A note on the study of the actual layer (critical realism) in dissertation project works (for MBA and Housing Studies students) (information from perplexity.ai)
My question 1: "What are "the the events and occurrences that happen" of the actual layer of critical realism all about in the context of MBA and Housing Studies dissertation project works."
The reply: "The "actual layer" in critical realism refers to the events and occurrences that happen—regardless of whether anyone observes or experiences them. In the context of MBA or Housing Studies dissertation projects, this layer includes all real-world events, actions, mechanisms, and interactions that unfold within your research domain, such as in an organization or a housing system.
Actual Layer: Events and Occurrences
The actual layer encompasses what happens in reality, such as specific managerial decisions, changes in housing policy, or shifts in market behavior, whether or not anyone directly observes these outcomes.
For example, in a Housing Studies dissertation, the actual layer might include eviction events, people leaving accommodation, or relationship breakdowns that lead to homelessness, even if those are not all directly documented or felt by research participants.
In an MBA research context, it might be changes in a firm's supply chain, leadership decisions, or the implementation of a new policy—things that definitely occur and have real effects, regardless of individual perception.
Relationship to Other Layers
The "actual" is distinct from the "empirical" (what is experienced or recorded by people) and the "real" (the underlying structures or mechanisms that enable or cause these events to occur, such as legal frameworks, social norms, or market forces).
Focusing on the actual layer helps researchers untangle what events really take place, rather than just what people notice or recall, grounding analysis in objective occurrences before interpreting their meaning or seeking deeper causation.
Practical Examples in Research
In Housing Studies: The actual rate of evictions, moves, or homelessness episodes due to policy changes or housing shortages—even if not all residents or researchers note every instance.
In MBA Projects: Events such as actual sales figures post-policy change, staff turnover, or observed changes in consumer demand, regardless of whether these are recognized by stakeholders at the time.
Understanding the actual layer enables more rigorous research by distinguishing the factual events from both underlying causal structures (real) and subjective experience (empirical)."
My question 2: "Please give a brief illustration on how to use the following research methods to study "the events and occurrences that happen" [the actual layer] with regard to (1) "the research theme of innovation capability of Hong Kong Five-Star Hotels" and (2) "the short-time future home purchase desire of the Hong Kong generation z households":
The reply: "Here is a brief illustration of how to use the specified research methods to study "the events and occurrences that happen" (the actual layer) for the two research themes:
Use secondary data such as hotel innovation reports, R&D output, investment records, and guest technology adoption statistics. Quantitatively analyze how many innovation events, technology implementations, or improvements occurred over time.
- Theories: Resource-Based View (RBV) to explain how internal resources enable innovation events; Diffusion of Innovation Theory to understand adoption rates of new services/technology across hotels.(2) Short-time future home purchase desire of Hong Kong Gen Z households
Use secondary quantitative data like recent housing market transactions, mortgage application records, or property viewings by Gen Z buyers from agencies. Analyze trends representing actual short-term purchase activities.
Theories: Theory of Planned Behavior to relate attitudes and perceived control to actual home purchase actions; Behavioral Economics Theory to explain decision-making events within purchase desires.
Conduct structured observation of hotel operations and innovation-related processes in real time: e.g., observe implementation of new technologies in guest services, staff usage of innovation tools, or prototyping of new services.
- Theories: Organizational Learning Theory to link observed behaviors to innovation capability development; Technological Innovation Systems theory to contextualize observed innovation events into broader system dynamics.(2) Short-time future home purchase desire of Hong Kong Gen Z households
Observe behaviors at real estate agencies or property viewing events involving Gen Z buyers: note timing, frequency, and nature of interactions that signify actual home purchase processes.
Theories: Consumer Behavior Theory to interpret observed purchase-related behaviors; Social Cognitive Theory to assess how observed behaviors reflect self-efficacy and observational learning about home buying.
Combine secondary quantitative data on innovation rollouts with structured observations of hotel innovation activities to capture both documented and on-ground events of innovation.
- Theories: Dynamic Capabilities Theory to explain how hotels integrate different innovation events over time; Service Innovation Theory to analyze service-related innovations observed and quantified.(2) Short-time future home purchase desire of Hong Kong Gen Z households
Integrate secondary transaction data with structured observations at property viewings or mortgage offices to understand actual purchase desire events from multiple angles.
Theories: Housing Career Theory to link observed and documented purchase events with life-cycle housing decisions; Expectation-Value Theory to model how observed behavior aligns with purchase desires and motivations.
These illustrations show how each method captures "the events and occurrences" (actual layer) through different data sources and theory lenses, suitable for robust investigation in MBA and Housing Studies dissertation projects.
For examples of such innovation and housing-related phenomena in Hong Kong and their research applications, secondary sources note significant R&D and innovation activity in local hotels with dedicated teams and technology diffusion, while housing desires can be traced through recent loan and property visit data combined with observation of buyer behaviors."
A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.
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