Population and Sampling of our research
Search for the right target group is an important part of any research. With the correct determination of interviewed people, it will be easier to collect the necessary information, analyze the collected information and make a conclusion.
Pobba10 has the research as a part of our study. There are straight instructions with what population and samples we need to work.
Our team studied information about different degree program in HAAGA-HELIA. It was found that population of the research is 1108 people (1068 students and 40 exchange students) who study in HAAGA-HELIA Porvoo Campus. There are two degree program: International Business and Tourism and three study languages: Finnish, Swedish and English. (Ahmaoja, R. 2012.)
Our team is responsible for research of International Business students also known as Pobba students and of Tourism students also known as Tobba students. The programs are in English and there are students from different countries, thus Pobba & Tobba groups are very multinational.
Pobba students have close cooperation with international companies as a part of the study. Also all students are tied to commissioned projects where students work for international companies, such as Samsung, DataPartner, Futura and Svenska Teatern. Teams of students are supervised by a team of teachers who integrate their respective areas of expertise into the real-life assignments. Problem management, research and development, coaching, problem-solving and innovation skills are highlighted. Speaking about graduates of the degree program they have broad-based knowledge, skills and competences needed in global business-to-business services. Teachers make from students true leaders. It is very interesting to learn and analyze leadership skills of Pobba students. (Ahmaoja, R. 2012.)
Tobba students work in teams in real-life projects where personal development, networking and presentation skills are the focus. Tobba students become a professional in international tourism business operations and projects. They also acquire project management, research and development, coaching, problem-solving and innovation skills. The students are divided into the following modules: Communication Skills in Travel and Tourism; Tourism Operational Environment; Production and Sales of Travel and Tourism Service; Social and Collaboration Skills and Business and Entrepreneurial Skills. (Ahmaoja, R. 2012.)
Figure 1. Target group. Pobba & Tobba students (Ahmaoja, R. 2012.)
As a result, there are 120 Pobba students and 79 Tobba students in Haaga-Helia, 124 of them are female, and 75 are male. (Ahmaoja, R. 2012.)
Figure 2. Target group. Gender (Ahmaoja, R. 2012.)
Totally there are 199 students as our sample. It means that our group will interview that amount of people and analyze about two hundred questioners. Due to the fact that we have a large number of respondents, our research will be quite accurate.
Data gathering and research methods
Data collection is an important aspect of any type of research study. One of the main goals is to gather accurate and reliable data. Data collection methods have a big impact on the research in overall. Thus it is one of the crucial tasks of any research to choose which method is more appropriate. (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 2012.)
There are two basic approaches to data collections using primary methods: Qualitative Data Collection and Quantitative Data Collection. Both of them have own advantages and disadvantages. (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 2012.)
Basically Quantitative Data Collection involves the use of numbers to information, which can be evaluated using statistical analysis. There are many techniques that can be used to collect data in a quantitative research; however all of them geared towards numerical collection. It includes: observation, interview, questionnaires, scales and etc. One of the advantages of this research is ability to measure and analyze data, findings are more objective, however the emotions, feelings, insights, motives, intents, views and opinions of the subject are not taken into account. (Knowthis LLC 2012.)
Qualitative Data Collection usually referred to as “touchy-feely” research, data gathered most often without statistical support. Qualitative mostly tries to answer question “why” through the analysis of unstructured information like interviews, open ended survey responses, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. The researcher gains more detailed and rich data. However the information is interpreted according to the researcher view, another disadvantage is that this method is very time consuming. (Jones, C. 2011.)
For our research we decided to combine both of the methods qualitative and quantitative, letting the two complement each other (Experiment-resources 2009). From one hand qualitative research allows to get individual in-depth information through interview, feedback graphs and open-ended questions in surveys. In this way we will try to figure out people’s attitudes, motivations, aspirations and behaviors. From other hand quantitative research will provide statistics which allow comparing data and answering on such questions as: what are the most effective leadership styles and ways of communication and etc.