Research Proposal on "Teen Smoking Behaviors Current Consequences"

Quoted Instructions for "Teen Smoking Behaviors Current Consequences" Assignment:

Here is the information provided by the professor. The paper can be no longer than 10 pages, this does not include appendixes:

As a capstone experience, you will write a Business Research Proposal concerning a business management problem. The management problem should be behaviorally *****, business centered, and social-scientific in focus.

Note: You are urged to work with a partner on this project (i.e. one paper, two authors, both receive the same grade). In the past, students who chose to work collaboratively have told me they learned more, were better challenged, and performed at a higher level on this assignment when working with a partner than when working alone.

Proposals over the 10 page limit will be returned to the author, ungraded. There is no minimum page requirement. Proposals should be double spaced, with 1" margins on all sides, free from spelling and grammar errors. According to APA guidelines, appendices, title page, and references do not count toward your page total.

Proposals over the 10 page limit will be returned to the author, ungraded. There is no minimum page requirement. Proposals should be double spaced, with 1" margins on all sides, free from spelling and grammar errors. According to APA guidelines, appendices, title page, and references do not count toward your page total.

You may find it helpful to think of developing your proposal in a series of steps:

1) Decide on a problem worthy of investigation. The problem should focus on the business environment. As this is a social-scientific approach to research, it should focus on some aspect of human behavior in the business environment (note: We will be engaging in conference topics and exercises early in the semester, to help you choose a topic and narrow your focus).

2) Find out what social scientific research findings already exist, by doing some preliminary library work. The existing social scientific research may lead you to revise your own research question.

3) Conduct a thorough literature search in which you ultimately locate no less than four high-quality empirical research articles, published in social scientific journals, that pertain to your problem. Remember that you must be able to explain the direct relevance of each article to your own investigation, articulating exactly how it might inform your own research (Note: Your sources should be no older than 1990).

Note: At least three of your sources must come from social scientific journals. They must be articles wherein the author proposes a research question, conducts a literature review, designs an experimental study, uses statistics to summarize the results of the study, and provides a final answer to the research question.

4) Formulate a research plan, based on prior research and your imagination, in which you suggest a sampling procedure, a set of measures for the independent variable, a set of measures for the dependent variable and a system for collecting data to test your hypothesis and rule out extraneous variables. The description should include inducements for your subjects to participate. Be sure that your research plan represents the highest standards of ethical social scientific research.

5) Make up (invent/ fake/imagine/pretend) a data set of hypothetical raw numbers. Your proposal creates a real hypothesis, then shows how a researcher would really go about testing that hypothesis, including an appropriate research design and data analysis. The only "fictional" item in your proposal is the actual data set. Since we don't have time for you to actually measure your IV and DV, you'll have to use your knowledge or common sense to create "scores" for your participants, showing what your IV and DV would probably look like, if you had indeed measured them. The numbers should be formatted in such a way to suggest the trends you think you might find if you were to actually collect data as specified in step 4, above.

6) Suggest a statistical routine for analyzing your data using appropriate statistics. Explain which statistical routine will be employed and for what purpose. Justify your choice of statistical analysis. What makes it appropriate in your particular research situation? How does it match the data or the research question being tested? Explain the statistical assumptions that are necessary for conducting such a test (i.e. normality, number of observations, etc.) Demonstrate that you have tested these statistical assumptions, to assure they haven't been violated. Show your calculations and output. Describe the patterns you see. Explain what conclusions you'd draw if this output was presented to you for inspection.

7) Write the above information into an outline of no more than 10 pages. The final document should include headings designating the various portions of a business research proposal, as discussed on pp. 96 - 102 in Cooper and Schindler (2006). It is best to write in the past tense, explaining what you did and why, and what your data revealed.

For LOTS of detailed information about how to approach, conceptualize, and write this major paper, please click the link below. This link is especially helpful for novice researchers and is full of hints and how-to's.

It also tells you exactly how your paper will be graded.

Business Research Proposal

IMPORTANT! Please remember that all papers must now be submitted to Turniti.com. See instructions at the end of this document.

I will use the rubric below to grade your proposal. Your BRP should follow this format and order of headings, outlined by Cooper and Schindler (2006).

Section Heading Tasks

Executive Summary

(2 points)

Brief identification of and background on the business management problem

Brief review of the research question or hypothesis

Brief statement of the benefits expected from your approach

Note: "Brief" here means 1 - 2 sentences.

Problem Statement

(3 points)

Formal re-statement of the business management problem.

Some background on the problem (historical, political, social, economic, religious, or industrial beginnings).

Current consequences of the problem.

List any "restrictions:" aspects of the problem that are beyond your current investigation and won't be included in your statistical an*****s.

Research Objectives

(4 points)

Purpose(s) of the investigation is stated.

The research hypothesis is stated (as in a "causal" study).

The independent variable(s) is explicitly labeled for the reader

The dependent variable(s) is explicitly labeled for the reader (showing that the ***** is able to distinguish an "independent" from a "dependent" variable).

Literature Review

(6 points each x 4 prior studies required = 24 total points)

(1 point) Cites the author(s) of each study, using guidelines of the American Psychological Association manual (5th ed.).

(1 point) Reviews the purpose of each prior research project

(1 point) Reviews the methodology followed in each prior research project, so the reader can determine whether the methods were biased, whether the sample represents the population, etc. (i.e. Was this "good research?")

(1 point) Reviews the specific findings reached by author(s )of each study

(2 points) Explicitly links each study to the current investigation, explaining the relevance of the prior research and exactly why/how it provides support to the current investigation (i.e. does it suggest a particularly effective methodology? Does it contain measures you intend to use for your IV or DV? Do the findings imply what you'll be likely to find in your statistical analysis of the data?)

Importance/Benefits of the Study

(1 point)

Potential helpful outcomes of the knowledge gained from the study are listed (i.e. managerial, social, political, economic benefits are linked to the study's results)

The proposed helpful outcomes are realistic (i.e. dealing with questions that can actually be answered through the type of data gathering and analysis you're proposing. The suggested helpful outcomes do not go beyond the data that's to be collected).

Research Design

(20 points)

(3 points) Provides a conceptual definition of the IV and DV

(5 points) Provides a full operational definition of the IV and DV, including measurement indicators and scoring procedures for measurement scales

(5 points) Describes a valid sampling plan, using appropriate terminology from class.

(4 points) Describes procedures for collecting data from participants, using the highest ethical standards.

(3 points) Identifies at least one extraneous variable and explains how it will be "controlled" in the study's design.

Data Analysis

(18 points)

(4 points) Identifies an appropriate statistical analysis tool (one that fits the data and research hypothesis).

(3 points) Justifies use of this statistical analysis, rather than some other possible analytic tool (explicitly identifies the characteristics that make the chosen statistical analysis "fit" this situation).

(3 points) Describes the calculation of this statistical analysis, including formulae and procedures for interpreting "significance."

(4 points) Describes any statistical assumptions necessary for running such an analysis.

(4 points) Actually checks that the necessary statistical assumptions of this test have not been violated.

Nature and form of results

(15 points)

(3 points) Shows a fictional data set (in an appendix) listing, at minimum, final scale "scores" for the IV and DV

(3 points) Shows statistical output for the analysis of the fictional data

(3 points) Directly states the research hypothesis and null hypothesis

(3 points) Correctly interprets the meaning of the statistical output, in relation to the null and research hypotheses.

(3 points) Correctly explains the conclusion to be reached from the statistical results: What do these results mean within the context of the original research problem

Qualification of researchers

(1 point)

Professional research competence is listed for each investigator (for some *****s, MGMT 650 is the research competence component).

Relevant managerial experience is listed for each investigator (includes your experience within the industry you're investigating).

Schedule

(1 point)

Major phases of the research project described above are listed in order of their proposed occurrence.

Facilties/Special Resources

(1 point)

Locations for data collection are listed

Any special equipment needed for data collection is listed

(e.g. if you want your participants to watch a special video message, so that you can measure their reactions, then you need to list the location for showing the video, the video machine, and possibly, a portable screen as "special resources.").

Bibliography

(2 points)

A full reference for every citation appearing in the proposal is provided, following guidelines of the American Psychological Association manual (5th ed.).

Appendices

(3 points)

(4 points) An appendix is provided, showing the indicators used to create a measurement scale for the IV

(4 points) An appendix is provided, showing the indicators used to create a measurement scale for the DV

(2 point) An appendix is provided, showing the "Informed Consent" form, solicitation letter, etc.

Technical Accuracy

(5 points)

(2 points) Follows standard English grammar, punctuation, and spelling

(1 point) The outline is divided into sections identified by a major heading, following the format suggested in the BRM text.

(1 point) The outline is double spaced, with 1" margins on every side.

(1 point) Any claims of "fact" are backed with a citation as proof, following APA guidelines

Important: Your outline must not exceed 10 pages, but this does not include appendixes, references, tables, title page, etc. For more on this, please see the APA guidelines.

Total Points Available = 100

Conceptualizing the BRP

I'd rather you not perceive this is a monster task. Rather, think of it as an "open book final exam." Basically, the BRP shows me whether you have learned the steps in the research process we've discussed in class: How to write a research question, choose a sample, and test a hypothesis using an appropriate set of statistics.

Notice that this list of tasks roughly follows our course schedule. As we attack each new topic in class, you can use what you've learned to write each new section of your BRP, step by step. Don't panic because you don't yet know which statistics to use! By the time you write the statistical section of the BRP, we will have learned several statistical tests. You will know exactly what test to put in your proposal and exactly how to describe your procedures, based on what we've accomplished in class.

Believe me, it will all fall into place if you'll allow yourself to gradually absorb the new topics we discuss each week.

This is a proposal. As such, it requires that you suggest a viable research plan related to your topic.

Note: You are not required to execute the proposed plan. Rather, you will be graded on the level of detail and accuracy demonstrated in imagining a plan, then putting your plan on paper.

Your proposal should include the elements of an "External, Large-Scale Contract" proposal outlined in Cooper and Schindler (2006) on pp 94 - 102 (this is one of your reserved readings in the classroom). However, you are not required to include a "Budget" or "Project Management" section.

Note: Rather than submit two documents, your proposal and an Excel attachment, you should cut and paste any Excel output into an appendix at the end of your proposal, so that you submit a single, Microsoft Word document in your assignment folder.

***************************************************************************

I suggest the outline format rather than a narrative paper for three reasons:

1) The outline serves as a "checklist." It allows you to easily see where you have addressed each required section of a business research proposal.

It serves the same function when I grade your work: I can easily see whether you have included each piece of required information. During grading, there is no danger of me "missing" key pieces of information in your narrative.

2) The outline saves time and energy. You don't have to expend creative effort on literary flow, fresh phrasing, or smooth transitions. Instead, you can focus your efforts where they're needed -- creating solid research procedures and measurement scales.

However, even if you follow the outline format, you should still write in full sentences, following standard English grammar and spelling.

Note: Rather than submit two documents, your proposal and an Excel attachment, you should cut and paste any Excel output into an appendix at the end of to your proposal, so that you submit a single Microsoft Word document.