MBA 5652

Unit I

Literature Review

Instructions

Within this course you will submit parts of a research paper in each unit that will come together in Unit VII as the 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, however, you will not begin working with the data until Unit IV. Note: The template provided is for the Unit VII Research Paper; you will submit parts of this paper in each unit. See the templates in each unit assignment.

For the Unit I assignment, you will use what you learned about research methodologies, primary and secondary sources, and reviewing literature to develop a literature review. This literature review will become part of the final course project due in Unit VII. Please click here to access and utilize a template for this assignment.

Review articles in the CSU Online Library databases and other credible resources to locate six peer-reviewed, scholarly articles that relate to the Sun Coast business problems 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 the 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 problem. Ensure that you also describe how you believe the research made a positive organizational impact.

The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be a minimum of two pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary.

Refer to the Course Project Guidance document for insight. For assistance in creating your literature review, reach out to the Writing Center

Unit II

Scholarly Activity

Instructions

For this assignment, you will define the research objectives and develop the research questions and hypotheses to set the stage for the Sun Coast Remediation research project.

You will utilize this template to complete the Unit II assignment.

Be sure to include the following sections in your submission, and remember to use APA-formatted section headings and subheadings.

§  Introduction

§  Research problems

§  Research objectives: Refer to the Introduction and Statement of Problems 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 intended to determine which promotions may be more effective and strategically important.” Research objectives should be discussed for each problem identified.

§  Research questions and hypotheses: Provide research questions and null and alternative hypotheses that align with the research objectives and problems. 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 2 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 two pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary.

Unit III Scholarly Activity

·  Weight: 10% of course grade

·  Grading Rubric

Instructions

Research Design

Research design refers to the specific type of study that you will conduct. 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 discussed in this course, quantitative research designs can be 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 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, utilizing this template to complete your assignment.

Your Unit III research design submission should include the below elements.

§  Research Methodology: Describe and justify the choice of research methodology and why it was most suitable to solve the problems. 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. They might include a combination of experimentation, descriptive statistics, correlation, and casual-comparative methods. 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 most likely 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.

The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be no less than two pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary.

Unit IV Scholarly Activity

·  Weight: 10% of course grade

·  Grading Rubric

Instructions

Descriptive Statistics Analysis

Describe the Sun Coast data using the descriptive statistics tools discussed in the unit lesson. Establish whether assumptions are met to use parametric statistical procedures. Repeat the tasks below for each tab in the Sun Coast research study data set. Utilize the Unit IV Scholarly Activity template  here.

You will utilize Microsoft Excel ToolPak. The links to the ToolPak are  here in the Course Project Guidance document.

Here are some of the items you will cover.

§  Produce a frequency distribution table and histogram.

§  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 five pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary.

Unit V Scholarly Activity

·  Weight: 10% of course grade

·  Grading Rubric

Instructions

Correlation and Regression Analysis Using Sun Coast Data Set

Using the Sun Coast data set, perform a correlation analysis, simple regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis, and interpret the results.

Please follow the Unit V Scholarly Activity template here to complete your assignment.

You will utilize Microsoft Excel ToolPak for this assignment.

Example:

§  Correlation Analysis

o  Restate the hypotheses.

o  Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak.

o  Interpret the correlation analysis results    

§  Simple Regression Analysis

o  Restate the hypotheses.

o  Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak.

o  Interpret the simple regression analysis results        

§  Multiple Regression Analysis

o  Restate the hypotheses.

o  Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak.

o  Interpret the multiple regression analysis results.        

The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be no less than two pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary.

Unit VI Scholarly Activity

·  Weight: 10% of course grade

·  Grading Rubric

Instructions

Using t Test and ANOVA With Sun Coast Remediation Data Set

Using the Sun Coast Remediation data set, perform an independent samples  t Test, dependent samples t Test, and ANOVA, and interpret the results.

You will utilize Microsoft Excel Toolpak for this assignment.

Example:

§  Independent Sample t Test

o  Restate the hypotheses.

o  Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak.

o  Interpret the t Test results    

§  Dependent Sample t Test

o  Restate the hypotheses.

o  Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak.

o  Interpret the t Test results    

§  ANOVA

o  Restate the hypotheses.

o  Provide data output results from Excel Toolpak.

o  Interpret the ANOVA results.

Please follow the Unit VI Scholarly Activity template here to complete your assignment.

The title and reference pages do not count toward the page requirement for this assignment. This assignment should be no less than two pages in length, follow APA-style formatting and guidelines, and use references and citations as necessary. 

Unit VII Research Paper

·  Weight: 13% of course grade

·  Grading Rubric

Instructions

Final Project

Now that you have completed the first six 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

§  Statement of the Problems

§  Literature Review

§  Research Objectives

§  Research Questions and Hypotheses

§  Research Methodology, Design, and Methods

o  Research Methodology

o  Research Design

o  Research Methods

o  Data Collection Methods

o  Sampling Design

o  Data Analysis Procedures

§  Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics and Assumption Testing

§  Data Analysis: Hypothesis Testing

§  Findings

§  Recommendations

§  References

Please follow the Unit VII project template here 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. 

Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation

·  Weight: 12% of course grade

·  Grading Rubric

Instructions

Create a PowerPoint presentation for the Sun Coast Remediation research project to communicate the findings and suggest recommendations. Please use the following format:

§  Slide 1: Include a title slide.

§  Slide 2: Organize the agenda.

§  Slide 3: Introduce the project.

o  Statement of the Problems

o  Research Objectives

§  Slide 4: Describe information gathered from the literature review.

§  Slide 5: Include research methodology, design, and methods.

o  Research Methodology

o  Research Design

o  Research Methods

o  Data collection

§  Slide 6: Include research questions and hypotheses

§  Slides 7 and 8: Explain your data analysis.

§  Slides 9 and 10: Explain your findings.

§  Slide 11: Explain recommendations including an explanation of how research-based decision-making can directly affect organizational practices.

§  Slide 12 and 13: Reflect on your experience throughout the course. Provide some of the things you learned and some of the course’s takeaways that you can apply to your current or future job.

§  Slide 14: Include references for your sources.

Your PowerPoint must be a minimum of fourteen slides in length (including the title slide and a reference slide).

You are required to narrate your presentation. Utilize the note section to write out your transcript per slide. Ensure the presentation you create is your own authentic work. Ensure that you follow APA guidelines and cite any resources you use. For assistance with adding narration to your presentation, click here for an instructional document.