research paper1

The different sections of a proposal were covered including: introduction, literature review, proposed research design and methodology, and proposal schedule. The components of the introduction were all given: background, problem statement, purpose statement, research questions and objectives, theoretical framework, hypothesis(es), significance of study, definition of terms, ethical considerations, delimitation and limitation. In the literature review section, the topic must be operationalized to researchable headings, and existing literature on the headings sourced and critically examined to: build the proposal on a wider context, find gaps in literature, methods, and theories. The proposed research design and methods section must convince readers about the proposed research worldview, research design, research strategy, method of data collection, method of data analysis, population or unit of analysis, and sample (if needed). The last component of the proposal, the proposal schedule, was also explained. If students follow the sequence in this course, they will make progress in research methods and writing.

Keywords: Introduction, Literature Review, Proposed Research Methods and Design.

Table explaining the relationship between research worldview,

design, strategy, method of data collection and analysis. ………………………………………14

Proposed Capstone Schedule ……………………………………………………………………15

There is no research without a topic. Topics must be SMART, associated with the major the student is pursuing, and related to the CPT of the student. First, topics must be specific. Topics that are too broad are too cumbersome and do not allow for collection of primary data or even for easy analysis of the collected data. A student pursuing a research on business intelligence, as a research topic, will find that the topic is too broad. Business Intelligence is a course of study and involves so many components. Topics are made more specific by narrowing done to the least component of an area of study and by attaching demographic components. The topic Diabetes is very broad, but the topic: Diabetes Prevalence in the 3 Counties of Delaware, US is very specific. Primary data can be collected from the 3 counties of Delaware State and be analyzed.

Second, topics must be measurable. This means that primary data can be collected from different data sources and analyzed. If a student finds that data cannot be collected to investigate the topic, then the student must know that this topic should be discarded for the time being. Third, topics must be attainable. Students and their research advisors must think through the fact that time is an important constraint in research work and must be sure that the research being proposed will be completed within the given time. Fourth, topics must be realistic. It must be genuine, and not a copy of what someone else has done. It must be able to contribute a new knowledge or confirm an old one. Fifth, topics must be tangible or perceptible. Students must drive the conversation; it must be something they are passionate about.

Topics must relate to the major a student is pursuing. A student in ISEM must prove to the professor that the research being proposed is related to ISEM. This proof of relationship to the major can help the student come up with a topic, which will become the foundation for further studies or of getting a job. If a student is already in a CPT program, then the student must be able to prove that the research is related to the CPT.

The proposal has different sections including the following: The Front-Matter, Introduction, Literature Review, Proposed Research design and methodology, Expected Results, and Proposal Schedule. The proposal must also have sections on references and appendices. These sections of the thesis are discussed in this paper. It is important that students understand each section, and write accordingly, to be able to meet the standards of an excellent proposal.

The front-matter are those sections of the thesis that are first seen by the audience. They include the following: the title page, abstract, table of content, list of tables, and the list of figures. These sections are very technical and must follow, as is in the other sections of the thesis, the APA style of writing. Technical mistakes could add noise to the thesis, and students must work hard to prevent this. Although, the front-matter is the first part of the thesis to be seen by the audience, it should be the last part to be written. For instance, since the abstract is the summary of the whole paper, there is no way you can write a good abstract at the beginning of the paper. The table of content shows the pages of the first level headings and the second level headings. There is no way this component of the thesis can be done if the thesis has been completed. Again, the front-matter should be the last aspect of the thesis to be completed.

The title page must have the following information: the title or topic of the thesis, the name of the author, the name of the university, a statement about the submission of the proposal (Thesis submitted in fulfillment of GRAD 699), and the date of the submission of the proposal. All these statements must be centered in every direction of the paper. The title page must be in the APA style. The font must be New Times Roman, 12”. It must not be colored or bold. The font must be more than 12 points. There must not be any decorations or underlining.

The abstract is the summary of every aspect of the research in not more than 200 words. The abstract must include the problem statement, the research design, the research strategy, the method of data collection, the method of data analysis, the results, and the recommendation. Abstracts must end with keywords.

The table of content directs the audience of the proposal to the pages containing the first level headings and the second level headings. Note that the second level headings in the table of contents are indented to the right, while the first level headings start from the margin of the paper.

Tables are made up of rows and columns. Graphics, in the thesis, which do not have columns and rows are figures. Labels must be on top of each table. These labels must explain the table. A list of tables must be provided, resembling a table of content, showing the pages where the tables are located.

Figures are every graphic that do not have rows and columns. They could be maps, drawings, charts, etc. Labels for figures must be put after the figures, unlike, the tables where the labels are above the tables. The labels must explain the figure. A list of tables, resembling a table of content, must be provided. It must contain the pages where the figures are located.

The introduction is not merely a paragraph or two, as in many English essays. The introduction of a scholarly research is made up of many components, and MAY include some or all of the following:

1. Background

2. Problem Statement

3. Purpose Statement

4. Research Questions and Objectives

5. Definition of Terms

6. Significance of Studies

7. Ethical Considerations

8. Theoretical Framework or Construct

9. Hypothesis (es)

10. Delimitation of Study

11. Limitations of Study

Though the introduction is the first section of the proposal or thesis that must be shown to the audience (professor or committee), it should be the second to write, and should be reviewed constantly as the proposal or thesis continues. The reason for this is that the introduction is dependent heavily on a critical and careful review of literature, and other sections of the proposal or thesis.

Background

Data, we are in a world where everything runs with data. Every company has their own challenges with data irrespective of whether it is a small company or big. The past 25 years, Data has raised in a massive scale in diverse fields including software based medical rehabilitation system [1] and sports coaching [2]. According to the report of International Data Corporation (IDC), the over-all created data in the world will reach 44 ZB or trillion gigabytes during the time of 2013 to 2020 [3]. This data refers to Big-Data. Databases are the one which hold this information and it’s a key component of information systems. Proper use of database can be used for storing/retrieving the data in meaningful manner.

World was running completely fine with Relational databases until Big-data arrived and it’s challenging to analyze this data using traditional database management tools and companies are looking for alternative solutions that includes NOSQL databases. NOSQL database store/process data which does not follow traditional model of relational DBMS.

There are mainly four types of NOSQL database Column Oriented, Key-Value type, Document based or Graph based [4]. The current popular NOSQL databases include Redis, MongoDB, Couch-base, Cassandra, HBase. Based on the company’s requirements there is need to investigate which NOSQL is best when it comes to using NOSQL in the company comparing various NOSQL databases which are available.

NOSQL databases are known to provide easier scalability, storage flexibility, greater data manipulation and performance improvement. So, any company can will try to improve where and when there is room for it, NOSQL provides such environment to dig more on this to figure out which NOSQL approach could be best.

Research questions include 1) Comparing Various NOSQL databases. 2) Which NOSQL is best for big-data processing. 3) Are there any transactions possible in NOSQL databases?

If the best NOSQL database is figured out among the all based on the company requirements, it would eventually lead to better performance in all aspects of the firm.

With the raise in volume of data in every corner, there is a need to store and retrieve the data in more appropriate and efficient way. With the rise of Big-data and web applications showing more complex data is the birth place to NOSQL. As this is fairly new when compared to existing RDBMS which are decades old, there is a need to take a deep dive to look at the various NOSQL databases which are available to us , which is best among them and what they offer.

RDBMS: RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management Systems. RDBMS in this research stands for a model database management system. Relational databases follow relational model invented by Edgar F. Codd that identify three components in a data model that are data structure, operators and integrity rules [5]. Relations, attributes, tuples and keys give structure in RDBMS. Operations such as select, insert, update and delete are common operators in relational databases. Keys (primary) among other different referential integrity rules primarily define integrity rules.

NOSQL: NOSQL systems are mostly non-relational database systems that are distributed and are understood as Not Only SQL. NOSQL databases are known to provide easier scalability, storage flexibility, greater data manipulation and performance improvement. There are various types of NOSQL database systems among which Key-value stores; Wide-column stores, Graph databases and Document stores are identified most commonly [5]. MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB and CouchDB, Neo4j, Riak are the more popular NOSQL databases used commonly in today’s environment.

The focus of this research solely is to compare various NOSQL databases and to decide which is best among them. However, there is a need to take a deep dive considering on-premises vs cloud once the decision of NOSQL is made.

This Research doesn’t include any tests or experiments and is limited to the existing studies out there in the world that includes small article to research papers.

A critical literature review must be done to: (1) understand and critique existing literature on the topic chosen by the student (2) understand and critique existing theories explaining the topic chosen (3) understand and critique existing methodologies used in pursuing such topic (4) discover the gaps in existing literatures, theories, and methodologies, which were reviewed (5) find existing answers, if any, to the problem stated and the research questions asked (6) build the present research on a wider context and on the existing work done on the topic (7) build sections of the introduction based on existing literature (8) design a theoretical framework for the new study (9) design or propose a relevant research methodology for the new research.

In fact, a good research is dependent on a careful and critical review of existing literature. The following components must be present in a critical literature review:

1. Proper operationalization of topic into researchable headings.

2. Finding the factors affecting the research positively or negatively. These factors are the rudiments that will help design a theoretical framework, which is the basis for writing the introduction as well as the research design and methodology sections.

3. Review of theories, which will help stakeholders of the research understand existing theories used to explain the topic being studied. Students will also find gaps in theories.

4. Review of methodologies, which have been used by existing scholars to study the topic. This review will help students to find gaps in methodologies.

5. Design of a theoretical framework, especially, if the design is quantitative.

A research design must explain the proposed research worldview or paradigm, the research design, the research strategy, the method of data collection, the method of data analysis, the population or the unit of analysis, and the sample.

Students must be able to show what research paradigm fits the research they are doing or proposing including the following: post-positivism (scientific methods), constructivism or interpretivism, advocacy, pragmatism or design science (Creswell, 2014; Bisel & Adame, 2017). These concepts must be thoroughly explained to the students. Each paradigm has its own design, strategy, method of data collection, and method of data analysis.The chosen worldview must be explained, and the reason for choosing it must be carefully articulated.

The research design that fits the research worldview or paradigm must be proposed or stated (depending if the paper is the proposal or the thesis) (Creswell, 2014 (Bornstein, 2017)). The research design could be quantitative, qualitative or mixed method. The design for post-positivism is quantitative whereas the design for constructivism and advocacy is qualitative. The design for pragmatism and design science paradigms is mixed method design. Students must be thought when to use what design.

Table 1: Table explaining the relationship between research worldview, design, strategy, method of data collection and analysis.

See Table 1. A strategy must be chosen that aligns with the research worldview, and the research design. The strategy chosen must be explained, and the reason for the choice given.

See Table 1. A data collection method that aligns with the research worldview, the research design, and the research strategy must be given. The chosen method of data collection must be explained. The reason for choosing this method of data collection must be defended.

See Table 1. A method of data analysis that aligns with the research worldview, the research design, the research strategy, and the method of data collection must be given. The chosen method of data analysis must be explained and defended.

The population must be explained. Who are they? Their demographic boundaries must be properly explained as well. The reason for choosing this population must also be shared. Are there some peculiarities about them that must be discussed? Are they too large for this research?

If they are too large, then a sample must be chosen. How the sample was chosen should be discussed. Validity and reliability must be supported.

A schedule showing activities and time for the activities must be given to guide capstone professors to have an overview of how students have planned to complete the capstone project. A project schedule model (e.g. a Gantt Chart) can be used, but the table must be properly explained. Merely drawing a chart without explanation does not grant grades. An example of a project table is given below:

Table 2: Proposed Capstone Schedule.

Bisel, R. S., & Adame, E. A. (2017). Post-Positivist/Functionalist Approaches. In University of California, & Arizona State University, The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication (pp. 1-22). Hopoken, NJ: Wiley.