Reasecrh Method Essay 1

Students’ experiences of work during the Covid-19 crisis: A small exploratory
qualitative study.
Module: Business Research Methods RESE-1170

Assessment 1: Qualitative data analysisModule Leader: Dr Scott Tindal
1.1 INTRODUCTION
This report outlines the methodology and some tentative findings for a small exploratory
qualitative study on students’ experiences of work during the COVID-19 crisis. The key research
question this project considers is how students lived their working experience during COVID-19
and how this impacted their life as well as their studying experience.
To answer this research question, this study takes a qualitative approach, and specifically uses
the semi-structured research interview method to gather data from a business management
student who was working during the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. The transcript was
analysed thematically. The key findings of this analysis were that the work experience of the
student was heavily impacted due to the pandemic by affecting their economic possibility as well
as their mental health was affected by the virus by causing anxiety.
2.1 THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH

As it was said in the introduction, this research is based on the qualitative approach. When we
talk about qualitative research, we are talking about a research that is based on the philosophical
approach known as interpretivism.
Interpretivism is subjective, this means that all the data taken into consideration are shaped by
everyone personal experiences. Gemma (2018) stated that this type of analysis is based on
people experience as well as cultural, and historical background. He also affirms that researchers
will always be connected to their beliefs that will be seen in their data analysis work.
Antwi and Hamza (2015) in relation to this philosophical approach said that an interpretivist first
interest and aim is to judge and evaluate interpretive theories, rather than create a new theory.
Interpretivism, like every theory, has strengths and limits. One positive thing is that it reflects
better lived reality than a scientific and statistical approach, on the other hand one weakness of
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this approach is that the results cannot be generalised as they are subjective and different for
every individual.
This research has used the qualitative approach. Qualitative methodology is associated with
interpretivism, it seeks to examine and understand society from the perspective of someone who
lives in it. By saying this, it can be understood that this way of research goes deep in depth of the
issue that it is exploring. Choy (2014) refers to qualitative research as an approach that is based
on a theoretical philosophical paradigm which uses a perspective when is answering a
determined question.
The strengths of this methodology of research are various, one is that qualitative approach helps
to understand and answer questions in a very specific way, a thing that data and graphs cannot do
(Atieno, 2009).
Qualitative research has also its weaknesses, the main one is that it cannot be used to generalise
its discovering and it can’t test a theory, this, is because it is a subjective typology of research,
and it is strictly related to individuals.
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Sample
The sampling approach used in this research is a non-probability convenience sample. A non-
probability sampling is characterised by not being able to represent the wider population, which
means that generalised conclusions cannot be done. This sampling seeks to analyse a real-life
case and usually focus on smaller groups (Hamed, 2016).
There are different approaches to the non-probability sample, and the one used in this research
was the convenience one. Convenience sampling aims to interview people who are easily
available, like friends and family (Hamed, 2016). This approach is easy and not very expensive;
however, it can be biased and make generalises affirmations.
Method of data collection
The research was conducted by doing a one-on-one semi-structured online interview.
Interviews are the most common way to gather data in the business management environment. It
has been chosen this type of approach for this research because it is the best way to know how
students really managed working during the outbreak of COVID-19.
According to Sociology Group (n.d.) interviews allow a certain flexibility for the interviewer and
help understand the non-verbal behaviour of the person who is being interviewed.
On the other hand, it is also stated that interviews can happen to cause biases, and an example
can be that the answer of the subject can be affected by the interviewer’s age, class, or ethnicity
(Sociology Group, n.d.).
There are different types of interviews: structured, semi-structured, and unstructured.
The one that was conducted for this research, as it was said, is semi-structured, this typology of
standardisation is characterised by having a set of questions that will be asked, but the order in
which they will be asked will be different, that depends on the circumstances of the interview.
Mclntosh and Morse (2015) about semi-structured interview said that the interviewee is free to
answer to the open-ended questions in the way they prefer, and the researcher may probe these
answers.
This data analysis includes five main sections: background, pre-coronavirus, the outbreak of
COVID-19, the impact of COVID-19 on the interviewee, and the future after the pandemic, these
topics help the research to analyse the chosen case, nine question were asked. See appendix A for
the interview schedule.
Method of data analysis

The method of analysis used to collect data was the thematic analysis, this type of approach is
characterised by organising, identifying, and interpreting the main themes of the interview. Braun
and Clarke (2012) pointed out that thematic analysis can be flexible and accessible for gathering
qualitative data.
One advantage of thematic analysis is that it can be very helpful in summarising the main
features of the data the has been collected, because of its well structured approach which enables
the interviewer to construct transparent and organised report (Lorelli et al., 2017).
However, this typology of data analysis as it is flexible can sometimes lead to inconsistency and
poor coherence (Lorelli et al., 2017) and it can happen that interviewee quotes are presented as
evidence without using any academical reference.
See appendix B for the interview transcript and its coding.
Findings
The research data reached important findings for the purpose of this qualitative research, which
was “Students’ experiences of work during the Covid-19 crisis”. These findings can be divided
into two main themes: economic impact and mental health impact.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The interviewee work experience during the pandemic was heavily impacted. Due to COVID-19
the subject previous workplace, a restaurant, had to close for a period and this has heavily
impacted their economic possibilities.
“When the situation got serious, we had to close the restaurant for several months…we struggled
with our economic possibilities”. [Adriana]
With this quote of the interviewee, it can be understood that the pandemic has had an important
impact on their economic resources.
MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT

COVID-19 has also affected the participant mental health. The interviewee shared that before the
pandemic they already struggled with anxiety as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and
COVID-19 has worsened it.
“My mental health was negatively impacted by COVID-19, I already suffered from anxiety
disorder and PTSD before the pandemic started, and after that it got worse, especially in the
begging of the pandemic, because I couldn’t go out even to get some fresh air, I was scared to
catch the virus and transmit it to my parents”. [Adriana]
Even if COVID-19 is slowly going away, the effect that it had on the interviewee will be more
permanent in the near future.
4.1 CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion working during the pandemic was difficult for the interviewee, that in the
meantime was and is still studying. COVID-19 affected the subject mental health, their daily life
and at some point, also their economic resources, as their workplace struggled at the beginning
of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is known to have caused a growth of anxiety, depression as well as
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the population (Xiong et al., 2020) and as the
participant already suffered from these disorders the pandemic has worsened it.
There are two main recommendations that can be given as a result of this research, one it is for
the owners of restaurants, bakery, and same alike businesses, they should provide mental health
support for their employees especially in these difficult circumstances.
The other recommendation is for the student that has been interviewed. As they suffer from
anxiety and PTSD some time off of their work should help, and they should focus to improve
their well-being, which could take some time, but every so often taking care of ourselves it’s
better than just ignoring the problem, and act like it does not exist.
REFERENCES
Antwi, S.K. and Hamza, K. (2015). Qualitative and Quantitative Research Paradigms in Business
Research: A Philosophical Reflection. European Journal of Business and Management.
Available: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234626233.pdf Accessed 02/03/2022
Atieno, O.P. (2009). An analysis of the straights and limitation of qualitative and quantitate
research paradigms. Problems of education in the 21st century.
Available at: https://scientiasocialis.lt/pec/files/pdf/Atieno_Vol.13.pdf Accessed 09/03/2022
Braun, V and Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic Analysis. American Psychological Association.
Available at: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-23864-004?errorCode=invalidAccess Accessed
12/03/2022
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.
Available at: https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/48198072/RESEARCH_METHODS-with-
cover-page-v2.pdf?
Expires=1646321458&Signature=Zk4OTbBeTHkNF4YHwhurfqVnzPAraVPOnHyEK9o42bXS
rlEnamDPs2cOecaC54IdtNDJZAJFra508rvqhicGK4hLFq03xo1him-
fwm6Hl11q36M~lLEgcUslaf-VlS5B-2C1J-qR9Zok~w1jRBNC68Z4KbyfO5S6UxK-n-
5JAQWdd7vYrO1g2j4dajoMPAxAKfyDdQ6shU0~8luMkFCmZF38cowTUVcB5u0Mm~czCn
Z2rdzCQ2Ju1lwIeqmglWuJENgXaCtbrXT6YcHfC86MKxtH9HYnGU~bWsDSRHNEYlU6gZ
TWabFM3qhamKM1dTGC2UCNDB7q9slFiuX6SlSnuA__&Key-Pair-
Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA Accessed 03/03/2022
Gemma, R. (2018). Introduction to positivism, interpretivism and critical theory. The Open
University.
Available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk/49591/17/49591ORO.pdf Accessed 02/03/2022
Hamed, T. (2016). Sampling Methods in Research Methodology; How to Choose a Sampling

Technique for Research. Papers SSRN.
Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3205035 Accessed 12/03/2022
Lorelli S.N., Jill M.N., Deborah E.W. and Nancy J.M. (2017). Thematic Analysis: Striving to
Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. Sage Journals.
Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1609406917733847 Accessed
12/03/2022
Mclntosh, M.J. and Morse, J.M. (2015). Situating and Constructing Diversity in Semi-Structured
Interviews. Sage journals.
Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2333393615597674 Accessed
09/03/2022
Sociology Group (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Interview in Research. Sociology

Group.
Available at: https://www.sociologygroup.com/advantages-disadvantages-interview-research/
Accessed 09/03/2021
Xiong, J., Lipsitz, O., Nasri, F., Lui, L.M.W., Gill, H., Phan, L. Cheen-Li, D., Iacobucci, M., Ho,
R., Majeed, A. and Mclntyre, R.S. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in
the general population: A systematic review. Science Direct.
Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032720325891?
casa_token=zj_J41MrpHUAAAAA:GqmLkIn6aBARu7QOXDNigeN2Y5MEhrUK_mZ_X0qva
PM5R6URb2XHxa81KFhLswXmuPP8eJaBsQ Accessed 13/03/2022
APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
SECTION A: Background
1. Where do you work? What are your responsibilities at work?
2. How do you manage your work and study life?
SECTION B: Pre-coronavirus
1. How was your typical day of work before COVID-19
SECTION C: The outbreak of COVID-19

1. How was your work experience impacted when COVID-19 started?
2. What type of changes your workplace adopted?
3. Was your studying experience impacted by COVID-19? How?
4. Do you prefer working before COVID-19 or after?
SECTION D: The impact of COVID-19 on the interviewee
1. How was your mental health impacted by the pandemic?
SECTION E: The future of the pandemic

1. Do you think your work will change permanently because of COVID-19?
APPENDIX B
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Students’ experiences of work during the Covid-19 crisis: A small exploratory

Module: Business Research Methods RESE-1170

2.1 THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Method of data analysis

MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT

Braun, V and Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic Analysis. American Psychological Association.

Hamed, T. (2016). Sampling Methods in Research Methodology; How to Choose a Sampling

Sociology Group (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Interview in Research. Sociology

SECTION C: The outbreak of COVID-19

SECTION D: The impact of COVID-19 on the interviewee

SECTION E: The future of the pandemic

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