This course focuses on the role of statistics and business research as tools for the manager to use when making planning and operating decisions. The course prepares the manager to be a critical consumer of statistics capable of assessing the validity and reliability of statistics and business research prepared for the manager's use. Topics include research design and data collection, survey design and sampling theory, probability theory, hypothesis testing, and research reporting and evaluating.

Business Research in Decision Making

• Identify factors affecting business decision making.
• Distinguish among concepts, constructs, facts, and researchable problems.
• Formulate a research hypothesis.
• Compare and contrast deductive vs. inductive theory.
• Assess the benefits and risks of using statistics.

Research Design, Data Collection, and Descriptive Statistics

• Compare and contrast different typologies of business research.
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of primary vs. secondary data collection.
• Evaluate the major types of research designs.
• Determine the attributes of a good sample.
• Analyze and display data using descriptive statistics.

Survey Design and Sampling Theory

• Design a survey instrument.
• Evaluate the validity and reliability of instruments used to collect data.
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of survey instruments.
• Appraise the appropriateness of various sample designs.

Probability Theory

• Illustrate the concepts related to probability theory.
• Describe how probability theory is used in decision-making.
• Apply the binomial and Poisson probability distributions to business problems.
• Explain the concepts of normal distribution.

Hypothesis Testing

• Assess circumstances when hypothesis testing is appropriate for business research.
• Analyze business research, which employs various hypothesis tests.
• Identify and assess when various inferential tests should be used.
• Determine the role of confidence intervals in research.

Research Reporting and Evaluation

• Identify ethical issues in business research.
• Analyze the components of a written report.
• Evaluate conclusions and recommendations from the research report.
• Prepare an executive summary of a research report.