Learning Objective Identify A Business Problem - 997 Words

Learning Objective: Identify a business problem, develop hypotheses, collect and analyze data, and report on recommendations resulting from that data. Prior to taking 610, several of my EMU master’s classes required using mainly qualitative research to analyze, diagnose and determine interventions. We designed some surveys, maybe gathered basic numeric data, but analyzed it rather simplistically. Our 610 project incorporated into our research method an empirical study based on a scientific approach incorporating statistics. We were able to arrive at our conclusions and recommendations with more vigor. By combining statistical analysis, we could more confidently support our findings and make recommendations with both quantitative and†¦show more content†¦Also, the researcher must be able to obtain the trust of the subjects in order to acquire good data. Researchers must be trained in conducting ethical research, and be sensitive to subjects, especially when probing them personally, or observing on the job. A researcher should also be experienced with organizing and analyzing data as this can be a challenging process. The researcher must know how to build reliability and validity into the process. For example, if more than one interviewer is used, are there controls in place to ensure consistency of questioning, and to reduce bias? Is everyone involved using consistent methods to document data? Is everyone involved using consistent methods to analyze information? These are just a few examples of challenges in ensuring reliability and consistency. Some of the advantages of qualitative data are that it does allow for in-depth study of subjects, and researchers can probe for more information. However, qualitative research can be quite costly due to the intensive labor required. It is challenging to obtain large enough sample sizes to represent a population. Also, it is very difficult to analyze qualitative data and use statistical methods to analyze it. Without statistical methods and analysis, it is also more challenging to analyze patterns or correlations in the data. Quantitative research is relatively inexpensive, and is less labor and time expensive to gather the data. It is a more formal and objective