to be completed has been less than expected. However, the researcher has been able to complete the research within deadline.

Ethical consideration

The research has been conducted within proper ethical consideration. The survey has been organized within proper guidelines for ensuring ethics. Participants have not been forced to participate in the survey. They were let free to leave the research study at any time according to their will. Data and information has been kept secured and safe properly. There have been no changes in the data pattern till the study is completed. Results have not been published until the completion of the research. As commented by Dumay and Cai, (2015), data has been kept safe under the Data Protection Act 1998. The researcher has been following all legal factors for conducting the research. The research has been following the Article 30 of the Basic Law (Chapter III, Public Rights and Duties) that reveals freedom of correspondence. This act has been helping in disclosing identity of respondents at any circumstances. There have been no illegal transaction of money done during the conduction of study. The researcher has tried to expense appropriate money in the research by linking with the objectives and research questions.

Timeline

Summary

Research methodology has been helping researcher in gathering samples of data and information for the research. This research has taken both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection methods. Data collection has been done using both primary and secondary data collection methods. Sampling process has helped in sampling participants using simple random sampling method. Online survey and interview have been conducted in order to collect data and information. Data has been analysed by using both quantitative and qualitative method. The research has followed both proper ethical considerations.

References

Anderson, M. H., & Sun, P. Y. (2017). Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a new ‘full‐range’theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 76-96.

Arnold, K. A., Connelly, C. E., Walsh, M. M., & Martin Ginis, K. A. (2015). Leadership styles, emotion regulation, and burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 20(4), 481.

Brinkmann, S. (2014). Interview. In Encyclopedia of critical psychology (pp. 1008-1010). Springer New York.

Choy, L. T. (2014). The strengths and weaknesses of research methodology: Comparison and complimentary between qualitative and quantitative approaches. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(4), 99-104.

Dang, G., & Pheng, L. S. (2015). Research methodology. In Infrastructure Investments in Developing Economies (pp. 135-155). Springer, Singapore.

Dumay, J., & Cai, L. (2015). Using content analysis as a research methodology for investigating intellectual capital disclosure: a critique. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 16(1), 121-155.

Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner’s guide to doing a research project. Sage.

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Humphries, B. (2017). Re-thinking social research: anti-discriminatory approaches in research methodology. Routledge.

Ledford, J. R., & Gast, D. L. (2018). Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.

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Maak, T., Pless, N. M., & Voegtlin, C. (2016). Business statesman or shareholder advocate? CEO responsible leadership styles and the micro‐foundations of political CSR. Journal of Management Studies, 53(3), 463-493.

Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.

Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2014). Basics of social research. Pearson Canada.

Panneerselvam, R. (2014). Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..

Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J., & Griffin, M. (2019). Business research methods. South Western Cengage.

Saleem, H. (2015). The impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction and mediating role of perceived organizational politics. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 172, 563-569.

Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative research. Sage.

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Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.

Vaioleti, T. M. (2016). Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12(1).

Yahaya, R., & Ebrahim, F. (2016). Leadership styles and organizational commitment: literature review. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 190-216.