Xiaoshun Qin Assuming that you are looking at online shopping, online group-buying is inherently affected by consumers' social interaction. Group-buying, consumers can be affected by e-WOM and communicate with them online. Gaps in extant literature shows trust can significantly influence consumers’ purchase intentions in an online environment.

Your LR could review

Online Group-Buying, Consumer Social Interaction and Social Influence , Social Identity Theory, Trust, Positive and Negative Word-Of-Mouth (WOM)

Research Hypotheses

You could use the Trust Change Process Framework (Pre, during (Trust) and post, and Factors Influencing Trust Change, Changes in Trust Related to Comment Valence

Research Methods and Design

Experiment Design (e.g., Experiment 1: Product), Experiment 2: Service

Construct Measurement

A you might want to use Social Identity theory based on social interaction (i.e., the difference between pre-interaction trust and post-interaction trust) ; informational influence (i.e., the difference between pre-interaction information and post-interaction information known by group members); and normative influence (i.e., the discrepancy between pre-interaction expectations of other group members’ trust and post-interaction perceptions of other group members’ trust)? You could also use more constructs if you want such as valence and satisfaction and its interaction at the pre, during and post stages? Try to look for future research direction from recent papers.

Data Collection

Conduct a pretest to ascertain instrument validity and reliability and recruit subjects for the first and second experiment and provide tabulations such as

Table 1: Detailed Information about Participants according to N.

Data Analysis

Do Manipulation Checks based on your constructs ( e.g., Trust) ad +ve and -ve interactions?

Next conduct Reliability and Validity Tests.

You may use SEM (AMOS or PLS) testing latent effects?

Look at weight and loadings and the average variance extracted (AVE) values for all the constructs. Look for evidence on convergent validity. Make sue you also have construct and discriminant validity established.

Your Hypothesis Tests based on your Main Effect Test and construct your research model here. Establish Path Coefficients and Interaction Effect Test (Product vs Service)

Then go to Discussion and link this to your literature (discuss the effects) and end with limitations and future directions.

Good luck

Xiaoshun Qin Assuming that you are looking at online shopping, online group-buying is inherently affected by consumers' social interaction. Group-buying, consumers can be affected by e-WOM and communicate with them online. Gaps in extant literature shows trust can significantly influence consumers’ purchase intentions in an online environment.

Your LR could review

Online Group-Buying, Consumer Social Interaction and Social Influence , Social Identity Theory, Trust, Positive and Negative Word-Of-Mouth (WOM)

Research Hypotheses

You could use the Trust Change Process Framework (Pre, during (Trust) and post, and Factors Influencing Trust Change, Changes in Trust Related to Comment Valence

Research Methods and Design

Experiment Design (e.g., Experiment 1: Product), Experiment 2: Service

Construct Measurement

A you might want to use Social Identity theory based on social interaction (i.e., the difference between pre-interaction trust and post-interaction trust) ; informational influence (i.e., the difference between pre-interaction information and post-interaction information known by group members); and normative influence (i.e., the discrepancy between pre-interaction expectations of other group members’ trust and post-interaction perceptions of other group members’ trust)? You could also use more constructs if you want such as valence and satisfaction and its interaction at the pre, during and post stages? Try to look for future research direction from recent papers.

Data Collection

Conduct a pretest to ascertain instrument validity and reliability and recruit subjects for the first and second experiment and provide tabulations such as

Table 1: Detailed Information about Participants according to N.

Data Analysis

Do Manipulation Checks based on your constructs ( e.g., Trust) ad +ve and -ve interactions?

Next conduct Reliability and Validity Tests.

You may use SEM (AMOS or PLS) testing latent effects?

Look at weight and loadings and the average variance extracted (AVE) values for all the constructs. Look for evidence on convergent validity. Make sue you also have construct and discriminant validity established.

Your Hypothesis Tests based on your Main Effect Test and construct your research model here. Establish Path Coefficients and Interaction Effect Test (Product vs Service)

Then go to Discussion and link this to your literature (discuss the effects) and end with limitations and future directions.

Good luck

The first thing you should do, is find out if there's a gap/need for such a study. Once you get that answered you will be able to move from there. I don't want to contribute to bias. Best wishes. It sounds like a good topic.

The point about potential bias is important. The potential bias at issue here is 'confirmation bias': that is, setting out to discover whether or not something exists just with the intention of finding evidence that it does. It would be all too easy to design a study that hones in on bullying in isolation. It is important to set it in context. Community relations are multifaceted and so a study would imbalanced if your research did not set out to map how relations are being influenced by group buying practices. So, as Laverne writes, it sounds like a good topic but your research agenda should be set at a higher level of abstraction than bullying (the 'gap' you are exploring in community relations).

Another thing I would say is that your methodology should gather more than one kind of data (e.g. individual interviews, focus groups, data on shopping orders, lending and sharing practices within the relevant communities). You will benefit from alternative perspectives on your research problem, as they are revealed through the variety of your data source.

Finally, and rather pragmatically, think carefully about where you would like to publish your research findings. Researchers belong to communities too! There are methodological norms at work in most and so it makes sense for you to consider methods reported by other researchers in analogous investigations. Good luck with your research.

As advised by Laverne A. Davis, you can try first to do a preliminary survey to find out what are the issues surrounding community buying?. If indeed you find that there are real issues that need be understood in depth so that that they can be addressed begin formulating a study from there.

@ Pradeep Paraman

Thanks for your definite explanation and selfless assistance

@ Laverne A. Davis

Dear Prof Davis

Thanks for your answer

@ Leon A. Watts

Dear Prof Watts

Thanks for your wonderful explanation