Research and Analysis of Business Problems

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BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

BA 301 Research & Analysis of Business Problems

Research & Data Gathering

¨  Primary Research: ¤ Gathering new data to answer a specific

question n  An online survey or a focus group

¨  Secondary Research: ¤ Collecting data that already exists from

a variety of sources n  An existing survey on airline travel from

Mintel

Primary Research

¨  Observe ¤ Experiments ¤ Focus groups

¨  Ask questions ¤ Questionnaires

n  Online, by mail, in person, on the phone

¤ Focus Groups ¤ Consumer Panels

Secondary Research

¨  Internal sources ¤ Existing documents in corporate databases

n  Policies, quality reports, emails and memos n  Production records, HR records, sales records, etc.

¨  External sources ¤ Commercial surveys from research firms ¤ Search engines

n  Within websites – news, library, etc. n  Special and general purpose

¤ Printed materials – you remember books, right?

Secondary Research

¨  Start with a research strategy. ¤  A systematic plan of attack for tracking down sources for

your research topic.

¨  Think about the objectives for your paper. ¤ Context and background for the company

n  Corporate website n  Business news sites, general news sites n  SWOT analysis, industry and company overviews

¤ Find problems/symptoms n  Recent news, analyst reports, market performance charts,

SWOT analysis

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Research Strategy

General Encyclopedias

General Interest Magazines & Newspapers

Specialized Magazines

Trade Books

Gov’t Documents

Scholarly Books

Academic Journals

Source: Ballenger, 74

Corporate Websites

¨  This is the first place you should go to uncover basic information about a company. But, you should be cautious about the content. Why?

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

News Websites

¨  General and niche ¤ CNN, BBC, NYTimes, Fox ¤ Bloomberg/Business Week, Wall

Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, etc.

¤ Investment websites – general and your own brokerage – Yahoo Finance, Motley Fool, etc.

¤ The Daily Show (only sort-of kidding)

Government

¨  Use what taxes pay for: ¤ CIA World Fact Book <

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/>

¤ The Census Bureau ¤ The Commerce Department ¤ www.fedstats.gov

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Search Tips

¨  Use the references and citations from one source to further your search.

Source Quality

¨  Always keep your purpose in mind. ¨  Favor governmental and educational over

commercial – how do you know? ¨  Favor authored over those without. ¨  Favor those available also in print. ¨  Favor those with recent updates. How recent? ¨  Favor those that document their claims.

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Citing Your Sources

¨  Why is this important? ¤ We must give credit to others for their ideas – avoid

plagiarism. n  Society requires a well-informed citizenry. n  Society must maintain high standards in circulated and

published materials. n  These materials affect opinion and action. n  Responsible writers take great care to specify when they

refer to the work of others – readers can check the source. n  Plagiarism breaks the “trust” and breeds skepticism.

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Citing Your Sources

¨  When must you cite? ¤ Whenever you quote from an original source. ¤ Whenever you borrow ideas from an original source,

even when you express them in your own words by paraphrasing or summarizing.

¤ Whenever you borrow factual information from a source that is not common knowledge.

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Using The MLA Format

¨  Modern Language Association http://www.mla.org style guidelines describe how to use source citations in text and at the end of the paper.

¨  MLA gives author’s full name on first mention, and omits the date.

¨  MLA allows for two ways to introduce cited material: ¤  Brandon Conran argues that the story is written from “a bifocal point of

view” (111). ¤  The story is written from a bifocal point of view (Conran, 111).

¨  Supply a complete Bibliography, not a Works Cited list

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Bibliography Format

¨  The Bibliography starts on a new page. ¨  Double-space each line and between citations. ¨  Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by five

spaces (hanging indent). ¨  If citing an article you found on the web, but was originally in

print form, provide enough info so that the reader can access it in either form.

¨  Arrange the list alphabetically by author. ¨  There are tons of sources for help:

¤  http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

General MLA Information

¤  Author’s name

¤  Title of the article (in quotation marks)

¤  Name of the periodical (italicized)

¤  Series number or name (if relevant)

¤  Volume number (for a scholarly journal)

¤  Issue number (if available, for scholarly journal)

¤  Date of publication (for a scholarly journal, the year; for other periodicals, the day, month, and year, as available)

¤  Inclusive page numbers

¤  Medium of publication (Print, or Web)

¤  Supplementary information (URL, etc., see MLA Guide)

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Print Example

¨  An article from Business Week: Weintraub, Arlene and Laura Cohen. “A Thousand-Year

Plan for Nuclear Waste.” Business Week 6 May

2002:94-96. Print.

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

If Online

¨  An article from Business Week: Weiss, Karen. “Stung by Losses, Main Street Investors

Fail to Notice Market's Rebound.” BloombergBusiness

Week 19 September 2012. Web.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-19/

stung-by-loss-main-street-investors-dont-see-

markets-rebound#r=hp-ls>

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Articles Found Using Database

¨  Library and Database (for example – Business Source Premier) must be included. Quinn, Roseanne Giannini. "Mothers, Molls, and

Misogynists: Resisting Italian Womanhood in the

Sopranos." Journal of American Culture June 2004:

166- . Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. PSU Library.

Web. 5 July 2010.

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

NOTE: no URL

If You Need MLA Help 20

Some Other Tools

¨  Outlining sites: ¤ http://www.loosestitch.com ¤ http://www.ioutliner.com

¨  Tracking research links: ¤ http://del.icio.us

¨  Citations: ¤ http://www.bibme.org ¤ http://www.ottobib.com ¤ http://www.citationmachine.net

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

Research Activity #4

¨  You have a friend who loves to bowl. She wants to open a bowling center in the Pearl District in Portland. She has asked you to help as a business/ marketing consultant during the startup planning phase. ¤  Develop a research strategy in support of your consulting activities. What

information would help with your efforts? How would you go about getting it? ¤  Find a research or industry report that might be useful in your work for your

friend. Provide the title of the report along with one interesting piece of information that you think would be relevant for your work.

¤  Grand Central or Hollywood Bowl might be competitors for your friend. Where are the closest bowling centers to the Pearl? Provide addresses, and tell me how you found them.

¤  What are some important demographics for Portland’s Pearl District that might impact your friend’s potential business?

BA 301 Spring 2014 - Research Overview

BA 301 Research & Analysis of Business Problems