Research Methods for Professionals
My first Master’s Degree was in public policy, so I initially thought that this course would be simple, as I had already taken much more in-depth on survey research and design, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this class was able to add even more experience. One aspect of this course showed how focus groups are conducted, and how to analyze them. This paper includes both focus groups and a survey instrument to help launch the fictional Western State University College of Engineering and Architecture Bookstore. I designed the survey to have a maximum reach by creating a hybrid approach that included the statistical power of a scientific random-sampled survey. I was able to test the survey, and found a few improvements from that testing, and also created a proposal for a series of focus groups to give detailed opinions about the proposed bookstore that a traditional survey does not easily provide.
COM 564 Course Description – Understanding the role of research in media and related organizations and its application to organizational decision making through quantitative and qualitative research methods including research design, questionnaire construction, sampling, data collection techniques, and variable measurement.
Marcus M. Humberg 