BUS 642 Week 6 Final Paper
Final Paper
Focus of the Research Project
The final version of your Research Project should be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages (not including the title page, references page, tables, appendices, etc.). The paper will be an original business research project that tests a hypothesis of your choice. The research can relate to your place of current or previous employment or other contexts of interest. Sample topics could include, but are not limited to:
- Manufacturing quality/cost improvement
- Service quality improvement
- Systems design
- Accounts receivable/billing/accounts receivable aging
- Marketing/advertising issues
- Sales of goods
- Investments
- Product safety
- Workplace safety
- Labor pools
- Human relations matters of broad concern
- Population studies
For your Research Project, you will be combining all parts that you have worked on from Weeks One through Five. Your paper should be formatted as follows:
- Part 1: Introduction
- Background information about your research project (Week One)
- Describe the management dilemma (Week One)
- Ethical Concerns (Week Two)
- Develop and explain your hypothesis (Week One)
- Part 2: Literature review
- Background research on at least three scholarly sources (Week One)
- Part 3: Data
- Secondary data (Week Three)
- Measurement benchmark and scales (Week Three)
- Plans for using observations, focus groups, interviews, or surveys (Week Four)
- Plans for analyzing data (Week Five)
- Plans for how to analyze results (Week Five)
- Part 4: Results
- Summarize and display the results of your research. Provide charts, graphs, tables, and so forth, as they might apply to your research.
- State whether you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis based on your study; explain.
- Part 5: Conclusion
- Summarize the entire study and reflect on it
- Consider the “take-home” message that management and other decision makers can use from this research to make informed business decisions.
- Include the strengths and weaknesses of the study and suggestions for future research.
- Part 6: References
- Include a separate references page and cite all references within the text of the paper.
- Part 5: Appendix
- If applicable
Writing the Research Project
The Research Project:
- Must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages in length (not including the title page, references page, tables, appendices, etc.) and must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
- Must include a title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
- Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
- Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
- Must use at least three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library in addition to the text.
- Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
