Research Methods
One of the most important things that need to be taken care of during the research is the method of data collection that is going to be used (Vogel, 2016, p. 7). There are two main methods through which research is carried out: qualitative and quantitative research methods. The way sampling is carried out, the extent of reliability, and the way data analysis is carried out vary between qualitative and quantitative research methods. As far as the research method that is going to be used in this research is concerned, this report is about the way working capital is going to affect the overall financial performance of the organization. As the report is specifically going to focus on a certain sector, and all the financial information regarding any entity is always available in online databases, the method that is going to be used in this case would be secondary research (Charlo et al. 2015, p.277).
For broader context, see Qualitative Research Methods.
Sampling
One of the key things that needs to be taken care of during the research is how the sampling is going to be carried out. Now, regarding this research, it is important that not only the organizations that belong to the retail sector are brought into the discussion, but at the same time, broader industry-wide analysis also needs to be carried out to make sure that the element of partiality towards certain organizations is avoided. The good thing is that there are enough online databases available, and in the case of this research, the online database that is going to be used would be Bloomberg, which is going to provide enough information regarding the way the overall research is supposed to be carried out in the first place. Another key element that needs to be kept in mind is how the validity of the data is going to work out.
Major Data Sources
During the course of this research, the predominant data source that is going to be used is Bloomberg (Charlo et al. 2015, p.277).
Bloomberg
It is a major provider of financial news and makes sure that users have real-time and historical pricing and financial data at their disposal. At the same time, it is a good database when it comes to trading news and analyst coverage. It allows professionals to make sure that they have the latest news and insight about the financial sector as well as relevant financial ratios (Charlo et al. 2015, p. 277).
EViews
EViews is a statistical package that is used in Windows. The idea is to make sure that time-oriented econometric data analysis can be carried out using this tool.
Nature Of The Research
It has to be noted that the nature of the research is that it is going to use quantitative data. Whenever financial data analysis is carried out, it is more or less implied that financial figures and ratios are going to be used. The same is going to be the case during the course of this research.
Data Available On The Working Capital
Again, if one looks at the Bloomberg database, there is considerable data available on working capital and how it can be used to make sure that a better assessment of the industry can be carried out with regard to this data (Charlo et al. 2015, p. 277).
Validity Of The Data
When quantitative research is carried out, one of the biggest problems that is faced is how the validity of the data is going to work out. The structure of this research is such that the quality of the data has to be optimum. Now, when one talks about online databases such as Bloomberg, they provide information available in public forums. The information that is available on these websites and databases allows us to make sure that the validity of the data will work out in the long run. Keeping this aspect in consideration, the validity of the data is not such a big concern because the margin of error is quite low when one talks about the way these databases maintain information at their disposal (Ayers and Odegaard, 2017, p. 45).
Analysis Of The Data
There are a plethora of statistical tools available to people these days that help out the research process. The important thing that needs to be taken care of during the research is how, in the long run, it would be made sure that the broader research objectives are being taken care of. As the information that one gets to see from these databases is quite valid, the only thing that needs to be taken care of is how the analysis of the data is carried out. Now, as is the case with any research that determines the financial health of the organization, financial statement analysis and ratio analysis are going to be carried out to make sure that the entire research element is being accounted for and incorporated appropriately (Ayers and Odegaard, 2017, p. 45).
Limitations Of The Research
Now, most of the time, when secondary research is being used during any research, one of the biggest issues that is faced by the researcher is how they are going to validate the data. At the same time, the other problem that they tend to face is how they are going to precisely find the information that is eventually going to serve their purpose. In this case, though, that is not going to fall under the category of limitation; instead, it would act as an advantage. It is because the researcher is getting precise information about all the retail organizations in the sector along with the relevant information, so there are not many limitations or constraints in this research.
Ethical Issues
There are not going to be any ethical issues due to the fact that the information that is being used is available in public forums. It is based on the financial results that are being made available for public use, so there is nothing wrong with using that information to get the desired result, to say the least. At the same time, another factor that needs to be taken into consideration is that public limited organizations are supposed to make sure that they are making their financial results available to the public. When that happens, it is more or less implied that they are going to be used to carry out broader trend analysis of the factors that are affecting the marketplace, along with having an impact on some of the other issues that are going to affect the long-term health of the organization, to say the least.
References
Ayers, J.B. and Odegaard, M.A., 2017. Retail supply chain management. CRC Press.
Charlo, M.J., Moya, I. and Muñoz, A.M., 2015. Sustainable development and corporate financial performance: a study based on the FTSE4Good IBEX Index. Business Strategy and the Environment, 24(4), pp. 277-288.
Vogel, H.L., 2016. Travel industry economics: A guide for financial analysis. Springer.
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