C. Results of the Research Study
Question
Group Research Project
(25%)
Group Research Project Assignment
• This assignment is to be completed
in your original group from the research proposal
• Due date & time: December 9th,
2021, 11:59 p.m. ONE person from your group should submit the assignment in
Blackboard. For every day that you submit your assignment late, you will lose
one mark.
• Everyone in the group will receive
the same mark.
• The paper must be properly
formatted (either MLA or APA format) • Use 1.5 line spacing
• During our class on December 9th,
one person from each group must present and talk about your research project
for 5 minutes. This presentation should briefly tell us about your topic, your
research methodology and findings. Therefore, you should prepare approximately
10 PowerPoint slides and keep your presentation to 5 minutes long only. Your
presentation is worth 5% and your report 20% of your final mark (Total 25%)
Introduction
At this point you have submitted your
research proposals and have been hired by the client company. As a professional
researcher, you now must conduct your proposed research exactly like you
mentioned in your proposal.
Your report should be between 10 to
15 pages with 10 pages being the minimum (EXCLUDING TITLE PAGE and APPENDIX).
Make sure that you don’t use unnecessary charts and tables only to reach to 10
pages. That is displeasing and makes the rest of your report look worthless.
Your report MUST include the
following:
1. Title page
2. Letter of transmittal (1
page)
3. Table of contents (1 page)
4. Executive Summary (2-4
pages)
a. Objectives
b. Results
c. Conclusions
d. Recommendations
5. Body (6-9 pages)
a. Introduction
1. Background
2. Objectives
b. Methodology
c. Results
d. Limitations
e. Conclusions and
recommendations
6. Appendix i.e., References,
sample of the survey, complex tables, and calculations etc. (does not count
towards your 10-15 pages)
All the abovementioned parts will be explained and discussed during week 11. In the meantime, with the knowledge that you acquired prior to the midterm, you should conduct your research.Body (6-9 pages)
a. Introduction
1. Background
2. Objectives
b. Methodology
c. Results
d. Limitations
e. Conclusions and recommendations
The goal of this research will be to determine whether taking breaks
improves productivity. Cambridge University Press (n.d.) defines productivity
as the work output of a “...person, company or country…” (para. 1). This makes
productivity an important factor in organizational and institutional settings:
If it is affected, then the work of those within the organization or
institution (e.g. students within a university, or staff within a company) will
be unable to perform work to the best of their abilities.
Background
Through online research, we identified many concepts which seem to be
closely-related with productivity. Exploring these concepts is important, as it
will provide us with a good background that can be used in our research. These
will be taken into consideration when outlining our research objectives. In
addition, they will be explored further when discussing how our survey will be
designed.
One important concept related to productivity is fatigue. Fatigue is
defined by CCOHS (2021) as a state of tiredness, which can be intensified
through performing tasks that are monotonous or psychologically-demanding. Individuals
experiencing fatigue typically experience reduced levels of productivity, in
addition to problems with memorizing information (CCOHS, 2021). Based on this
definition, we believe that fatigue is caused by negative environmental
factors, and that has negative consequences for productivity. Therefore, we
feel that it is necessary to further explore this link.
Based on our understanding of the definitions, productivity and fatigue
are conditions which are closely related to an individual’s psychological
well-being. We therefore believe that supporting an individual’s mental-health
is essential to ensuring that organizations remain productive. In addition,
literature exists which supports a link between mental health and workplace
performance: a study by Ammondola et. al. (2016) found that establishing an
action-based mental health program resulted in better overall workplace
productivity.
Mental health also has effects on self-efficacy, or an individual’s own
assessment of their ability to perform a task. The importance of this concept
was established by Vrugt & Koenis (2002), who found that people showing
higher signs of self-efficacy tend to accomplish more. Self-efficacy is another
concept which is tied to mental health, and therefore has the potential to be
tied to productivity. A study from Lee & Jung (2018) found that introducing
students to a mental-health app made them feel more productive.
We believe that our research will be extremely important with respect to
productivity. Because fatigue is a condition which is psychological, it is
important to discourage individuals from entering this state in order to ensure
that productivity is maintained. Taking breaks allows people to experience a
moment of brief pause when completing large or complicated units of work. This
might help in reducing fatigue, which results from long and demanding tasks
(CCOHS, 2021).
Our research is also important because it can be applied universally
across institutions. Providing or encouraging breaks does not require the use
of special tools or methodologies, which makes this study applicable in
virtually any setting.
Objectives
Based on our decision statement (i.e. the initial research question), we
have identified many different objectives that we wish to achieve as part of
our research. These objectives will be considered in the following section,
when we discuss how we will obtain the data for analysis.
The first objective as part of our research is to determine how
people prefer to take breaks. This objective was chosen because we believed
it would make our study more useful. For example, if most people share the same
concept of an “ideal” activity during breaks, this would be helpful to
businesses who wish to understand how they can provide better working
environments for employees. Similarly, our research could be used by students
to offer suggestions on how to take a break to ensure maximum productivity.
Our group also wants to determine whether emotional attitudes towards
a task affect levels of productivity. This objective is an extremely
important addition to our research: If there is a significant difference
between tasks perceived to be “exciting” and “boring”, employers and employees
will need to take this into consideration in order to ensure that maximum
productivity is achieved for as long as possible.
Lastly, our group wants to determine whether the length of breaks has
an impact on perceived productivity. This determination is important for
our research because it determines the ideal amount of time people require to
be productive. If breaks are either too long or too short to be effective, this
would have a significant implication on the effectiveness of our study. Being
able to answer this question would increase the validity of this survey, and
would potentially increase the consistency of results if recommendations are
implemented elsewhere.
Methodology
This research is descriptive in nature, primarily because it is
difficult to measure productivity using numerical values. As such, this survey
will collect qualitative data. Our initial plan was to conduct surveys with
participants through conferencing platforms, however we have since decided to
use asynchronous surveys. This is primarily because it is difficult to measure
productivity using quantifiable data, and because we expected challenges in
conducting fieldwork due to COVID-19 protocols and online-learning
arrangements.
Conducting asynchronous surveys has numerous other benefits, including
the ability to accommodate student schedules (which could potentially result in
a higher response rate). Asynchronous surveying also allows access to a wider
scope of potential participants, as geographical limitations do not need to be
considered when gathering data.
To conduct our research, we distributed a survey questionnaire designed
in Microsoft Forms to students at Humber College. The length of the
questionnaire varies depending on the answers provided by participants, as not
all questions from the survey are applicable to all respondents. This
questionnaire uses a number of different measurement concepts commonly used by
survey researchers. These include Likert scales, short-answer responses,
continuous measures, and questions which involve the collection of discrete (e.
g. “Yes or no”) responses.
The survey questionnaire was distributed using popular social-media
platforms, including a Facebook page for Humber College. Surveys were not
distributed through Twitter and Instagram, as it is difficult to target a
specific demographic using these platforms. After sending our invitations, a
total of 13 people responded to the questionnaire.
Our research design is based on the psychological concept of
self-efficacy, or an individual’s perception of their ability to perform a
task. This concept is important with respect to the validity of our research,
as Humber College students can major in a variety of disciplines at diploma and
degree levels. This means that the workload varies significantly between
respondents, and it is difficult to estimate the level of “busy-ness” using
quantifiable factors. We believe that as individuals who are mostly of adult
age, Humber College students understand their work that is required of them,
and can assess their own level of productivity.
Our questionnaire consists of three parts, each of which assess one of
our research objectives. In the first part, the user is asked about the faculty
they belong to at Humber College and the level of engagement in their program.
This section of our research fulfills the research objective of determining
whether attitudes towards a task affect productivity. In addition, assuming
that responses are collected from students across multiple faculties, we will
be able to determine which faculties at Humber College have programs perceived
as more engaging by students.
In the second part of our research, we ask students about the tasks they
perform as part of their program. Students are asked how difficult and engaging
they find tasks in their program through Likert-scale questions, in addition to
a semantic differential scale which asks students to judge the balance in their
programs between theory and labs. These questions are important because they
assess the perceived length of a task, which can be a significant contributor
to fatigue (CCOHS, 2021). In addition, these questions contribute to one of our
research objectives, which is to determine whether attitudes toward a task
affect productivity.
The third part of our survey consists of a semi-structured interview. In
this section, students are asked to reflect on a recent task they have
performed, by answering a series of questions about whether they found a task
tiring, disengaging, or difficult to manage. Despite being assessed in earlier
steps, attitudes towards task performance were included in this section to
ensure consistency in emotional perceptions. Next, students are asked whether
they took a break while completing their task. If participants did take a
break, they are asked additional questions. One of these questions is how long
their break was (which fulfills the research objective determining whether the
length of break affects productivity levels) and the type of activity performed
during the break. By allowing responses from students who did not take breaks,
a comparison can be made in productivity levels between students who did take
breaks compared to those which did not, which will allow us to fulfill the
primary objective of our research. Lastly, students are asked whether they were
able to complete their task as expected, and whether they would have used an
alternative means of staying productive.


Solution
C.
Results of the Research Study
Our
online research is descriptive, where qualitative data collected from online
questionnaire surveys enhanced our determination of how breaks at a particular
point of activity performance contribute to productivity improvement in the
institutional setup. After posting survey questionnaires to students at Humber College,
thirteen of them responded to the online questionnaires whose aim was to
ascertain their understanding of the nature of program activities and measure
their level of productivity. We had to address our three research objectives in
the questionnaires to maximize the validity of the descriptive research. Our
first research objective entails ascertaining whether attitude towards a particular
task affects productivity.
As
a result, participants were asked their faculty name and level of participation
in program activities at Humber College. Four out of thirteen responded to the
inquiry following the numerous survey questionnaires presented through social
media, including the college’s Facebook page. The four respondents were students
pursuing a diploma in Advertising and Graphic Design. According to their responses,
graphic designers integrate art with technology to disseminate ideas, which
involves varied communication techniques and tools. They all mentioned emotional
attitude as a cornerstone for extreme performance within their course
undertakings and the anticipated workplace. Suggesting that breaks within their
program activities discourage negative attitudes towards course activities and
other related tasks.
Subsequently,
the five participants responded to the online survey questionnaires that entailed
Likert-scale questions seeking to elaborate on the kinds of tasks they
performed and the semantic differential scale that enhanced their judgment on
whether their tasks were difficult or engaging. Two out of five respondents
were students pursuing a diploma in Biotechnology. They stated that DNA
profiling, DNA cloning, transgenesis, genome analysis and tissue engineering
are the common tasks that require the integration of theories and concepts with
laboratory activities. Students stated that these activities are wider in scope
and require concentration to guarantee excellent performances. Denoting that
fatigue and attitude within their program undertakings are common factors that
diminish the provision of maximum outputs based on their capabilities.
In
addition, the three other respondents are students partaking diploma in comedy
writing and performance. Based on their responses, comedy writing entails
scriptwriting, improvisation and sketch comedy. These activities require more
time and commitment to engage with. They are also monotonous hence demanding motivation
and relaxation while handling them. Finally, the last four respondents were
engaged with the semi-structured interview. A series of interview prompts asked
whether their previously engaged tasks were tiresome, difficult, or
disengaging. Two of the respondents are clinical research students, while the
other two are event managers. Clinical researchers responded that their recent
activities were tiresome and difficult to handle, while the event managers
stated they were quite disengaging despite their diverse activities. The
discrete and multiple-choice questions that inquired whether the student took a
break before task completion and the break length paved the way for our
comparison. We identified that only one out of the four students took a break
of thirty minutes. The clinical research student responded that the break broke
monotony for the task undertaken and led to energy recovery.
D.
Limitation of the Research Study
The
research project encountered several limitations during its entire process.
First, the online study cannot verify the problem under research statistically
and demand more specific social media platforms to get relevant respondents.
Secondly, the online research project relies on posted questionnaire responses prone
to dishonest answers or respondents’ unconcealed plans to interfere with the
research process. Also, some respondents lack understanding and interpretation
skills as they require a brief explanation of the research problem. Finally,
the online research requires maximum technological compliance to integrate
vital elements and concepts to the questionnaires to be posted to relevant
social media platforms.
E.
Conclusion and Recommendations of the Research Study
The
substantial aspect that institutions and organizations look into is how to
improve productivity among their members. We identified how fatigue and
emotional attitude towards a particular task influence productivity during our
online research. Therefore, the research project shed light on these important
concepts while determining how taking breaks improves the performance of a
particular task. The respondents for this online research are college students
from Humber College. The institution offers its learners relevant knowledge and
skills demanded in varied workplaces. Based on the responses from online survey
questionnaires posted, we identified that students across varied faculties participate
in activities that demand maximum attention and commitment to guarantee better
performances. For instance, biotechnology students engage in stem cell research
and DNA profiling.
Consequently,
we recommend that educators and institutional leaders develop strategies to
enhance taking breaks as a recovery measure to improve their learners’
abilities and output in varied tasks within their program activities. Based on
our findings, taking breaks improves students’ performance, allowing recovery
from stressful tasks and fatigue. For instance, students who spend most of their
time in computers handling intensive projects and research need to relax at a particular
point to discourage stress and monotony resulting from that particular activity.
In addition, educators need to explain to their learners how engaging in an
activity for long hours can lead to mental and cardiovascular health issues
despite demonstrating low performances in those activities.




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