writing & speaking for business by william h. baker chapter eight
TRANSCRIPT
Writing & Speaking
for BusinessBy William H. Baker
Chapter Eight
Two Main Types of Research
Research
Primary Research
Consists of gathering and analyzing original data
Secondary Research
Consists of reviewing published information
Conducting Secondary Research
Specialized Databases(Example: EBSCO)
Internet Search Engines(Examples: Google, Yahoo)
Search techniques
Words (single words or combination of single words)• Single word: finance• Several words: finance trends problems
Phrase (grouped words require quotation marks)• Words grouped as specific phrase: “financial trends”
Boolean Operators
• “Or” is more general and results in more hits.
• “And” is more specific and results in fewer hits.
• “Not” is more restrictive and results in fewer hits.
Boolean Operator Examples
basketball AND high school OR college
High School College
High School College
=
basketball AND high school AND college
Search will include all sources that have EITHER high school OR college basketball
=Search will include sources that have BOTH high school AND college basketball (only the dark overlapping segment)
HS&
College
Documenting
You are required by law to DOCUMENT!
Documentation is important for three reasons:•Give credit to original author•Tell people how to find the source•Comply with copyright law
Plagiarism
• Use someone else’s text verbatim• Paraphrase someone else’s work• Blend someone else’s facts or ideas
with your own
You must document your information sources in all of these cases:
Documentation Styles
APA Style
Chicago Style
MLA Style
Conducting Primary Research
1. Define your goals and objectives
2. Identify the best research method
3. Identify the study population
4. Determine if sampling is required
5. Develop a data- gathering instrument
Survey Method
Be sensitive to appearance and body language
7. Gather the data8. Examine each response to ensure validity
6. Pilot test your instrument
9. Use the correct analysis procedure
Define the Problem
Define the Problem
1. What should or could be
2. What is
The difference between 1 and 2 is “the problem”
Analyze Cause-and-Effect Chain
Question: What caused symptom “E”?Answer: “D”Question: What caused symptom “D”?Answer: “C”Question: What caused symptom “C”?Answer: “B”Question: What caused symptom “B”?Answer: “A”Therefore: Solve “A”
Frame the Problem
What?So what?
Now what?
Problem Solving
Develop creative ways to solve the problem
Brainstorm for ideas
• Group Brainstorming
• Three-column Brainstorming
Types of Thinking
Decision Making
Evaluate the Alternatives
Organize and refine the list
Establish evaluation criteria
Weight the criteria
Select the best ideas from list
Use Decision Tables
Criteria WeightAlternatives
Smith Warenski Lee
U.S. CitizenTechnical knowledgeExperienceLeadershipEducation
X10975
Yes8963
Yes7764
Yes6645
TotalTotal 3131 2626 2424 2121
Proposals
Two Proposal Categories
UnsolicitedProblem discussion
Proposal with detailsBenefitsTimeline
CostsConclusions
SolicitedGeneral proposal idea
Problem discussionDetails of proposal
BenefitsTimeline
CostsConclusion
Force-field Analysis
List the driving forces on the left and the restraining forces on the right.
Then develop a plan to:•Strengthen the positive forces•Minimize or eliminate the negative forces