Running head RESEARCH PROPOSAL1RESEARCH PROPOSAL9.docx

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL1
RESEARCH PROPOSAL9
Hello,
I appreciate the timely submission of the assignment. This is a
difficult course and an on-time submission suggests you’re off
to a good start!
Just a couple comments about the introductory material. There
is no need for a table of contents, and you want to simply use an
APA formatted title page. I understand that you are likely
following the format of the Prospectus Template.
There seems to be some confusion with respect to what you are
required to do in this assignment. You were to present the
problem, purpose, and research questions for your intended
research. There was no need for a review of the literature except
as it applies to the development of your problem statement.
There was also no need to discuss methodology which is
premature given that this will be studied in the course. There
was also no need for the statement of hypotheses. As noted in
the assignment you are to: “Develop a problem statement,
purpose statement, and research questions for your intended
dissertation research that will use a quantitative approach.”
Your introduction deals with the concept of market
segmentation but there is a lack of understanding of what it is.
As noted in the article that you cite by Venter et al (2018),
market segmentation is not dividing a target market. It is the
first step in what is referred to as STP strategy. This stands for
segmentation, targeting and positioning. Market segmentation is
the process of dividing a market, all actual and potential buyers
of a product, into homogeneous groups. This can be done based

on a number of bases including geographic, demographic,
psychographic and behavioral as you mentioned. The objective
is to identify groups that have similar needs/wants. Once the
market is segmented, the marketer needs to determine what
segment(s) to target. Not all are equally acceptable. In order to
be useful, a segment needs to be measurable, accessible,
substantial, and distinguishable/differentiable. That is, the
segment needs to be of sufficient size and profitable to serve.
You also need to be able to reach those in the segment and
distinguish it from other segments.
Once the market is segmented, the organization needs to
evaluate the segments and decide on their strategy such as
concentrated marketing targeting one segment or multiple
segments. This is much more involved and complicated than you
suggest and involves considerable research. The final step in the
STP (segment, target, positioning) is how to position the brand
in the minds of the consumer, typically relative to the
competition. Again, this requires significant marketing research.
You then attempt to link customer satisfaction to customer
segmentation. Customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and
performance of an organization are all very different concept
and independent of market segmentation. For instance, an
organization could conceivably practice mass marketing with no
segmentation and have satisfied customers. You need to
demonstrate your understanding of customer satisfaction, how it
relates to customer loyalty, and how that relates to both market
segmentation and organizational performance There is
considerable research on all of these concepts that need to be
reviewed if you intend on linking this to your research
questions. As it is, it is not clear what the role of customer
satisfaction is in your research problem and subsequent
questions.
As you move into the statement of the problem, you then go into
an explanation of controllable (marketing mix) vs.
uncontrollable variables in the development of marketing
strategy. You also make a number of assertions that are not

supported by evidence such as whether a firm should develop a
different promotion messages for a segment. A firm not only
develops a different promotion message but a different product
offering for the segment. That is the objective of market
segmentation and targeting. Overall, it appears that you need to
learn more about marketing and the development of marketing
strategies. You cite a number of studies, but they lack
integration and cohesion.
The most critical issue with the proposal is that there is no
support for the problem. The School of Business Prospectus
Template was required reading for the week’s assignment since
it provides important information with respect to what is
required in the statement of the problem and purpose. As noted
in the Prospectus, in order for your problem to be viable, you
need to provide documentation that experts in the discipline
believe that the problem is worthy of scholarly research. No
such evidence is provided, and the review of the literature is
scarce and lacks focus. In short, there is no documentation that
a study on the relationship between market segmentation and
financial performance is worthy of scholarly research as
required. It is also not clear why this would be particularly
warranted in the technology sector. You would typically find
this at the end of an article on suggestions for future research.
If you have not read the School of Business Prospectus template
that is required reading for the week, you need to make sure that
you do so, focusing on the requirements for a problem to be
viable as well as what is to be included in the purpose. It is also
critical that you look ahead to the signature assignment in
which you will come back to this in the formation of a research
proposal based on the problem, purpose, and research questions.
The next assignment requires that you provide methods of
observation for three situations provided. It is important that
you read the text and apply the information explaining not just
the pros/cons of a particular method but why it is appropriate in
the given situation, as well as provide a detailed explanation of
the procedure you would use. In the second part of the

assignment, you are to familiarize yourself with the A-Z
databases at the library and examine what is contained in each.
In this case, you are looking for statistical information from a
source such as Statista. This is not about finding information in
journal articles in which primary data was collected. Finally,
you are to comment on whether observation or secondary data
would be useful in your intended research, given your research
questions.
I understand that it is generally appropriate to include
introductions and conclusions on papers and assignment
submissions. After teaching this course for some time, I’ve
come to the conclusion that this is not necessary in assignments
2-7. As you will note, these are not typical papers but are either
multi-part assignments or in the case of 6 and 7, the evaluation
of something. As a result, introductions typically involve the
reiteration of the assignment instructions that takes up valuable
space. It makes sense just to eliminate these and organize the
assignments using headings and subheadings consistent with
APA formatting.
Let me know if you have any questions on this, the feedback on
the assignment or as you work on the next. I’m available for
questions if there is any confusion as to what the assignment is
asking or content. I also recommend that you look ahead to the
signature assignment that will bring you back to your problem
in the design of a research proposal.
Dr. P
Effect of Market Segmentation on Financial Performance for
Technology Firms
Submitted to Northcentral University
Graduate Faculty of the School of Business
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Business Administration

by
Author
San Diego, CA
May 2020
Table of Contents
Introduction4
Statement of the Problem5
Purpose of the Study6
Research Questions6
Hypotheses6
Brief Review of the Literature7
Market segmentation criteria7
Research Method7
Measurement8
Summary8
References……………………………………………………………
……………………8
IntroductionComment by Susan Petroshius: Note: you want to
make sure that you are adhering to APA formatting in these
assignments. For instance, APA requires that the entire
document is double-spaced with no additional spaces between
sections/paragraphs as you have here.Also, while you seem to
be following the formatting in the Prospectus Template, APA
does not have an introduction heading (strange, isn’t it?)I
recommend you go the ASC and Academic Writer. If you go the
section on “learn” there is a tutorial on basic setup.
The technology industry is one among the most important
industries in the world presently. Indeed, electronic devices
have become an integral part of human life especially since the
turn of the 21st Century. Besides electronics, technological

improvements in areas like medicine have led to better and more
effective treatment procedures for previously difficult diseases.
Against this background, one can conclude that technology
companies are essential in the present and future human
existence. Similar to any other companies, technology
companies face the need to adopt certain strategies that will
enable them to exploit their full potential in terms of sales and
revenue generation. One such strategy is market
segmentation.Comment by Susan Petroshius: Source? It is
important to remember that you need to provide support for the
assertions that you make. This is critical in scholarly
writing.Comment by Susan Petroshius: Where is it suggested
that this is critical in this industry. Note that I’m not suggesting
that it is notbut you need to show that experts in the field
believe this is the case.
Venter, Wright and Dibb (2018) defined market segmentation as
the dividing of “a target market” into smaller and better-defined
segments. For example, a technology company could divide its
customer base along the lines of demographics, location, and
needs. This way, the company is able to make better decisions
for better customer satisfaction. In their analysis of market
segmentation, Dolnicar, Grün and Leisch (2018) noted four
types of market segmentation. Comment by Susan Petroshius:
Source? Comment by Susan Petroshius: This needs to be part of
the next paragraph where you are explaining the 4 types is
discussing or you have to be citing the source.
In the first place, there is demographic market segmentation
such as in terms of age, income, location, annual income and
more. The second type of market segmentation is psychographic
segmentation. This entails segmentation of the market based on
personality traits, values, lifestyles, priorities, attitudes and
more. The third type is behavioral segmentation that entails
purchasing habits, brand interactions, user status, and spending
habits. Lastly, there is geographic segmentation, which entails
segmenting markets in terms of ZIP code, country, climate, and
whether the customers are urban or rural.

Market segmentation, according to Cross, Belich and Rudelius
(2014) is especially crucial for marketing managers. The
marketing department of an organization is responsible for
pushing sales, and in turn, it influences the organization’s
financial performance. In particular, marketing managers use
the market segmentation strategy to create marketing messages
that are stronger, as well as building a deeper customer affinity.
In the end, the organization is able to service its customer base
better, which leads to better financial performance. This
assertion is in line with an analysis by Belás and Gabčová
(2016) that established a positive correlation between customer
satisfaction and financial performance of organizations.
Comment by Susan Petroshius: There seems to be some
confusion about basic marketing. Segmentation is the process
of dividing the market (all actual and potential buyers of a
product) into homogenous groups where the product can be
developed to meet the unique needs of that group/segment. The
idea that marketers “push sales” is one that is inconsistent with
current marketing thought and hasn’t’ been in since the 50s with
the introduction of the marketing concept. This suggests that the
focus of marketing in on creating consumer needs/wants and to
do so more efficiently and effectively than competitors. Today
and focus on marketing strategy in on creating customer value.
Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]: Source? Comment by Susan
Petroshius [2]: These are very different concepts. Statement of
the Problem
The financial performance of organizations is critical to their
existence, and as Rodriguez-Fernandez (2016) noted, it speaks
volumes about the nature and effectiveness of the organization’s
governance. However, many organizations find it difficult to
understand the meaning and impact of market segmentation on
their financial performance. Organizations are torn between
using market segmentation to increase their competitive
advantage or to use sub-markets to promote products/services
such that they cater to the needs of different customer groups
(Bruwer, Roediger & Herbst, 2017).Comment by Susan

Petroshius [2]: This article provides some good information on
the concepts surrounding market segmentation. The study was
not, however, what this study was about. It tested a domain
specific research instrument for purposes of segmentation.
Organizations encounter various variables, some of them being
controllable while others being uncontrollable. Controllable
variables include price, advertisement, and product/service. The
uncontrollable variables include consumer behavior, the
economy, competition, and other extraneous variables. In the
technology industry, market segmentation is essential for better
financial performance. Technology firms identify segments in
the market, the composition of the segments, as well as their
needs. To this end, the technology firms encounter problems
such as if market segmentation allows them to develop certain
products/services. Another problem that organizations encounter
is whether they should develop a promotional message for each
market segment or not. Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]:
Source? You need to be providing sources for your assertions.
Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]: Where is this suggested?
You need to provide source. Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]:
Source? Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]: These are not
research problems. You are to be identifying Purpose of the
Study
The purpose of this quantitative study is to establish the effect
of market segmentation on financial performance for technology
firms. Specifically, the study will focus on technology
companies in the United States. Simple random sampling and
document review will be used to collect quantitative data. The
data that will be used in the study include financial statements
of the selected companies in the 2018/2019 financial year and
the market strategies that the companies use. The study will
adopt a descriptive research design because it is ideal for
describing phenomena (Bell, Bryman & Harley, 2018). Besides,
a descriptive study does not require a researcher to manipulate
any of the variables. Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]: You
have not provided support for this in the problem statement.

Comment by Susan Petroshius [2]: Rationale? Research
Questions
To examine the topic, two research questions will be guide the
researcher during the study.
i. What kind of relationship exists between market segmentation
and financial performance of technology firms in the United
States?
ii. What effect does market segmentation has on the
profitability of technology firms in the United
States?Hypotheses
The following hypotheses will guide this study:H10.
: There is a positive relationship between market segmentation
and financial performance.H10.: Technology firms that adopt a
market segmentation strategy are more profitable than the ones
that do not adopt this strategy.
Brief Review of the LiteratureComment by Susan Petroshius:
One article does not constitute a review of the literature. Market
segmentation criteriaComment by Susan Petroshius: Regarding
of the style of formatting such as APA, MLA, etc., a subheading
in only used if there is more than one. If there is only one, it is
not necessary.
According to Venter et al (2018), organizations perform market
segmentation differently based on certain criteria. Depending on
the criteria, the primary outcome desired is the ability to avoid
the risks ineffective business strategies. Organizations such as
technology firms divide their market based on certain
characteristics that are key to better performance. Such
organizations might create a generic strategy that is then
replicated across all segments (Liu, Liao, Huang & Liao, 2019).
Specifically, dividing the customer base into smaller segments
enables organizations to target the customers better and to
respond to changes in tastes and preferences. Liu et al (2019)
argued that the best criteria for market segmentation takes a
multiple criteria approach. To this end, organizations combine
“preference analysis and segmentation decision” to identify the
best approach that will enable them to achieve the set objective

such as financial performance. Comment by Susan Petroshius:
This is a complex study in which the authors propose a
procedure that will result in information on the pros/cons of
alternative products in different segments on multiple criteria.
It requires that marketing research be conducted in which
respondents have to provide pairwise comparisons of alternative
products on a number of criteria. They provide an example of
how this is done using 24 alternative car models and also
suggestions for future research that are not related to the study
you are proposing. Their purpose is only to present an
alternative approach to traditional pairwise comparisons.
Research MethodComment by Susan Petroshius: This is
premature and not part of this assignment. For instance,
sampling approaches will be studies later in the course.
The proposed method for this study is descriptive in nature.
Since the goal of the study is to establish the effect of market
segmentation on the financial performance of technology firms
in the United States, the researcher will use available
information like financial statements, earnings calls, and market
sentiment to describe the phenomenon. In particular, the study
will choose a specific technology company using a random
sampling technique for use as a case study. The need for a
random sampling technique is to ensure that the study achieves
internal validity.
Data will be collected via questionnaires and by reviewing
relevant documents. The need for questionnaires is to obtain
information about the company’s strategy. In addition, the
choice of questionnaires is because they are cheap to prepare
and to administer. On the other hand, document review is the
easiest way to get relevant information. The choice of this data
collection method is also based on the fact that many American
tech companies are publicly traded and that their financial
information is easily retrievable from the internet.
MeasurementComment by Susan Petroshius: What is contained
here is not measurement.
The study will collect data primarily through document review

and questionnaires. For the purposes of analysis, the study will
use simple statistical analysis techniques as well as statistical
analysis software. SummaryComment by Susan Petroshius: This
would be a first level centered heading.
This study intends to find out the effect of market segmentation
on financial performance of technology firms based in the
United States. The proposed research method is quantitative,
with a descriptive study approach. The study will collect data
through questionnaires and review of publicly available
documents that have relevant information.
References
Belás, J., & Gabčová, L. (2016). The relationship among
customer satisfaction, loyalty and financial performance of
commercial banks. E+M Ekonomie a Management, 19(1), 132-
147. doi:10.15240/tul/001/2016-1-010
Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business research
methods. Oxford university press.
Bruwer, J., Roediger, B. & Herbst, F. (2017). Domain-specific
market segmentation: a wine-related lifestyle (WRL)
approach. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol.
29 No. 1, pp. 4-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-10-2015-
0161
Cross, J. C., Belich, T. J., & Rudelius, W. (2014). How
marketing managers use market segmentation: An exploratory
study. Proceedings of the 1990 Academy of Marketing Science
(AMS) Annual Conference, 531-536. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-
13254-9_107Comment by Susan Petroshius: This is odd. Is this
from a text?
Dolnicar, S., Grün, B. & Leisch, F. (2018). Market
Segmentation Analysis. In: Market Segmentation Analysis.
Management for Professionals. Springer, Singapore
Liu, J., Liao, X., Huang, W., & Liao, X. (2019). Market
segmentation: A multiple criteria approach combining
preference analysis and segmentation decision. Omega, 83, 1–
13. doi: 10.1016/j.omega.2018.01.008

Rodriguez-Fernandez, M. (2016). Social responsibility and
financial performance: The role of good corporate
governance. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 19(2), 137-151.
doi:10.1016/j.brq.2015.08.001
Venter, P., Wright, A., & Dibb, S. (2018). Performing market
segmentation: A performative perspective. Marketing
Performativity, 62-83. doi:10.4324/9781315300238-4
Create a console application using Visual Studio (1).
Name the source file Program01.cs.
• Add your Program01.cs and Program01.exe files to a folder
Program01.
• Compress the Program01 folder and upload to Bb at the
appropriate
assignment submission link.
Requirements (remember to identify the requirements by
number):
1. Output a header in the console: “This is Program01”
• The program should accept the names of five days of the week
as
command line arguments.
2. Output a message: “You entered the following {the number of
days} days:”
3. Output the five days of the week in the order entered.
4. Output a thank you message: “Thank you for running
Program01.
Not meeting all requirements = No ‘’0” points for the
assignment.
Flowchart
Include a flowchart of your program.
Construct your flowchart using draw.io. Use appropriate
symbols. Use vertical/horizontal connections (NOT
slanted/angled connections).
Export your flowchart to the SVG format (File | Export as... |
SVG)

Submit the SVG file with your assignment
Create a console application using Visual Studio (2).
Name the
Solution
and Project Program02.
• Output appropriate communication messages to the user.
• Output appropriate results.
Requirements (remember to identify the requirements by
number):
1. Output a header in the console: “This is Program02”
2. Ask the user to enter three floats and read the values into
variables.
3. Perform addition, multiplication, and division examples with
the numbers.
4. Implicitly cast the floats into doubles.
5. Explicitly cast the floats into ints.
6. Use conversion methods to convert the floats into strings.
7. Ask the user to enter one of four string choices and
demonstrate a switch
statement based on the string entered by the user.
8. Use decision constructs to sort the items into ascending
order.
• Use existing floats from #2.

• Must accommodate any entry order and sort correctly.
• Do not use the Sort() method
9. Output a thank you message: “Thank you for running
Program02.”
Flowchart
Include a flowchart of your program.
Construct your flowchart using draw.io. Use appropriate
symbols. Use vertical/horizontal connections (NOT
slanted/angled connections).
Export your flowchart to the SVG format (File | Export as... |
SVG)
Submit the SVG file with your assignment
Steps in Planning and Conducting
Research
Video Title: Steps in Planning and Conducting Research
Originally Published: 2011

Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc
City: Thousand Oaks, USA
ISBN: 9781483397153
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483397153
(c) SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods.
https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483397153
SPEAKER 1: Steps in Planning and Conducting Research. Sir
Isaac Newton explained gravity and
planetary orbit. Louis Pasteur said the tiny bacteria can cause
disease. Benjamin Franklin claimed
that lightening
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: is electric in nature. All of these

greats had something in common. They
used scientific research to learn about the world. They took the
knowledge they had acquired from
others, came up with new ideas of their own, and tested them.
These are all essential parts of what
is called the scientific method.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: If we know how to conduct research,
we can go about answering questions
about the nature of the environment, medicine, human beings,
animals, and a host of other topics.
Conducting research helps us figure out cause and effect
relationships. For example, which
environmental conditions
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: cause bees to produce the most
honey? Which fertility treatments will help
the most women get pregnant? Which cancer medicine shrinks

tumors with the fewest side effects?
Understanding research methods also makes us better consumers
of research. If we're reading about
a study in the newspaper,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: we'll have a better idea of whether or
not we believe the results. Or if we're
advised to undergo a medical procedure, we can read the related
research that has been published,
and decide whether we feel the potential benefits outweigh the
risks. Let's explore the steps of
scientific inquiry that will improve your ability to draw reliable
conclusions
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: in your own research, and analyze
published research more critically. We'll
focus on eight steps. Choose a topic. What do you want to learn
about? Generate a hypothesis. What

relationship do you suspect there may be between phenomena?
Select and define variables.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Between which specific variables
would you like to find a relationship?
Identify participants. What population are you interested in
studying? Design the study. How can you
observe the phenomena in a controlled setting? Plan and
conduct the research. What are the specific
steps you will
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: take to test your hypothesis? Analyze
results and draw conclusions. How
can you use your data to bolster or revise your hypothesis?
Share your findings. How can you tell
others what you have done, so that they can repeat and
strengthen your results, or learn from your
mistakes?

SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Let's look at each of these steps
individually. Choosing a Topic. The first
step in research is to choose a topic and a general research
design, which means figuring out what
you want to learn about,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: and how you can best learn about it.
Some of the most common types of
research designs are observational, correlational, and
experimental. Observational studies allow you
to merely examine the nature of a particular construct, that is a
variable that you are interested in.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: For example, you might be interested
in determining what percentage of the
SAGE
2011 SAGE Publications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
SAGE Research Methods Video

of 13
Steps in Planning and Conducting Research
population abuses alcohol. Correlational studies allow you to
examine the relationship between two
or more different constructs. For example, you might want to
know whether alcohol use increases as
depressed mood increases.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Experimental studies allow you to
examine the causal effects of one variable
on another variable. For example, you might want to study
whether drinking alcohol causes your
motor reflexes to become slower. Next, identify your variables.
NICOLE CAIN: A variable, sometimes known as a construct, is
a special topic of interest that varies

from person to person. A person can score high on your
variable, or they can score low on your
variable.
SPEAKER 1: A variable, or a construct, is a phenomenon that
can be measured at higher, or lower,
levels depending upon the subjects of your study, whom or what
you're observing or acting upon, and
the circumstances under which you are studying them. Some
examples of variables that are studied
in the social sciences are intelligence, aggression,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: depression, racial prejudice, and
memory.
EVELYN BEHAR: There are going to be some people who are
extremely intelligent, some people who
are of average intelligence, and some people who are of low
intelligence. Another variable that's often

studied is aggression, or violence. Obviously in the population,
you're going to have some people
who are very, very violent, some people who have maybe some
tendencies towards violence, but it
inhibit it, and then some people who are not
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: at all naturally violent.
SPEAKER 1: Next, you will need to ask a question that is
scientific in nature. In other words, ask
about the relationship between one variable and another. You
could choose to ask questions such
as, what is the impact of depression on family relationships.
What is the impact of racial prejudice on
juror perceptions?
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Or what is the impact of anxiety on
memory? When creating your study, it
is important to choose a topic that you can actually measure. If

you were a botanist, it would be fairly
easy to measure the effect of watering a plant on the plants
growth by controlling the amount of water
you give the plant,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: and physically measuring how big the
plant gets. Other studies, such as
those in the social sciences, can be more complicated.
NICOLE CAIN: Some populations, or constructs, need special
considerations in order to be
measured. One example of that would be if you were interested
in examining how brain activity plays
a role in depression. You would first need to make sure that you
have a way of measuring brain
activity before starting the study.
EVELYN BEHAR: If you're interested in studying genetic
transmission in schizophrenia, you obviously

are going to need a way to measure genetic transmission. So
you're going to have to have access to
some sort of DNA testing technology, in order to ultimately
answer your question.
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Page 3 of 13
NICOLE CAIN: Another example of that would be if you were
interested in racial attitudes of jury
members. You would want to have participants who are actual
jurors, but that might not always be
possible. So you would need to create what's called an analog

situation.
EVELYN BEHAR: An analog situation is essentially when you
ask your participants to pretend that
they are in a particular situation. So you might ask your
participants to imagine that they are members
of a jury, and to listen to the case before them, and then to
answer a series of questions. What you
might want to do, in these cases,
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: in order to establish what's a
much more believable analog situation,
is do something like set up your laboratory to look like a
courtroom, so you could have a judge, you
could have a bailiff, you could have attorneys. And you could
really, if you put enough money and
time into it, you could really make your laboratory look very
realistic.

SPEAKER 1: To summarize, you'll need to make sure that you
have the technology needed to
measure your variables, as well as a setting that is conducive to
accurate replication of participants'
behavior. Before you settle on a research question, you'll want
to take the time to read the scientific
literature to make sure that your question hasn't been answered
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: in past studies, and that there is a
good theoretical basis for asking the
question. Generate a Hypothesis. By the time you finish reading
the scientific literature about your
topic, you'll probably
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: have an idea as to what impact you
think your first variable has on your
second variable. This is a hypothesis.
NICOLE CAIN: A hypothesis is a prediction about how your

variables of interests will relate to
each other. Hypotheses should be based on previous research.
It's not good enough to just take
a wild guess about how your variables would relate to each
other, you need to look at what other
researchers have found to be true.
EVELYN BEHAR: So let's say, for example, that you know
based on past research that when people
are anxious, they tend to have poor memory skills. And you
want to now come along and run an
actual experiment to look at the causal relationship between
these two things. So you want to ask the
question, if people are anxious will that
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: cause them to have poor
memory.
SPEAKER 1: A hypothesis takes the form of an if then

statement. In a correlational study, in which
we are just observing, you may predict that if a certain
condition exists, then it is more likely, or less
likely, for some other condition to exist. In an experiment, you
will be looking for cause and effect.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: So your hypothesis will be along the
lines of, if a certain action or
circumstance is imposed, then a certain outcome will take place.
Select and Define Variables.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Selecting and defining your variables
is one of the most important steps in
the research process, because choosing good variables, and good
definitions of those variables, may
make the difference between finding interesting results, and not
finding anything useful.
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NICOLE CAIN: All experiments are made up of two different
types of variables, independent
variables, and dependant variables. The independent variable is
a variable that is active in your
research study. It's the variable that you, as the experimenter,
manipulate during the course of your
study. So for example, you could be interested in studying
NICOLE CAIN [continued]: the effects of mood on memory. So
you can bring people into the lab, and
induce a mood in them-- a positive mood or a negative mood--
maybe through having them watch

sad or happy movie clips. Your independent variable would be
the mood state that you were inducing
in your participants. In contrast, the dependent variable is a
passive variable.
NICOLE CAIN [continued]: It's the variable that the
independent variable acts upon. It's the variable
that you're measuring as part of the study. So to use our
example, the recall of the list of words, or
the number of words that they can remember, is your dependent
variable. All experiments must have
at least one independent variable that would have at least two
different levels.
NICOLE CAIN [continued]: In our example, it would be the
positive versus the negative mood. In
addition, all studies need to have at least one dependent
variable.

EVELYN BEHAR: So just to recap, the independent variable is
the active variable, it's what you
manipulate as an experimenter. And the dependent variable is
the passive variable, it's the thing that
gets measured. It's the thing that is acted upon.
NICOLE CAIN: All variables can be expressed in two different
ways, conceptually or operationally.
When you define a variable as conceptual, it's the general more
abstract way of thinking of your
variable. When you want to be more specific, you look at the
operational definition of your variable.
This is the more specific and concrete way of thinking about
how you're going to measure or
manipulate
NICOLE CAIN [continued]: your variable.
EVELYN BEHAR: Intelligence, which is a variable, is really a

conceptual variable. It's kind of abstract.
You want to be able to measure it in some concrete way, and
you're going to operationalize it by
perhaps giving people an intelligence test.
SPEAKER 1: Remember, conceptual variables are general.
Operational definitions are specific. Your
independent variable, which you manipulate, can be applied at
two or more levels. If you include only
two levels-- for example, if you have participants in your study
on sleep deprivation--
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: get no sleep or a full night's sleep,
you can find only a linear relationship
between the levels. In this case, it will appear that there was a
clear effect of sleep deprivation on
depressed mood. Participants who got no sleep at all are in a
depressed mood. And participants who

got a full night's sleep are in a fine mood.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: If you include three or more levels--
for example, no sleep, four hours of
sleep, and eight hours of sleep-- then you may end up with a
non-linear relationship, which could tell
you something more complex about the relationship between
sleep and depression. In this case, it
appears that getting no sleep and getting a full night's sleep may
both lead to a fine mood,
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Page 5 of 13

SPEAKER 1 [continued]: while participants who got only four
hours of sleep are in a depressed mood.
Identify your Participants. The next step is to choose your
participants. Who will be part of your study?
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: You may be interested in learning
about everyone in the world, but more
likely you'll choose a more specific population.
NICOLE CAIN: There are many different populations that
researchers can draw from. Some of the
examples would include high school students, college students,
patients in mental health setting,
or prisoners. Once you've identified your population, you must
select your sample. Your sample is a
subset of the population that you want to study.
EVELYN BEHAR: As researchers, we're interested in
potentially many different populations. So for

example, one researcher may be interested in prisoners, another
researcher maybe interested in
psychiatry in patients, yet another researcher might be
interested in infants. Let's say that I am
interested in prisoners. This is the population that I'm interested
in.
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: Now once I have established
that, I need to select my sample, which
is a subset of the population. Ideally it would be lovely if I
could go out there and measure every
single prisoner in the world, but obviously that's not realistic.
It's going to be too expensive, it's going
to take up too many resources. So instead, I'm going to select a
sample. Say I select a sample of 200
prisoners.
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: One thing that I need to take
into consideration is the idea of selecting

a random sample. And what that means is that every single
person in that population of prisoners--
that means every prisoner in the world-- has an equal chance of
ending up in my study, ending up in
my sample. That's a random sampling. And this is an ideal in
research.
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: This is something that we strive
for, but we often can't actually get
there, and this is why. Let's say that I live in Pennsylvania, and
around me there are 10 different
prisons in the state that I could go and measure prisoners. And
that's great, and that's probably what
I'm going to end up doing as a researcher in Pennsylvania, but
when I get my results
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: we have a potential problem.
The potential problem is that I may be

answering questions about prisoners in Pennsylvania. I may not
be answering a question about
prisoners all over the world. Perhaps there is something
different about prisoners in New York, or
Florida, or California relative to prisoners in Pennsylvania.
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: So even though I'm going to
strive for getting a random sample from
my study, it's probably unlikely that I'm actually going to be
able to get a truly random sample in my
investigation. The truth is, all research investigations are
limited in terms of which the sample we're
selecting. And if you think about it in the most simple term,
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: even just picking up the
telephone, and calling a potential participant
already ensures that you don't have a truly random sample.
That's because there are some people in

the world who don't have a telephone. So by definition, you are
systematically excluding those people
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Page 6 of 13
who don't own a telephone, perhaps people in very, very rural
areas.
SPEAKER 1: Select an Appropriate Design. At this point, you
have a hypothesis and a population.
You know what you're studying, and you know who will
participate in your study. How will you conduct
your study? You are now ready to select design features that

SPEAKER 1 [continued]: will help you find answers. There are
two main decisions you need to make.
The first decision is whether to have more than one independent
variable. If you choose to have only
one independent variable, this is called a one-way design. This
type of experiment is relatively simple
and straightforward.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Remember that even in a one-way
design, you can include more than two
levels of the independent variable, so that you can draw
nonlinear conclusions. A factorial design has
more than one independent variable. It is usually beneficial to
use a factorial design, because it is
very rare for only one construct, or variable,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: to be influencing a dependent
variable.

EVELYN BEHAR: It's really important to try, if you can, to
have more than one independent variable
in your study, and here is why. Let's say that you are interested
in the effects of sleep deprivation on
mood the next day. So we all know that when we've been sleep
deprived, maybe we can be a little bit
crabby the next day, or a little bit overly sensitive. However it's
unlikely that sleep deprivation
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: is the only thing that's impacting
mood the next day. It's probably
the case that there are lots of variables that could impact your
mood the following day. So ideally,
in addition to sleep deprivation, you might want to also have a
measure of people's relationship
problems, maybe their food intake, because we know that these
are also variables that
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: can impact the next day's mood.

So again, just to recap, you want to
make sure if you can, whenever possible, to not only have one
independent variable in your study,
but to have multiple ones, because in the real world we're not
just affected by only one variable. We're
affected by lots of variables in our lives.
SPEAKER 1: If you examine two or more variables, you'll get a
more complete picture of what is
impacting your dependent variable. If you're using a factorial
design, you'll need to keep track of which
level of each independent variable is being applied in each case.
The method for keeping track of
these combinations is called factorial notation.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: For example, you may choose to have
three independent variables-- sleep
deprivation, caffeine intake, and life stress. You may have three

levels of sleep deprivation, two levels
of caffeine intake, and three levels of life stress. This would be
called a 3 by 2 by 3 factorial design.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: There are three numbers, because
there are three independent variables
in the study. Each of these numbers tells you how many levels
exist, within a given independent
variable. The first three tells you that there are three levels of
sleep deprivation-- no sleep, four hours
of sleep, and a full night's sleep.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: The two tells you that there are two
levels of caffeine intake-- one cup or
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three cups. The second three tells you that there are three levels
of life stress-- low, medium, and
high. In this example of factorial design, you'll have 18 unique
conditions, or cells.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: You find this number by multiplying
the number of levels within each
independent variable. Here you multiply 3 by 2, which is 6, and
then multiply that by 3, which brings
you to 18. If there were more independent variables, you would
continue to multiply by the next
number of levels. The product-- which is 18 in our example--
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: tells you the number of cells in the
experiment. Using a factorial design

is more complicated, but it allows you to ask more realistic
questions, and create a scenario that is
closer to the real world, where more than one variable affects
the dependent variable.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: The other major decision you need to
make in designing your experiment is
whether participants will serve in one, or more than one, cell of
the study. In between-subject designs,
each participant serves in only one cell of the experiment. For
example, in the sleep deprivation study,
you would need 360 different participants
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: in order to have 20 participants in
each cell. That is 20 participants times
18 cells. On the other hand, if your plan is to have participants
serve in more than one cell, you have
within-subjects design. In our example, you might take the life
stress variable, and make it within-

subjects variable.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: You would then expose each
participant to each of the three stress levels,
and measure their mood after each one. Plan and Conduct
Research. Once you have determined
who your participants are,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: and what kind of study you are
conducting, you can begin the hands on
creation of the experiment. This means setting up your
laboratory, so that it is appropriate for your
study, which sometimes means transforming it into something
that no longer seems like a laboratory
at all. An important concept in creating your study
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: is experimental realism.
NICOLE CAIN: Experimental realism means that you want to

try to set up your laboratory as close as
possible to a real world. So for example, if you're interested in
looking at attitudes of jury participants,
you would want to actually take the time and effort to set your
laboratory up, so that it looks like an
actual court room. It gives the participants in your research
study
NICOLE CAIN [continued]: a chance to act naturally, and act as
though they were actually in a court
room, giving you more real life data.
EVELYN BEHAR: You might not get there 100%, but you can
at least increase the likelihood that
you're going to get individuals, participants in your study,
actually behaving as they normally would.
SPEAKER 1: Another thing to remember when you're running
an experiment is that you must

randomly assign your participants to the various conditions.
Without random assignment, you do not
have a true experiment. Non-random assignment could lead to
biased assignment.
EVELYN BEHAR: One of the hallmarks, if not the hallmark of
an experimental study, is the idea of
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Page 8 of 13
random assignment. So when you are creating or designing an
experiment, you want to make sure
that you are randomly assigning your participants to the
different conditions of your experiment, and

you want to do it in a way that is not at all biased.
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: So very old-fashioned, but very
effective way, is to literally flip a coin,
and decide is the participant going to end up in condition a or
condition b. And you want to be very
careful. You don't want to let your emotions get in the way. So
let's say that the first participant who
arrives for your study is a woman named Mary,
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: who is clinically depressed and
here for a study comparing cognitive
behavioral therapy for depression to a wait list comparison
condition. And you flip your coin and it
lands on tails, and that means that Mary is about to go into the
weightless condition. And you haven't
even told Mary, yet but Mary is all ready.

EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: She's crying, she's weepy, she's
telling you about all of her life
problems that go along with her depression. And it starts to pull
at your heartstrings a little bit. And
you say to yourself, I just don't have the heart to put Mary in
the weightless condition. I'm going to
save the weightless condition for someone maybe who's
suffering a little bit less. And I'm going to go
ahead and put Mary in the active treatment condition, because I
really care about Mary, and I like her,
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: and I want her to get better.
Even though you're being very sensitive,
you have broken one of the cardinal rules of experimentation,
which is to stick to the random
assignment plan. So when somebody comes in and you flip that
coin, you absolutely, without any
exceptions, you must put them into the condition

EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: to which they've been assigned.
SPEAKER 1: Now you're ready to run the experiment and
collect the data. This is the crux of the
matter, though it is crucial that you complete the previous steps
so that your study yields credible
information, and the upcoming steps so that you can share what
you've learned with others.
NICOLE CAIN: So it's important for you to standardize your
entire studies, so that all participants in
your study undergo the exact same condition. So for example, if
you were interested in studying
personality traits of criminals versus non-criminals, you want to
make sure that you're holding all
things constant in your study, and that you're treating both
groups equally.
NICOLE CAIN [continued]: This will ensure that there are no

differences between the two groups,
except for your experimental manipulation.
EVELYN BEHAR: Every person who walks into your laboratory
for that study, no matter which
condition they're in, gets the thing treatment and lots of
different levels, except for that one
independent variable. So how do you make sure that you're
treating everybody exactly the same?
You might want to have a script that the experimenter follows.
You want to make sure that everybody
EVELYN BEHAR [continued]: is going into the same room.
Also it would be helpful if the research
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of 13
assistant, or the experimenter, were naive about the whole
purpose of the study. So when you have
this person working for you, and meeting with all of the
different participants who come through the
door, that person should not know what the hypotheses of the
study are.
SPEAKER 1: Analyze Results and Draw Conclusions. Data
analysis can be very complex, and
becoming an expert requires many years of instruction. But
there are some basics you should know.
Before you begin an in-depth analysis,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: you may want to create a rudimentary
graph, so that you can see if any

patterns jump out at you. Your independent variable will be
along the x-axis, and your dependent
variable will be along the y-axis. One of the first things you
want to look for is central tendency, or
participants' typical performance on your variables of interest.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: There are three measures of central
tendency. The first measure of central
tendency is the mean, this is the average of a distribution,
usually calculated separately for unique
conditions of an experiment, so that can later be compared.
Each mean is the average of all the
scores for a given condition, or set of conditions.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: They are added up and divided by the
number of participants in that group.
The second measure of central tendency is the median. Unlike
the mean, which takes the average

of all of the scores, the median is the middle number in a
distribution of scores. If there are 25
participants in a group,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: and you write out their scores in
ascending order, the median will be
whatever score appears 13th, or right in the middle. The third
measure of central tendency is the
mode. The mode, is the most commonly recorded value in a
distribution of scores.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: For non-experimental research,
though you are not manipulating the
variables, you can investigate more than one variable, and
analyze your data for correlations. These
correlations do not tell you about cause and effect, but they do
tell you about the relationship between
two variables. Correlations range from negative 1 to positive 1.

SPEAKER 1 [continued]: A positive number means that there is
a positive relationship between the
two variables. In other words, as one variable increases, so does
the other. A negative number
means that there is a negative relationship between the two
variables. As one increases, the other
decreases.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: The size of the number tells you the
magnitude of the correlation. The closer
the value is to the extremes, that is to positive 1 or negative 1,
the stronger the relationship is between
the two variables. For example, 0.9 stronger than 0.3. 3
Negative 0.4 is stronger than 0.2,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: even though one is negative and the
other is positive. When we conduct
experiments, we're trying to find cause and effect by
manipulating the independent variables.

Analyzing the data from experimental studies differs depending
on the experimental design. Let's first
look at one-way designs,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: experiments with just one independent
variable. To understand the results
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Page 10 of 13
of your study, you'll statistically compare the means of the
different groups. In our earlier example--
examining the effect of sleep deprivation on mood-- we had
three levels of sleep, no sleep, four hours

of sleep,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: and a full night's sleep. Let's assume
you measured depressed mood using
the Beck Depression Inventory , or BDI. You might find the
following. Participants who got no sleep
had a mean BDI of 26. Participants who got four hours of sleep
had a mean BDI of 18.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Participants who got eight hours of
sleep had a mean BDI of eight. Here
you would run a T-test to statistically test for differences
between the three levels of sleep, and the
results of the test would tell you whether those three levels
yielded significantly different values on
the dependent variable-- that is,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: depressed mood or BDI. This is
necessary in order to draw conclusions,

which we will talk about shortly. For factorial designs,
experiments with more than one independent
variable, you will run an analysis of variance, or ANOVA. The
ANOVA allows us to answer questions
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: about the effects of each of the
independent variables, and the possible
interaction between or among them. Let's consider a 2 by 2
factorial design. This is the most common
type of design in research studies, and it will enable you to
walk through the ANOVA process.
Running an analysis of variance will allow
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: you to answer three questions. One, is
there a main effect of the first
independent variable? This ignores the influence of the second
independent variable. Two, is there
a main effect of the second independent variable? This ignores

the influence of the first independent
variable. And three, is there an interaction between the two
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: independent variables? This takes
both independent variables into
consideration. In our sleep deprivation example, using just two
levels of sleep-- 0 hours and 8 hours--
and two levels of stress-- low and high-- you would ask these
three questions. One, is there a main
effect of sleep deprivation?
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Perhaps you'll find that participants
who got no sleep at all show higher
depressed mood than participants who got 8 hours of sleep.
Two, is there a main effect of stress
level? Perhaps you'll find that participants who underwent high
levels of stress show higher
depressed mood, than participants who

SPEAKER 1 [continued]: underwent low levels of stress. Three,
is there an interaction between sleep
deprivation and stress level? You could find that participants
who receive no sleep showed more
depressed mood if they underwent high levels of stress, than if
they underwent low levels of stress.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: But that those who received eight
hours of sleep showed more depressed
mood if they underwent low levels of stress, than if they
underwent high levels of stress. Now you're
ready to draw your conclusions.
EVELYN BEHAR: At the end when you've actually analyzed
your data and come up with your results,
what you want to do is go back to that initial hypothesis, or
prediction, and compare them. You want to
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Page 11 of 13
see well, I made this prediction, I posed this hypothesis, these
were my results. Do my results support
the hypothesis or do they refute the hypothesis?
NICOLE CAIN: If your original hypothesis has been refuted,
you want to think about why that might
be, and also think about how that impacts the theory that your
hypothesis was drawn around. If your
hypothesis is supported, you want to think about replicating
your results. You may have actually found
this result by chance. This happens, this is statistically possible.

NICOLE CAIN [continued]: So you want to make sure that you
can find the same result a second time.
If you can actually replicate your study using the same methods,
and a different set of participants,
with even a different set of experimenters, this gives you a lot
more confidence that your result is
accurate.
SPEAKER 1: Share Findings. Now you're ready to share your
new knowledge with the world. Here
are some guidelines that will help you figure out what you need
to include in your research report.
First, you need to write an introduction describing the
theoretical background of your study, past
evidence that
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: supports your hypotheses, and how
this idea developed logically, based

on past studies and existing theories. Next, you'll explain how
you conducted your experiment.
How many participants were included, and how did you select
them? What are their demographic
characteristics-- their age,
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: race, or ethnicity, et cetera. You'll
need to share your experimental design.
For example, you can explain that you created a 2 by 2 between-
subjects factorial design, and
discuss the independent and dependent variables. Then you'll
explain your procedure by giving a
step-by-step explanation of what
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: participants did in the experiment,
any special equipment used to collect
data, how variables were operationalized-- that is defined in a
way that is measurable-- and similar

details. Of course, you also want to share your results. Include
all of your data analyses. Finally
discuss your results in light of existing research.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: How this adds knowledge to the
world. What the limitations of the study
were, and how this impacts real-world practices. You may also
make suggestions for future research.
Conclusion.
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Now that you've learned about
planning and conducting research, you can
begin to think about what you would like to add to the world of
scientific investigation. Remember,
here are the basic steps. Choose a topic, read existing research
before you decide what you will
study, generate a hypothesis-- your if then prediction-- select

SPEAKER 1 [continued]: and define independent and dependent
variables, and operationalize them,
identify participants. Remember, you're finding a sample within
a population. Design the study,
include whether you'll have one independent variable, or more
than one. Plan and conduct the
research.
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Page 12 of 13
SPEAKER 1 [continued]: Analyze results and draw conclusions.
And finally, share your findings so

that others may learn from your research. Good luck and see
you in the laboratory.
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Page 13 of 13
14
Doctoral Dissertation
Prospectus Paper
Template
School of Business
(SB)
Version: December 2017
© Northcentral University, 2017The SB Prospectus Template
The SB Prospectus is a stepping stone into the final process that
students have been preparing for throughout their programs –
the dissertation. Using this template, you will lay out the

framework for the structure and content of your Dissertation
Proposal, which, in turn, provides the framework for the
Dissertation Manuscript. While the doctoral program of studies
has been training you to be an independent researcher and
expert in your field, you are not alone. If you have questions
during this process please reach out to your professor. Your
Prospectus will be presented as part of your portfolio in the
Portfolio course. A grading rubric can be found within the SB
Doctoral Portfolio Handbook.
How to Use this Template
Milestone document templates are pre-formatted to conform to
Northcentral University dissertation requirements. Templates
include the required section headings for each milestone
document.
Northcentral Milestone Document Templates represent the
standards of the research and academic communities for
research writing. Because this Prospectus Paper Template
(PPT) provides the framework for the structure and content of
the Dissertation Proposal, it is important for students’
Prospectus Papers to adhere to the template in terms of content,
organization, and format. In addition, the template serves as a
valuable guide to the logical flow of the document, ensuring
alignment among the problem, purpose, and methodological
design and analysis, allowing the reason for, and the nature of,
the study to be fully clarified. Adherence to the milestone

template in terms of content, organization, and format will
greatly facilitate the development of acceptable milestone
documents throughout the dissertation process.
Enter text directly into the template. Eliminate template
instructions and example text. Do not change the format, section
headings, margins, page numbering, or font. Exceptions to APA
6th edition (e.g., 1.5 inch margin on the left, single-spaced
references) unique to dissertations are reflected in the templates
and take precedence over APA format. Refer to the Dissertation
Center for current resources. Milestone documents submitted to
the SB that are not formatted using the template will be returned
without review.
DELETE THIS PAGE
Submission of a milestone document for SB Review indicates
that the dissertation chair, student, and committee have read the
Dissertation requirements described in the Doctoral Candidacy
Resource Guide, guidebooks, and templates. Additionally,
submission for SB Review indicates that the dissertation chair
and committee have carefully read the student’s milestone
document and attest that it meets all of the requirements set
forth.
[Title]

Choose an item.
Submitted to Northcentral University
Graduate Faculty of the School of Business
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Choose an item.
by
Chelsea Young
San Diego, CA
December 2016
Table of Contents
Introduction2
Statement of the Problem2
Purpose of the Study2
Research Questions2
Hypotheses2
Brief Review of the Literature2
Theme/Sub-Topic 12
Theme/Sub-Topic 22
Summary2
Research Method2
Operational Definition of Variables2
Measurement2
Summary2
References2

Appendix A Using the Microsoft Word References and
Bibliography Tools2
Appendix B Working with Lists of Document Contents2
Appendix C Working with Figures and Tables2
List of Tables
Table 1. This is a Sample Table2
Delete this page if your document contains no tables. See
Appendix B and Appendix C for information on working with
tables, figures, and lists of tables/figures.
List of Figures
Figure 1. Northcentral University's Logo2
Delete this page if your document contains no figures. See
Appendix B and Appendix C for information on working with
tables, figures, and lists of tables/figures.
Introduction
[Text…Introduce the dissertation topic in one or more
paragraphs (2 pages maximum). The study topic should be
briefly described to establish the main ideas and context.
Include recent, scholarly, peer-reviewed sources to support each
assertion. The Introduction should orient the reader to all of the
concepts presented in the sections that follow. Key words

related to the research topic should be defined clearly and
precisely upon first use and used consistently throughout the
paper. This will help to establish and maintain the central focus
of the paper. Review the Candidacy Resource Guide for your
degree program for more information about degree expectations
with regard to the study topic and design requirements.]
Note: Do not describe the study purpose or method in the
introduction as these belong in later sections.Statement of the
Problem
(Approximately 250 to 300 words) Articulation of a concise
problem statement is the key to a successful
proposal/dissertation manuscript and typically requires many
revisions before the proposal is approved; this prospectus is the
first step in refining your problem. The problem statement is a
brief discussion of a problem or observation succinctly
identifying and documenting the need for and importance of the
study. Throughout your coursework, your research has become
increasingly focused and you have begun to identify gaps or
holes in the research that you are interested in researching; this
is the time to identify that gap or problem. Include appropriate
published or relevant primary sources to document the existence
of a problem worthy of doctoral level research. A lack of
research alone is not a compelling problem (many things are not
studied but do not necessarily warrant research). Stay focused
and do not include all of your research – you will expand on the

literature that you reviewed in the following section titled
“Brief Review of the Literature”.
The documented problem that is identified may be a gap in
academic research or a practical problem or issue in the
profession of study for which there is not already an acceptable
solution. In defining the problem a clear discrepancy must be
drawn between that which exists currently and that which is
desired. To identify and articulate a problem, consider the
potential negative consequences to the field or stakeholders if
the proposed research is never conducted. What is not known
that should be known and what are the potential negative
consequences to the field of study if the proposed research is
never conducted? These questions can help to identify the
problem that needs to be addressed and the theories relevant to
predict, explain and understand the problem.
Ph.D. dissertation-worthy problems must be relevant and
documented beyond any particular study site and have clear
theoretical implications in order to make a realistic, but
substantive contribution to the field of study. Applied study
problems must be relevant and documented beyond any
particular study site and worthy of investigation, although your
research design does not necessarily require generalizability
beyond the study site.
[Text… Present a general issue/observation that is grounded in
the research literature and leads to the need for the study (in

most cases scholarly citations within the last 5 years are
required to document the general and specific problem). Follow
with a focused, documented problem that directly reflects and
leads to the need for a research response.]
Note: Ensure that the concepts presented in the problem
statement lead to and align directly with the Purpose Statement.
Use of a “logic” map is highly recommended in order to ensure
direct alignment and avoid “surprises” among the key elements:
problem purpose research questions proposed method and
design. Purpose of the Study
The purpose statement should be one concise paragraph that
describes the intent of the study and it should flow directly
from the problem statement. Specifically address the reason for
conducting the study and reflect the research questions. Begin
the purpose statement with a succinct sentence that indicates the
study method and overarching goal.
[Text…“The purpose of this [quantitative, qualitative, or
constructive] study is to... (describe the study goal that directly
reflects and encompasses the research questions).” Follow with
a brief, but clear overview of how, with what instruments/data,
with whom and where (as applicable).]
Within the Purpose Statement:
· The research method is identified as qualitative, quantitative,
or constructive.
· The stated purpose reflects the research questions:

variables/constructs and/or phenomenon/concept/idea are
identified (See the Degree Guidebook for your degree for
additional information).
· The research design is clearly stated and is aligned with the
problem statement.
· The participants and/or data sources are identified.
· The geographic location of study is identified (as appropriate).
Before moving forward, ensure that the purpose is a logical,
explicit research response to the stated problem. The study
results should make a contribution to theory, or the field or
practice and have implications that are relevant beyond your
study.Research Questions
Before listing the research questions, introductory information
should be presented in a discussion context. The research
questions are to be distinct and answerable, given the identified
constructs/phenomenon and population.
Note: Do not include specific interview or survey
question/items here.
Quantitative: Research questions are included and the question
list is followed by corresponding list of proposed
hypothesis(es). Ensure the research questions and
hypothesis(es) are aligned with the purpose statement. The
research questions and hypotheses must be directly answerable,
specific and testable based on the data collected.
Qualitative: Proposed research questions that are related to the

phenomenon are stated. The proposed research questions must
be aligned with purpose statement. Qualitative research
questions should be open-ended and reflect the nature of the
qualitative design (avoid yes/no and closed ended questions).
Constructive: Proposed research questions should be related to
designing, creating, extending, applying, etc. your proposed
artifact; quality and success criteria related to your research or
achieving your goal; and any questions the answers to which
would inform other practitioners or scholars and which your
research will answer. After completing your study, your data or
other evidence should support your research questions.
Constructive research questions are also usually open-ended.
[Text…Brief introductory text. Note: Avoid redundant text] Q1.
[Research question 1]Q2.
[Research question 2]
[Additional questions as needed.]Hypotheses
(Quantitative Only. Delete this section if the proposed study is
qualitative or constructive.)
Both null hypotheses and alternative hypotheses must be stated.
Each must directly correspond with a research question.
Hypotheses must be stated in testable, potentially negatable,
form with each variable operationalized. Note: Each hypothesis
represents one distinct testable prediction. Upon testing, each
hypothesis must be entirely supported or entirely negated.H10.
[Null Hypothesis Text…]H1a.

[Alternative Hypothesis Text…]Brief Review of the Literature
Note: This is not meant to be an exhaustive review of the
literature. However, when the proposal is eventually developed,
this section of the Prospectus Paper should be incorporated into
the more exhaustive Background section in Chapter 1 and/or the
Literature Review of Chapter 2 as appropriate.
[Text… The discussion should have depth and present an
integrated criticalanalysis and synthesis of the scholarly, peer-
reviewed literature that provides a foundation and context for
the dissertation study. The discussion should be
comprehensive, organized, and flow logically. The brief review
of literature should not be a list of one article summary after
another or an annotated bibliography. Use themes and/or
subtopics as headings. Identify the themes or sub-topics around
which the literature review has been organized into a coherent
narrative discussion. In the review, at least 7 to 10 of the most
important works or studies that touch upon the dissertation topic
or problem should be discussed. Be sure to include works that
provide alternate or opposing perspectives on the proposed
topic area to demonstrate unbiased research. Focus particularly
on those works that address main ideas in the field, describe
areas of controversy, and indicate areas of incomplete
knowledge and relate them to the envisioned study problem,
purpose, and research questions. Include historical and
germinal works as well as current works (within the last 5

years). Note that you will continue to expand and update the
literature review until the final dissertation is submitted.
Note: Emphasize key findings and interpretations to build a
coherent narrative of the current state of the literature rather
than focus on researchers/authors (other than seminal authors in
the field) and specific study designs (i.e., unless the author,
specific design, analytics, sample size or geographic location
are directly relevant, it is usually not necessary to describe
them). Review the Background and Literature Review sections
of published, peer-reviewed journal articles for examples of
academic writing.
Please note the literature review will contain several headings
specific to the topic. With the exception of key, seminal
authors, the majority of references should be scholarly, peer-
reviewed and published within the last 5 years.Theme/Sub-
Topic 1
[Text…]Theme/Sub-Sub Topic 1.
[Text…]Theme/Sub-Sub Topic 2.
[Text…]Theme/Sub-Topic 2
[Text…Repeat as needed]Summary
[Text…]Research Method
Because the research plan is in the prospectus paper stage, a
highly detailed research design is not expected – this is a
preliminary work. The prospectus paper, however, does provide
a foundation for the next step in the dissertation process, the

development of the proposal. A well-conceived, well written
and well researched prospectus paper serves as a foundation for
the remainder of dissertation work. Dissertation research is an
iterative and often recursive process. Students should expect to
revise numerous times before each milestone document is
finalized. Although not required at this stage, students and
faculty may find it useful to review the dissertation proposal
template to begin to consider what will be required at the
proposal stage, for example, design details and ethical
considerations.
Note: If students wish to provide additional subheadings to
organize the content of the discussion in this section, the
dissertation proposal template Ch. 3 subheading
wording/organization/format should be followed rather than
developing unique subheadings.
[Text… Discuss the proposed research method (quantitative,
qualitative, or constructive). An Applied Research study (DBA)
must reflect an applied study goal and demonstrate validity
within the context of the chosen research design and overall
scientific rigor. Case studies, action research, and program
development/ evaluation are appropriate.
Academic research in a Ph.D. program using quantitative
studies must demonstrate both internal and external validity
(e.g., large, random samples, statistical power and
representativeness). Statistical analysis of existing data

resources or survey results are appropriate examples
Qualitative studies must demonstrate validity within the context
of the specific qualitative design (e.g., credibility,
dependability, transferability, trustworthiness). Replication
studies are not permitted. Case studies, narrative analysis, and
ethnographies are appropriate examples.
Constructive research should provide a measurable benefit to
the academic community in the form of an artifact, extension of
an artifact, or application of an artifact in a new way.
A clear rationale behind the chosen questions for study, the
particular data gathering techniques and data analyses should be
provided. Clear decision paths are provided based on the
associated research method/design. Sample size and method
must be appropriate and justified based on the nature of the
study design. Quantitative analyses must include justified
sample size determination. Given an appropriate rationale for
replication, replication studies in an original context are
permitted. Constructive research studies involve the creation,
design, application, etc. of an artifact as well as measurement of
success in meeting your stated goal. Your research design and
success measurements should be justified with appropriate
evidence from similar studies.
In this section, describe and substantiate the appropriateness of
the method and design to respond to the stated problem, purpose
and research questions. The discussion should not simply be a

listing and description of research designs; rather, elaboration
demonstrates how the proposed method and design accomplish
the study goals, why the design is the optimum choice for the
proposed research, and how the method aligns with the purpose
and research questions. Provide appropriate foundational
research method support for the proposed study design; for
example, refer to Moustakas and other appropriate authors to
describe a phenomenological design and Yin to describe the
appropriate application of a case study design.
Note:Avoid introductory research design and analyses
descriptions as well as excessive reference to textbook authors
such as Creswell and Neuman. General research methods
textbooks are not intended to provide the detail needed to
implement qualitative research designs. Do not provide detailed
descriptions of particular methods or designs that were not
chosen.]Operational Definition of Variables
(Quantitative/Mixed Studies Only. Delete this section if the
proposed study is qualitative or constructive.)
[Text (optional)… Identify each of the primary constructs
associated with the research question(s), and hypotheses.
Include a brief overview of how each will be operationally
defined for the proposed study. Operational definitions should
be based on published, validated, research and instruments
(describe and document how previous authors and/or the
proposed instrument operationally defined each variable

construct. Note: Operational Definitions are distinct from the
Definition of Terms.]
Construct/Variable 1. Description/Operational Definition.
Describe each variable, the nature of the variable (e.g., nominal,
ordinal, interval), how each variable will vary (e.g., the range 1
– 5, 0 – 100) or levels (low, medium, high; male, female) and
the data sources (e.g., archival data, survey items, and if
appropriate, how the specific scores (categories, etc.) used in
the analysis will be derived from the raw data such as summing
or averaging responses to survey items or assessments.).
Review the previous, established use of proposed instrument,
the nature of the variable data collected and analytics for
examples.
Note: Dissertations are not typically appropriate sources for
instruments and operational definitions. Consult the
Dissertation Center for guidance on locating pre-existing
instruments. Also, review peer-reviewed, published empirical
research related to the research topic for potential pre-existing
study instruments that may be used as is or adapted with
author(s) permission for the purpose of the study.
Consult research design sources (including Dissertation Center
resources) and ensure that the measurement level of each
variable and the expected distributional characteristics of the
data are appropriate to, and meet the assumptions of, the
proposed statistical analyses (for example, is it likely that the

responses will be normally distributed?) Become familiar with
non-parametric alternatives to parametric tests toaccount for the
possibility that the data do not meet parametric assumptions.
See the Dissertation Center for more information.Measurement
[Text…Provide a brief description of how study data will be
collected, measured and analyzed. Describe the proposed
instrument. Please note that survey self-development should be
considered only after an exhaustive search for an existing
validated instrument. In addition, survey self-development will
require a multi-step development and validation process,
including pilot testing. (See the Dissertation Center (Research
Methods Help/Research Workshop) for a tutorial on the multi-
step development and validation process for a survey
instrument). Review the scholarly literature for examples of
how relevant concepts have been measured in the past.
For a constructive study, provide justification for your proposed
measurements and metrics such as examples from previous
attempts to solve the same or similar problem.
Although a highly detailed description is not required at the
Prospectus Paper stage, study variables must demonstrate
appropriateness to the study purpose and meet the assumptions
of the proposed statistical tests. For qualitative studies,
describe the proposed instrument or collection (e.g., interviews,
observations), and how concepts will be coded and analyzed as
appropriate to the proposed design based on primary qualitative

research methods and design authors. Include appropriate
support for the application of the proposed design. Consult
research design and analysis sources including those available
in the Dissertation Center for guidance.]Summary
[1 to 2 paragraphs - Text…Briefly restate the key points, study
purpose and proposed research plan.]
References
Instructions: This section of the Prospectus Paper is a list of
references cited in text. All resources cited in the prospectus
paper must be included in the list of references.
Please refer to the APA Manual, 6th edition and the Dissertation
Center for additional APA guidance.
Note: APA6 requires a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) be
provided, if one has been assigned (see page 187-192).
Refer to Appendix A for information on working with
references in Microsoft Word and delete these instructions.
Other software can be used as well; for example Endnote.
Using the Microsoft Word References and Bibliography Tools
Microsoft Word makes it easy to manage your reference list and
ensure everything is correctly formatted.Managing References
in Word
You can manage the references used in this document by
selecting the “References” tab and clicking “Manage Sources”
as shown:

Inserting a new Reference
From the “Manage Sources” dialog, insert a new resource by
clicking the “New…” button, selecting the appropriate type of
resource from the drop-down box, and entering the resource’s
information.
Deleting a Reference
Your paper should only include references that are cited
somewhere in your paper. To delete a reference, select it from
the “Manage Sources” screen and click “Delete.”
You can easily see which reference are cited and which ones are
not by looking for the check mark next to the reference
(checked means it is cited somewhere in your paper).
Inserting an Inline Citation
Insert an inline citation by clicking “Insert Citation” from the
References tab and then selecting the appropriate source.

Sample output:
Using Multiple Sources in the Same Inline Citation
Start by inserting a citation for the first source as normal. For
each remaining resource, click the citation with your mouse to
highlight it and follow the same process as you would for
adding any citation.
Sample output: Updating Your Bibliography
Microsoft Word will not automatically update your bibliography
when you add or remove references. To refresh the view of
your bibliography, right-click anywhere on the bibliography and
click “Update Field.”
Working with Lists of Document Contents
Microsoft Word will not automatically update your table of
contents (or figures or tables) when you add or remove
headings. To refresh the view of your table of contents, right-
click on the table of contents and click “Update Field.”

Working with Figures and TablesCaptioning and Labeling Your
Figures
To insert a label and caption for a figure, right-click on the
figure and select “Insert Caption…” Type a period in the
“Caption” box, followed by your caption. Then ensure the label
“Figure” is selected and the position is “Below selected item”
and click “OK.”
Finally, italicize the figure label and number but not the caption
as shown in the example below.
Figure 1. Northcentral University's Logo
Inserting a Caption for a Table
To insert a label and caption for a table, highlight the entire
table, right-click on the table and select “Insert Caption…”
Type a period in the “Caption” box, followed by your caption.
Then ensure the label “Table” is selected and the position is
“Above selected item” and click “OK.”
Finally, italicize the caption but not the label and number as
shown in the example below.

Table 1. This is a Sample Table
Foo
Bar
Baz
Quux
12
34
5
23
76
2
98
1996
98
45
67
97
Inserting a Callout to a Figure or Table in Body Text
When referring to a figure or table in body text, click on the
“References” tab and then “Cross-reference.” Select the
“Reference type” (e.g., “Figure” or “Table”) and whether you
wish to display the entire caption, just the label and number, the
page number, or whether it appears “above” or “below” the
current text. Then select the item you wish to reference in click
“OK.”

You can also use this technique for referring to specific
paragraphs, sections, or appendices within your document by
using the “Heading” reference type and selecting the
appropriate section or appendix heading.
If the inserted callout is inappropriately cased (e.g., it is
capitalized when not at the beginning of a sentence or should be
capitalized), right-click on the newly-inserted callout, click
“Edit Field…,” and set the “Format” to “Lowercase,”
“Uppercase,” etc. as needed.
An example is below.
The NCU logo is displayed above in figure 1 on page 2.
Updating Figure and Table Callouts and the Table of Contents
If you rearrange, add, or delete figures and tables, Word won’t
automatically update all of the callouts for you. To update the
callouts in the entire document, use the following key strokes:
1. +
Ctrl
A
2.
F9
This action will also update your tables of contents and

bibliography. If prompted, select “Update entire table” and
click OK.
An Introduction to Research
Design
Video Title: An Introduction to Research Design
Originally Published: 2017
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd
City: London, United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781473992306
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473992306
(c) SAGE Publications Ltd., 2017
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods.

https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473992306
[An Introduction to Research Design]
ERIC JENSEN: My name is Eric Jensen. I'm a sociology
professor at the University of Warwick.
CHARLES LAURIE: And I'm Charles Laurie, Director of
Research at Verisk Maplecroft.
ERIC JENSEN: In this video, we're going to talk about how you
can develop a good research question
and find appropriate and feasible ways of measuring key
concepts within your research question.
You then need to match your overall research goals to specific
research methods that you can use to
address those goals, and you'll need to think ahead to avoid
obstacles that can slow down or derail
your data

ERIC JENSEN [continued]: collection, analysis, and write-up.
[What is research design?}
CHARLES LAURIE: Now let's make a start. When you're
getting started on your research, you'll face
many decisions. To achieve your research objectives you need a
roadmap to keep you on a good
path. This roadmap is your research design. Your research
design is the plan you develop to outline
the methods and procedures you will use throughout your
research project.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: Your design helps you get out
in front of risks and uncertainties,
which gives you the best chance possible of successfully
arriving at a completed research report you
can be proud of. [What does research design look like?]
ERIC JENSEN: You'll need to pinpoint precisely what you're

going to measure and what research
approach will be the best fit for your topic. Developing a good
research design involves matching
your research goals to appropriate methods for addressing those
goals. As your research design
develops, you need to choose what type of data to collect, who
to collect that data from,
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: where to collect that data, and how.
This process rarely involves drawing
a straight line from a general idea to a specific detailed plan.
CHARLES LAURIE: You'll probably need to adjust your
research design to account for new
information and unexpected challenges to your initial plans. In
this figure from Doing Real Research,
we illustrate this process of decision-making, planning, and
replanning that takes place during the

research design process.
ERIC JENSEN: As you develop your research design, you'll
find that there's rarely one right way to
conduct research. There'll be a range of options, each involving
trade offs of some kind. Just be sure
to document and justify the decisions you make along the way.
You can do this by keeping a research
diary that includes notes on the issues you encounter,
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: the options you consider, and
ultimately the choices you make and why
you made those choices. This practice of establishing an audit
trail for your thought process as it
develops during your research journey can save you some major
headaches later. This is because a
decision that can seem obvious now, might be easily forgettable
later.

ERIC JENSEN [continued]: [Developing a Research Question]
CHARLES LAURIE: Now let's go through what it takes to
develop a good research question. First of
all, your research question governs all aspects of your project.
It defines what data you collect and
SAGE
Page 2 of 5
An Introduction to Research Design
how you analyze that data. Your research question needs to be
both feasible and interesting to other
people or institutions. Consider the following points when
crafting your research

CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: question. What are you
looking to find out? What are your key
explanatory variables and outcome variables? What information
do you need to answer your research
question? Will it be feasible to gather the data you need in the
time you have available? And if not,
that means you probably need to narrow or change your research
topic.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: Also ask yourself whether the
answer to your research question is
likely to offer useful insights that contribute to ongoing debates
in your field of study, or would your
research question add to current knowledge by shedding light on
a new or underresearched aspect
of your topic. Would your research results help to develop a
theory,
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: or shed new light on an

existing theory? Finally, ask yourself whether
your research question is too broad to be realistically
answerable in your situation. Keep in mind that
it's nearly impossible to have a research question that is too
focused.
ERIC JENSEN: Developing a tightly focused and answerable
research question is the crucial first
step in the research design process, and it will become the
foundation of your project. A poorly
formulated question may result in a research project that is
hopelessly broad and unachievable within
your budget and time constraints. In contrast, a carefully crafted
question
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: enables you to focus your efforts
which will put you on a good track for a
completed project. Once you've refined your research question,
you can build the rest of your project

around it.
CHARLES LAURIE: Now here are some principles to help you
craft a good research question. First,
target a research gap. That means aim your question at a gap, a
weakness, or an underdeveloped
area in the existing research literature on your topic. This can
show your reader that there is a need
for your research. Second, keep your research question narrow
and specific.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: This is because your research
question needs to be answerable. A
narrow and specific question means that you are creating a
manageable research task for yourself.
A focused research question with clear boundaries can save time
and resources by limiting wasted
efforts. Don't worry, a narrow focus can still yield plenty of

data for your project.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: Third, be analytical. The
question should demonstrate more than
mere description in order to contribute to general knowledge
about your topic. To make connections
to general knowledge, be sure to make connections to
theoretical concepts. Fourth, be clear and
brief. Maintain maximum clarity by ensuring your research
question is not too long or too difficult to
understand.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: Your question should simply
and briefly communicate the key
information about what variables you'll be exploring.
ERIC JENSEN: You must be able to demonstrate that you can
plausibly answer the research question
with the data that you are planning to collect. For example,

consider the research question why
SAGE
Page 3 of 5
do young people use Facebook? If you only collect survey data
from students in one university
classroom, you wouldn't really be able to address that large
question. Instead you would need a more
focused research question.
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: For example, you could use a
sample of students in one university
department to address a more specific question such as, what

are the self-reported motivations for
using Facebook amongst first year psychology students at a UK
university?
CHARLES LAURIE: In continuing on with the Facebook
example, you could ask yourself the following
questions, what do I want to know? And an answer might be I
want to know why people are using
Facebook. You could ask, what is the population I'm aiming to
study? And an answer could be I'm
studying first year psychology students at a UK university.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: You could also ask, have I
specified the main variables I'm interested
in? And an answer might be you looking at motivations for
using Facebook. And finally, you could
also ask the question, how could I limit the research scope?
[Operationalize Key Concepts]

ERIC JENSEN: After establishing your research question, you'll
need to start considering how you
could measure its key concepts. Some concepts are easy to
measure. For example, you can
measure participants gender by asking them to tick a box next to
male, female, or other in a survey
form. But for other concepts, you may need to be creative in
devising appropriate and feasible ways
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: of testing those variables. For
example, when I needed to measure
learning outcomes for children aged 7 to 15 visiting London
Zoo, I decided to have them make
drawings of a wildlife habitat and all the plants and animals that
lived there. They did that before
and after their zoo visit so I could compare and see whether
there were any improvements over the
course of the visit.

ERIC JENSEN [continued]: This process of figuring out how
you can measure an abstract concept
relevant to your project, an abstract concept like learning or
gender, this process is called
operationalization.
CHARLES LAURIE: Let's take another example. If you want to
assess which brands of clothing are
popular amongst web uses, you could measure this by analyzing
the keywords entered into a search
engine, such as google. If you find that search terms associated
with one brand are particularly
popular, this could indicate that the brand is favored by online
consumers.
CHARLES LAURIE [continued]: Of course, there could be
other reasons a brand is searched for a lot,
such as scandal. The reason for going through this

operationalization process is to help you develop
your plans by establishing precisely what you will be measuring
in your project. [Focus in Research]
ERIC JENSEN: Finally, we want to highlight the importance of
focus in your research. You may find
that you need to reduce the scope of your project along the way.
In this case, look for places where
you can make a clean cut. For example, a whole section, or one
out of three of your comparison
cases, so that you don't create more work by having to edit the
section you cut down in size.
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: At the time, cutting down your
scope may be hard to accept, but you'll be
SAGE

of 5
much happier in the longer term if you make the decision early
on, before investing a lot of time and
effort and resources in a direction you don't have time to fully
develop. By developing and refining
you're clear and achievable research question,
ERIC JENSEN [continued]: you'll keep your research on track
as you encounter many interesting
pathways along your research journey. Along this journey, your
mantra should be stay focused.
SAGE

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