Takaful Investment Portfolios: A Study of the Composition of Takaful Funds in the GCC and Malaysia

Chapter 4

Research Methodology

This chapter outlines all aspects of the research methodology and methods utilised in conducting this study that could help the reader to understand the research design, data analysis, and interpretation.

Although the current literatures in the Islamic insurance field are limited, a brief discussion on some shortcomings of existing research is included in the second part of this chapter. The shortcomings of the existing research led the author to design the objectives of this study with the aim of avoiding any repetition of the conclusions of the previous studies.

In order to address the research questions, objectives, and hypotheses of this study, which are discussed in detail in this chapter, a combination of both quantitative and qualitative strategies was implemented. The rationale for choosing the “triangulation” method as a combination strategy is also addressed in this chapter. The research was designed to collect data by using both the cross-sectional and longitudinal frameworks. The longitudinal framework was adopted to achieve the first objective of this study, while the cross-sectional framework was used to achieve the second objective. Furthermore, the research methods, which include the study’s questionnaire and structured and unstructured interviews, are presented with special reference to their structures and the ways that validity and reliability were tested. The data analysis tools, including the statistical tools, are also discussed. ...