Research Design Methods & Applications

Please review and follow timeline. Each part has different time frame but it all works together.

Part 1 DB – Research Strategies

DUE ASAP

Write 200–300 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments.

You will develop a research proposal based on a business, organizational problem, or topic that you want to explore. If you need help in finding a problem to explore, check the Successful Business Research text book in chapter 6 for more on asking the right questions. Also, the following Web sites can assist in finding an organizational issue:

• History of quality management Web site
• Total quality management information Web site

Types of Research:

Locate one peer reviewed journal article that reports the findings of a qualitative study and one that reports the findings of a quantitative study (you will need to cite both in your response).

Discuss the following:

• Explain the differences between academic and business research approaches.
• Explain why you as a researcher would choose which research approach (quantitative, qualitative or business) for their particular research question/problem.
• Using the worksheets in chapter 6 (pp. 37-41) ( Listed Below) examine how would you determine what area you will focus on for your research project and what questions you might be asking?
  • What is the broad primary question you want your research to answer?
  • What are the more specific questions that will help you answer the primary question?
  • How do you plan to use the information you find? (In a business plan? Research paper? Presentation?)
  • What kind of information do you need to answer your questions? (Qualitative, such analysts’ insights about trends, or quantitative, such as sales figures, industry or target market growth rates?)
  • What geographic region do you plan to cover?
  • What other key factors do you need to keep in mind during your research process? (Specific concerns of investors, professor’s course requirements, and so on.)
  • What is the size of the industry of which your business is a part?
  • What has the growth rate of that industry been over the last few years?
  • What is the projected future growth rate of that industry?
  • What are the leading products/services in that industry?
  • What are typical profit margins in that industry?
  • What are the key trends/developments affecting that industry?
  • Is the industry dominated by a few major companies or are there many healthy competitors?
  • What are the demographic characteristics of your target customers? (That is, age, gender, marital status, income, education level, type of business, and so on.)
  • What is the size of your potential market in actual numbers? (That is, how many people/businesses fit the characteristics of your target customers in the specific geographic location you’re targeting?)
  • What is the size of the potential market in your specific geographic area in terms of revenue?
  • What is the size of the potential market in your specific geographic area in terms of revenue?
  • What has the growth rate of that market been over the last few years?
  • What is the projected growth rate of that market?
  • How many other companies in your type of business currently serve the target market?
  • How many other companies in your type of business currently serve the target market?
  • Which companies are the leading competitors in your specific geographic target market?
  • How is market share divided?
  • What products/services do your leading competitors offer? At what price?
  • How are your competitors perceived in the marketplace?
  • Who are some potential customers for your products/services? What are the names of key personnel and their contact information?
  • Who are some potential suppliers of products/services that you need? How do their current customers rate them?

Provide citations and references for your articles in accordance with APA guidelines as needed and appropriate.

History of quality. (2011). Retrieved from the Business Performance Improvement Resource Web site: http://www.bpir.com/total-quality-management-histo…

Total quality management information. (2010). Retrieved from the Business Knowledge Source Web site: http://businessknowledgesource.com/manufacturing/c…

Part 2 DB – Research Ethics

DUE 3 DAYS

Write 300-500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments.

Section A:

Ethics in Research

Utilizing the internet, Library, and/or your textbook, choose one example of unethical research in a business setting:

• Summarize the research. Explain what the difference is between a good source and a bad source for your research project. Abrams text page 49.
• Explain why research might be considered unethical.
• Explain what ethical considerations there are and how to avoid these issues in your research project.

You may wish to review an example timeline by clicking here.

Section B:

Select an organizational issue, problem, or topic that you would like to research. Write 1 research question or hypothesis regarding that, in preparation for the assignments in Units 3-5 based on the work you did here in Part 1 DB.

Part #3 IP – Selecting Strategy

DUE in 6 Days

Select an organizational issue, problem, or topic that you would like to research based on the work you did in unit one with the worksheets from the Abrams text. You have the option to either write a narrative 800-1,000-word paper or create a 6-8 PowerPoint slides (not including title/reference slides) describing your proposed research.

Either choice requires you to include the following information:

• The business, organizational problem, or topic
• The problem statement
• The research strategy that you will use to explore the problem
• 1 research question
• Your rationale for selecting your proposed research strategy
• 1 research instrument that you will use to collect data

Abrams, Rhonda. Successful Business Research: Straight to the Numbers You Need-Fast!. The Planning Shop, 2006. [Bookshelf Online].

In addition, you must develop a questionnaire or survey. Complete the following steps:

• Create 5 questions for your questionnaire.
• Send your research survey to at least 5 people (via email, survey monkey, or other options are fine).
• You will interpret the results of this survey/questionnaire in Last Part.