Report on Methodology for Thesis (Lunchboxes)

In this section, the methodology considered in this thesis will be described. It will include the steps which have been considered in this study for conducting the research and collecting the relevant and critical information. Each and every method which has been considered in this paper will be explained along with the research philosophy. In addition to it, it will be justified why a specific method has been selected for carrying out the research rather than other methods. Lastly, in this section, it will be determined whether safety health and safety and technical and legal requirements were considered or not.

Methodology is considered one of the most important parts of a thesis. It wouldn't be wrong to say that it is the connector between the objectives of research and the result obtained from it. In other words, it is the foundation of any research because it outlines and justifies why some specific methods were considered for conducting the research. It helps in justifying the selected research methods and approaches were more suitable for the study instead of other methods. Thus, it is an irreplaceable method of a thesis(Flick, 2015).

3.2 Research Philosophy

In general, there are a number of research philosophies. However, in this research, a mix of interpretivism and positivism has been considered. Interpretivism and positivism are considered two basic approaches for conducting research. For example, quantitative methods or primary methods are considered by positivism while qualitative methods such as literature reviews are considered in interpretivism. The objective of positivism is to obtain precise results by depending on statistics. With the application of primary methods such as questionnaires and surveys, positivists tend to derive results which are more precise than qualitative results. In addition to it, quantitative measures are considered when it is necessary to obtain the views of people. Meanwhile, the objective of interpretivism is to explore the existing concepts and clarify the understanding of a specific concept(Goldkuhl, 2012).

Usually, it is considered that results obtained through interpretivism philosophy are not precise because they don’t include figures. In order to resolve this issue, a combination of both of these philosophies is utilized. For instance, both secondary and primary methods are considered in this research. This research philosophy is considered in this research because both interpretivism and positivism have some gaps. In order to address these gaps and ensure that there are no gaps in this research, both of the philosophies have been combined(Potrac, Jones, & Nelson, 2014).

3.3 Research Approach

Similar to the research philosophy, there are a number of research approaches such as deductive and inductive approaches. In this research, however, a mix of these two approaches has been utilized. The main difference between these approaches is that the deductive approach has the objective of testing a certain theory. Meanwhile, the objective of an inductive approach is concerned with the development of a completely new concept. There are some gaps associated with both the inductive and deductive approaches. In order to address these gaps and make sure that this research doesn’t have the same research gaps, a combination of these new approaches has been utilized. This combination has enabled the development of a research approach which doesn’t have research gaps such as lack of focus on statistics and lack of focus on theories or concepts(Soiferman, 2010).

3.4 Qualitative Methods

In this research, both secondary and primary techniques have been considered. However, in this section, only secondary or qualitative methods will be explained. The secondary techniques which have been considered in this research include literature review and case studies. These are the qualitative methods which have been utilized in this research for collecting relevant and important information. Actually, there is no much information available on the concept of lunchboxes from the perspective of people. Hence, other than literature reviews and case studies, a survey has also been considered for collecting relevant data. This research will be quite beneficial for working people who seem to bring their lunch boxes with them to consume food. It will benefit them in such a manner that they will be able to enjoy healthy and fresh food for a longer period of time(Bryman, 2017).

3.4.1 Case Studies

Case studies are considered quite important because they are capable of offering necessary and relevant information without any type of ambiguity and confusion. For instance, they allow researchers to study events in a detailed manner. Case studies enable researchers to determine and analyze different concepts thoroughly. They also provide background information on the necessary and related concepts. In general, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that analyzing case studies is easier and simpler than researching journal articles and other related articles. When a person is researching about a concept or theory using peer-reviewed articles, he/she is unable to find the relevant information in a detailed manner. However, the same cannot be said about case studies. In comparison with journal articles, the researcher doesn’t have to find numerous articles in which pieces of relevant information is available.

Case studies allow researchers to obtain information without having to find different articles and obtaining information from different sources. They are not only convenient to browse through and facilitate the process of research as well. In addition to it, they offer only relevant information which adds to their value.

In this research, case studies on the topic of thermal lunchboxes have been considered. These case studies are associated with the Sundar Kumar thermal lunchbox design, LuBox, FittBo, and Food Porter. These are the four case studies which have been selected and analyzed for collecting relevant information on the topic of thermal lunchboxes. Their analysis offers critical information because these case studies are related to thermal lunchboxes and their designs and other important insights are also provided(Gray, 2014).