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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

It is difficult to believe that I have reached the end of this course, to be honest it seems like yesterday was just the beginning.  It has been a challenging week working on the final presentation, I can now say I have completed my first ever research project. It was a learning experience one which took me out of my comfort zone. It has indeed been an interesting semester. The knowledge which I have gained from day one shall no doubt remain with me. I have already started imparting the knowledge which I have learnt on a daily basis in my office.

Initially, when I signed up for this course I had no idea what to expect but as the days went by we were kept well updated by either the e-Tutor or the Course Co-ordinator. Whether it be a graded assignment or a non- graded, full participation was needed, as each week’s information was imperative for the week that followed.

Overall I am glad I selected this course at this point in my studies. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the knowledge gain from this course Research Methods for Business will be beneficial to me as I endeavour to complete my degree.

Heartfelt thanks to Ms. Natalia Parris and Ms. Karima Mohammed for guiding us through this course and making this a productive semester.

Best Regards

Ronda

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

Qualitative data analysis is “the non-numerical examination and interpretation of observations, for the purpose of discovering underlying meanings and patters of relationships” (Babbie, 2014 p. 463). The use of the qualitative data analysis process and the use of this technique by the researcher was discuss in this unit. The process of data analysis includes transcription which involves the conversion of data from one form to another, organising data which involves using techniques to ensure the data is easy to retrieve, familiarisation which involves getting a feel for the data, coding which involves assigning words or short phrases and finding themes which involves recoding data into clearly defined categories.  We further went on to discuss quantitative data analysis, which is the systematic analysis of numerical data collected or the analysis of data that is converted to numerical form. (UWI 2017)  Descriptive statistics which describes what the data shows and inferential statistics which are used to draw conclusions about a population.

In this unit we also looked at hypothesis testing and the five steps in this process. These are state the null hypothesis, select the appropriate test statistic, determine the p-value, decide between the null and alternative hypotheses and to interpret the results.

All in all it was an informative unit which definitely paved the way for the research project.

References

Babbie, E. (2015). The basics of social research. Belmont CA., Cengage Learning.

UWI Open Campus. (n.d.). Research Methods for Business: Data Analysis. UNIT 8.

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

Debate week was an interesting week. This was my first online debate and I was quite anxious to see how it would go.  The topic that was presented to us was that of probability and non-probability sampling. It was not entirely new as it was covered in Unit 4.  My group was arguing for probability sampling to be used, as opposed to non-probability sampling in a bank survey. In probability sampling, each unit in the sample has a known chance (probability) of being selected. Units are selected in such a way that the sample is representative of the population. In non-probability sampling, not all units have a probability of being selected. (Unit 4)

In working on this debate I was forced to do research on Unit 4 for a second time to make sure the argument which was presented by my team was ideal. After posting our initial post and waiting on the opponents reply, I did some research on non-probability sampling which gave me a better understanding of the topic the second time around. It was indeed an interesting week and topic, all coupled with the fact that this was a group project. This information gathered would definitely by beneficial in my report project which is due within a week.

References

MGMT2063 Research Methods for Business: Introduction to Qualitative & Quantitative Methods – UNIT 4. Retrieved from http://2017.tle.courses.open.uwi.edu/pluginfile.php/23583/mod_resource/content/2/MGMT2063_u4-20150914.pdf

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

The topic questionnaire design has indeed been an interesting one. From the importance of the communication medium when delivering a questionnaire to the communication media which can be used to collect data was explained in detail within this unit. “In order to meet the criteria of relevance and accuracy, Zikmund et al. (2009) advise that the researcher should be mindful of five questions when constructing questionnaires.”  These questions are:-

1)      What should be asked?

2)      In what sequence should the questions be arranged?

3)      What questionnaire lay out will best serve the research objectives?

4)      How should questions be phrased?

5)      How should the questionnaire be pretested and revised?

To complete the assignment of designing a questionnaire I had to ask myself each of these questions.

Unit 6 was also instrumental in distinguishing between the use of open-ended and closed questions when designing a survey. The various methods used to conduct a survey such as interviewer-administered and self-administered modes, were also explained in this unit. The types of errors such as interviewer errors, for example the interviewer may record a fake respond, were also identified. Prior to this unit I never gave much thought to errors on questionnaires, another error which could be taken into consideration is the respondent error. Minimising errors are paramount before undertaking any survey.

All in all Unit 6 has been a very interesting and informative unit. I believe I can honestly say that I have since start to look at designing questionnaires different so they will be constructed properly hence capturing the correct information needed.

Best Regards

Ronda

References

UWI Open Campus. (n.d). Research Methods for Business: Introduction to Qualitative & Quantitative Methods. (Unit 6)

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., & Griffin, M. (2009). Business research methods (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.

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Good evening Ms. Parris and Peers

The topic this week Data Collection is a very important component in the research methods. In this unit I was able to distinguish between the primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data is original data which is as close as possible to the source, this information can be sourced trough surveys or even interviews just to mention a few. While secondary data is data which was collected but not by the present researcher both these forms of data carry they advantages and disadvantages. I was however able to get a better understanding in the way in how to collect my information for my assignment.  Another one of the important factors that stood out for me in this unit is that of triangulation.   According to McMurray, Pace and Scott (2004) “triangulation is defined as the use of several different research techniques in the same study to confirm and verify data gathered in different ways.”

The collection of data is conducted by fieldworkers, some of the skills which these person should possess, so that a proper assessments can be conduct are; honesty, good listening skills and have respect for the rights others. The training of these workers should also be done to get positive results. Overall this unit was instrumental in me better understanding the data collection and I will be better equip to complete my assignment.

References

McMurray, A.J., Pace, R.W., & Scott, D. (2004). Research: A common sense approach. Southbank Victoria, Australia: Thomson.

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

As stated by Johnson and Christensen (2010), “research can be fully qualitative or mixed with an emphasis on qualitative, fully quantitative or mixed with an emphasis on quantitative, or mixed with an equal emphasis on qualitative and quantitative. A particular research study would fall at a particular point on the continuum” (p 32). At the start of Unit four (4) I was able to differentiate among qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods as they relate to the research methods.  Some examples of qualitative methods which can be used are grounded studies and case studies. As it relates to quantitative research the non -experimental research and experimental research are two methods which are also used in research. The information gathered would definitely be essential for me as I work on my research project for this course.

Further into the unit being able to distinguish between independent and dependent variables are explained, this gave me a better understanding of what are variables and how they work. Zikmund et al. (2009) define measurement as, “the process of describing some property of a phenomenon of interest, usually by assigning numbers in a reliable and valid way” (p. 293). The criteria of good measurements and how to measure was also discuss in this section. The sampling process and its seven stages were explained as we went further into the unit. Learning the sampling process was indeed interesting, as I was quickly able to identify the areas of my project that I will need to apply this knowledge. Also the importance of selecting the correct sampling design and the size of the sample. Unit four (4) has indeed been an interesting session and I have already formulated how the information which I have gathered from this unit, will be used to assist me in presenting a detailed research project at the end of this course.

References

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., & Griffin, M. (2009). Business research methods (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

Presentation week was a learning experience if I was to mildly explain the week in a nutshell. We were placed in groups of two persons from earlier in the course and where given instructions to choose a name, a research topic and an article.  A review of the article and presentation of our project via power point and screencastomatic was to be uploaded to the weekly forum.

The topic which my partner and I choose was ‘sexual harassment in the work place’ a very interesting and trending issue at present in most countries. Merriam-Webster defines sexual harassment as ‘uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature especially by a person in authority toward a subordinate (such as an employee or student).’ During my research and review of the article which was chosen by my partner and myself it became clear that sexual harassment is just as prevalent now as it was years ago. Working on our presentation, it was evident that the units which were presented to us from unit 1 and beyond was laying a foundation leading up to this section of the course.

Presenting the power point slides using screencastomatic was also an interesting and exciting time but not without it challenges. Having gone through the rubric and realising that pronunciation and audience attention was paramount in presenting the group debate it was added pressure for me to deliver the presentation.  All in all it was an interesting week as again being a reflective practitioner again had to be put into effect for me to be able to fully present my contribution to the weekly forum.

References

“Sexual Harassment.” Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sexual harassment. Accessed 2017.

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

Review week was quite an interesting one for me, it was a gentle reminder of my first semester at UWIOC. I was enrolled in the course Foundation for Learning Success (Foun 1501), where we were being challenged almost every assignment to be a reflective practitioner. This week a research proposal was to be upload to the course page by 11:55 on October 14th, 2017 and I was overwhelmed trying to meet this deadline. I was forced to use what I learnt back in my first semester, to successfully accomplish the task which was ahead. The course coordinator gave numerous warnings to start our proposals early and while this did not fall on deaf ears, everyone knows that being a working adult and studying with a family is no fairy tale. The saying “nothing make you more productive than the last minute” took full effect. This was my first attempt at a research proposal and although I had previously submitted a draft I still felt a little lost and overwhelmed at the amount of work that was still to be covered.

As we all know what can go wrong, will go wrong. In the end I successfully loaded my assignment to the forum some twenty-five minutes after the allotted time. According to Robbins, (2003) “Absenteeism is the failure to report to work.”  While doing my project ‘absenteeism in the workplace and its impact on the economy’, I had to conduct research using the mixed research method, along with literature reviews. All in all it has been an interesting week and I look forward to the rest of the semester.

References

Robbins, S.P. (2003). Organizational Behaviour, 10th edn, Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall, Inc

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Unit 3 - Communication in the Research Process

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Unit 3 - Communication in the Research Process

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Good evening Ms. Parris and Peers

According to Zikmund, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2009, p. 124, a research proposal is “a written statement of the research design.” At the beginning of the unit this topic seemed like a huge amount of information to digest all at once, I quickly realised that just like the communication process is divided into three sections the research proposal, the research report and the oral presentations, I too would also have to separate this information to truly understand. The reason for doing a research proposal and the components that make up this proposal were explained in depth this week. Another area that stood out for me was the importance of referencing and how vitally important it is to the actual proposal.

How to structure a research report and its components was also a part of this week’s readings. I quickly realise that both the research report and the research proposal are similar in content, with the main difference being that the research report, which is written to show the findings of the study, while the research proposal is written to show what will be done. The oral presentation is also another important aspect of communication of the research process. On review of this chapter I have learnt that the oral presentation must also carry an introduction, a body and a conclusion. All and all it has been another interesting week for me as I learn the correct process of communication in the research process.

References

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., & Griffin, M. (2009). Business research methods (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.

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Unit 7 - Data Preparation & Presentation

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Unit 7 - Data Preparation & Presentation

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Hello Ms. Parris and Peers

The process of checking data for omissions, consistency, and legibility in preparation for coding is called data editing (Unit 7). One of the first topics which was discussed in Unit 7 was that of data editing. I have participate in many surveys over a period of time but to be honest I have never given any thought to the compilation of the data. The process of sorting this information is known as data editing and this is done before the work is presented to the decision makers.  Another aspect of data editing is data coding this  is also important, “note that codes are not always numerical and in qualitative research, numbers are usually not used for codes, words and phrases that represent themes are most common (Zikmund, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2009).” Data coding basically is the assigning of a number or symbol to the already edited data.

Further into the unit the data dictionary was examined. This was described as “A collection of descriptions of the data objects or items in a database.” (Unit 7) Data entry is a vital part of this process, according to unit 7 “Data entry is the process of inputting data gathered into a database for manipulation, storage and analysis. This is done once coding had been completed.” Another important component is data cleaning, this has to be done before any data processing can be undertaken. The altering of this data is known as data modification. Data modification is used is to create a broader categories of variables.

The main topic of this unit for me was the final section on how to display the data. I had to focus mainly on this topic not only because it was the area where the weekly assignment was taken from, but because after data is collected the way in which it is presented has to be a clear and concise.  There are numerous ways to display data some of these are:-

1)      Frequency table – this can be used to present numerical data.

2)      Bar charts – these are used to display number and frequency for discrete categories or groups. These charts are useful for ungrouped data, but not grouped data.

3)      Histograms – these may be used to represent continuous random variables.

4)      Pie charts - are used to display categorical or grouped data.

5)      Line graphs – which are used to show how one or more variables vary over a continuous period of time.

6)      Scatter plots - these are used to display the relationship between two variables. They can be used to determine systematic or causal relationships.

7)      Stem and leaf plots - are a quick way to represent large amounts of data graphically. They are useful for presenting discrete and continuous data.

This was indeed an interesting unit, I was able to distinguish between the various techniques used for displaying data and create a suitable chart for the information in learning activity 7.3.

Best Regards

Ronda

References

UWI Open Campus. (n.d.). Research Methods for Business:  Introduction to Qualitative & Quantitative Methods. Unit 7. Retrieved from http://2017.tle.courses.open.uwi.edu/pluginfile.php/23601/mod_resource/content/2/MGMT2063%20Unit7_Version%201_Oct-17-2015.pd

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C., & Griffin, M. (2009). Business research methods (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.