Conceptual Relationships Among Variables in Conceptual Models

Course Intended Learning Outcomes
1. Define marketing research and justify its importance in business firms.
2. Plan the research process and collaborate with others in developing a research proposal.
3. Select and apply appropriate techniques in data collection and analysis.
4. Synthesize research findings and then formulate recommendations to solving business problems.
Part A (20 marks)
In response to the call of the HKSAR Government and to uphold our principle of making the health and safety of students our top priority, the teaching methods in this semester have changed a lot. E-learning (including Zoom) became the major learning method.
The following paper :
“Hung, H., & Cho, V. (2008). Continued usage of e‐learning communication tools: a study from the learners' perspective in Hong Kong. International Journal of Training and Development, 12(3), 171-187,”
carried out a study of 682 e-learners and investiaged factors affecting the continued usage of e-learning communication tools.
Please suggest the independent variables “X” and “Y”, and dependent variable “Z” in the following conceptual model:
H2
Z
X
Y
H1

where “X” and “Z” are chosen from Hung and Cho (2008) (Hint: See Figure one in this paper). You need to search for one additional paper to select your own “Y” which is NOT in Hung and Cho (2008) and put the reference in your answer.
i)
Please write down your choice of “X”, “Y” and “Z”, and explain the rationales behind the possible conceptual relationships among the variables in your conceptual model.
(8 marks)
ii)
iii)
State the underlying null and alternative hypotheses of H1 and H2.
Suggest a statistical analysis method that can be used for testing H1 and H2. Briefly explain why it is the best alternative.
(4 marks)
(8 marks)
Part B (40 marks)
i)
You will need to design a questionnaire for the study you stated in Part A as a vehicle to find solutions for improving continued usage of e-learning/user satisfaction. Your questionnaire must include an introduction and 20 questions.
Guidelines: The 20 questions include:
1. Two filtering questions (Hints: you want to exclude respondents who cannot provide useful and relevant information);
2. Three classification questions (two demographic variables and one lifestyle variable) (hint: a lifestyle variable is one that classifies interests, opinions, behaviours, or behavioural orientations of an individual);
3. A 5-item scale developed by you for measuring the “X” you stated in Part A;
4. A 5-item scale developed by you for measuring the “Y” you stated in Part A.
5. A 5-item scale developed by you for measuring the “Z” you stated in Part A
Please show your questionnaire on one A4 page.
(20 marks)
ii)
Discuss whether you would choose to use 5-point, 6-point or 7-point scales for i)(3), i)(4) and i)(5) and justify your selections.
(4 marks)
iii)
Explain the difference between nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio scale. Please use some of your 20 questions in part i) as example.
(16 marks)
Part C (30 marks)

Your reseach team decided to use one of the following sampling methods to select a sample of 300 respondents from OUHK students. Your reseach team would like to estimate the continued usage of e-learning/user satisfaction of all OUHK students based on the selected samples.
The selection of the sampling method depends on the 3rd numerical value of your student ID. For example, the 3rd digit of s1243657 is “4”, then the selection would be “Stratified Sampling” according to the table below. You are then required to use “Stratified Sampling” to complete your analysis.
The value of the 3rd digital of your Student ID
e.g. s1243657
Sampling method
0 or 4 or 8
Stratified Sampling
1 or 5 or 9
Quota Sampling
2 or 6
Simple Random Sampling
3 or 7
Convenience Sampling
Please state your own research question and suggest an appropriate research method with your own reasons.
Describe how you could collect data using the stated sampling method and state whether the sampling method is probability or non-probability sampling method.
Additionally, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the selected sampling method and explain whether or not it is the best alternative among other methods in your case.
My essay requirement put in the “files”
The selection of the sampling method depends on the 3rd numerical value of my student ID. The third value is 5. Thank