A progress Report for a students research Report

Please note the samples are converted from .PDFs,

so spacing may irregular.

Annotated Bibliography

Bear, Jacci H. "Is a Mac or a PC Better for Graphic Designers?"

A bout. About.com, 2013. Web. 03 Sept. 2014.

The article, written by a desktop publishing expert, explains which computer type is better for publishing.

Blake, Roberto. "Mac Vs PC In Graphic Design." YouTube.

YouTube, May 2014. Web. 03 Sept. 2014.

This video review by a graphic designer explains the positive and negative aspects of both PCs and MACS.

"Compare Mac Desktops." Apple. Apple Inc., N.D. Web. 03

Sept. 2014.

This site provides a side-by-side comparison of different Macs.

Norris, Bridgett. Personal interview. 29 September

2014.

Ms. Norris, a graphic designer and owner of FISH Studios, discussed her experience using Macs.

Stout, Jeff. Director of Technology. Personal interview. 3 October

2014.

Mr. Stout discussed his professional opinions regarding Macs vs. PCs and the financial and integration aspects of both.

"The Top Ten Reasons Macs Are Better Than PCs." Power Max.

Power Max Computers, N.D. Web. 01 Sept. 2014.

The post provides "reasonable arguments" in favor of purchasing a Mac.

Vesel y, Adam. "Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.1 Review. "

Vide omaker.com. V ideomaker, Inc., 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Sept. 2014.

This articles reviews Apple's Final Cut Pro X 10.1 software available only on a Mac.

Annotated Bibliography

Botero, Daniel. M astering College to Career: A Modern Guide To

Landing Your Dream Job Before Graduation. Independently Published,

Sept. 2019.

The author provides tips on preparing to hunt for a job through self-assessments.

Doe, Judith. "Re: Steps for Interviewing on Campus." Message to Harry

Hunt. 14 June 2017. Email.

The career director, Judith Doe, describes the application and reservation procedures for business interviews.

— Text Message to Harry Hunt. 30 June 2017.

Mr. Hunt is reminded of his interview time and is asked to bring his senior portfolio.

Ferencik, Jakub. "Most Popular & Important BLOGS for Job Seekers — All

You Need to Know ." M edium, 2 May 2018, https ://medium.com /@jakubferencik/most-popular-important-blogs-for-jobseekers-all-you-need-to-know-1adbc21a1cdo

The author lists six blog sites for job seekers.

Herrera, Bobby . The Gift of Struggle: Life-Changing Lessons About

Leading. Bard Press , 2019.

The author describes his journey in developing a leadership style. Coming from a migrant family of thirteen, he is the cofounder and CEO of Populus Group.

Lagoria-Chafkin, "They Told Me to Get an MBA. I Started a Billion Dollar

Company Instead." Inc. July /August 2019, h ttps: //flipboard.com /@Inc Magazine/they-told-me-to-get-an-mba-i-started a-billion-dollar-company-i nstead /a Yv5sQCcKQWibutaD25v0bg%3Aa%3A33789163-d0ab8f65b5/inc.com

This article describes the success of the suitcase company Away.

Richmoney4. "Good Will Hunting Job Interview ." YouTube, 23 June 2013,

https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hWire noRo

A humorous scene takes place when intervie wers are confused by responses from a candidate in a video clip from the movie, Good Will Hunting.

Ziegen, Justin. Personal Interview. 6 October 2018.

Justin explains how he started his own computer business.

,

Progress Letter with Enclosures

Students will:

· Write a progress letter with headings of the accomplishments to date on their major report.

· Enclose with the letter a description of at least one completed primary source.

· Enclose with the letter an annotated bibliography with a minimum of seven sources of both primary and secondary sources, highlighting the relevant content.

Discussion

Progress reports can be written in different formats, including letters, emails, memos, charts, reports, and forms.  Progress reports are often the documentation required to receive payment for work completed or the installment to provide funds for the next step in an approved plan. 

Assignment

Your progress letter tells me what research you have completed on your major report and whether there are problems.  It also helps to meet your timeline for finishing the major report.  Use headings in the letter to distinguish work completed, work in progress, work to be done, and problems, or organize headings by dates (e.g., February 14-21, March 1-4, etc.) or types of research, such as web search, interview conducted, survey distributed, or draft written.  

There are three parts to this assignment:

(1)  Progress letter [35 points] (with two enclosures, which are the primary research and annotated bibliography).  Remember to include Enclosure or Encl. below the type-written name.

(2)  Primary research [30 points}.  Include one, such as an interview transcript (sample on page 261), survey results, or other approved source.

(3)  Annotated bibliography [35 points], list of at least 7 sources including two from primary research.  Include one to four sentences about the source; these sentences are also called annotations or descriptive abstracts.  Note:  Your sources may have changed since your proposal.  Your research may have led you to other materials that are more pertinent.  Your interviewee may have given you new perspectives on the topic or set parameters, such as a limit on the budget, number of people attending an event, or companies to solicit for bids.

Pages from the book

A progress report, such as those in Figures 14.4 and 14.5, informs readers about the status of an ongoing project. It lets them know how much and what type of work has been done by a particular date, by whom, how well, and how close the entire job is to being completed. A progress report reveals whether you are

specifying what work has been done

keeping on your schedule

staying within your budget

using the proper technology or equipment

making the right assignments

identifying an unexpected problem

providing adjustments in schedules, personnel, location, etc.

indicating what work remains to be done

completing the job efficiently, correctly, and according to codes

A progress Report for a students research Report

Progress Report from a Contractor to a customer

Interviews

Interviews can be conducted in person, over the telephone, or through email, ­although videoconferences and face-to-face meetings are the most productive way to generate relevant information. Figure 8.2 contains an excerpt from an interview with a U.S. manager whose company transferred her to the company’s Hangzhou, China location for eighteen months. Note how the interviewer researched and structured his questions to help other employees who might be transferred to China.

Figure

8.2.

An Excerpt from an Interview Transcript

Follow the process below when you have to conduct an interview for your workplace research.

1.Set up the interview

Ask your supervisor or co-workers to help you identify experts or relevant customers you should interview, or consult other sources, such as business directories, client or customer lists, or professional organizations.

Politely request an interview with the individual at their convenience. Be flexible. Your interviewee is giving you their time. Always let the individual know ahead of time exactly what you would like to discuss, and why and how you are conducting the interview (in person, by videoconference, or by phone).

Specify how much time you will need for the interview. Be realistic—fifteen minutes may be too short; two hours much too long.

2.Prepare for the interview

Continue to research your topic so that you have sufficient background ­information and do not waste time by requesting information available on the Internet or from another easily obtainable source.

Determine what information you need from the interview to help you solve the problem or answer the questions essential to your report. Be sure to ­prioritize getting the essential information you need.

3.Draft your questions Prepare your questions ahead of time, and take them to the interview. Never try to wing it. Your questions should be

focused on the topic you want to find out about to avoid vague answers

open-ended and designed to prompt thoughtful responses, not just yes or no answers

objectively worded so that the interviewee is not forced to respond to loaded questions

Here are some examples of poorly written questions with effective revisions:

Vague Question Restricted Question

How can a website help customers?

In what ways can we improve the navigational signals on our website to help customers find information quicker?

Yes or No Question Open-Ended Question

Do you think big business is opposed to a healthy environment?

Would you identify two or three ways we could make our job site more environmentally friendly?

Loaded Question Objectively Worded Question

Isn’t the future of real estate security investments doomed to a bleak future?

What are your thoughts about the future of real estate security investments?

4.Conduct the interview

Show up for the interview on time, and dress appropriately.

Always ask permission to record the interview or to take photographs.

Take notes. Even if you are recording your interview, your contemporaneous notes may yield insights later that a recording or transcript will not.

Stay focused. Don’t stray from the topic or delve into personal matters.

Be an attentive and appreciative listener. Let the interviewee do most of the talking.

If the interviewee does not want to answer a question or has no further information to add, don’t press the point. Move to the next question.

If the interviewee(s) says that something is “off the record,” respect their request and do not include it in your transcript or notes, or on tape.

At the end of the interview, allow time for your interviewee to clarify any of their responses.

5.Follow up after the interview

It’s best to read through your notes or listen to the recording of the interview immediately afterward, while the conversation is still fresh in your mind.

Thank the interviewee by letter or email within a day or two following the interview.

If the interviewee requested a transcript of the interview, send it to them.

Always request permission to quote anything from the interview in your ­report or presentation to your company or clients.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are typically composed of loyal or prospective customers who have been invited to give a company their opinions about a specific product, service, or future project. A company might also include paid consultants and even individuals selected from competitors’ lists. Focus groups are used to obtain a wider variety of opinions than individual interviews may give and they are more personal and interactive than surveys. Businesses rely heavily on these groups to get honest, well-considered feedback from interested individuals and to incorporate that feedback into their research. Focus groups are usually conducted in face-to-face meetings, but videoconferences and virtual meeting technologies (see Section 3.5, “Virtual Meetings and Videoconferencing”) allow people outside of the area, even globally, to participate.

Follow the guidelines below to conduct a successful focus group:

Set up the focus group

Identify who should be invited to the focus group and how many individuals should be a part of that group. Effective focus groups usually consist of six to twelve participants to get a diversity of opinions, but keep the group from being too crowded and unmanageable.

Once you decide on the participants, give them all of the details they need about the location, payment or reimbursement, and topics to be discussed.

Prepare for the focus group

Formulate the specific questions you need to ask. As in a one-on-one interview, prepare your questions ahead of time, avoiding vague, yes or no, or loaded questions. Limit your questions to allow for ample discussion time.

Plan to record the focus group and to bring in a co-leader or moderator to take notes. Unlike in a one-on-one interview, you will not be able to take ­effective notes while leading a focus group.

Conduct the focus group

At the beginning of the meeting, establish reasonable ground rules, such as the importance of staying on topic, speaking in turn, and meeting the goals of the group (see Section 3.1e, “Sources of Conflict in Collaborative Groups and How to Solve Them”).

Politely remind the group about confidentiality. Many companies have participants fill out confidentiality agreements before the group meets.

Stick closely to the agenda. Don’t stray off topic yourself or allow participants to do so.

Follow up after the focus group meets

Record any observations about the group dynamic as a whole and about the individual participants, since this information may affect your results.

Thank the participants again by letter or email within a day or two after the group meets.

Use of social media and networking sites as a recruiting tool Many researchers and companies find social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter useful for recruiting participants for research projects and for studying consumer trends. Companies or individuals wanting to organize a focus group, for example, can tweet a request to their customers on Twitter to generate participants, or have their followers participate in a tweet chat that takes place at a designated day/time and uses specially designated hashtags to allow participants to contribute their views. Questions can be posed and responses generated on Twitter or Instagram, or you can direct participants to a more formal online survey outside of a social media platform.

You can also use Facebook as a recruiting tool. By creating a Facebook “event” for a research project or focus group, companies and researchers can advertise the project or focus group session, distribute information, and even begin to collect data about participants, all from the same site. Social media is also useful for market researchers who need to find information about new products, services, technologies, and pricing. This type of research is especially helpful when you need to gather information within specific communities. Facebook, for example, allows users to create groups around virtually any topic, thus assisting researchers to find information, observe developing trends, or gauge reaction to new products by simply joining the group and following the posts already there.

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To: Professor Donnetta Suchon

From: Jaylinn Rodriguez

Date: February 5, 2023

Subject: Proposal to write a report on the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a used vehicle

Purpose

In an effort to help people make informed decisions when purchasing used vehicles, I purpose to research and write a report on the advantages and disadvantages of used vehicles.

Background

Many people find themselves having to buy used cars either from other people or from dealerships specializing in used cars. People buy used cars due to various reasons, one of them being economic reasons that limit a person’s purchasing ability. Another reason is that some people prefer old-model cars that are no longer in production. This forces them to buy the models as used cars and not brand-new cars. In the US about 79 % of people purchase a used car rather than a brand-new car( Paszkiewicz). This shows that there is demand for used cars.

When purchasing used cars, regardless of reason, people tend to ponder if they have made the right choice or if they should have instead simply bought a brand-new car. Despite the high number of people who purchase used cars, many of them do not make informed decisions when purchasing cars. They fail to consider the important factors that they ought to look out such as the car's history and its mileage. More importantly, they fail to consider the advantages and disadvantages that come with the purchase of a used car.

Questions to be investigated?

I. What are the short-term advantages of buying a used car?

II. What are the long-term advantages of buying a used car?

III. What are the short-term disadvantages of buying a used car?

IV. What are the long-term advantages of buying a used car?

Methods of Research

Primary sources

a) Interviews: Interviews will be carried out on people who bought used cars as well as used-car dealership owners

Secondary Sources

Paszkiewicz, Laura. Consumer Expenditure Survey Anthology. 2003, p. 61, www.bls.gov/cex/anthology/csxanth8.pdf.

“Buying a Used Car from a Dealer.” Consumer Information, 17 May 2021, consumer.ftc.gov/articles/buying-used-car-dealer.

Mahajan, Gautam. "What is customer value and how can you create it?." Journal of Creating Value 6.1 (2020): 119-121.

Pal, Nabarun, et al. "How much is my car worth? A methodology for predicting used cars’ prices using random forest." Advances in Information and Communication Networks: Proceedings of the 2018 Future of Information and Communication Conference (FICC), Vol. 1. Springer International Publishing, 2019.

Haralayya, Bhadrappa. "Effect of Branding on Consumer Buying Behaviour at Vijay Bharat Motors Pvt Ltd, Bidar." Iconic Research And Engineering Journals 4.12 (2021): 207-222.

Turoń, Katarzyna. "Selection of Car Models with a Classic and Alternative Drive to the Car-Sharing Services from the System’s Rare Users Perspective." Energies 15.19 (2022): 6876.

“Advantages of Used Cars: Is It Worth It to Buy a Used Car? | CU SoCal.” Www.cusocal.org, www.cusocal.org/pros-and-cons-of-buying-used-cars.

Timetable

TASK	WEEL
Carrying out interviews and survey Completion of research and compiling of findings	Week 1
Write progress letter Work on the report draft	Week 2
Preparation of final draft Preparation of PowerPoint slides	Week 3

Request for Approval

Dear Professor Suchon, Please consider my report plan for approval. I am also open to any corrections and suggestions on how to make the plan more effective.

Attachment

Interview Questions

· Which is the major technical fault common in used cars?

· Are used cars expensive to maintain?

· How is the pricing of a used car determined?

· Which models of used cars sell faster than others?

· Which car model rarely develops serious technical problems when bought as used?

· What is the biggest advantage of buying a used car?

· What is the biggest disadvantage of buying a used car?

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