Feedback for The Final Year Project Poster Presentation

On 23th May 2012, there were the final year project poster presentation from final year students, Facullty Economics and Business, UNIMAS. This event was held in the main lobby of the faculty. I was given a task from Dr. Rohaya which is my lecturer for Research Methodology for Economics and Business course. The task given is attend for the poster presentation event and find out two presenter to give feedback and asking question about their research topic.

The first presenter that I meet is Siew Kuang Yu which done the research topic as "Examining The Impact of Using Social Networking and ICT Tools Small Business in Sibu, Sarawak". I was asked 2 question toward the presenter about research topic.

Question 1:  

What is the main objective of the research topic? 

Answer: 

The main objective of the research topic is to identify potential business benefits of social media and social networking tools in the context of small and medium enterprise of business owner in Sibu, Sarawak.

Question 2:

What is the method that was used to collect the data about this research topic?

Answer:

The method that used to collect data is survey through distribute questionnaire. The target population for the research is shopping complex in Sibu.

The second presenter that I meet is Ng Mei Fung which done the research topic as "Packaging Design Influence Consumers' and Purchase Tendency". The question that I was asked is:

Question 1:

Why do you choose this topic as your final year project title?

Answer:

This is because packaging design play an important role to influence consumers' behavior towards the food and beverages products. It is important to determine the factors that will influence consumers' attitude toward F&B products.

Question 2:

What are the best ways to write a good and attractive literature review for the research study?

Answer:

The best ways to write a good and attractive literature review for the research study are read more journal article that related to the research topic and always get feedback from the final year project supervisor about the writing in the literature review chapter.

Overall, the task given by Dr. Rohaya is very useful and help me to gain more knowledge about how to conduct the research and hopefully I have a chance to participate in the final year project poster presentation during my final year of the study.

Judging a Research Study

As a researcher, there are important that to judging a research study. There are few criterion in judging a research study which help the researcher in better understanding the general format of such a report and how well the author(s) communicated to the audiences what was done, why it was done, how it was done, and what it all means.

The research study as title "Facebook and Academic Performance" was selected and the criterion to judging the journal article are as follow:

1. The Review of Previous Research - The literature cited in the study is closely related to the previous literature which base on the recent review and journal. The review of the Facebook statistic also base on the recent date.
2. The Problem and the Purpose - The problem statement of the study was clear which state that Facebook will bring negative effect to children in processing  information. The purpose of the study also stated clearly which to find out the relationship between total time spent on Facebook and academic performance by the respondents.
3. The Hypothesis - The hypothesis of the study was not stated clearly about the association between the variables of the study.
4. The Method - The study was clearly conducted through the questionnaire survey which containing five sections (e.g., yes/no and Likert-type scaling) of closed-response and open response that related to the dependent and independent variables.
5. The Sample - The selected sample of this study was represented the population. The study stated clearly where the sample come from and how the sample was selected through the procedure of the survey. 
6. Result and Discussion - The results of the study are related to the review of the literature and hypothesis. The result show that Facebook users which having lower GPAs and spend fewer hours per week studying than nonusers. The discussion of the study provide closure to the objective and hypothesis that author presents.
7. References -  The author was using the current references list for the study. The format of the references are consistent and complete.
8. General Comments About the Report -The report is clearly written and understandable. The primary implication of the study is to encourage Facebook users especially students to manage their time in the optimal way which wont effect to their academic performance. To improve this study, the sample of the study might can focus on others universities to avoid bias for the result.

Reference for the Journal Article:
Kirschner, P. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2010). Facebook and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 1237-1245.

Ethnography Study in Marketing

What is Ethnography?

Ethnography is one type of qualitative research method that aimed to provide a detailed, in-depth description of everyday life and practice (Brian, 2011). Besides that, ethnography also aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group.

 Video about "What is Ethnography?" by Penny Harvey

Ethnography Study in Marketing 

In the context of marketing, researchers conduct ethnography study to observe the consumers behavior towards the products and services that provided by the organization. They collect data about how the consumers behave and the cultural background of the consumers. This will help the organization to enhance their products or services to meet costumers needs.

Advantages of Ethnography Study in Marketing

• Develop details that help the organization to understand the customers performance and areas for potential improvement and innovation towards their products and services.

• Ensure that the products and services that provided by the organization are fulfill and meet the customers needs.

• Achieve a high level of overview and feedback of the consumer's attitude or behavior towards the products and services that provided by the organization.  

•  Help to build good relationship with customers while conducting the research.

Challenges of Ethnography Study in Marketing

• Different background and cultural of the customers may cause bias which lead to the result of the research not accurate.

• During the data collecting process, it might be take time to collect the data through different types of characteristic of the respondents.