A postgraduate student wishes to begin a research project in primary schools to identify common characteristics of children who display bullying behaviour. The project aims to predict which children are likely to engage in such behaviour so that some form of intervention can be introduced to prevent bullying. To do so, the student will investigate the characteristics of children between the ages of 6 and 10 years who are enrolled in schools within the Gauteng region and who have exhibited signs of bullying and aggressive behaviour. Using a complex personality test specifically designed for children, the researcher hopes to gain an understanding of the types of personality characteristics shared by the children who engage in bullying.

Required:

Suggest a suitable research philosophy that can be used in the research project discussed above. Substantiate your suggestion with the conceptual discussion. Additionally, suggest the research approach suitable for the research project and the data collection instrument that can be used.

Please remember to align the research approach with the data collection instrument selected.