Descriptive Statistics and Interpretation

Business Research Project Part 1: Formulation of the Research Problem

QNT/561

Business Research Project Part 1: Formulation of the Research Problem

With the rising gas prices, consumers tend to conduct research when shopping for a new vehicle. Team B has been tasked with conducting research for Automotive Trends. The team is looking into the correlation between vehicles weight and highway fuel economy. The purpose of this paper is to review the dependent and independent variables for these and to come up with a hypothesis. Team B will generate a research question to get this started.

Research Question

When looking at the research question, Team B has decided to look at the correlation between the weight of the vehicle and the highway miles per gallon. The following is the research question:

1. Is there a direct correlation between vehicles weight and highway fuel mileage?

To answer this, Team B had to determine the variables that would be reviewing in researching. The first variable is the independent variable. In this scenario, the independent variable would be the highway fuel mileage. The second variable is the dependent variable. With this scenario, the dependent variable is the vehicles weight. The weight of the vehicle will remain constant while the highway fuel mileage can vary based on driving conditions.

Hypothesis

Team B generated a hypothesis for the research question. The hypothesis is a statistical

inference using data (McClave, Benson, & Sincich, 2011). The hypothesis Team B generated is

as follows:

1. Ho: There is a direct correlation between vehicle weight (DV) and highway fuel mileage (IV).

2. H1: There is no direct correlation between vehicle weight (DV) and highway fuel mileage (IV).

Research

Team B conducted various research methods to help find background information to determine if weight of a vehicle can increase or decrease the vehicles highway miles per gallon. The team located multiple articles supporting the theory that the weight has a direct correlation to the vehicle performance in the area of highway miles per gallon.

An article from Ricardo, Inc. (2008), the vehicles highway miles per gallon can increase as much as 16.9% with a weight reduction of 20%. The tests were conducted with weight reductions of 20%, 10%, and 5%. In addition, five categories of vehicles were used in the tests.

According to Forbes (2014), a 10% reduction in a vehicles weight can increase a vehicles miles per gallon by up to 3%. In addition, the article states the easiest way to boost a car’s fuel economy is by reducing its weight that’s because a vehicle’s mass is directly related to how much fuel it consumes.

The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has also released information to consumers about techniques to increase fuel economy. According to U.S. Department of Energy (2014), consumers have the ability to drive the speed limit, avoid cargo on roofs, and eliminating weight. With following these guidelines, consumers will see an increase in miles before needing to fill up. In addition, for every 100 pounds, the vehicle can get an additional 2% of fuel economy (U.S. Department of Energy, 2014).

Conclusion

Team B has found some good information to help support their theory that weight has a direct correlation to highway fuel mileage. Consumers are more conscience with their vehicle selections, and with the lighter vehicles, consumers will have a better chance of better fuel economy.

References

McClave, J. T., Benson, P. G., & Sincich, T. (2011). Statistics for Business and Economics (11th

ed.). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.