BEM1024 – Statistics for Business

This 2,250 word (+10%) report assignment evaluates your understanding of a range of issues related to social science research, survey design, data collection, the quantitative analysis of survey data and the interpretation and application of research findings.

The assignment brief contains:

 the background and context to the fictional event and survey;

 14 tasks for you to complete; and

 2 appendices detailing the survey form. and each of the survey variables.

The tasks are laid out in two parts of the Report:

Part 1 requires answers (150-word approx. for each) to five tasks dealing with the following module themes that are covered in Weeks 1 and 2 of the module:

o the role of numerical evidence in business and management;

o research paradigms (ontology, epistemology and methodology);

o survey design;

o sampling methods; and

o confidence intervals and levels.

ILOs assessed are: 4, 5, 6 and 8

Part 2 of the assignment is based around the analysis of a set of simulated survey data from participants who attended a fictional corporate event. The data relate to attendees’ experiences at, and perceptions of, this event.

o in task 6 you need to evaluate the adequacy of the sample size (see the background and context for details on the population and sample sizes);

o in tasks 7 to 13 you need to interpret a range of SPSS analytical outputs and explain the analytical procedures that have been used; and

o in task 14 you need to make marketing and/or management recommendations for how the conference organisers might use these findings to make changes to future years’ events.

ILOs assessed are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8

The survey: background and context

This assignment features data collected from visitors to the (fictional) 2002 South Devon Olympic Games employee conference and sports event. This is an event organised by the United Nations (UN) for their members of staff and their families.

This event was attended by 4,000 UN employees and family members from around the world.

Attendees were able to join a formal opening ceremony, compete in a series of individual and team sports events and also participate in an employees’ conference and various leisure trips and social events.

The survey data were collected using an interviewer-administered survey on the last day of the event; in total there were 204 respondents who were selected using systematic random sampling.

The survey data were then coded and entered into SPSS.

Following the assignment tasks in Parts 1 and 2, you will find two appendices:

 APPENDIX 1 is a copy of the survey form. that was used for the data collection:

o you will get a feel for the characteristics of the collected data by examining this; and

 APPENDIX 2 contains the SPSS codebook for the datafile:

o this allows you to see more closely the details of the data that have been collected for each variable.Page 3 of 33

Guidance

 Use a word processor to create your responses to the tasks

o accepted file types will be specified at the ELE submission point; my preference is for .pdf

 You can copy and paste screenshots from the assignment brief into your report if you feel that would assist in the delivery of your response

 Please refer to tasks and figures using the numbering in the assignment brief

o label your answers using the Task numbering in the brief (you do not need to include the task text)

o there is no need for a table of contents, an executive summary or an introduction – just answer the tasks

 You may cite sources from the literature to support your arguments; this is particularly relevant for Task 14

 You should use the APA 7th academic referencing style. to cite the sources that you draw upon - the APA 7th guide also explains how to follow good academic practice in your writing and referencing

 Please use Arial font, size 11, with line spacing set to 1.25 line width

 The word limit is 2,250 words +10%

o falling below 2,250 words in total means that you will not have utilised the maximum opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge

o the overall word limit and the recommended word counts for Tasks 1-5 and 14 are based on the approximate number of words that Steven used to create the model answers for these tasks

o The list of references and words contained in tables, figures and graphs DO NOT contribute towards the word count

o in-text references DO contribute towards the word count

o Task 14 provide you with the opportunity to think creatively, and you can use that task to increase your word count if you have been able to address the other tasks in a succinct manner

Criteria for evaluation of your report

 your explanations and interpretations of the statistical procedures should be clear and accurate

 you should make correct use of technical terms, for example:

 categorical, ordinal and interval/ratio data measurement levels

 distributional normality, homogeneity of variance, evaluation of assumptions

 accurate naming of specific tests and procedures

 you should be able, where required, to explain clearly how choice of statistical test is based on level of measurement and the number of groups in categorical variables

 for task #6: you should make a clear evaluation of the adequacy of the sample size - for example, you may wish to describe the issues related to sample sizes that are lower than the recommended minimum

 for task #14: you should make it clear how your recommendations for management or marketing changes to future years’ events relate to the statistical findings You should also refer to the University of Exeter Generic Marking Criteria (level 4 = 1st year undergraduate).

Cheating and Plagiarism

“The University takes poor academic practice and academic misconduct very seriously and expects all students to behave in a manner which upholds the principles of academic honesty. Academic honesty is fundamental to the values promoted by the University and no student should be allowed to obtain for themselves, or for another candidate, an unfair advantage. Academic honesty means never falsifying the results of any work and always giving full credit for any other persons' contributions to our own achievements.” Section 12.2.1 of the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual

Further details on Academic Conduct and Practice can be found in the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual here: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/managingacademicmisconduct/

Part 1

Task 1                                                                                                                                           Weighting

In Section 5.1 of the Week 1 module learning materials, Steven’s tutor presentation video and PowerPoint slides draw upon Chapter 2.3 of Sarstedt and Mooi (2019) looking at research design issues.

Please describe the differences between exploratory and causal research approaches and provide a marketing- or management-related example of each of these two approaches.                            6%

Task 2

Draw upon Section 5.2 of the Week 1 module learning materials to:

(i) Outline the benefits and shortcomings of using secondary data sources.

(ii) Contrast the strengths and weakness of using interviews versus surveys for data collection.                   6%

Task 3

In the context of surveys and the statistical analysis of data, describe the concept of the confidence interval and its relationship with sample size.                    6%

Task 4

Outline the randomised multi-stage cluster sampling process and what its advantages are for researchers. Provide a short marketing or management example to illustrate how a multi-stage cluster sampling approach can be useful.              6%

Task 5

From the module learning materials, describe a key benefit arising from the use of statistics to support decision-making in business and explain the difference between confidence intervals and confidence levels.                           6%

Recommended word count for the five Part 1 tasks above: 150 words per task