Design of Business Research Project

Design of Business Research Project The title of the event: Research workshop Questionnaire Design and Construction The date of the event: 10 /02 /2016. Description. Developing a good survey questionnaire is a helpful tool in business. Survey questionnaires are a simple method of obtaining market research data which you need in order to acquire relevant and accurate insight on your target market or responses to a particular product you introduce. Apart from knowing abstract concepts in class, I browse different sets of questionnaires and I can tell a good questionnaire from a bad one. I have had experience administering survey questionnaires for academic and professional purposes but I never had the opportunity to design or develop a questionnaire suited to my specific needs. From my point of view, the research workshop I attended provided me with the information I needed in order develop a questionnaire which will be helpful in obtaining perceptions data on what potential consumers need from a startup computer business. In a business, market research data involves a strategic process which will ensure that you know your audience and your data reflects objective reality (Webb, 2000). For this purpose, it is necessary to have the skill in developing an instrument which can inform me at the onset what the target market wants and what customers expect from an efficient computer company. In addition, it is also necessary to develop a questionnaire which can also gauge customer satisfaction so that I may be informed what makes customers happy and unhappy with the services my company intends to offer. In a way, designing a questionnaire can be used to jumpstart the communication process between the customers and the management and provide baseline data for a business relationship. Self-analysis. At first, I thought questionnaires were pro-forma documents that researchers distribute to people and that answering them was boring and tedious. I realized that the questionnaires which I have had the opportunity to answer may not have been constructed well. In my experience, some questionnaires have redundant items written and some items seem errant and off topic. Some questionnaires are really unnecessarily lengthy so that some items are left unanswered or unmarked. Some questionnaires become spoiled because the respondents ticked two answers for an item that required only one answer. Market research data is everything when you are trying to start a business. It provides you with legs to stand on by gathering data that can help you make sound business decisions (Miller Dickson, 2001). Hence, if the questionnaire does not collect the data you need to make those decisions, then the purpose is defeated (Canada Business Network, 2016). I began to appreciate that the design and constr uction of a good and reliable questionnaire must be a systematic process that requires skill and diligence in making. Analysis of learning. As a result of the research workshop and the subsequent further reading I made on design and construction of questionnaires, I gathered the important concepts on designing a good questionnaire. The design depends on what information you need. A questionnaires design depends on the research needs and specifications. If the researcher wishes to collect numerical data in order to determine the perceptions of a target market, then it will need to take the form of a standardized questionnaire (Webb, 2000). However, if the aim is also to explore in a more in-depth manner the perceptions and views of a target audience regarding a product, then a qualitative interview questionnaire will be suitable. Exploratory questionnaires will require only a brief guide with perhaps ten open-ended questions with prompts and probing questions per interview questions (Trochim, 2008). For the formal standardized questionnaire however, which is what I need, the task is lengthier and more tedious because it needs (FAO, 2012): Prescribed wording and ordering of questions in order to assure receipt of similar stimuli Variables need to be operationalized or defined clearly in order for respondents to answer consistently A prescribed response format in order to ensure fast completion of the questionnaire A good questionnaire meets research objectives. Designing a good questionnaire requires that it accomplishes the research objectives (Schonlau et al., 2001). This entails substantial preparatory work on my part. By preparatory work, this means that before I set out to design a questionnaire I need to do research on relevant literature on the topic or issue I want to solicit perceptions about. The workshop teacher reiterated that questionnaires fail due to poor understanding and research work on the issue or topic. Complete and accurate information makes a good questionnaire. If respondents do not understand the questions outlined in the questionnaire, then the more likely it will be that they do not answer or refuse to answer (Canada Business Network, 2016). The questionnaire should be simply and adequately worded so as to elicit the proper and accurate answer from the respondents. A well-arranged questionnaire is important. Questionnaires must not only be easily understood on the part of the respondents but it should be well-arranged and structured so that it will be easier to analyze and interpret (Trochim, 2008). It is also important to ensure that the questionnaire is short and it flows in a manner as to keep the respondent interested in answering. Unnecessary or irrelevant questions should be dealt away with. Response scale An important feature of a well-designed questionnaire is the selection of an appropriate response scale where respondents may rate their experience or perception on a scale of, for instance, one to five, one being lowest and five being the highest (Trochim, 2008). Ensure pre-testing of the questionnaire It is very important to pilot test your questionnaire in order to point out what changes need to be made and how the instrument can be improved. Finalization After pre-testing the questionnaire, a final version will be produced based on the feedback and evaluation. Application in context. Learning about questionnaire design and construction allowed me to make a strong connection on the importance of surveys in market research. Based on my actual circumstances, I am interested on starting up a digital marketing business and my target audience are individuals who are inclined to use the Internet and social media in their commercial transactions. When I visit social media websites, several short online questionnaires pop up and asks the user certain questions on website usage. These questions are meant to map the frequency of user engagement with a particular social media platform, in what I could hypothesize is an attempt by the company to pull out of a profile of their user base. User data will be extremely important in making market decisions and offering suitable product choices for users. I was also able to evaluate the online survey forms that some websites offer in order to get to know their customers better. Most just deal with demographic data which are actually boring and length. I was able to link the lessons I obtained from the research workshop to come up with an initial design for a questionnaire to determine user preferences in online shopping. Evaluation. Learning more about questionnaire design and construction has allowed me to appreciate the science of survey-making especially its relevance in market research (Brown, 2008). I was able to tie the connection between a good and well-design survey questionnaire to more sound decision-making process in marketing and management (Webb, 2000; Schonlau et al., 2001). Understanding the impact of surveys in ascertaining user perceptions and employee satisfaction provided better insight for me of its importance. Due to the additional insight I learned from the research workshop, I was able to evaluate with certainty and guidelines some of the previous questionnaires I had constructed in relation to my work and I was able to assess its strong and weak spots. Based on the learning outcomes of the research workshop, I can say with confidence that I now have a clear appreciation of the importance of a good questionnaire design. I now also have a newfound appreciation on how important preparatory work is in designing the questionnaire and identifying clear what your research objectives are. I am now more challenged to design future market survey questionnaires in the future for my own personal use as well as those related to the demands of my profession. Self-concept. There was a great deal of unlearning which occurred as a process of engaging in the research workshop. The difference between being a respondent in a survey questionnaire is immense compared to when you have to design the questionnaire yourself. You need to appreciate the relevance of the content in the questionnaire as well as the suitability of the design. In short, I now consider questionnaire design both a science and an art. It is a science because it needs to be systematic; on the other hand, it becomes an art because you need to be creative and innovative so that the questionnaire keeps the respondent engaged and interested. Action In light of the learning outcomes of the research workshop, I have undertaken the construction of a preliminary survey questionnaire to produce a demographic profile of the users of a website that I manage as well as to determine user satisfaction on the design, layout, and ease of use of the website. I have scheduled it to be pre-tested among a circle of my friends in order to determine what parts of the survey needs to be improved. References Brown, L. (2008). Market research and analysis. Chicago: Wildside Press. Canada Business Network. (2016). Conducting market research. Retrieved from http://canadabusiness.ca/business-planning/market-research-and-statistics/conducting-market-research/designing-a-questionnaire/ Food and Agriculture Organisation. (2012). Chapter 4: Questionnaire Design. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/w3241e/w3241e05.htm Miller, T. W. P. R. Dickson (2001). Online Market Research. International Journal of Electronic Commerce 5(3), 139-167. Schonlau, M., R. D. J. Fricher, et al. (2001). Conducting Research Surveys via E-mail and the Web. New York: RAND Publications. Trochim, W. M. K. (2008). Social research methods. Retrieved from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/survwrit.php Webb, J. (2000). Questionnaires and their Design. The Marketing Review 1, 197-218.

Blood Donation Essay

Abstract Blood donation is dependent on the goodwill of people, to voluntarily donate blood, without financial reward. There is a continuous need for new blood donors, because the demand for donor blood is increasing, whereas the supply of blood is declining. Only 3% of the eligible population members actually donate blood. This leaves an enormous potential blood donor base, which if tapped into and maintained could lead to an adequate reserve of donations to meet the transfusion needs of this country. The focus of this paper will be on how social marketing can be effective in increasing blood supply. Understanding and facilitating the recruitment and retention of blood donors is the major contribution that the social and behavioral sciences can make to transfusion medicine. For the medical profession, the amount of blood a hospital has in stock for immediate or emergent use is a critical issue. Blood is needed for emergencies. It is also needed for people who have cancer, blood disorders, sickle cell anemia and other illnesses. Annually, donating blood saves many lives, both young and old. Communication is the key to success, and we need to communicate the importance of blood donation to the general public. Most people respond to issues that relate to their own lives. (Duffy. 2001) As advertising professionals, we must develop a plan to show the public that one day blood donation could mean life or death. One day blood could be needed to save their life or the life of a loved one. When donation of blood becomes a priority to our society, then able bodied donors will have a greater will to participate. Blood drives should be advertised with depth and weight on an emotional level, emphasizing why it should be important to the individual who takes the time to donate. People will undoubtedly ask, â€Å"How is this going to benefit me†? We need to be able to produce such evidence, and if we can, then people will have a greater will and motivation to give. Some experts estimate that if everyone that is qualified to donate would participate in donation at a blood drive two to three times a year, blood  shortages would be eliminated. Encouraging more Americans to become regular blood donor will ensure that most area hospitals will have a safe and plentiful supply of blood that is available wherever and whenever it’s needed. Blood is without a doubt something special, it cannot be manufactured nor can it be replaced by animal blood. Some reports have shown that each year 4.5 million American lives are saved by blood transfusions. Aside from traumatic events such as a severe automobile accident with serious bodily injuries, there are many different reasons why someone would need to have a blood transfusion. Some people need transfusions on a routine basis as part of their medical treatment for an illness or disease. One of the major groups of people in need of blood transfusions frequently, or for treatment purposes, is those infected with sickle cell anemia. According to the Mayo Clinic, 80,000 people around the country have this disease and these patients â€Å"require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives† (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2007). Our society has not placed a high priority on blood donation but it is a social responsibility. The donor should be donating it with confidence that it will be used in saving lives of his fellow beings. This should be an important point of conveyance when advertising information about blood donation. People have a desire to do what is morally right. Educating the public is another key element that is needed to increase the public’s general understanding of the need to have a constant and abundant blood supply. Some points that need to be addressed during education is that the average amount of blood present in an adult is 4-5 liters or about 8% of the body weight. And life cycles of the different components are short. The red blood cell lives about 120 days while white cells last about 3-9 days. New blood cells are constantly generated in the body. A person can donate blood 168 times during his 18 to 60 years. Unfortunately, most Americans only donate blood a few times throughout their lifetime, and some people never donate blood at all. (Mayo Clinic, 2007). Unavailability of blood may cost lives. Hence, importance of blood donation is tremendous. This is the greatest gift one can give to the fellow humans. Voluntary Blood Donors are saviors of mankind. If someone really loves  oneself and other fellow beings, the only way to express it is to donate blood voluntarily. The message we send to the public should be clear and urgent. We must change the current mindset from occasional donation, to frequent. Many studies have shown that there needs to be a personal incentive to become a frequent donor (Transfusion 2003). A study done in 1995 and reported by Transfusion concluded with a suggestion that free cholesterol testing or health related discounts at blood drive locations has increased the number of donors over the last 10 years by 65%. The use social networking programs such as facebook and twitter have been successfully used to increase awareness among the young adult generation. (Transfusion. 2010). Some other countries have tried to offer items of limited value or blood credit bonus programs that could be safe and effective strategies for retaining donors. (Asian Journal of Transfusion Science. 2010) Conclusions have shown that discounted or free medical tests had the votes for popular appeal. In America, we have to focus on these incentives for our future supply and demand needs. References Mayo Clinic Staff. (March 28, 2007). Sickle Cell Anemia. Retrieved July 8, 2007. from the world wide web May 14, 2012 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sickle-cell-anemia/DS00324 Baluch, Bahman, Gurch Randhawa, Sherryl L. Holmes and Linda J. Duffy (2001). Signing the Organ Donor Card: The Relationship between Expressed Attitude, the Actual Behavior, and Personality Traits. Journal of Social Psychology 141(1): 124-126. Titmuss, Richard Morris (1972). The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy. New York: Vintage Books. Blood donor incentives: A step forward or backward. Asian Journal of Transfusion Science. 2010 Jan; 4(1)9-13 Glynn SA, Williams AE, Nass CC, Bethel J, Kessler D, Scott EP, Fridey J, Kleinman SH, Schreiber GB; Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study (2010). Incentives for blood donation in the United States: implications for donor recruitment. Transfusion Jan; 2010 (1):26-40. Attitudes toward blood donation incentives in the United States: implications for donor recruitment. Transfusion. 2003 Jan ;43(1):7-16. Additional Websites: American Association of Blood Banks. 2004 http://www.aabb.org/index.htm American Red Cross Organization. 2003 http://www.redcross.org/home/ Plasma Care. 2003 http://www.plasmacare.com/

On Dumpster Diving Essay

In the essay on Dumpster Diving we read about Lars Eighner Who is a scavenger in the sense that he searches dumpsters for leftover items that can be of aid to him to enable him to eat or to have clothing to wear. In this essay we see numerous rhetorical approaches to grab the reader’s attention in as he conveys a story and a lifestyle that sheds light to an unknown profession. We immediately read about how knowledgeable and passionate the author is about this subject as he comes out almost challenging the Marriam-Webster dictionary on if the word Dumpster should be capitalized or not.When I read Mr.  Eighner, someone who scavenged for food on a daily basis, and yet at the same time was able to challenge the most reputable dictionary I was confident in my choice for my paper His expertise was un-paralleled in that he could dictate exactly how to correctly and safely dumpster dive, and yet at the same time make you feel as if you were not reading an essay from someone who woul d have these types of personal experiences. In his writing he writes long enough on how to correctly evaluate the food found in dumpsters I felt as though if I were to be put on the streets tomorrow I would know what to do.He says that there are three principles to eating out of a Dumpster. He dictates that the first one is to use the senses and common sense to assess the condition of the found materials the second is to know the Dumpsters of a given area and lastly to answer the question of â€Å"why was it discarded? † (par. 7). Here I see his intelligence quite vast as he is able to make up three tentative rules on Dumpster diving from personal experience. Later on we see him discuss how to tell if canned food was good to eat. Most people assume that if it is still in a can it is good to eat, but this is not the case.We writes that canned foods should have some sort of a vacuum and that they should not be bulging, punctured, dented or rusty (par. 10). This display of knowl edge and intelligence is unrivaled and further proves his expertise. Later on he continues to talk about food safety in which he says that dried food is usually the safest, if there is no visible contamination on it (par. 12). His intelligence is once again shown when in the next paragraph he discusses what can be pared away in a vegetable and at what point it becomes too rotten to eat. He articulates that leafy vegetables are usually contaminated by liquids and hard to wash.In these sentences about food safety we are shown a clear and well-articulated rudimentary â€Å"textbook† on how to evaluate foods that may be available to eat and whether or not it is safe to eat. But Lars Eighner does not stop here. After moving on from food safety we see his expertise in his cunning ability to locate good and credible dumpsters, such as one behind a pizza parlor. We then read into why so many pizzas go to waste and are given enough factual evidence that we nearly forget we are reading this essay from someone who hasn’t even worked in the particular restaurant, yet knew very much about it (par.  18).In the next paragraph I read something that would not register to the average reader, or one who might have not studied the text. He said that he had never placed a bogus order to the pizza parlor to receive a free pizza (par. 13). After reading over this a couple of times it leaned me two different thoughts, one was that he was an honest person and the other that he trusted in his expertise and intelligence so much that he did not have to do something like that to get his next meal.This put a lot of confidence in me that if I was thrown out on the streets with only this piece of writing I would be able to make him like Mr. Eighner. This essay or homemade textbook did not stop at food safety though. We are then informed about the different times of the year when people are more wasteful and likely to throw perfectly good food out. Lars Eighner shares that rig ht after college breaks students are more likely to just throw everything out of the fridge in an attempt to become more clean and organized, which lends him some very good resources. (par.  20)He continues on saying that when the parents or dads come to visit their kids they tend to throw everything out, including spirits, porn and drugs. Students are many times more likely to be wasteful as they have a parent or adult pays for nearly every expense, so why would they care? With every paragraph in this essay we are further convinced of Mr. Eighners intellectual superiority when it comes to eating out of a dumpster. He knows where to find the best dumpsters, what times are most successful to scavenge and finally what safety precautions should be taken before eating.

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