Methodological Paradigm
I will approach the study through the Critical Theorist lens. A critical theory paradigm focuses on a research through a political perspective, whereby various groups: politicians, men, rich people, capitalism in general influence and exert power over other groups. It is all about power and influence. In other words, the critical theory approaches issues through a historical lens. The objective of the paradigm is emancipation of the oppressed (Dantzker& Hunter, 2012).For that reason, I will rely on dialogue method, which is a combination of interviews and observations with approaches that prompt reflection and conversation for a qualitative research. In other words, it is a mechanism of reclaiming tension and conflict. Therefore, instead of describing and naming, I will attempt to critique the guiding hypothesis. The assumption is that Australia is commonly consideredasan excellent practice country in its international student experiences, migration policies, and assimilation of people from diverse backgrounds.
According to Berg & Lune (2012), quantitative and qualitative methods originate from the philosophical norms with different ontological and epistemological assumptions. Similarly, Robson &McCartan (2016) define ontology to mean the assumptions, and beliefs people have about existence and the nature of being. On the other hand, epistemology refers to a theory of knowledge about beliefs about the nature of knowledge (Robson &McCartan, 2016).Consequently, I will begin with an assumption about the situation of Indian students in Melbourne Universities. The assumption that Indian students are mistreated, and some even killed, as they are deemed not to belong in Australia. For example, I will examine the democracy and autonomy of the students, and question and reflect on their current experience about the social challenges they face, and the extent they feel they have autonomy. That being the case, the study will not only seek to describe a situation on some set of values, or from a given point of view such as the necessity for democracy and autonomy in Melbourne Universities, but it will attempt to change the current situation by forwarding the findings of my research to school managements and public libraries to enlighten people about the situation and the possible remedies to salvage the situation.
Design
According to Creswell (2014), every social research should have a structure or design before the commencement of data collection or analysis. For that reason, in this research, I will employ a qualitative research approach method. The reason for utilizing the qualitative method of research is that the method is suitable in a situation like this where research should develop an approach to the issue or define the problem, as expectations are unknown. In contrast to quantitative research, the qualitative approach explores deeper into the problem, and I will have the opportunity of gathering additional detailed information (Creswell, 2013).
Method
Kumar (2010) insists that any research design should be flexible and make compromises, as budget, time, and ethics are the primary elements. As long as a researcher evaluates and acknowledges the defects in a given design while selecting from a myriad of research methods.
It is upon such premise that I will focus on the literature review and detailed interviews. That being the case, I will employ numerous reliable resources such as Internet articles, and academic journals to collect relevant information. After reviewing the literature and understanding the primary issue facing Indian students in Melbourne Universities, I will scrutinize pertinent informationabout the social behaviour of international and native students in Australia.
I will conduct surveysand analyse how Indian international students relate with other ethnic groups. The data collection mmethodsare highlighted below under “data collection” title.
Secondary Research
Secondary researchis referred to as desk research, as well. Smith (2008) defines secondary research as the application of the current data, collected for the prior study purposes, to explore the study interests that are distinct from the original research. Accordingly, it could be an alternative perspective or a different research question on the original question.
I will use secondary research such newspapers, journals, and other periodicals to determine information about the general behaviour of Indian international students, and that of other students including the native Australian students. I will do my research in the libraries and the Internet to find ant relevant information about the topic. The study will predict the extent of the Indian students’ future in Melbourne Universities.
Surveys
Gideon defines survey as a discussion or brief interview with people on a particular topic. The author continues to explain that a survey research is employed in the examination of opinions, feelings, and thoughts. For that reason, a research survey may be global, limited, or specific (Gideon, 2012)
Therefore, in this research I will do further investigations through surveys about the college environment. For example, phone surveys are a common medium that researchers employ to communicate with participants about issues and assumptions raised in a given study.Survey is an excellent instrument for determining the behaviour of students and the amount of effort authorities in Melbourne, and university managements have put in place to ensure that such anti-social behaviour does not persist. I will conduct the survey with a large audience or sample size to make it easy to predict the information across the general population. I will use a survey beacause I will cover a large number of participants in a short time because it has brief and easy questions. Therefore, without any prejudice to the outcome of this research, I suppose that mostly young adults constitute the respondents. For that reason, I will break up the target population into various subsets with common characteristics or needs such as managers, students, business persons, and security personnel. I will do this to assess the likelihood of students being the victims of discrimination, as they are likely to seek part-time jobs.
Data Collection
I will use two methods to collect data: interviews and surveys. In the first instance, I will interview the university managements and the school security personnel in Melbourne. The objective will be to gather data about the safety measures that institutions have attempted to adopt to protect International students, especially Indian international students. Similarly, I will establish whether they are aware of the insecurity on the part of Indian international students in the region. I will also review all the studies about international students’ security in Australia.
Additionally, I will use surveys to determine whether Indian international students play a significant role in the economy of Melbourne. In that regard, I will explore to assess whether the Indian international students contribute more harm than good to the areas they study or whether the opposite is also true.
A table showing the people I intend to interview and their corresponding numbers.
Data analysis
After reviewing literature from numerous sources, I will analyse the prevailing situation at various Melbourne Universities. I will examine presents strategies such as the current measures the Universities have put in place to ensure students are safe. Whether the universities protect their students only within the premises of the institution, or whether they make sure their students are safe even outsides the premises. I will also analyse the population of international students in different institutions, and the number of security personnel. First, I will analyse all the data I will collect and then pair them with the literature proposals.
I will use ThemaicAnlysis to analyse the qualitative data.Thematic analysis is commonly applicable in qualitative research. The analysis stresses recording, examining, and pinpointing themes (or patterns) with the data collected. I will conduct the analysis through a six-phase coding process to determine developed, meaningful patterns. The six phases are: data familiarization, searching for patterns in the codes, naming data, reviewing themes, generating initial codes, and the production of the final report.
Ethical issues
Voluntary Participation
According to Solbakk, Holm, & Hofmann (2009), voluntary participation is an essential principle of research which implies that researchers should not coerce people to participate in a research.In this study, I will observe the stipulation of voluntary participation. The voluntary participation maxim demands that a research should not coerce anyone to participate in a research.For example, situations where a researcher may coerce participants include reliance on captive audiences for their universities, or prisons. A closely related principle of voluntary participation is the stipulation of informed consent (Dantzker& Hunter, 2012).
Informed Consent
Informed consent is a research principle, which stipulates that participants to a research should know what they are engaging in. For example, a researcher should reveal to them the necessary effort and time expected of the participants.It is upon such premise that I will seek consent form the participants before I engage them in the research. For that reason, they will need to sign a consent form indicating I had their express permission to include them in the research.
Risk of Harm
Festinger et al. (2013) maintain that the issue of informed consent and volunteering become more crucial when there is a risk of harm.
Safety of Data
Limitations/timelines
References
Babbie, E. R. 2008.The basics of social research. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Berg, B. L., & Lune, H. 2012. Qualitative research methods for the social sciences.(Vol. 5). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Creswell, J. W. 2013. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
Creswell, J. W. 2014. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.
Dantzker, M. L., & Hunter, R. D. 2012. Research methods for criminology and criminal justice. Sudbury, Mass, Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Festinger, D., DeMatteo, D., DeMatteo, D., &Marczyk, G. R. 2013. Essentials of research design and methodology. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Gideon, L. 2012. Handbook of survey methodology for the social sciences. New York: Springer.
Kumar, R. 2010.Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. Open University Press.
Lomelino, P. J. 2015.Community, autonomy and informed consent: Revisiting the philosophical foundation for informed consent in international research.
Robson, C., &McCartan, K. 2016. Real world research.Wiley.
Smith, E. 2008.Using secondary data in educational and social research. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Solbakk, J. H., Holm, S., & Hofmann, B. 2009. The ethics of research biobanking. Dordrecht: Springer.
