The purpose of the assignment is to develop skills associated with selecting and applying methods for data collection, qualitative data analysis, stationary and time series data analysis and hypothesis testing.
Note: Part A and E are common to all Research Approaches. Use only the relevant parts to your research method from Part B to Part D.
A. Data collection
Identify the sources that will offer the information that you need to answer the research question (journals, books, internet resources, government documents, people, etc).
1. What data do you plan to acquire to answer your research question? Why? What kinds of instruments, variables, materials, or sources will you use (i.e. will you use observations, surveys, interviews, case studies, focus groups, experiments, documents, media, data base searches, etc.)? If you plan to use mixed methods, will they be sequential, concurrent or transformative? Why?
2. List the kinds of data/information that you plan to collect (e.g. testimonials, statistics, business/government reports, other research data, audio/video recordings, etc.). Also, consider two or three alternative ways you could gather data/information for this research.
3. If you plan to use research participants, where will they come from? How will they be sampled? How many participants will you require? If you are not using research participants, who will you use as the target audience of your data? Who would most benefit from your research, and why?
4. Business research topics relate to events that develop in time.
• Explain how would you acquire a snapshot of data relevant to your research question. Within the snapshot, the data become effectively stationary.
• Consider the evolution of data with time. How would you acquire the time series data relevant to your research question?
5. What ethical issues will your research project present? What biases might you bring to the research and how will you address that bias?
B. Analysis of stationary data
1. What method will you choose to analyze the stationary data that you plan to collect?
2. Has this method of data analysis been applied in similar situations by other authors? Include references and illustrations from the literature to show the advantages and disadvantages of the method.
3. Annex a worked out example of application of the method using simulated or previously published data.
4. How will you validate your findings/conclusions?
C. Testing hypotheses
1. State you hypotheses.
2. Explain whether your hypotheses will be tested using frequentist or Bayesian approach, and justify the choice.
3. Have similar hypotheses been tested by other authors? Include references and illustrations from the literature.
4. Annex a worked out example of hypothesis testing using simulated or previously published data.
D. Analysis and forecasting of time series
1. What method will you choose to analyze and forecast the time series data that you plan to collect?
2. Have these methods of data analysis and forecasting been applied in similar situations by other authors? Include references and illustrations from the literature to show their advantages and disadvantages.
3. Annex a worked out examples of analysis and forecasting using simulated or previously published data.
4. How will you validate your findings/conclusions?
E. Timetable and Budget
1. Provide a plan (timetable) of the major research activities (on weekly or monthly basis)
2. Provide a budget estimate for all eligible expenses of the proposed research
