What do the results to your data collection efforts mean – does the data support the problem statement you identified exists (or existed) – does the data support the problem is as significant you might have indicated in the Introduction Chapter – what, if any, conclusions can you draw from the data that would be beneficial in solving the problem?
Background 2 • What are some examples of other organizations that have faced or confronted a similar problem?
• What is similar and dis-similar relative to the problem statements?
• Specific Studies 4 • What were the results of the problem-solving efforts of the other organizations?
• What was the impact of the problem-solving efforts?
• What did the organizations do worth emulating?
• What did the organizations do that should NOT be emulated?
Chapter 3: Method 10
• Statement of Purpose 1 • What is the purpose of your method – e.g. what type of data will you collect – what will be the risks associated with your data collection – how will you validate (or how have you validated) your method?
• Research Questions 2 • Alternatives: Using the defined problem statement how have you framed the problem in order to gather data – what are the null and alternate hypothesis statements
• Criteria: What are the independent and dependent variables associated with your alternatives – what are the relative risk of each variable – how will / did you compensate for the risk factors.
• Data Collection 6 • Data Collection Procedures: What process did you follow to collect the data – what biases are associated with your data collection process?
• Analytical Tools and Tests: – put the data into tables and charts – use statistical analysis to get information from the data – use the language of statistics in your analysis – identify statistical risk – focus on the data and not the meaning of the data
• Conclusion 1 • Was your data collection effort successful – or are there areas where you were not able to adhere to your data collection procedures – explain the deviations, if any.
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis 10
• Findings 8 • What do the results to your data collection efforts mean – does the data support the problem statement you identified exists (or existed) – does the data support the problem is as significant you might have indicated in the Introduction Chapter – what, if any, conclusions can you draw from the data that would be beneficial in solving the problem?
• Implication for the Research Questions 2 • What areas of application would the findings have in other areas of the organization or in other organizations?
Chapter 5: Discussion 14
• Recommendations and Implementation 7 • Given your data and findings, how would you go about resolving the problem – what are the specific actions – and time lines – what would be the challenges faced and how would they be overcome – what would be the resources needed to solve the problem?
• Discussion 5 • What would be the outcome of solving the problem – will the unit / organization benefit – will stockholders have a measurable benefit – will this outcome have ancillary benefits on the individuals involved, other organizations, society, et al?
• Limitations 2 • What does the problem solution NOT take into account – could the problem solution cause other problems to occur?
References – Minimum 15: Necessary but does NOT count toward the 40 – 50-page requirement
Appendix – Insert SWOT or SWEATT analysis
Total 50
Notes:
• To write a 50-page paper will need to write an 80-page paper and then edit it down to 50-pages. Good papers are well edited papers.
• Each chapter will require a first draft, research, a second draft, additional research, and a third draft – followed by a final draft for the entire paper. You should NOT underestimate this effort – this will take dedicated and focused time to complete each chapter. It is very difficult to write this paper over one weekend.
• You should NOT wait for my feedback in order to progress – although I will work to provide timely feedback you should be able to move ahead independently on each chapter.
• In order to receive a satisfactory mark for each chapter submission there must be a significant amount of work provided (e.g. the approximate page content listed above).
• Keep direct text transfers to a minimum – that is very little “cut and paste” from other sources.
• There is significant work in the course other than the paper – e.g. the external environment paper, the Peregrine Assessment, two (2) team presentations (we will be in teams of two individuals), the online discussions (2 significant entries per week), and the capstone presentation.
• Time management is critical in this class – take the time to put together a schedule for yourself and clear your calendar, as needed, in order to do well in this class.