Business Research for Decision Making

Individual Project    7-10 slides with in-depth speaker notes in MS PowerPoint

Prepare to test the hypothesis (Step 8 of the Sekaran & Bougie process) using simulated data:

1. Search and identify the surveys, assessment tools or instruments you would consider to gather data on the variables identified. Explain how these surveys help you understand what your collected data should look like (range of expected values).
2. Find a random number generator and create simulated data for not more than 25 participants (test subjects) in the study using the ranges of values for the variables you established above.
3. Using the hypothesis testing methods presented in Sekaran and Bougie (2010), suggest a method that you believe would be most appropriate to test this hypothesis. Limit your choices of hypothesis testing to only one of three possibilities: graphical method, correlation or t-test. You may use the statistical functions in MS Excel for any of these three methods. Finally, explain the rationale for your selection. Why was this method selected when compared with the strengths and weaknesses of the other two methods?
4. Now that you have created notional (simulated) data to illustrate the hypothesis testing method, apply these data to the hypothesis testing method you selected. Based on the simulated data and your hypothesis testing method, indicate if the null hypothesis is accepted or rejected and why.
5. Based on your findings, comment on the potential implications of these findings as a potential contribution to the scholarly literature.

Your work MUST include a reference list in APA format in the last slide of the presentation. All research should be cited in the body of the presentation. Assignments without citations are unacceptable. Your presentation should contain an abstract, a short introduction, and conclusion in addition to the body of the presentation. APA does not apply to PowerPoint slides, but again the last slide is expected to contain the references in APA format.

You may also use the EXCEL Lab or other supplemental sources in the Library or the Web to complement your understanding of statistical functions in EXCEL.

Click here to view the Sekaran & Bougie diagram on the research process.

NOTE: Article collections (scholarly databases) may be accessed in the Library. Suggestions are:

• ABI Inform Global
• Academic Search Premier
• Business Source Premier

Please submit your assignment as a PowerPoint presentation with extensive narratives in the speaker notes section. Have all of your sources listed in the last slide and present them in APA format.