Preparing to Conduct Research free essay sample

This proposal contains the following: problem statement, research objectives, importance and benefits, research question, hypothesis, variables, research design, selected instrument, sampling method, data analysis, results, and ethical considerations. Research Problem and Purpose Pet Palace is currently experiencing a decline in sales and customer retention. Managers have been told that customers have commented freely about buying pet supplies online because of the ease. This dilemma prompts Pet Palace’s managers to consider becoming an online retailer in addition to its physical location (aka becoming ‘bricks and clicks’). The purpose of the research is to determine if becoming a ‘bricks and clicks’ business will generate more revenue. Specifically, management aspires to learn if the benefits of becoming ‘bricks and clicks’ outweigh the costs. This research will reveal how lucrative adding online sales can be for Pet Palace. Significance, Scope, Magnitude, and Feasibility This research is important because without offering current customers new alternatives and reaching out to new customers, Pet Palace cannot stay competitive in the evolving retail market of pet supplies. Creating an online presence may keep the business one step ahead of its current competition and maximize its percentage of the market share. Generally, becoming a ‘bricks and clicks’ store will not only make the pet supply store more profitable and available, it will allow the business to evolve and grow while increasing exposure and opening up new avenues and ideas for the company to build on. To keep sales and revenue high, Pet Palace must find the most lucrative and low cost way to stay competitive in the pet supply market. To keep up with the opposition becoming ‘bricks and clicks’ may show the fastest and most profitable results. The decision will be based on the outcome of the interviews and the quality of the responses. This research could spark the change necessary to take Pet Palace to the next level. This research has the potential for connecting with other business’ power players and learning insider information about expanding business to include an online presence. Expanding Pet Palace’s horizons to include an online presence has the potential for connecting to a larger, more diverse customer base and gaining maximum revenue. Collecting information from professionals who have encountered the same dilemma is the best starting route. Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Variables This research will answer three questions: 1) What opportunities will come from adding an online storefront? 2) Does adding an online storefront retain and attract customers? 3) Will the benefits of adding an online storefront outweigh the costs? After careful consideration, the research team has hypothesized that becoming ‘bricks and clicks’ will outweigh the costs, and it will add and retain customers. The variables in this research are simple. Does adding an online storefront (independent variable) affect sales (dependent variable) and customer base (dependent variable)? Research Design The design for this research will be exploratory studies, which is qualitative research. Schindler and Cooper (2011) define exploration as: The process of collecting information to formulate or refine management, research, investigative, or measurement questions, loosely structured studies that discover future research tasks, including developing concepts, establishing priorities, developing operational definitions, and improving esearch design; a phase of a research project where the researcher expands understanding of the management dilemma, looks for ways others have addressed and/or solved problems similar to the management dilemma or management question, and gathers background information on the topic to refine the research question. (pg. 719) The research team will expand its knowledge of online sales by interviewing owners or manager s from other companies that are knowledgeable about transitioning into the online marketplace. After thorough interviews of other managers and owners using open-ended research questions, the team may propose to develop an e-mail survey for future participants that were recommended by previous ones. A short, e-mail survey offers the most cost-effective approach to gaining insight and feedback from managers who made the transition. The team approximates the survey will contain five to seven open-ended questions formed from information collected in the previous interviews. Instrument The instruments selected to gather information to benefit the company is semi-structured interviews and surveys with open-ended questions. A semi-structured interview allows the company to produce a list of specific questions they want answered but still leaves some wiggle room. The questions used in this particular interview process are most likely done using the open-ended response strategy. The surveys can be conducted face-to-face, over the phone, or through the Internet. When using open-ended questions in the survey process, it is allowing the participant to elaborate rather than requiring them to have a specific answer. The company chose these specific instruments because they provide information that could benefit the company in the future (Cooper amp; Schindler, 2011). Sampling Method The appropriate sampling method is nonprobability and snowball sampling methods. Non-probability method gives the research more leeway than when the probability method is used. The snowball sampling method happens when individuals are used as they are discovered; they may not have been selected from the beginning. The sampling frame the company will begin with is the local Chamber of Commerce directory. The research team will search out other companies that have transitioned into online sales from the Local Chamber of Commerce Directory. The projected sampling size will begin with approximately 10. The â€Å"leads† the team receives from using the snowball sampling method will determine the sampling size (Cooper amp; Schindler, 2011). Overall Data Analysis Approach Researchers will process the data and feedback received from managers and owners at external businesses. Because of the nature of the surveying, the answers from all of the open-ended questions will be summarized and reported. Because of the small-scale sampling size used, the full answers will be available for executive viewing. The overall consensus will be found and prepared for reporting by breaking the pros and cons into categories, along with the agreement or disagreement with the initial hypothesis. Result Reporting The information collected in this study sorted and reported in break-out categories, listing the pros and cons of Pet Palace becoming ‘bricks and clicks’. The results of this study will also contain the contractual statement, telling Pet Palace’s executives exactly what types of information was collected. Statistical conclusions, applied findings, recommendations, action plans, models, strategic plans, and so forth will be included in the reporting of results at the conclusion of this research (Cooper amp; Schindler, 2011). Ethical Considerations Making sure ethical standards are applied to this project is something this research team must keep in mind. Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about our behavior and our relationships with others† (Cooper amp; Schindler, 2011, Chapter 2/What Are Research Ethics). The ethical considerations of this research are to ensure no person is affected physically, mentally or emotionally and to be sure that data collected is completely accurate. To offer protection to the participants, there are three guidelines that the researchers will follow: 1) All benefi ts will be described, making sure to neither over exaggerate nor under exaggerate the benefits. ) Participant rights and protections will be explained in detail; it is imperative that each participant fully understands. 3) Obtain informed consent. Acquiring informed consent is completely revealing the course of action for the survey before asking for authorization to continue with the survey. There are some instances when written consent would be needed, but in this particular survey oral consent would suffice. Honesty in research is critical; remaining ethical while conducting this research is imperative to the success of the research and maintaining Pet Palace’s good image. Conclusion In todays fast pace life, people are doing a surprisingly high amount of shopping from the comforts of their own home via the Internet. Pet Palace’s loyal customers have been gracious enough to point this issue out instead of heading elsewhere for their pet products. The voluntary feedback the team received has prompted upper-management strongly to consider entering into E-commerce. Pet Palace’s transition into a ‘bricks and clicks’ business is a large business move; it will not be done without proper research. This research team ensures through this proposed research, the decision to offer Pet Palace’s products via the Internet will not be misinformed. The information collected will determine if adding the option for customers to shop online will not just retain those customers Pet Palace already has, but gain new ones and boost sales. References Cooper, D. , amp; Schindler, P. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Nardal, S. and A. Sahin, 2011. Ethical issues in e-commerce on the basis of online retailing. J. Soc. Sci. , 7: 190-198.