Free Essay

Research

In:

Submitted By ikoysaludo
Words 3015
Pages 13
Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

Community-Based Decision Support System for the Manila Health Department
Heidelle Marie Jahnelle Cervantes1, Calvin Chua2, Meladaine Ronquillo3, Iñaki Julian Tolentino4 and Ms. Lissa Andrea K. Magpantay1,*
De La Salle University, IT Department lissa.magpantay@delasalle.ph

Abstract: Decision Support Systems are used extensively in different industries to assist in decision-making across a wide spectrum of problem areas. These systems are being developed with much consideration of its enormous benefits, both in time and cost savings, and most especially in helping organizations in their decision making. The researchers have identified the main problem of the Planning and Coordination Unit in the Manila Health Department (MHD) which is its poor use of information resulting to wrong identification of specific programs for the communities of Manila City. This results to the difficulty of health centers in identifying what barangays need to be prioritized and what nutritional programs have to be implemented. The objective of the study is to develop a community-based decision support system which is web-based that helps MHD in planning and implementing nutrition and health programs to the community in District V of Manila City. Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology was used to develop the system and PHP, HTML, and My SQL were used as the primary programming language following appropriate programming standards to ensure that all parts and features of the system are working properly. Users from the Manila Health Department and Health District, a Barangay Health Worker and a Registered Nurse tested, verified and validated if the developed system has met the organizational requirements. The system was be able to track and authenticate community information accurately, provide MHD an overview of health cases in specific community, provide visual and non-visual reports to MHD, and enabling them to keep track of implemented programs in communities. Additional functionalities such as mobile survey or mobile profiling of the community will be helpful. The system could also suggest the recipe or food for its feeding program based on historical data. Key Words: Nutrition Program, information system, decision-support system 1.

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study
The city of Manila is one of the

busiest, biggest and populous cities in the Philippines. The city provides Filipinos and tourists a large variety of leisure and business life. It has the most popular nightlife, entertainment, attractions, 1

FNH-II-015

Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

amenities, occupations, etc. Although it is one of the most profitable cities in the country, a portion of the city population is still experiencing poverty, hunger, and other society issues. (Manila Gateway, 2010) To help the city address different health problems in their communities, the city government has established the Manila Health Department as a division in the Manila City Hall. The Manila Health Department or MHD is the division of the Department of Health in the City of Manila which is responsible for the planning and implementation of health programs that are and will be executed in different communities in the city. It handles chains of health centers, lying-ins and hospitals which are owned and operated by the city government. It is handled by the city health officer and is the main health provider of the City of Government of Manila City residents especially the urban poor.

1.2 Relevant Developments
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malnutrition is the gravest single threat to global public health. “Malnutrition essentially means “bad nourishment”. It concerns not enough as well as too much food, the wrong types of food, and the body's response to a wide range of infections that result in improper absorption of nutrients or the inability to use nutrients properly to maintain health. Clinically, malnutrition is characterized by inadequate or excess intake of protein, energy, and micronutrients such as vitamins, and the frequent infections and

disorders that result.” (WHO, 2011) Malnutrition is a major problem in the Philippines most especially in women and children. A joint UNICEF-World Food Programme assessment in 2009 revealed that 87 per cent of households faced food insecurity and 75 per cent were limiting their meal sizes. This aggravates the likelihood of under nutrition. (UNICEF, 2011) According to Dr. Gina Pardilla, Chief Head of Planning and Coordination of MHD, the gathered information from different barangay health centers are not properly used in evaluating community health status thus causing delay in giving nutritional programs to the said areas. Also, the Manila Health Department is having a hard time in their planning and decision making process on what programs should be implemented for the prioritized barangay. The group also analyzed that there is irregular monitoring of nutritional programs which causes them to have inaccurate evaluation of the community programs’ effectiveness. These programs should be monitored by calculating percentages, and comparing it to other programs. Another problem that the group analyzed is that MHD provides untimely reports and inappropriate assessment of what district should be given more focus; this gives them a hard time in showing consolidated reports to the government that is needed for the programs that they wish to implement to be funded. The main problem of Planning and Coordination Department in MHD is its poor use of information resulting to wrong identification of specific programs for the communities of Manila City. This results 2

FNH-II-015

Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

to the difficulty of health centers in identifying what barangays need to be prioritized and what nutritional programs have to be implemented.

1.3 Objectives and Scope of the Study
The project is developed to help the Manila Health Department in planning and implementing nutrition and health programs to the community in District V of Manila City. Its specific objectives are: To gain knowledge on what and how Planning and Management of Nutrition Programs are being utilized in districts of Manila under MHD; to acquire information about the data in monitoring nutrition status of District 5 in Manila City by collaborating with MHD; and to identify the importance of adequate monitoring of nutritionally poor children in District 5 by reviewing information and checking the records and reports as prescribed by MHD. The study includes District 5 of Manila City to ensure that services and programs will reach those whom they are meant for. The researchers collaborated with the Manila Health Department, Health District Office, National Nutrition Council, and the different Health Centers specifically in District 5 of Manila in order to obtain data which when combined with other data from other sources can be of great use in the overall decision-making process of the Planning and Coordination Division of the Manila Health department. Barangays 702, 704 and 705, having a population of 2618, 5,202 and 2,210 respectively, and children with ages 0 to 71 months old were the main focus of

the researchers. The system was intended to be used by four (4) users: 1) Manila Health Department, 2) Health District Officer, 3) Registered Nurse, and 4) Barangay Health Worker.

2.

METHODOLOGY

The Rapid Application Development (RAD) method was used to develop the system faster while reducing the development costs and maintaining quality. According to James Martin, “Rapid Application Development is a development lifecycle designed to give much faster development and higher-quality results than those achieved with the traditional lifecycle. It is designed to take the maximum advantage of powerful development software that has evolved recently.” This methodology is appropriate for the system because RAD systems provide a number of tools to help build graphical user interfaces, and it enables the programmers to build programs more quickly. The use of RAD will help increase the speed of development and quality of the proposed system. In order to clearly understand the system requirements and user expectations, active user involvement throughout the RAD development cycle was considered. The fundamentals used for RAD methodology include: 1) Combination of best techniques available and
3

FNH-II-015

Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

specification of system tasks; 2) Usage of evolutionary prototypes which are helpful in the development of the final system; 3) Provision of guidelines for success and identification of pitfalls that needs to be avoided; 4) Team development to quickly build the core of the system. This lifecycle of RAD includes four stages and these are: Requirements Planning or Concept Definition Stage, User Design or Functional Design Stage, Construction or Development Stage, and Implementation. All of the activities and tasks required to scale and describe business requirements and design, develop, and implement the application system that supports those requirements. The business functions and data subject areas that the system will support were defined in Requirements Planning. To build a working prototype of system components and to model its data and processes, workshops were used in the User Design. The construction of the physical application of the system was completed in the Development Stage wherein the conversion system was built, user aids were developed, and work plans were implemented. The final user testing and training, data conversion, and the implementation of the system were included in the Deployment Stage. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

After assessing the present procedure, the team has examined that the Planning and Coordination Department of the Manila Health Department is having problems in identifying which barangays should be prioritized due to its poor use of information resulting to wrong identification of specific programs for the communities in the City of Manila. The details gathered from different barangay health centers are not effectively used in analyzing the community health status, thus, resulting in delays of providing nutrition interventions and programs. The irregular tracking of health programs causes incorrect evaluation of program efficiency. There is a need to address such untimely reviews, reports, and unsuitable evaluation of what district should be given more focus by the Planning and Coordination Department. A Decision Support System allows the Manila Health Department to fully maximize the programs and projects that they have in line for the communities that are under their jurisdiction. The system has three modules:
3.1 Community Status Module
The Community Status Module controls the system with regards to its performance and safety of the communities that are under the system’s jurisdiction. The following actions are 4

FNH-II-015

Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

sub-modules of the Community Status Module:
3.1.1 Patient Recording
The patient recording is performed by the Health District Office. This sub-module accumulates information regarding the individual who is revealed to have a condition case. This submodule also has the individual history feature, allowing condition cases to be stored for different patients thus making future files quicker. This element also protects the procedures done by the Health District Office. Patient results are also done in this sub-module.

programs to barangays. The Manila Health Department is now tasked to whether approve and implement the suggested program or not. Having said this, MHD officers can approve suggested programs through the system.

3.2.2 Program Reports Generation

The program reports generation component allows officers to keep track of historical data on implemented programs in a certain barangay.

3.3

3.1.2

The patient confirmation is performed by the Health District Office. This module allows district coordinators a perspective to record of patients to be verified of a certain situation of condition. This sub-module allows publishing, and different types of filtration.

Patient Verification

3.1.3

This sub-module allows the editing of Patient. This is performed by the Administration of the system. It can be done by the Health District Office through the respective Barangay Health Worker.

Edit Patient

The Decision Management Module contains the procedures wherein different types of information regarding the patients are used to help the user make a decision as to what projects to implement in a certain barangay. The following activities are elements of the Decision Management Module:
3.3.1 Reports Generation
This sub-module gives the Manila Health Department and the National Nutritional Council avenues to view the status of the areas with the aid of reports that are generated by the system. These reports can be printed out in hard copy format. And most importantly, these reports will be able to help in their decision processes of the system.

Decision Management Module

3.1.4 3.1.5

Edit Barangay Information Add/Edit/Delete Users

This sub-module allows the editing of barangay information. This sub-module allows the adding, editing, and deleting of users in the system.

3.3.2

Disease Notification

3.2

Project Implementation Module

The Project Implementation Module contains the procedures wherein information regarding a program that’s to be implemented are collected, saved, prepared, and provided. The following activities are elements of the Project Implementation Module:
3.2.1
The program creation component allows the MHD to create a program for a certain area. The National Nutritional Council can suggest

The disease notification sub-module gives the users an avenue to receive notifications about those barangays that needs attention. These notifications will help the users in giving out programs and solutions to the problems that may occur in their respective barangays.

3.3.3

Program Suggestion

The system is able of producing program recommendations to different barangays. This submodule allows this to happen by verifying past historical programs of the identical barangays. The system indicates the programs implemented during an identical scenario in a different barangay.

Program Creation

4.

CONCLUSIONS

5 FNH-II-015

Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

Decision Support Systems are used extensively in different industries to assist in decision-making across a wide spectrum of problem areas. The Community-Based Decision Support System (CBDSS) for MHD was developed to help the organization in planning and implementing nutrition and health programs to the pilot barangays in Manila City 5th District: Barangay 702, Barangay 704, and Barangay 705. The researchers prepared test case scenarios to test the functionality of the system, and the users were given User Acceptance Test that provided feedback to the team regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the system. The developed system was tested, verified and validated, and has met the primary requirements of the Manila Health Department in identifying specific programs for the pilot barangays in the study. Future researchers should also be aware of the processes that MHD performs in order for them to understand the importance of each step and how its basis will affect the output of the whole process. Also, the team recommends a thorough communication between the researchers and the Manila Health Department. This would allow the future researchers to able to adapt on to whatever changes MHD has to go through being under the World Health Organization (WHO) and the

Department of Health (DOH) here in the Philippines and make the necessary adjustments on their research giving them the opportunity to have a better output. 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The group would not be able to finish this research paper without the help and guidance from all the people they came across along the way. . The primary acknowledgement of the group is for their adviser, Ms. Lissa Magpantay for her neverending guidance, encouragement and support. This is one of the key factors why the group was able to complete their research and study. Also, the group would like to thank their panelists, Ms. Estafanie Ulit and Dr. Sherwin Ona for their time and effort in giving the group both positive and constructive feedback. The group also extends its gratitude to the MHD, its officers, clerks and staff, and the doctors as well as nurses and health workers for their hospitable accommodation in providing insights and feedback all throughout the project development and implementation phase. Lastly, the group would like to thank their respective families, friends and the Lord for the continuous guidance, support and patience in everything that was done to make the study possible.
6

FNH-II-015

Presented at the DLSU Research Congress 2014 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines March 6-8, 2014

6.

REFERENCES

Community based management of severe acute malnutrition (2007). In World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition and the United Nations Children’s Fund Community-based monitoring system helps achieve MDG (2010). Retrieved April 5, 2012 from http://www.allvoices.com/contributednews/4917840-communitybasedmonitoring-system-helps-achievemdgs. Gerodias, E. & Palermo, J. (n.d.). Malnutrition in the Philippines. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/243953/Mal nutrition-in-the-Philippines Local governments urged to work double time vs malnutrition. (May, 2011). Retrieved from http://www.sunstar.com.ph/tacloban/lo cal-news/2011/05/18/localgovernments-urged-work-double-timevs-malnutrition-156157 Malnutrition in the Philippines (2011). Retrieved January 13, 2012 from http://www.who.org.ph/malnutrition.h tml Malnutrition in third world countries. (2012). World food programme: hunger statistics. Retrieved from

http://www.elderlyjournal.com/elderlyhealth/nutrition/malnutrition/Malnutr ition-In-Third-World-Countries.html Nutrition in the Philippines (2008). Retrieved February 14, 2012 from http://www.neda.gov.ph/devpulse/pdf_f iles/DevPulse-Malnutrition.pdf Reyes, C. (2010). Community based monitoring system in the Philippines. Retrieved April 5, 2012 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/PG LP/Resources/Session17.pdf The government’s technology development agenda (2012). Retrieved February 20, 2012 from http://www.tempo.com.ph/2012/thegovts-technology-developmentagenda/#.T0NnjIdulJI Villafania, A. (2011, September). UNICEF cites malnutrition as ‘silent killer’ in war-torn Maguindanao. Retrieved March 3, 2012 from Nation and World Website: http://loqal.ph/nation-andworld/2011/09/08/unicef-citesmalnutrition-as-silent-killer-in-wartorn-maguindanao/ World Health Organization (2012). Retrieved February 13, 2012 from http://www.who.int/about/en/

7 FNH-II-015

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Research

...The Research Process Writers usually treat the research task as a sequential process involving several clearly defined steps. No one claims that research requires completion of each step before going to the next. Recycling, circumventing, and skipping occur. Some steps are begun out of sequence, some are carried out simultaneously, and some may be omitted. Despite these variations, the idea of a sequence is useful for developing a project and for keeping the project orderly as it unfolds. Exhibit 3–1 models the sequence of the research process. We refer to it often as we discuss each step in subsequent chapters. Our discussion of the questions that guide project planning and data gathering is incorporated into the model (see the elements within the pyramid in Exhibit 3–1 and compare them with Exhibit 3–2). Exhibit 3–1 also organizes this chapter and introduces the remainder of the book. The research process begins much as the vignette suggests. A management dilemma triggers the need for a decision. For MindWriter, a growing number of complaints about postpurchase service started the process. In other situations, a controversy arises, a major commitment of resources is called for, or conditions in the environment signal the need for a decision. For MindWriter, the critical event could have been the introduction by a competitor of new technology that would revolutionize the processing speed of laptops. Such events cause managers to reconsider their purposes or...

Words: 376 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Research

...requirements of talking on the phone.  These predictions were derived from basic theories on limited attention capacities. 2. Microsoft Company has basic research sites in Redmond, Washington, Tokoyo, Japan etc.at these research sites work on fundamental problems that underlie the design of future products. For example a group at Redmond is working natural language recognition soft wares, while another works on artificial intelligence. These research centres don’t produce new products rather they produce the technology that is used to enhance existing products or help new products. The product are produced by dedicates product groups. Customization of the products to match the needs of local markets is sometimes carried out at local subsidiaries. Thus, the Chinese subsidiary in Singapore will do basic customizations of programs such as MS office adding Chinese characters and customizing the interface. APPLIED RESEARCH * INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE COMPANY Offering customers products and services for ‘connected life and work’  Project: 1. Research focused on the organisation’s tendency to appoint ‘safe’ senior executives, rather than those who were able to drive change through the business, and enable a culture of calculated business risk and growth.  This research led to a programme that created different and improved relationships with executive search agencies, established a positive shift in the interaction between the...

Words: 282 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Research

...Myresearch About 30 million other animals. Animal experimentation by scientists can be cruel and unjust, but at the same time it can provide long term benefits for humanity. Animals used in research and experiments have been going on for 2,000 years and keep is going strong. It is a widely debated about topic all over the world. Some say it is inhuman while others say it's for the good of human kind. There are many different reasons why people perform experiments and why others total disagree with it. Each year 20 million animals are produce and breed for the only purpose but to be tested on. Fifty-three thousands of animals are used each year in medical and veterinary schools. The rest is used in basic research. The demand for animals in the United States is 50 million mice, 20 million rats, and aThis includes 200,000 cats and 450,000 dogs. The world uses about 200-250 million animals per year. The problem with working with animals is that they cannot communicate their feelings and reactions. Other people say that they can communicate and react to humans just a well as one person to another. Some of the animals the research's use are not domesticated which makes them extremely hard to control and handle. The experiments that go on behind closed doors are some of the most horrific things a human could think of too torture somebody or something. Animals in labs are literally used as models and are poked at and cut open like nothing is happening. When drug are tested on animals...

Words: 355 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Research

...Research Methodology & Fundamentals of MR. 100 Marks Course Content 1. Relevance & Scope of Research in Management. 2. Steps Involved in the Research Process 3. Identification of Research Problem. 4. Defining MR problems 5. Research Design 6. Data – Collection Methodology, Primary Data – Collection Methods / Measurement Techniques – Characteristics of Measurement Techniques – Reliability, Validity etc. – Secondary Data Collection Methods – Library Research, References – Bibliography, Abstracts, etc. 7. Primary and Secondary data sources and data collection instruments including in-depth interviews, projective techniques and focus groups 8. Data management plan – Sampling & measurement 9. Data analysis – Tabulation, SPSS applications data base, testing for association 10. Analysis Techniques – Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis Techniques – Techniques of Testing Hypothesis – Chi-square, T-test, Correlation & Regression Analysis, Analysis of Variance, etc. – Making Choice of an Appropriate Analysis Technique. 11. Research Report Writing. 12. .Computer Aided Research Methodology – use of SPSS packages Reference Text 1. Business Research Methods – Cooper Schindler 2. Research Methodology Methods & Techniques – C.R.Kothari 3. D. K. Bhattacharya: Research Methodology (Excel) 4. P. C. Tripathy: A text book of Research Methodology in...

Words: 5115 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Research

...Research Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict and control the observed phenomenon. Research involves inductive and deductive methods (Babbie, 1998). Inductive methods analyze the observed phenomenon and identify the general principles, structures, or processes underlying the phenomenon observed; deductive methods verify the hypothesized principles through observations. The purposes are different: one is to develop explanations, and the other is to test the validity of the explanations. One thing that we have to pay attention to research is that the heart of the research is not on statistics, but the thinking behind the research. How we really want to find out, how we build arguments about ideas and concepts, and what evidence that we can support to persuade people to accept our arguments. Gall, Borg and Gall (1996) proposed four types of knowledge that research contributed to education as follows: 1. Description: Results of research can describe natural or social phenomenon, such as its form, structure, activity, change over time, relationship to other phenomena. The descriptive function of research relies on instrumentation for measurement and observations. The descriptive research results in our understanding of what happened. It sometimes produces statistical information about aspects of education. 2. Prediction: Prediction research is intended to predict a phenomenon that will occur at time Y from information at an earlier time X. In educational...

Words: 1179 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Research

...STEP 1etasblish the need for research We have to consider if it is a real need for doing a research? Research takes time and costs money. If the information is already available, decisions must be made now, we cant afford research and costs outweigh the value of the research, then the research is not needed. Step 2 define the problem or topic State your topic as a question. This is the most important step. Identify the main concepts or keywords in your question. Problem maybe either specific or general. Step 3 establish research objective Research objectives, when achieved, provide the Information necessary to solve the problem identified in Step 2. Research objectives state what the researchers must do. Crystallize the research problems and translate them into research objective. At this point, we will pin down the research question. Step 4 determine research design The research design is a plan or framework for conducting the study and collecting data. It is defined as the specific methods and procedures you use to acquire the information you need. based on the research objectives, we will determine the most appropriate research design: qualitative and/ or quantitative. • Exploratory Research: collecting information in an unstructured and informal manner. • Descriptive Research refers to a set of methods and procedures describing marketing variables. • Causal Research (experiments): allows isolation of causes and...

Words: 1099 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Research

...Contents TITLE 2 INTRODUCTION 3 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 3 AIM 4 OBJECTIVES 4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 METHODOLOGY AND DATACOLLECTION 5 POPULATION AND SAMPLING 6 DATA ANALYSIS METHODS 6 PARTICIPANTS IN THE STUDY 7 STUDY PERIOD (GANTT CHART) 8 STUDY RESOURCES 9 REFERENCES 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 9 APPENDICES: 10 * The Impact of Motivation through Incentives for a better Performance - Adaaran Select Meedhupparu Ahmed Anwar Athifa Ibrahim (Academic Supervisor) Applied Research Project to the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies The Maldives National University * * Introduction As it is clear, staff motivation is important in all the sectors especially in the tourism sector where we require highly skilled employees to get the best of their output to reach the organizational goals. Therefore, organizations spend a lot on their staff motivation in terms of different incentive approaches, such as financial benefits, training and development, appreciations, rewards and promotions. As mentioned in the title, the outline of the findings will be focused on the motivation of the staffs on improving their performances by the different incentive packages that they get at the resort. This study will be executed at Adaaran Meedhupparu by giving questionnaire to the staff working in different departments to fill up and return to the scholar to examine the current situation of staff satisfaction on motivation to do...

Words: 2768 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Research

...Research Article Research is important to every business because of the information it provides. There is a basic process to researching information and that process begins by deciding what information needs to be researched. The next step is to develop a hypothesis, which describes what the research paper is about and what the researcher’s opinion is regarding the topic. The research article chosen for this paper is titled, “The Anchor Contraction Effect in International Marketing Research.” The hypothesis for this paper is, “This raises the issue of whether providing responses on rating scales in a person’s native versus second language exerts a systematic influence on the responses obtained.” Simply explained, the hypothesis of this paper is to determine whether research questions should be in a person’s native language rather than expecting them to respond to questions in a language in which they might not be fluent. The hypothesis of this paper was accepted based on the research data gathered by the research team. This hypothesis was supported by nine studies using a variety of research methods. The research methods provided data that demonstrated the level of inaccuracy based on questions being asked in a language that was not the respondent’s native language. The research data provided insight into the probability of more accurate results when the respondent was asked questions in a manner that related well with their culture. There are several implications...

Words: 322 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Research

...ACE8001: What do we mean by Research? & Can we hope to do genuine Social Science Research (David Harvey)  What do we mean by research? What might characterise good research practice? There is no point in us trying to re-invent the wheel - other and probably more capable people than us have wrestled with this problem before us, and it makes good sense and is good practice to learn what they have discovered.  In other words - we need to explore more reliable and effective methods and systems for the pursuit of research than we have been doing so far. What is research? Dictionary Definitions of Research: * "The act of searching closely or carefully for or after a specified thing or person" * "An investigation directed to discovery of some fact by careful study of a subject" * "A course of scientific enquiry" (where scientific = "producing demonstrative knowledge") Howard and Sharp (HS) define research as:  "seeking through methodical processes to add to bodies of knowledge by the discovery or elucidation of non-trivial facts, insights and improved understanding of situations, processes and mechanisms".  [Howard, K. and Sharp, J.A. The Management of a student research project, Gower, 1983 - a useful and practical “how to do it” guide] Two other, more recent guides are: Denscombe, Martyn, 2002, Ground rules for good research: a 10 point guide for social research,  Open University Press. Robinson Library Shelf Mark: 300.72 DEN, Level 3 (several copies)...

Words: 4067 - Pages: 17

Free Essay

Research

...solve analytic models or whatever, but they often fail to demonstrate that they have thoroughly thought about their papers—in other words, when you push them about the implicit and explicit assumptions and implications of their research models, it appears that they haven’t really given these matters much thought at all.[1] Too often they fall back on saying that they are doing what they are doing because that is the way it is done in the prior literature, which is more of an excuse than a answer. (Of course, once a researcher reaches a certain age, they all feel that youngsters aren’t as good as they were in the good old days!) Therefore, in this class we shall go beyond simply studying research in managerial accounting. For many of you, this is your first introduction to accounting research and to PhD level class. Hence, in these classes we shall also learn how to solve business problems systematically and to understand what it means to have thoroughly “thought through” a paper. We begin not with academic research, but with some real world cases, because we should never forget that ours is an applied research field: accounting research is a means towards the end of understanding business and is not an end in itself, in the way pure science research is. Developing a systematic procedure for solving a real world business problem is the starting point for developing a...

Words: 2437 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Research

...manger know about research when the job entails managing people, products, events, environments, and the like? Answer: Research simply means a search for facts – answers to questions and solutions to problems. It is a purposive investigation. It is an organized inquiry. It seeks to find explanations to unexplained phenomenon to clarify the doubtful facts and to correct the misconceived facts. Research is the organized and systematic inquiry or investigation which provides information for solving a problem or finding answers to a complex issue. Research in business: Often, organization members want to know everything about their products, services, programs, etc. Your research plans depend on what information you need to collect in order to make major decisions about a product, service, program, etc. Research provides the needed information that guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with problems. The more focused you are about your resources, products, events and environments what you want to gain by your research, the more effective and efficient you can be in your research, the shorter the time it will take you and ultimately the less it will cost you. Manager’s role in research programs of a company: Managing people is only a fraction of a manager's responsibility - they have to manage the operations of the department, and often have responsibilities towards the profitability of the organization. Knowledge of research can be very helpful...

Words: 4738 - Pages: 19

Free Essay

Research

...Volume 3, number 2 What is critical appraisal? Sponsored by an educational grant from AVENTIS Pharma Alison Hill BSC FFPHM FRCP Director, and Claire Spittlehouse BSc Business Manager, Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, Institute of Health Sciences, Oxford q Critical appraisal is the process of systematically examining research evidence to assess its validity, results and relevance before using it to inform a decision. q Critical appraisal is an essential part of evidence-based clinical practice that includes the process of systematically finding, appraising and acting on evidence of effectiveness. q Critical appraisal allows us to make sense of research evidence and thus begins to close the gap between research and practice. q Randomised controlled trials can minimise bias and use the most appropriate design for studying the effectiveness of a specific intervention or treatment. q Systematic reviews are particularly useful because they usually contain an explicit statement of the objectives, materials and methods, and should be conducted according to explicit and reproducible methodology. q Randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews are not automatically of good quality and should be appraised critically. www.evidence-based-medicine.co.uk Prescribing information is on page 8 1 What is critical appraisal What is critical appraisal? Critical appraisal is one step in the process of evidence-based clinical practice. Evidencebased clinical practice...

Words: 4659 - Pages: 19

Free Essay

Research

...Marketing Department, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RQ, United Kingdom e-mail: 1sh@ukm.my 1,3 ABSTRACT This study examined the adequacy of using undergraduate student samples in research on online consumer attitudes by comparing the attitudes of students (n = 161) towards online retailing services with the attitudes of non-students (n = 252) towards such services. A structured questionnaire administered online was used to gather data on perceptions, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions with regard to online retailing services. The t-test results showed that, in general, students' attitude towards online retailing services is similar to that of non-students. Therefore, undergraduate students may be reasonable surrogates for consumers in research on online retailing. Keywords: internet users, electronic commerce, online consumer attitudes, online retailing services, student surrogates INTRODUCTION The usage of the internet as a communication and transaction medium in consumer markets is growing rapidly (Castells, 2000; Hart, Doherty, & EllisChadwick, 2000). In line with this expansion, consumer-based electronic commerce has become an emerging research area (e.g. Demangeot & Broderick, 2006, 2007; Teo, 2006; Tih & Ennis, 2006a, 2006b). In particular, a stream of research addressing issues related to online consumer attitudes (e.g. George, 2004; Wang, Chen, Chang, & Yang, 2007) and behaviors (see Cheung, Chan, & Limayem, 2005 for a review) has emerged. Although...

Words: 5659 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Research

...Importance Of Research Research is tool, which is utilized by my organizations and co-operations to have a fundamental knowledge of goods, products, and also to finding out consumer behavior. It is also a systematic investigation into the study of materials and sources inn order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. Research informed the marketers of Glidden paint because it helped them start from were the audience was which was Walmart in this case scenario. A marketer finds out what you want, and creates or finds product that fits you. Research aided the marketers of Glidden paint to come to a conclusion that not only should you hypothesize, you should also carry out experiments as well. In this case we see that the help of experiments helped them realize that Walmart’s brand name of saving money was not deterring the perceived quality of the paints. Meaning that Walmart’s cheap pricing of goods played no part in the durability of the paint. Research helped the marketers of Glidden paint realize that they could revamp the Walmart paint section, which has been ignored for years. They are confident that Glidden paint will do great numbers because they have raised awareness and created a media platform that consumers can interact with the most. Not only has research helped in satisfying consumer wants, it also gives the marketer an in-depth knowledge on the frequent changes of consumer taste. Research helped Glidden paint marketers realize...

Words: 319 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Research

...researchResearch is the investigation into and the study of new materials in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. It is swork undertaken on a systematis basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge. Research is a key aspect of journalism and as researchers we employ various sourdes and methods of research. Throughout this essay I will explore and examine the different sources available to journalists, the different types of interviews and I will describe the need for appropriate referencing of all source of material. Sources available. We live in an age overflowing with source materials, and these sources are easily accessible to us. The two main types of sources are primary and secondary sources. A pimary source is information that is gathered from an original source. These include; intervies, questionairres, surveys, observation, histoical documents and experiments to name but a few. A secondary source is information that has already been gathered by other people and/or organisations. A secondary source interpets and analyzes primary sources. (Locke, 2013) There are both online and offline secondary sources. Primary Surveys and questionnaires A very important aspect of research work is using surveys. Surveys are a primary source.There are two main types of surveys, a questionnarrie and an interview. Surveys and questionnaires are usually composed of one or more questions that are directed to a certain target audience. Questionnaires have advantages...

Words: 1248 - Pages: 5