For my project I am going to choose Amazon. There are a number of their

practices I would change but one of the biggest areas for improvement I

can see and have dealt with myself is customer service. Both through my

job and on personal accounts. Their seems to be no ‘chain of command’ if

there is a problem, it is incredibly difficult to get a hold of the

same person you are dealing with regarding an issue they were helping

with. I also completely understand the business standpoint behind

outsourcing what you can to other countries to save your business some

operating cost, but if you’ve ever called Amazon, the person on the

other end is incredibly hard to understand and often times don’t

understand you either. I’ve had to call Amazon customer service multiple

times regarding things with work, and that is often the case.

Part 1

In a single Word document, submit:

• Page 1 is the beginning stage of your research plan/proposal, and includes:
  • Your research question(s) or hypotheses.
  • The method(s) of research you will conduct, using the Research Methods Chart.
  • Identification of specific data you will collect, whether the data is qualitative or quantitative, and likely variables.
• Pages 2-3 contain the literature review (this should be a minimum of 1-2 pages, allowing for a thorough, yet concise review of resources)
  • Use credible resources, including information from the company’s website and other company documents (when available), as well as articles, eBooks, industry reports, and other relevant sources. Sources used should not exceed 3 years old.
• Reference list for all sources used.
  • Cover Page and reference list are not included in the page count.

Part 2–Separate Document

Now it is time to expand upon, perfect, and finalize your research plan by identifying:

• research methodology
• investigative questions
• measurement questions
• measurement scale(s)
• likely participants
• potential for errors
• how you will compensate for or explain errors

Your final research plan should include key elements from your initial research plan/proposal submitted in an earlier module, and should mostly be written in paragraph form (use bullet points or a numbering system for the measurement questions). You do not have to include your full literature review, though it is a good idea to refer to and include aspects from the literature review that informed your research plan. Your plan should be aim to be approximately two pages; your plan may be longer depending on the demands of your research project.

Part 3-Separate Document

In this portion of the course project, you will analyze your data in the following ways:

1. Effectively record data, back-up the data and store a master copy – keeping original data intact.
2. Sum the number of ratings, rankings, yes or no, etc. for each question.
3. Find the mean, or average, for each question.
4. Find the standard deviation and the z-score for each question.
5. Infer results or draw conclusions.

Note: You do not need to submit your analysis separately, instead, you will include your analysis in your written report (the tenth element of the written report). Remember that your analysis can (and likely should!) include important visual aids for your readers, including charts, graphics, and tables.

Based upon your analysis, develop recommendations, think about limitations of the research, and write your final report. The report should include the following elements:

1. Cover page
2. Executive summary
3. Table of contents
4. Introduction
5. Problem statement
6. Research objectives
7. Background research/literature review
8. Sampling design
9. Research design
10. Data analysis (may include visual aids – bars, charts, graphs, etc).
11. Limitations
12. Findings
13. Conclusions
14. Recommendations
15. References

Be sure to distinguish between the various sections of the report by utilizing headings. Each of the 15 elements will be a major heading, which should be bolded and centered. If minor headings are used, they should be bolded and aligned left. The cover page, executive summary, table of contents, and reference page should all be on stand-alone pages.

Keep in mind, a number of these elements were created in Part 1 and 2. Consider restructuring the written elements as needed in order to include them in the final report (for example your problem statement may have stated what you willresearch, and now it is something you have researched, so your tense may change).

There is no length requirement, but most reports will be approximately 11 pages; your report may be longer depending on the demands of research and analysis conducted. The cover page, table of contents, and references page are should not be included in the page count. The executive summary may be included in the page count.