Category: Research

Introduces both the theory and practice of using quantitative and qualitative research methodological approaches to solve problems, leverage opportunities, and help achieve organizational goals.

Applied research methods are illustrated, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, case studies, observations, and experimentation. Contemporary and actionable statistical procedures as well as data analysis tools are examined. Best practices for presentation of research results also are appraised. Course Textbook Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Additional Required Course Material(s) See each Unit Study Guide for additional required course material(s). Course Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1.Discuss how research-based decision-making can directly affect organizational practices. 2.Examine the developmental components of the research process. 3.Compare and contrast the differences between qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. 4.different types of research methods. 5.Examine the advantages and disadvantages of collecting primary and secondary data. 6.Differentiate between various research-based tools commonly used in businesses. 7.Test data for a business research project. 8.Synthesize the results of a research-based plan. Credits Upon completion of this course, the students will earn three (3) hours of college credit. Course Structure 1. Unit Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit. 2. Unit Lessons: Each unit contains a Unit Lesson, which discusses unit material. 3. Reading Assignments: Units contain Reading Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook and/oroutside resources. 4. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments in Units II, IV, VI, and VIII. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below. 5. Participation-Discussion Assignment: Those students who will be attending the classes taught by Vietnamese professors are not required to answer the discussion board questions. Instead they will discuss the questions MBA 5652, Research Methods 1listed in the discussion board with their professors and peers during class participation sessions. Those students who will not be attending the classes are required to e-mail the responses to the discussion board questions to their CSU professor. 6. Final Exam: Final Exams will be administered by the CSU professors while in Vietnam. CSU Online Library The CSU Online Library is available to support your courses and programs. The online library includes databases, journals, e-books, and research guides. These resources are always accessible and can be reached through the library webpage. To access the library, log into the myCSU Student Portal, and click on “CSU Online Library.” You can also access the CSU Online Library from the “My Library” button on the course menu for each course in Blackboard. The CSU Online Library offers several reference services. E-mail (library@columbiasouthern.edu) and telephone (1.877.268.8046) assistance is available Monday – Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm and Friday from 8 am to 3 pm. The library’s chat reference service, Ask a Librarian, is available 24/7; look for the chat box on the online library page. Librarians can help you develop your research plan or assist you in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information. Reference requests can include customized keyword search strategies, links to articles, database help, and other services. Unit Assignments Unit II Scholarly Activity Within this course you will submit parts of a research paper in Units II, IV, and VI that will come together in Unit VIII as a complete project. Click here to review the Course Project Guidance document, which outlines all of the work you will submit for the course and provides a template for the final paper. Reviewing the document will provide insight and mental preparation for the scope of the course since the assignments will build upon one another. It also introduces the scenario you will utilize for every assignment in this course. Click here to review the Sun Coast Remediation Data Files document. This document will be the source of data for your project. Please review these documents as the information you will need throughout the course. Note: The template provided is for the Unit VIII final paper; you will submit parts of this paper in Units II, IV, and VI. See the templates in these unit assignments. For this assignment, you will use what you learned about research methodologies, primary and secondary sources, and reviewing literature to develop a literature review. Then, you will define the research objectives and develop the research questions to set the stage for the Sun Coast Remediation research project. You will utilize this template to complete the Unit II assignment. Review articles in the CSU Online Library databases and other credible resources, like Google Scholar, to locate six, peer-reviewed, scholarly articles that relate to the Sun Coast business dilemmas identified in the Course Project Guidance document. The articles you use should help inform your knowledge about the issues you are trying to solve for Sun Coast. The articles should also be quantitative research articles from primary and secondary sources. Try including words like correlation, regression, t test, and ANOVA in your keyword search criteria. The article discussion should include qualifications of the authors, purpose of the studies, research methodologies and designs used, results from the studies, and explanations of how the articles relate to Sun Coast’s dilemma. Ensure that you also describe how you believe the research made a positive organizational impact. Your submission should include the following sections: • • • • Introduction Literature Review Research problems Research objectives: Refer to the Introduction, Define the Problems, and Purpose Statement sections provided in the Unit II Assignment Template to make explicit statements as to the objectives of this study. For example, “One objective of this research study is to determine the direction (either positive or negative) and the strength of relationships between ABC Company’s various consumer promotions and sales revenue. This objective is MBA 5652, Research Methods 2• intended to determine which promotions may be more effective and strategically important.” Research objectives should be discussed for each problem/dilemma identified. Research questions and hypotheses: Provide research questions and null and alternative hypotheses that align with the research objectives and problems/dilemmas. For example: o RQ1: What is the relationship between Promotion 1 and sales revenue?  Ho1 (null hypothesis): There is no statistically significant correlation between Promotion 1 (independent variable) and sales revenue (dependent variable).  Ha1 (alternative hypothesis): There is a statistically significant correlation between Promotion 1 and sales revenue. o RQ2: What is the relationship between Promotion 2 and sales revenue?  Ho2: There is no statistically significant correlation between Promotion 2 and sales revenue.  Ha1: There is a statistically significant correlation between Promotion 1 and sales revenue. o RQ3 Are there differences in return on investment (ROI) between the various promotions?  Ho3 There are no statistically significant differences in ROI between Promotion 1 and Promotion 2.  Ha3 There are statistically significant differences in ROI between Promotion 1 and Promotion 2. The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be a minimum of three pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary. Unit IV Scholarly Activity Research Design and Descriptive Statistics Analysis Research design refers to the specific type of study that you will conduct. The research design is normally consistent with one’s philosophical worldview and the methodological approach the researcher chooses. In this case, you are using a quantitative methodology. As we have been discussing in this course, quantitative research designs include experimental and non-experimental. You will be using a non-experimental design that can include descriptive statistics, correlational, or causal-comparative research methods. Research methods refer to specific procedures that are selected based on the chosen design. This is where you will provide detail on how you collected and analyzed your data. For quantitative methodologies, research methods can be quite detailed and require that attention be paid to recruitment, sampling, sampling frame, sample size, surveys, pilot tests, observations, data collection, data analysis, statistical procedures, data interpretation, coding, validity, reliability, generalizability, reporting, etc. For this assignment, you will develop the research design for the Sun Coast project and describe the Sun Coast data using descriptive statistics tools. You will establish whether assumptions are met to use parametric statistical procedures. Utilize Microsoft Excel ToolPak and this template to complete your assignment. The links to the ToolPak are here in the Course Project Guidance document. Your submission should include the below elements. Research Methodology: Describe and justify the choice of research methodology and why it was most suitable for the problems/dilemmas. Be sure to compare and contrast this choice with the design that was not selected. Research Design: Explain whether the research design is exploratory, causal, or descriptive. Provide the rationale for the choice. Research Methods: Review the research questions and hypotheses you developed in Unit II, and then decide on the most appropriate research methods to test your hypotheses. Choices include, but are not limited to, experiment, correlation, and causal-comparative. Be sure to specify which method will be used to test which research question and hypotheses, and explain why that method was most appropriate. Data Collection Methods: Specify how the data were collected to test the hypotheses. Data collection methods include, but are not limited to, survey, observation, and records analysis. Be sure to specify which data collection method was used to collect the data needed for each research question and hypothesis. Please note that one data collection method could capture the data for several research questions and hypotheses. Sampling Design: Briefly describe the type of sampling design that was most likely used for the data that were collected. Choices include, but are not limited to, random sample, convenience sample, etc. Explain your rationale for your sampling design selection(s). Data Analysis Procedures: Specify which statistical procedures will be used to test each of your hypotheses from among correlation, regression, t test, and ANOVA. Explain why each procedure was the most appropriate choice. Produce a frequency distribution table and histogram. MBA 5652, Research Methods 3 Generate descriptive statistics table, including measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode), kurtosis, and skewness. Describe the dependent variable measurement scale as nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. Analyze, evaluate, and discuss the above descriptive statistics in relation to assumptions required for parametric testing. Confirm whether the assumptions are met or are not met. The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be no less than three pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary. Unit VI Scholarly Activity Sun Coast Remediation Data Set Using the Sun Coast data set, perform a correlation analysis, simple regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, an independent samples t test, a dependent samples t test, and ANOVA and interpret the results. Please follow this template to complete your assignment. You will utilize Microsoft Excel ToolPak for this assignment. Example: Correlation Analysis o Restate the hypotheses. o Interpret the correlation analysis results. o Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak. Simple Regression Analysis o Restate the hypotheses. o Interpret the simple regression analysis results. o Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak. Multiple Regression Analysis o Restate the hypotheses. o Interpret the multiple regression analysis results. o Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak. Independent Sample t Test o Restate the hypotheses. o Interpret the t test results. o Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak. Dependent Sample t Test o Restate the hypotheses. o Interpret the t test results. o Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak. ANOVA o Restate the hypotheses. o Interpret the ANOVA results. o Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak. The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be no less than three pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary. Unit VIII Research Paper Final Project Now that you have completed the previous assignments, it is time to complete your research project for the course. Include the following sections in your submission: Title Page Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction MBA 5652, Research Methods 4• Background of Business Dilemma Statement of the Problem(s) Purpose of the Study Research Questions Literature Review Research Methodology, Design, and Methods o Methodology o Research Design o Hypotheses o Research Questions o Methods o Data Collection Data Analysis Findings Recommendations Conclusion References Appendices Please follow this template to complete your assignment. Please refer to the Course Project Guidance document here for help. The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be no less than three pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary. APA Guidelines The application of the APA writing style shall be practical, functional, and appropriate to each academic level, with the primary purpose being the documentation (citation) of sources. CSU requires that students use APA style for certain papers and projects. Students should always carefully read and follow assignment directions and review the associated grading rubric when available. Students can find CSU’s Citation Guide by clicking here. This document includes examples and sample papers and provides information on how to contact the CSU Success Center. Grading Rubrics This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities. Rubric categories include: (1) Assessment (Written Response) and (2) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments). The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment. Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting “Tools” and then “My Grades.” Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Assessments and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades. MBA 5652, Research Methods 5Grading Scholarly Activity (3 @ 18%) Research Paper Participation/Discussion Final Exam Total = 54% = 18% = 13% = 15% = 100% Course Schedule/Checklist (PLEASE PRINT) The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. MBA 5652, Research Methods 6MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. Please keep this schedule for reference as you progress through your course. WEEK 1: 10/08/2018 – 10/14/2018 Read Professor’s Profile – Email your professor and introduce yourself. Read over Course Syllabus. WEEK 2: 10/15/2018 – 10/21/2018 Complete Unit I and Unit II and Submit Unit II Scholarly Activity. Unit I Selecting a Research Approach and the Literature Review Review:  Read: Submit: Notes/Goals: Unit Study Guide Chapter 1: The Selection of a Research Approach, pp. 3-8, 11-14, 16-20 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature, pp. 25-34, 36-39, 44-45 Chapter 4: Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations, pp. 77-88 Unit I Videos (2 videos): See Study Guide None Unit II Research Questions and Hypotheses Review:  Read: Submit: Notes/Goals: Unit Study Guide Chapter 3: The Use of Theory, pp. 49-52 Chapter 5: The Introduction, pp. 101-110 Chapter 7: Research Questions and Hypotheses, pp. 136-141 Reading Assignment (1 article): See Study Guide Scholarly Activity MBA 5652, Research Methods 7MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule WEEK 3: 10/22/2018 – 10/28/2018 Independent Studies WEEK 4: 10/29/2018 – 11/04/2018 Complete Unit III and Unit IV and Submit Unit IV Scholarly Activity. Unit III Research Design Review:  Read: Submit: Notes/Goals: Unit Study Guide Chapter 8: Quantitative Methods Chapter 9: Qualitative Methods, pp. 179-188 Reading Assignments (2 articles): See Study Guide Unit III Video (1 video): See Study Guide None Unit IV Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics Review:  Read: Submit: Notes/Goals: Unit Study Guide Reading Assignments (2 articles): See Study Guide Unit IV Videos (6 videos): See Study Guide Scholarly Activity MBA 5652, Research Methods 8MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule WEEK 5: 11/05/2018 – 11/11/2018 Independent Studies WEEK 6: 11/12/2018 – 11/18/2018 Break Week – Use this week to complete any remaining assignments. Review Units I – VIII to prepare for Final Exam. WEEK 7: 11/19/2018 – 11/25/2018 Complete Unit V and Unit VI and Submit Unit VI Scholarly Activity. Unit V Data Analysis: Correlation and Regression Review:  Unit Study Guide Read:  Unit V Videos (7 videos): See Study Guide Submit:  None Notes/Goals: Unit VI Data Analysis: t Test and ANOVA Review:  Read: Submit: Notes/Goals: Unit Study Guide Reading Assignment (1 article): See Study Guide Unit VI Videos (4 videos): See Study Guide Scholarly Activity MBA 5652, Research Methods 9MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule WEEK 8: 11/26/2018 – 12/02/2018 Independent Studies WEEK 9: 12/03/2018 – 12/09/2018 Complete Unit VII and Unit VIII and Submit Unit VIII Essay. Unit VII Writing the Report Review:  Unit Study Guide Read:  Reading Assignment (1 article): See Study Guide Submit:  None Notes/Goals: Unit VIII Presenting the Findings Review:  Read: Submit: Notes/Goals: Unit Study Guide Chapter 4: Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations, pp. 75-76, 89-98 Reading Assignment (1 article): See Study Guide Research Paper MBA 5652, Research Methods 10MBA 5652, Research Methods Course Schedule WEEK 10: 12/10/2018 – 12/16/2018 Independent Studies WEEK 11 & 12: 12/17/2018 – 12/30/2018 Final Exam and Participation/Discussion. Review: Submit: Final Exam And Participation  All Unit Study Guides to prepare for Final Exam  Final Exam  Participation/Discussion Notes/Goals: MBA 5652, Research Methods