W231 Applied Research Project Solving a Problem for a Local Business or Organization © 2008 Julie Freeman, IU School of Liberal Arts

The Focus of the Project Must Be…  An workplace problem, not a social problem or issue.  Local, not global; narrow, not broad  Organization-centered, not “me- centered.”

Issues and Problems: Both Refer to … disagreeable situations that need to be addressed. situations that have no obvious satisfactory answer. situations about which people might disagree.

Critical Thinking: Distinguishing Problems and Issues  Solving a problem means dealing with an unacceptable situation deciding what action will change the situation for the best  Problems expressed as questions begin with “How can?” or “What are the ways?”  Resolving an issue involves debating a controversial subject means deciding what belief or viewpoint is the most reasonable  Issues expressed as questions begin with “Does?” Or “Should ?”

The Target Audience Must Be…  An individual, or at the most, a small group  A stakeholder  A decision-maker; someone with authority  Accessible, cooperative

Finding a Topic  Brainstorm a list of all the groups, organizations, associations, clubs, etc., you are affiliated with or interested in (e.g., your place of employment, this university, your child’s school)  Next to each organization, write down current problems they face  Match the problems to the criteria to see which ones would be workable for W231

Once you find a topic… Phrase it as a research question

The Research Question Open-ended; not a yes/no Dependent on both primary & secondary research for a solution Specific, narrow, well-defined Begin with “How can….” Or “What are the ways…”

Some past projects’ questions  How can the IUPUI Psychology department recruit members for the Psychology Club?  How can the Indianapolis Park Ranger cadet program increase the number of new volunteers?  How can the Horizon House, a small nonprofit organization, improve fundraising strategies?  How can Roadway Express improve employee morale?  What are the ways the IUPUI School of Social Work can increase internship opportunities?  How can Menard’s reduce shoplifting?  How can Central Group Home improve new employee training?  How can the Marriott reduce employee turnover?

Formulating a Preliminary Proposal  Choose one topic – the one that’s most appropriate for our W231 project (see “Choosing a Topic”)  Follow the assignment guidelines to draft your memo  Create a topic-specific subject line  Send your memo to entire class  Read your classmates’ proposals before teams form

You will join a team based on….  The proposal you found most interesting or most related to your major. Form a team with others who want to work on that topic. -- OR  The students with whom you would most like to work. (min. 3, max. 5) Form a team & choose the one topic (out of those proposed by members) that seems most workable and interesting.

Overview of the Research Procedures  Go local—find out what has already been done at your target organization to address the problem by interviewing the target audience (primary research)  Go global— find out what other organizations have done to solve the problem by conducting library (secondary) research  Back to local—find out the opinions of those affected by the problem by conducting a survey (primary research)

The Secondary (Library) Research Search the literature to discover what other organizations have done to address the problem, what the experts recommend Analyze and synthesize what the authors say (literature review)

The Primary Research  Determine which ideas/solutions presented in the literature apply to the local situation your team is investigating.  Test those ideas by getting opinions of those involved with the problem.  Decide the best way to gather those opinions – usually a survey.

Primary Research Data: Tabulate, Interpret, Conclude  Create a research instrument, such as a questionnaire.  Conduct the research.  Tabulate the data.  Interpret the data.  Create a visual based on key findings.

Finishing the Project  The team will put it all together—analyze findings from both the library research and the survey, draw conclusions, and make recommendations on the best solutions to the problem

The Deliverables  A recommendation report  A brief oral report

Grading You’ll be individually graded on parts of the project: Preliminary proposal Your section of the annotated bibliography Your section of the literature review Your contributions to the project overall You’ll be graded as a team on the Recommendation Report : Transmittal letter Title page Analysis of the literature Analysis of survey findings References page Oral presentation

Benefits of Developing a Successful Report  You will achieve key course goals  You will have evidence of your professional writing skills, valuable for Job interviews Grad school applications

Questions?