Research Design Proposal and Data Collection

Running Head: Research Design Proposal and Data Collection

Research Design Proposal and Data Collection Managerial Decision Making MBA/510

The team proposal is to research and collect data on the background of unleaded gasoline’s price fluctuations. This research proposal will help the team apply and analyze the collected data to better understand how gas prices work. When gas prices are on the rise it can be economically devastating. Therefore, business, government, and consumers always will keep a watchful eye on the fluctuation of unleaded gasoline. 87 octane grade gasoline is mostly used by the public on their privately owned vehicles. Organize business tends to use diesel fueled vehicles for their strength and economic benefits couple with low cost maintenance. Since the majority of vehicles in the USA belong to the public, a price increase will affect the greater part of the population in terms of numbers. The data to be collected will come from 30 gas stations representing 3 different companies. Collecting this data will encompass a period not to exceed 90 days of data collections and analysis. The team will than compare and analyze the prices of gasoline from various communities of diverse income levels. Analysis of the data will be extensive enough to reveal its significance, and the methods of analysis used will be appropriate to unleaded gasoline. The extent to which the research criterion is met will be an indicator of the team’s effort and success (Douglas, William, and Samuel, 2004).

Many stakeholders involved in this type of project, but clearly three main stakeholders that will have significant influence on the results of the information collected. The primary stakeholders will be the three oil companies that are the subjects of the research. In most cases, they refine the oil into gasoline, distribute and market the product. The second stakeholder will be the owners of the gas stations that have the most influence establishing the price. They will set a price competitive with local market pricing and will also consider all costs involved with getting the gasoline to market and overhead. The final stakeholder will be the researcher. This person is responsible for collecting and analyzing the data.

As with the stakeholders, many end users are also involved in researching data. This group will receive the data set detail and can interpret and analyze the data as needed. Included in this group of customers could be; travel agencies, corporate travel groups and auto clubs. These customers would probably use this information to develop reporting on gas prices for another end user. They would also focus primarily on a regional basis. Another customer, the household, would use the information on a more local basis. Their interest in this detail would be solely for household budgeting.

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