Step I – This research paper is a combination of healthcare related topic combine with statistical data. Sample SMACs have been uploaded as example of what the paper should look like. The learning contract attached is explains the topic of this paper.
Step 2: Literature Review and/or Explanation of how Statistics can help you in your field.
Provide a comprehensive review of the literature that relates to your research question. All of the information presented in this section should be traced back to related sources with proper APA citation and/or real life work experience. You should be taking ideas from multiple sources and putting them into your own words.
Step 3: Methodology.
Write up a few sentences describing how you will answer your research question. Do you plan to make a survey to collect data or use already existing data? After completing your study go back to this section and write up in greater detail what you ended up doing. Which form of statistical analysis did you choose to do and why? You should be stating at least one hypothesis test that you will be using here. This section should be at least one page in length. If you are not using a survey, this section should also contain information regarding what sources you are getting your data from, why you chose those sources, and what limitations you imposed on your data with reasons (for example maybe you chose to use data only from the last 5 years).
Step 4: Survey.
You only need to submit a survey if you are planning to use one for the collection of data. You can hand out paper surveys or use a digital survey service such as Google forms. The survey must be approved by the professor before it can be distributed.
**Please Note: Submissions of the learning contract, literature review, methodology and survey should be emailed to ****************** by 11:59 pm the night of each due date. Submitted hard copies are appreciated but they do not count towards you meeting the deadlines listed above!
Step 5: Collect Data
If you did a survey, have participants fill it out and enter your data in Excel. If you are using data from a database, collect what you need and enter it in Excel. Included in your SMAC should be an appendix that lists the raw data.
Step 6: Analysis
This section should be at least four pages for an individual SMAC and 8 pages for a team SMAC excluding any tables, graphs, charts, etc. This is the most important section of your paper for this class because it shows what you have learned. You must include both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics:
- Descriptive Statistics: Mean, median, standard deviation, correlation, percentiles, box plots, probability, outliers etc. Discuss any possible reason for observing outliers in your data. You may use tables, bar graphs, pie charts, etc. However, you should discuss the contents of these figures in words. All graphs should be done in Excel.
- Inferential Statistics: Hypothesis testing based on statistical techniques such as z-test, t-test, chi-square test and regression. Explain which technique(s) you employed for hypothesis testing and why these techniques are appropriate for your analysis. Then present the statistical results using tables and state which hypothesis is supported by the statistical results. You should be stating all the information you used to execute each hypothesis test just as we do in class for each hypothesis test(s) you perform. In order to have the possibility of receiving a perfect score on the depth of analysis section of the rubric at least 2 hypothesis tests should be performed.
This section of the paper should present the results with discussion of their meaning with reference to the research question. It should also demonstrate your ability to apply the descriptive and inferential data presentation methods that have been covered as part of the course. (Use tables, bar graphs, charts, etc., as appropriate for your topic). Should be comprehensive and include your opinions and what you extract going forward. Discussion of the results (what do the results show, and what did you learn about your research question?). Tie this back to your research question and what you learned from the results of your survey. This is the section where you get to interpret the results and share the insight you have gained from your data collection. The responses answer the question that you had at the outset.
Step 7: Conclusion (Should be about 1 page in length.)
- What is your core conclusion of your research findings? This section is NOT a summary. Here you should explain what can be done with your results, and what can be learned from your research. For example, if my study found that people prefer the color red to blue one conclusion could be that businesses should use the color red more often in their packaging.
Step 8: Lessons Learned (Should be about 1 page in length.)
- Lessons learned during the research – What did you do this time that you would improve upon next time? Are there questions that should have been phrased differently? Questions you should have asked? What were the limitations of your project? Ideas for future research.
Step 9: Additional Sections
- Introduction: Should be one page for an individual SMAC and 2 pages for a team SMAC. Introduce your topic to the reader in your own words. You should be trying to pull the reader in with this section. What makes your topic interesting or important?
- Statement of the Research Question: What were you trying to find out? What was the goal of this survey research? (Should be about one page in length.)
- Assessment of Managerial Abilities: Which managerial abilities did you choose and why? (The answer to this question should reflect the information you included on your approved learning contract when you chose your abilities.) How did you meet the requirements of each ability through your work on this SMAC? Please see the Student Handbook for specific information about each ability. This section should be about one page in length per person.
- Ethics and Social Responsibility: How were you ethically and socially responsible when you collected your data, performed your analysis, and reported your findings? If you feel as though your topic has ethical implications, you can include that as well. The information in this section should reflect the information you included on your approved learning contract. This section should be about one page in length.
Step 10: Put Your Paper Together!
The order should be:
- Cover Page
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Statement of research question
- Methodology
- Analysis
- Conclusion
- Lessons Learned
- Assessment of Managerial Abilities
- Ethics and Social Responsibility
- References
- Appendices (Raw Data, Survey, etc.)
- Learning Contract
- Managerial Abilities Form
Managerial Abilities Below:
Efficiency Orientation
Planning
Initiative
Attention to Detail
Self-Control
Adaptability
Empathy
Persuasiveness
Networking
Conflict Management
Self-Confidence
Group Management
Developing Others
Cultural Awareness
Systems Thinking
Pattern Recognition
Oral Communication
Using Technology
Quantitative Analysis
Written Communication