W231 Applied Research Project Solving a Problem for a Local Business or Organization © 2008 Julie Freeman, IU School of Liberal Arts
Dec 25, 2015
W231 Applied Research Project
Solving a Problem for a Local Business or Organization
© 2008 Julie Freeman, IU School of Liberal Arts
The Focus of the Project Must Be…
An workplace problem, not a social problem or issue.
Local, not global; narrow, not broad Organization-centered, not “me-
centered.”
Issues and Problems: Both Refer to …
•disagreeable situations that need to be addressed.
•situations that have no obvious satisfactory answer.
•situations about which people might disagree.
Critical Thinking: Distinguishing Problems and Issues
Solving a problem means dealing with an unacceptable situation deciding what action will change the situation for
the best Problems expressed as questions begin with “How
can?” or “What are the ways?” Resolving an issue
involves debating a controversial subject means deciding what belief or viewpoint is the
most reasonable Issues expressed as questions begin with “Does?”
Or “Should ?”
The Target Audience Must Be…
An individual, or at the most, a small group
A stakeholder A decision-maker; someone with
authority Accessible, cooperative
Finding a Topic
Brainstorm a list of all the groups, organizations, associations, clubs, etc., you are affiliated with or interested in (e.g., your place of employment, this university, your child’s school)
Next to each organization, write down current problems they face
Match the problems to the criteria to see which ones would be workable for W231
The Research Question
• Open-ended; not a yes/no
• Dependent on both primary & secondary research for a solution
• Specific, narrow, well-defined
• Begin with “How can….” Or “What are the ways…”
Some past projects’ questions
How can the IUPUI Psychology department recruit members for the Psychology Club?
How can the Indianapolis Park Ranger cadet program increase the number of new volunteers?
How can the Horizon House, a small nonprofit organization, improve fundraising strategies?
How can Roadway Express improve employee morale?
What are the ways the IUPUI School of Social Work can increase internship opportunities?
How can Menard’s reduce shoplifting? How can Central Group Home improve new
employee training? How can the Marriott reduce employee turnover?
Formulating a Preliminary Proposal
Choose one topic – the one that’s most appropriate for our W231 project (see “Choosing a Topic”)
Follow the assignment guidelines to draft your memo
Create a topic-specific subject line Send your memo to entire class Read your classmates’ proposals
before teams form
You will join a team based on…. The proposal you found most
interesting or most related to your major. Form a team with others who want to
work on that topic. -- OR
The students with whom you would most like to work. (min. 3, max. 5) Form a team & choose the one topic (out
of those proposed by members) that seems most workable and interesting.
Overview of the Research Procedures
Go local—find out what has already been done at your target organization to address the problem by interviewing the target audience (primary research)
Go global— find out what other organizations have done to solve the problem by conducting library (secondary) research
Back to local—find out the opinions of those affected by the problem by conducting a survey (primary research)
The Secondary (Library) Research
•
• Search the literature to discover what other organizations have done to address the problem, what the experts recommend• Analyze and synthesize what the authors say (literature review)
The Primary Research
Determine which ideas/solutions presented in the literature apply to the local situation your team is investigating.
Test those ideas by getting opinions of those involved with the problem.
Decide the best way to gather those opinions – usually a survey.
Primary Research Data: Tabulate, Interpret, Conclude
Create a research instrument, such as a questionnaire.
Conduct the research. Tabulate the data. Interpret the data. Create a visual based on key
findings.
Finishing the Project
The team will put it alltogether—analyze findingsfrom both the library research and the survey, draw conclusions, and make recommendations on the best solutions to the problem
Grading
You’ll be individually graded on parts of the project: Preliminary proposal Your section of the
annotated bibliography
Your section of the literature review
Your contributions to the project overall
You’ll be graded as a team on the Recommendation Report:
Transmittal letter Title page Analysis of the
literature Analysis of survey
findings References page Oral presentation
Benefits of Developing a Successful Report
You will achieve key course goals You will have evidence of your
professional writing skills, valuable for Job interviews Grad school applications