Using Grounded Theory

Assignment 1: Using Grounded Theory

Using your identified phenomena from Module 1, create a qualitative research design using the grounded theory approach. Identify the following:

  1. Research question
  2. Sample
  3. Data collection method (interview, survey, observation, etc.)

Post your assignment,  by Tuesday, November 10

All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.

 

Assignment 2: Observer Presence

The lecture on Observation Skills stated, “your involvement and immersion in the study has affected those being studied, your findings, and yourself.”

Analyze how the presence of an observer could impact the study being conducted. Support your findings with relevant research and post your assignment,  by Thursday, November 12

 

Assignment 3: Discussion Questions

By Monday, November 16 go to the Discussion Area and discuss each of the following as they pertain to qualitative research in general, and then discuss each of the following as they pertain or can be applied to your project:

  1. Integrity
  2. Triangulation
  3. Transferability
  4. Trustworthiness

Assignment 4: Field Experience

This will involve a non-participant naturalistic observation of a public place. The purpose of this exercise is to provide the student with some firsthand experience with a qualitative data-gathering technique. The exercise focuses on how to make detailed field observations, as well as learning to distinguish between your observations and your inferences and interpretations. (Inferences and interpretations will occur in the Final Project). Naturalist observation is a primary method of data collection in qualitative research, especially ethnography. In some qualitative studies, this important source of data is the basis upon which analyses are possible.

Make notes regarding the atmosphere, the scents, smells, noises, spatial arrangements, activities, movements, interactions, etc. The first phase of taking field notes is to keenly observe and jot down your observations with as little interpretation as possible. Record what you see, hear, touch, and smell.

Usually field notes are initially handwritten. Since your original field notes will not be submitted, and only read by yourself, it is preferable that they are handwritten. Later, they will be written up, typed, and the typed field notes will be submitted. You will likely spend much more time writing up your field notes as you did observing. A great deal of detail can be recorded during the two hours of observation. Write up longer descriptions immediately after leaving the observation site. You should begin writing up your field notes as soon as possible so that detail is not lost or forgotten. Describe as much as you can about the setting. Your field notes should now describe the setting, individuals, interactions, events, and activities in a highly detailed and descriptive manner. Strive for “thick” and rich description. The level of detail should be such that someone who was not there with you would be able to clearly “see” the setting based on reading your description. Also, be reflective and reflexive. That is, include in your field notes your own experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

When writing up your field notes after leaving the setting, create a wide margin on the right side of the page. For now, leave this area blank. Later in the course, for your Final Project, this margin area will be used for notes, comments, coding, themes, interpretations, etc. On the left side of the page will be the write up of your field notes, and the larger-than-normal margin on the right side will allow room for you to later introduce your comments and interpretation of the observed events.

Your typed summary (not to exceed two pages) should include the following identifying information:

  • Your name.
  • Type of setting.
  • Date and time of your observations.
  • Why you chose the setting.
  • Description of the setting.
  • Your observations of the interactions that took place.

Analyze publicly available information about a Fortune 500 Company and develop an assessment of the corporate strategy and its ability to increase competitive advantage.

Comprehensive Analysis of a Fortune 500 Company

You will analyze publicly available information about a Fortune 500 Company and develop an assessment of the corporate strategy and its ability to increase competitive advantage.

This assignment requires you to obtain and analyze information at the company, industry and market levels using various databases and reports, such as Hoovers and Dun & Bradstreet, in addition to at least eight (8) professional or academic peer –reviewed articles.

Your analysis should include an in-depth review of the Company’s most recent SEC Form-10k Annual Report and Form DEF-14A Proxy Statement. These SEC filings can be found at the SEC Edgar Database located at the URL http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html . Pay particular attention to the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) sections of the SEC Form 10-K and the DEF-14A Proxy statement.  Direct competitors are identified in the “Comparator Group” section of the DEF-14A Proxy Statement. ) These SEC filings also contain information relative to external and industry analysis that will be helpful in your assessment of the Company’s strategy and competitive position.

A thorough analysis requires evaluation of various external stakeholders:

  • Competitors Competitors
  • Industry
  • Vendors
  • Customers
  • Governmental entities
  • Communities

Internal stakeholders that should be considered in the analysis include:

  • Shareholders
  • Board of Directors
  • Management
  • Employees

A comprehensive SWOT analysis should be performed relative to the Company’s ability to improve its competitive advantage.

The comprehensive analysis should include both qualitative and quantitative elements, leveraging information available in SEC Filings, business databases, and peer-reviewed articles.

Your work should demonstrate your ability to:

  • Apply critical thinking skills to analyze business situations.
  • Apply principles of quantitative and qualitative research to business cases.
  • Describe the opportunities provided by technology for businesses.
  • Appropriately use effective communication techniques.
  • Apply the standard of APA style to all research and writing tasks.

You will prepare a report presenting the findings of your comprehensive analysis examining the Company’s corporate strategy and its ability to increase competitive advantage. The written report will have a body length of 10-12 pages excluding title, abstract, references and appendices. Quotation limits should be Not more than 10% of the body of the paper can be quotations, all of which must be properly attributed in APA format.

NOTE: Article collections Suggestions are:

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

Choose a prevention strategy (I will submit chapter 8 about strategies to help)and explain how how it is applicable to people with arthritis in Arizona.

Choose a prevention strategy (I will submit chapter 8 about strategies to help)and explain how how it is applicable to people with arthritis in Arizona. (I will also submit a paper about arthritis in Arizona to help). Suggest a solution for resolving this issue or lessoning the problem. Answer these quetions: How might yor suggested solution be affected by socail policies or government regulations? How would you address potential obstacles to the implementaion of your solution? What new programs or services might be needed to implement your suggested change. 700-1,050 word paper that summarizes your search results.

Prepare a presentation to present at the next meeting of the World Population Council on why fertility rates in developing nations remain significantly higher than fertility rates in developed nations.

Prepare a presentation to present at the next meeting of the World Population Council on why fertility rates in developing nations remain significantly higher than fertility rates in developed nations. As a typical example, the fertility rate in Canada is about 1.6; conversely, the fertility rate in Pakistan is about 5.6.
Your presentation should provide evidence of any co-relation between mortality rates and fertility rates in developed and developing of nations. You will also address cultural issues that effect family size, as well as social mores regarding contraception in developing and developed societies.
Instructor Comments: Set up a slide show in Microsoft Power Point. The slides should have minimal text and the notes section should describe every bullet on the slide. The presentation should be arranged so that you could give the slides and notes to a coworker and they would give the same presentation you would give by reading the notes. PowerPoint presentation assignments must include at least two creditable sources listed on the reference slide in accordance with APA guidelines. You must include in-text citations (on the slides when needed) in the notes section of the presentation for each source listed on the reference slide. Please discuss the information outlined on the slides in the notes section (speaker notes) of each slide.

Maple Nutrition:

Maple Nutrition: I have a marketing paper. And i just need some help in one part of that paper. Which is the ‘Distribution Channel’ and only the distribution channel. I am going to send you the whole essay so you have an idea of what i am talking about. And just write up the ‘Distribution channel’, part, in about a page. ( you dont have to have a source). dont worry about it

You are expected to assess the political and social context of an educational program.

The assignment calls for you to develop a plan to evaluate a program that is of interest to you (High School Program). You are expected to assess the political and social context of an educational program. Additionally, you were expected to identify relevant stakeholders and assess their interests in that program. Rather than completing these tasks, you seem to have written a �research� paper about a program that has already been described.

Leadership Methods and Change Management Methods

Leadership Methods and Change Management Methods: The type of paper required is a Literature Review with scholarly references. I write very simply and directly. I don’t get fancy with writing styles or commas, semi-colens, etc. Please see below for specifics for the paper.
Report what you learned by reading scholarly literature regarding theories that guided you in creating the “product” (see below). At least 10 – 15 sources should be provided, the majority of which must be scholarly. For each source, students must provide a properly-cited reference using MLA style (this means, among other things, that you will be including page numbers for citations).
Literature Review Format
Introduction (200-400 words): Establish the topic of interest, the reasons the topic matters, and the specific aspects of the topic that you are focusing on. End the introduction with your research question.
Overview (150-200 words): Describe in general the body of literature available that is relevant to your question. Did you find a number of sources directly relevant? Where and what kind of sources were they? Did you also include sources that are indirectly related because there were so few sources directly related? What general themes emerged as you reviewed the literature that indicated the subheadings you would use to organize your lit review?
Body (750-1200 words) This section will be subdivided with headings you identify that reflect themes in the literature (note how this was done in the samples). You will group sources, when possible, around these themes and then summarize and comment on them accordingly.
Summary (400 – 600 words) This section should be your commentary on the body of literature. Did you find the literature effective in addressing your question? Where was it effective/strong and where was it ineffective/weak? Were there gaps in the literature…some subtopics or themes that haven’t been explored?
Conclusion: (200-400 words) Based on your review of the literature, what was “the answer” to your question? What are the implications for future research that is needed to address it fully? What revisions, if any, did you make in your research question to guide the design of your original research?
—————————————————————————————————–Product: Develop another electronic workflow form for use at my current employer (cubical office work, phone center, sales, operations and credit departments). The workflow will be developed using software I am already familiar with, but not a complete expert in. The challenge will be to communicate with the users (employees) of the workflow to obtain a complete understanding of what is needed. In prior process roll-outs, outcomes were not as successful. Possibly due to employees not recognizing the need for change, not motivated, or miss communication. Rolling out the workflow, training, and change management, will be critical parts of the workflow success.
Literature Review Question: Which leadership and change management methods are the most efficient when rolling-out a new workflow to a group (20-30 office employees)?

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory:

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory: Overview
Complete a review of the historical and contemporary literature on a specific topic in cognition and instruction. The project will assess the learner’s ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate literature related to cognition and instruction in a meaningful context. The topic must relate to some aspect of cognition and instruction such as constructivism, motivation, or social learning theory.
For this final project, make up several hypotheses and gear your review towards them, as if they were your “real” hypotheses. Project Objectives
To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to:
1. Evaluate historical and contemporary theories of learning and cognition.
2. Evaluate cognitive sub-processes.
3. Evaluate research through a review of literature that examines one or more characteristics of cognition and learning, and apply it to a practice context within your specialization.
4. Evaluate social and personal influences on cognition.
A paper of this length should have at least 20 references. The majority of them should be original research articles published in legitimate scientific journals. A few review or survey articles are also acceptable.