Route B: Generalisation

Even though it is possible that some changes can be made to the research design when pursuing Route B: Generalisation, especially when taking on a treatment-based generalisation, there are only a few reasons that might lead you to change the research methods used in the main journal article, irrespective of the approach you adopted within Route B: Generalisation. This is partly because you have to question why you are changing the research methods used in the main journal article. Consider the following:

• Were there fundamental limitations in the research method used in the main journal article, or do you feel that mono-method bias could have been a problem?

• Were there fundamental limitations in the measures applied within the research method used in the main journal article, or do you feel that mono-operation bias could have been a problem?

If the answer to either of these questions is NO, click here. However, if the answer to either of these questions is YES, or you think it could be YES, this could justify a change in the research methods or measures used in your dissertation compared to those used in the main journal article. However, if this is the case, you are more likely to be following a method or measurement-based extension, together with a population or context/setting-based extension, rather than just a generalisation (i.e., Route C: Extension, not Route B: Generalisation). If this is the case, you can relatively easily switch between a population or context/setting-based generalisation and extension, as well as adding a method or measurement-based extension to you dissertation. Simply jump back to the section Route C: Extension, within STEP THREE: Use the literature to explain and justify the route you have chosen, and the approach within that route, in STAGE FIVE: Building the theoretical case. Whilst you may also need to read previous stages in The Route #1 Process, this should help to put you back on track, allowing you to get back into this research strategy stage.

If the answer to the questions above was NO, it is likely that you will not be changing the research method used in the main journal article, or the measures used within that research method, but simply reword certain measures so that they fit your dissertation, based on the approach you are taking. Whilst there are some exceptions to this, consider the following first:

REWORDING MEASURES UNDER ROUTE B: GENERALISATION
Measuring service quality in different populations and contexts/settings using the SERVQUAL questionnaire

The questionnaire, SERVQUAL, is used to measure the construct, service quality. Under the SERVQUAL scale, service quality consists of five dimensions (i.e., tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy), each of which has a number of items (i.e., each dimension has a number of measures; that is, statements that explain a particular dimension, such as responsiveness). In total, there are 22 statements in the questionnaire across all five dimensions. One of these dimensions, responsiveness, has four measures (i.e., four statements). For example, the second measure under this responsiveness dimension is the statement, not realistic for you to expect prompt service, which people completing the questionnaire rate on a 5-point scale based on their agreement or disagreement with the statement (i.e., 5 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree). However, depending on the approach to Route B: Generalisation you are following, you would need to reword the measures within this research method (i.e., the SERVQUAL questionnaire) accordingly. Note that you are not changing the research method or the measures, which is something that is done in Route C: Extension, but merely rewording them to fit with the approach you are taking. For example, see the differences in the wording of the statement above for the following two scenarios (the rewording is highlighted in red):

If these were dissertations following Route B: Generalisations, both would be following a population and context/setting-based generalisation, measuring the construct, service quality, but in different populations and contexts/settings (i.e., hotel employees and customers in Scenario #1 and dental staff and patients in Scenario #2). You would not have changed the research method (i.e., a questionnaire; or more specifically, the SERVQUAL questionnaire), and you would not have changed the measures (i.e., the 22 statements in the questionnaire), but you would have reworded these measures so that they fit with your particular population and context/setting.

Therefore, in most cases, Route B: Generalisation should not require a change in the research methods or measures used in the main journal article. However, there can be exceptions to this. For example, for practical reasons, it may not be possible for you to use the research methods in the main journal article in your dissertation. For example, if an organisation granted you access to their employees or customers, they may allow you to use a questionnaire, but refuse the use of structured observation, especially if this observation is covert in nature (i.e., it?s one thing to disturb people using a questionnaire, but many organisations would not like the idea of their employees or customers feeling like they are being watched). Even if the main journal article used structured observation, you may be forced to use a questionnaire instead, unless you can find another organisation that will allow such access (NOTE: Within the timeframe you have to collect data at the undergraduate and master?s level, it is probably not advisable to give up access to an organisation, and search for another organisation, simply to ensure that the same research methods used in the main journal article are applied). You may also find that the research method used in the main journal article takes a lot of time to carry out or is expensive to perform, such that you may be forced to use other research methods that are cheaper or quicker.

If you have to use a different research method in your dissertation, make sure that you assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of alternative research methods in the Research Methods section of the Fundamentals part of Lærd Dissertation.