Assignment 1: Current Events in Business Research

Find an article that contains a research study in the functional area of your own job or a functional area you desire to be a part of someday. Write a 700- to 1,050-word summary:

Describe the business research process followed in the study in the article.

- Identify the research problem and the research method used.
- Discuss how the research is solving the problem within the chosen functional area.
- Identify other potential applications using business research within this functional area or related areas.

Assignment 2: Business Research Ethics

Identify a business research project in your own business or locate a business research article in the library. This project should be one that you perceive to be conducted in an ethical manner. Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you create a set of ethical research guidelines for the research:

- Summarize the business research project or article.
- What unethical research practices should be avoided in this project?
- Which particular parties involved in the research could face injury? What injuries could occur?
- How could unethical behavior in this research affect the organization, the individual, and society?
- How could the unethical behavior be monitored or resolved if found to be occurring?

Assignment 3: Stages of the Research Process

Find at least two business research peer-reviewed articles in the Internet. Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you practice identifying the critical first stage of developing any research study:

- State the purpose of the business research for each article.
- Determine the research questions and hypotheses being researched in each article.
- Identify the dependent and independent variables being manipulated or measured in each article.

Assignment 4: Understanding Business Research Terms and Concepts: Part 1

Identify two articles in the University Library: one in which the business problem is researched using a qualitative design and the other using a quantitative design. Summarize each of the research designs. Write a 350- to 700-word paper in which you compare and contrast the two approaches:

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?
- How can they be used most effectively in a combined approach?
- Which method is more appropriate for research in your own business and functional area?

Assignment 5: Understanding Business Research Terms and Concepts: Part 2

Research at least three quantitative data collection instruments and sampling methods available to researchers using the text and additional resources from the University Library.

Identify two articles in the University Library: one in which the business problem is researched using a descriptive statistical method and another using an inferential method. Summarize each of the data collection instruments, sampling methods, and the statistical methods. Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you compare and contrast each of the approaches:

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of each sampling approach?
- What are the specific situations in which you would choose to use each of the instruments and designs?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of each statistical approach?
- How can they be used most effectively in a combined approach?
- Which methods are more appropriate for research in your own business and functional area?