BUS 642 Week 1 Discussion 1 Scientific Thinking

Reference this week’s lecture to develop a research question and a hypothesis for a hypothetical business problem of your choice. Explain the management dilemma, or the business problem that the research would attempt to solve. Your research question must relate to the business reason for the research. For example, “Why have sales of used cars been declining at a rate of 5% per month since July 2012 at Smith Motors?” is a valid research question because you can investigate it with research.

A hypothesis must state an “educated guess” about why you think something is happening; think about cause and effect. For example, “Sales are declining at Smith Motors due to road construction around our dealership” is a hypothesis because it offers a possible cause for the problem. “Sales are declining at Smith Motors” is not a hypothesis because it does not offer a possible cause for the problem.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 1 Discussion 2 Scholarly Research

Using the Ashford University Library, find a scholarly business research article on a topic you may want to write about for your final paper.

Sample topics include, but are not limited to:

• Manufacturing Quality/Cost Improvement
• Service Quality Improvement
• Systems Design
• Accounts Receivable/Billing/Accounts Receivable Aging
• Marketing/Advertising Issues
• Sales of Goods
• Investments
• Product Safety
• Workplace Safety
• Labor Pools
• Human Resources matters of broad concern
• Population Studies

Use the Library Research Tips Tutorial to help you complete this assignment. The tutorial covers what scholarly sources are and how to find them, generating and using keywords, and searching in the best library databases for business research.

Read the scholarly article all the way through before you post. In your post, provide

• The citation formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (points will be deducted if APA formatting is incorrect).
• The article’s research question.
• The article’s hypothesis.
• A brief description, in your own words, about how the article answered the research question and tested the hypothesis.
• Your evaluation of how well the study answered the question and tested the hypothesis.

Respond to at least two of your classmates' posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 1 Research Project

Each week’s assignment in this class will lead up to the Research Project in Week Six. Before you work on Week One’s assignment, preview the Research Project in Week Six so you understand the final outcome of this project. Also read this week’s lecture. If you are having a difficult time choosing your topic, please contact your instructor for assistance before the assignment is due

In a one-to two-page paper (not including the title and reference pages), provide

• Background information about your Research Project (i.e., why have you decided to do this research?).
• The management dilemma. (i.e., what is the problem you are trying to solve with this research?)
• The research question and a hypothesis.
• A brief summary of previously conducted scholarly research on similar topics that you can find through the Ashford University Library.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. It must include citations and references for the text and at least two scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library that you used as background research.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

BUS 642 Week 2 Discussion 1 Ethics in Internet Research

Read the journal article “The Ethics of Internet Research” (Williams, 2012) and this week’s lecture.  In your own words, provide a summary of the article and add your own thoughts on how the Internet can affect the research process, including, but not limited to, ethics concerns. 

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

BUS 642 Week 2 Discussion 2 Research Design

Google’s business model includes state-of-the art research. Pick a research study that Google’s researchers have done from their list of Research Areas & Publications (2014). What do you think about this research? Find details about related research to support your argument. Cite the studies in your post, and document it in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

BUS 642 Week 2 Research Project

You will receive feedback on the previous week's assignment by Sunday 11:59pm.  Before you complete your Week Two assignment, please read your instructor’s comments about your Week One assignment, as well  as this week’s lecture. Be sure to include any suggested changes in your project going forward.

In a three- to four- page paper (not including the title and reference pages), provide

• A revised version of your introduction, research question, background research, and hypothesis. Your revisions must be based on your instructor’s feedback.
• A discussion of any ethical concerns you might encounter while doing your research.
• Some preliminary thoughts about your research design.  (This will change over the next few weeks, but it is useful to think about this early).
• Ideas about how you might approach sampling data for your research.
• A reference list documented in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

BUS 642 Week 3 Discussion 1 Measurement Scales

Find a scholarly research study from the Ashford University Library that uses measurement scales for data collection (e.g., a survey). Explain the measurement scales that the study used, and evaluate them. Did you think the researchers made good decisions about the scales? Why or why not? Cite the study in your post, and document it in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 3 Discussion 2 Survey and Interview Methods

Find a scholarly research study from the Ashford University Library that uses surveys or interviews for data collection. Also read this week’s lecture before submitting your post. Cite the study in your post, and document it in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

In your post:

• Tell us what kind of survey or interview the study uses (e.g., self-administered interviewing, face-to-face interviewing, phone interviewing, etc.)
• Determine whether you think the chosen type of survey or interview was a good choice for the research.
• Explain how the chosen method compares to other types of surveys and interviews.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 3 Research Project

You will receive feedback on the previous week's assignment by Sunday 11:59pm.  Before you complete your Week Three assignment, please read your instructor’s comments about your Week Two assignment, as well as this week’s lecture. Be sure to include any suggested changes in your project going forward.

In a three- to four- page paper (not including the title and reference pages), provide

• A revised version of your introduction, research question, background research, hypothesis, research design, and sampling plan. These revisions must be based on your instructor’s feedback if your instructor provided additional comments about these sections in Week Two.
• A discussion of the types of secondary data you could use to test your hypothesis, and why this data would be useful. If secondary data would not be appropriate, please explain why.
• The possible measurement and measurement scales you could use in a survey for testing your hypothesis. If a survey with measurement scales would not be appropriate, please explain why.
• A reference list documented in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

 

BUS 642 Week 4 Discussion 1 Qualitative Analysis

Using the Ashford University Library, find a scholarly business research article that uses qualitative data collection and analysis methods. Read the article all the way through before you post. Use this week's lecture to aid your analysis. In your post, provide:

• The APA-formatted reference for the article.
• The qualitative data collection method(s).
• The qualitative data analysis method(s).
• Your critical evaluation of how well the qualitative methods were designed and implemented.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

 

BUS 642 Week 4 Discussion 2 Observational Studies

Observe some people doing something for about 15 minutes. You could do it almost anywhere: in a store, at work, or even at home if you live with other people! Before you begin, think about a question you want to answer, such as “Where do customers go after they enter this store?” or “How do people act when they are in their offices?”

In your post:

1. Write up your experience and any context that would be important for us to understand. (Where were you? How many people were present? What time of day was it? What did you learn about your question?)
2. Tell us the question you wanted to answer, and what you saw when you performed your observations.

Please keep the discussion anonymous in order to protect the privacy of the people you observed.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 4 Research Project

You will receive feedback on the previous week's assignment by Sunday 11:59pm.  Before you complete your Week Four assignment, please read your instructor’s comments about your Week Three assignment, as well as this week’s lecture. Be sure to include any suggested changes in your project going forward.

In a five- to six-page paper (not including the title and reference pages), provide

• A revised version of your introduction, research question, background research, hypothesis, research design, sampling plan, secondary data plan (if applicable), and measurement scales (if applicable).  These revisions must be based on your instructor’s feedback if your instructor provided comments about these sections in Week Three.
• Your plans for using observations, focus groups, interviews, or surveys, if applicable. This should include your draft version of the questions you will ask your participants. If observations or surveys would not be useful in your study, please explain why not.
• A reference list documented in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

BUS 642 Week 5 Discussion 1 Statistical Analysis

Using one of the Data Tools and Apps from the United States Census Bureau, choose some interesting census data and perform a statistical analysis on it in order to answer a question you want to answer with the data. Do not just copy and paste or summarize the data that you find. Use an appropriate statistical tool and provide your thought process behind the tool you chose as well as the results of your statistical analysis. Use this week’s lecture to aid your analysis. Cite the data source that you chose in your post, and document it in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 5 Research Project

You will receive feedback on the previous week's assignment by Sunday 11:59pm. Before you complete your Week Five assignment, please read your instructor’s comments about your Week Four assignment, as well as this week’s lecture. Be sure to include any suggested changes in your project going forward.

In a seven- to eight-page paper (not including the title and reference pages), provide

• A revised version of your introduction, research question, background research, hypothesis, research design, sampling plan, secondary data plan (if applicable), measurement scales (if applicable), observation plans (if applicable), survey plans (if applicable). These revisions must be based on your instructor’s feedback if your instructor provided comments about these sections in Week Four.
• Your plans for analyzing your data (such as content analysis, statistical analysis, etc.) as well as your plans for how you will present your results.
• A reference list documented in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

While it is not a required portion of your Week Five assignment submission, you should be collecting data this week if you have not started already. If you wait until Week Six to collect data, you will not have time to analyze it and write it up.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

 

BUS 642 Week 6 Discussion Presenting Results

Find a presentation of interest on TED and critique its content, visuals, and the presenter’s skills (if applicable). Use this week’s lecture to aid your analysis. Cite the presentation in your post, and document it in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.

BUS 642 Week 6 Research Project

Focus of the Research Project
The final version of your Research Project should be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages (not including the title page, reference page, tables, appendices, etc.). The paper will be an original business research project that tests a hypothesis of your choice.  The research can relate to your place of current/previous employment or other contexts of interest. Sample topics could include, but are not limited to:

• Manufacturing quality/cost improvement
• Service quality improvement
• Systems design
• Accounts receivable/billing/accounts receivable aging
• Marketing/advertising Issues
• Sales of goods
• Investments
• Product safety
• Workplace safety
• Labor pools
• Human resources matters of broad concern
• Population studies

For your Research Project, you will be combining all parts that you have worked on from Weeks One through Five. Your paper should be formatted as follows:

• Part 1: Introduction
• Background information about your research project (Week One)
• Describe the management dilemma (Week One)
• Ethical Concerns (Week Two)
• Develop and explain your hypothesis (Week One)
• Part 2: Literature review
• Background research on at least three scholarly sources (Week One)
• Part 3: Data
• Secondary data (Week Three)
• Measurement benchmark and scales (Week Three)
• Plans for using observations, focus groups, interviews, or surveys (Week Four)
• Plans for analyzing data (Week Five)
• Plans for how to analyze results (Week Five)
• Part 4: Results
• Summarize and display the results of your research. Provide charts, graphs, tables, and so forth, as they might apply to your research.
• State whether you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis based on your study; explain.
• Part 5: Conclusion
• Summarize the entire study and reflect on it
• Consider the “take-home” message that management and other decision makers can use from this research to make informed business decisions.
• Include the strengths and weaknesses of the study and suggestions for future research.
• Part 6: References
• Include a separate references page and cite all references within the text of the paper.
• Part 7: Appendix
• If applicable

Writing the Research Project
The Research Project

• Must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages in length (not including the title page, reference page, tables, appendices, etc.) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
• Title of paper
• Student’s name
• Course name and number
• Instructor’s name
• Date submitted
• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
• Must use at least three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library, in addition to the text.
• Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.