Using the below feedback that has been given throughout the term, please write a concept paper. The concept paper is similar to a mini-proposal that one would do for a dissertation/project proposal. The paper should include the following elements: general and specific problem statement, a research question, a selected design, and an appropriate method.

The total submission must be at least 500 words to accurately reflect the problem and the proposed research question. Remember, there must be context, so these items should not be listed merely in bullet form. This assignment requires a title page and a reference page (abstract not required). There should be a minimum of four references, but will likely contain more.

The 5 Key Factors That I Noticed in The
Keller, T., & Alsdorf, K. L. Text Were:

1. The Dignity that Work Provides:

As Keller and Alsdorf discuss, it is agreeable that the purpose of work is a result of God’s instructions. I agree with this text because the word of God requires Christians to adhere to His callings, and in this case, the calling is our work (Keller, 2016).

2. Work as a Service:

I disagree with Keller and Alsdorf concept that people should focus on making great qualities of income to serve God. Although money and other belongings can be powerful to distribute great causes, they cannot be the only benefits that one can receive from work.

3. Work Sometimes Makes us Selfish:

As indicated by (Keller 2016), I agree that work becomes selfish in some cases, and it can only be used to make a name for people instead of God. Besides, people should choose God’s will instead of their own.

4. Work Reveals our Idols:

I agree with Keller and Alsdorf on the opinion that when we work towards success and earthly satisfaction without considering our partnership with God, it is a form of idol-worshipping (Keller & Alsdorf, 2016).

5. The Design of Work:

As indicated by Keller and Alsdorf, work is supposed to be significant because it is a part of God’s divine plan. Additionally, God rested on the seventh day to show limits to work.

Agreement and Disagreement:

I agree with Keller and Alsdorf that the results of theorizing and practicing work have born fruits for leadership services. However, I can’t entirely agree with some aspects of Keller and Alsdorf’s text, especially in the concept that people should focus on making great qualities of income to serve God (Keller, 2016).

Biblical Worldview Component:

In the case that a biblical worldview component was incorporated into my research design, my research approach would change. My research would have a qualitative view of the Bible’s influence on employees’ productivity and morale (Hah, 2019).

References

Keller, T., & Alsdorf, K. L. (2016). Every Profitable Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Creation. Penguin Books.

McGhee, P. (2019, July 16). Integrating Christian Spirituality at Work: Combining Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches. Mdpi. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/433/htm.

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What makes a good problem if it is for a case study?

With the increase in online marketing, one will conduct “a case study” at least once before deciding the best product or vendor to use. In other words, a case study is a research method mostly applied in the life and social sciences to examine a smaller unit and later using the results to generalize on a larger unit. Roberta Heale and Alison Twycross define case study as an intensive research methodology about a unit, group of people, or persons to generalize over several other units (Twycross, 2018, p. 7). These units, as mentioned, could be a particular unit of products, a person, a group of people such as men, women, males, females, leaders, organization CEO, among others. Now that we understand what a case study is, what makes a problem suitable to use a case study?

There several characteristics of a problem that make it a perfect fit for using a case study. The problem affects a larger unit of the targeted company. For example, an issue affecting college students in the United States is most likely involving students in Europe and Asia. Another characteristic is that the problem is a specific phenomenon arising from a particular entity (Gerring, 2004, p. 342). The problem or research question should present several forms in which they can be answered. In other words, it has multiple variables, which can be used to find the solution (LANE, 2018, p. 1504). Lastly, the problem presents multiple dimensions or cases to consider. For instance, using the given example above, the research could instead focus on how course complexity affects college students’ performance.

What makes a good problem if it is for consulting?

Consulting is the act of providing external advice to a person, a group, an organization, or institution or a range of topics such as operations, management, strategy, technology to help the advised party make a better and more profound decision based on the problem at hand (DropOutClub LLC, 2016). The first characteristic is that the existing problem has existed before, or at least there has been an attempt to address the issue. The problem presents sufficient scientific merit to answer (LANE, 2018, p. 1504). For example, for most Startup companies, capital is a major issue often requiring consultation. In other words, there is a known solution to the problem. Secondly, the question presents conflicting issues, and the whole purpose of the consultation is to decide on the best course of action (Keller & Alsdorf, 2012). For instance, a company wanting to purchase a new machine may consult with a financial expert to help in making the decision. In this case, the problem could be production and thus, acquiring the new machine will increase production on the one hand and is also likely to incur additional operation costs on the other hand.

Describe the three designs and when is it appropriate to use each design?

In order to properly conduct research one must understand the different methodologies. There are a variety of designs that can be used. The researcher must understand and determine which method is appropriate for the type of research being conducted. Three prominent types of designs are fixed, flexible, and mixed. One way to determine which method to use is design thinking. Design thinking requires a little creativity, fosters innovation, and provides new approaches in the area of research. Design thinking contains distinct characteristics and practices. These characteristics when pooled with current methods create a unique research method (Micheli, et al., 2019). Research design is the framework that has been created to seek answers to research questions. Fixed designs would be appropriate to use in collecting quantitative data. One such method for this would be when conducting a survey. Surveys have a fixed set of response categories and such would need a fixed method to determine the outcome. Flexible designs would be appropriate to use in collecting qualitative data, such as, conducting inductive research. Inductive research requires the researcher to collect data, observe it, and formulate a hypothesis on what the data is telling them. Flexible designs are best utilized in real life situations. Mixed designs are appropriate to use when the need for research cannot be put into either of the fixed or flexible design categories or when the research requires the integration of both qualitative data and quantitative data.

Fixed design

         Fixed designs focus primarily on aggregate results and have properties that relate to a group setting and have basic tendencies. The design does not focus on the individual accomplishments of the research but rather on the averages of the group being researched. Fixed designs are used to collect quantitative data (Robson and McCartan, 2016). In a fixed design the intent of the research is rigid and can’t be changed. Fixed designs also take time to set up and can be part of a pilot research set. Fixed design research is carefully pre-planned and focuses mainly on variables that can be measured and compared.

Flexible design

        Flexible designs focus on qualitative data Flexible design is developed to get researchers to think outside the box and practice critical thinking skills. In flexible designs direct observation is used to collect data. The researcher collects the data through either field visits or direct witnessing of the event or activities of the research subject along with the participants behaviors. The researcher then records the observations through note taking. From here the researcher analyzes the data gathered and comes up with a hypothesis or theory to determine the results of that data. The researcher then presents their findings to the appropriate parties. Flexible designs allow for more freedom during the data collection process. It can be used in the research of culture and other scenarios that the variable being researched is not able to be measured using a quantitative method. One example of flexible research is grounded theory. Grounded theory is a systematic process that works to develop a process to interpret and action about a substantive topic. Flexible designs have no predetermined variables and can evolve over time.

Mixed design

        The mixed methods design is a method of conducting research that involves collecting, analyzing and integrating quantitative data such as experiments and qualitative data such as focus groups to use in research. The purpose statements of mixed methods contain the overall intent of the study, information about both the quantitative and qualitative strands of the study, and a rationale of incorporating both strands to study the research problem. This design is established to get researchers to think completely outside the box. The trademark of mixed methods is the combination (i.e., mixing) of quantitative and qualitative data to produce research conclusions significantly better than using either a fixed or flexible design approach could unaccompanied. An essential characteristic of the mixed design is the arduous use of both quantitative and qualitative methods (Guetterman, et al., 2019).

How are the designs similar?

        The three designs are similar in that they share the common feature of having one or more points in the research process. Data is collected in each design, such as, numbers, words, and/or gestures. This is done in different ways and for different purposes but the objective remains the same across all designs. Researchers can use all three designs to have an impact on the modification of professional norms by the research they conduct in order to allow a greater range of studies and findings to be supported.

How are the designs different?

A major difference between quantitative and qualitative research methods is that quantitative methods take more effort during the beginning research phase while qualitative methods take more effort during the final phase. Quantitative methods call for survey preparation, testing, validation, sample identification, and a myriad of procedures. In contrast, qualitative methods allow more flexibility during the beginning phase of the process.

What specific methods are related to each of these designs?

Fixed designs incorporate quantitative research methods. This can be anything from survey interviewing with the testing of a hypothesis across a variety of variables in a deductive manner, using standardized procedures for questions and answers in an objective manner, and can apply the results to a wider range of people or settings to experimental interventions, which creates a preplanned change if needed and test results. Experimental interventions rely on procedures that are easily replicated by other researchers and concentrates on key variables by controlling other factors.

Sample Solution

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