| Course | BUS 499 Senior Capstone |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | Research method plan |
| Length | About 1,097 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUS 499 Module 4
Records and Voices: A Mixed Methods Plan for Studying Why Pest Control Customers Cancel
Student Name
Business Administration Program, Aspen University
BUS 499: Senior Capstone
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Records and Voices: A Mixed Methods Plan for Studying Why Pest Control Customers Cancel
So far the project has framed the cancellation problem at Prairie Shield, set three questions and four hypotheses, and reviewed research on why customers leave continuous services. This module sets out how the study will answer those questions: the design, the data, the analysis and the protections for the people involved. Each choice is linked to a question so that every piece of evidence has a purpose.
Research Design
Creswell and Creswell (2018) describe several mixed methods designs. In a convergent design, the researcher collects quantitative and qualitative data during the same period, analyzes each separately and then compares the results to see where they confirm, complement or contradict one another. This design fits the project because the first research question, about patterns associated with cancellation, needs records from many customers, while the second, about customers' own explanations, needs their words. The third question, about what the company can change, depends on comparing the two.
The Customer Records
With the owners' written permission, I will extract records for every household that signed up or renewed during the thirty months starting in January 2023, roughly 3,400 accounts. Names, addresses and phone numbers will be replaced with a study number before analysis. The table shows how the outcome and the predictors will be coded.
Price and season are included as controls because the price changed during the period and because customers who enroll during spring insect season may behave differently from those who enroll in winter.
| Variable | Source | Coding |
|---|---|---|
| Canceled within twelve months | Billing system | 1 if a cancellation is recorded within twelve months of start or renewal; 0 otherwise |
| Billing method | Billing system | 1 for per-visit invoice; 0 for monthly automatic payment |
| Technician continuity | Service records | 1 when one technician handled three or more of the opening four visits; 0 when not |
| Complaint status | Callback log | Three groups: none, resolved within 48 hours, unresolved within 48 hours |
| First-year customer | Enrollment date | 1 if in the first year of service; 0 if renewed at least once |
| Price at enrollment | Billing system | $119 or $129 per visit |
| Season of enrollment | Enrollment date | Spring, summer, fall or winter |
Statistical Analysis
Because the outcome has two values, canceled or not, the study will use binary logistic regression. Hosmer et al. (2013) explain that logistic regression estimates how each predictor relates to the odds of the outcome while the other predictors are held constant, and that results are commonly reported as odds ratios with confidence intervals. An odds ratio above 1 means the factor is associated with higher odds of cancellation. All four hypothesized factors and the two controls will be entered together, which addresses the owners' question of which factor matters most when the others are taken into account. Before the regression, I will report cancellation rates for each group so that readers without statistical training can follow the results.
The Interviews
For the second research question, I will interview former customers by telephone. Guest et al. (2006) analyzed sixty interviews and found that most of the themes they eventually identified had appeared within the first twelve, with few new ones afterward, in a fairly uniform group of participants. Because former Prairie Shield customers differ in tenure, billing method and experience, I will aim for about 20 interviews, selected for variety: customers who left in their first year and after renewing, customers who paid per visit and by automatic payment, and customers with and without complaints. I will contact only customers who agreed to future contact when they canceled.
The interview guide begins with open questions, such as what led you to sign up and what led you to stop, before asking about specific topics. Questions about billing, technicians and complaints come only after the customer has described the decision in their own words, so the owners' theories do not shape the answers.
Qualitative Analysis
Braun and Clarke (2006) set out thematic analysis as six phases, moving from immersion in the transcripts through coding and the building, testing and naming of themes to the written account. I will transcribe each interview from notes and recordings, code the transcripts, group codes into themes and check each theme against the full set of interviews. A second reader, a colleague outside customer service, will review a sample of my coding to reduce the risk that my position in the company shapes the themes.
Bringing the Two Together
After both analyses are complete, I will build a joint display, a table placing each statistical finding beside the related interview themes, and mark where they agree, where interviews explain a statistical pattern and where they disagree. Disagreements will be reported rather than resolved by choosing the more convenient result.
Protecting Participants and Data
Records will be stored on a password-protected company computer, accessible only to me, and destroyed six months after the project ends. Interview participants will hear the purpose of the study, that taking part is voluntary and that their names will not appear in any report. Recordings will be made only with permission and deleted after transcription. I will not interview customers I personally served.
Schedule for Collection
Records will be extracted in the first days of week 5, giving time to clean them while interviews begin. Interview calls will be made on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings, when former customers are most likely to answer, with no more than three attempts per person. Transcription will follow each interview within two days so that details are not lost, and coding will begin after the first eight interviews rather than at the end, so that later conversations can follow up on ideas that emerge early.
Threats to Validity
Four threats deserve attention. First, confounding: autopay customers may be different people in respects the files never record, so any association with billing method cannot be read as proof of cause. Second, incomplete complaint records before the new software was installed could understate complaints in 2023; I will compare results with and without the early months. Third, interview participants may differ from former customers who declined, so themes will be reported as reasons some customers gave, not as proportions. Fourth, my role as a supervisor could bias interpretation, which the second reader is meant to check.
Conclusion
The plan matches each research question to evidence: logistic regression on company records for patterns, thematic analysis of interviews for explanations and a joint display for what the company can change. It protects participants, names its weaknesses and gives the next module a clear set of tasks.
References
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE.
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
Hosmer, D. W., Jr., Lemeshow, S., & Sturdivant, R. X. (2013). Applied logistic regression (3rd ed.). Wiley.
What the BUS 499 Module 4 instructions ask for
In Aspen's catalog, BUS 499 is an original applied research project, and the method module usually asks students to explain exactly how they will collect and analyze evidence. The classroom's Module 4 prompt sets the details; this example treats it as a complete method and data plan. Name your research design and explain why it fits your questions. Describe your data sources, how you will obtain them and what each variable means and how it is coded. Choose analysis methods that match the type of data and the hypotheses. If you will interview or survey people, explain how you will choose them, what you will ask and how you will analyze their answers. Describe how you will protect participants and data. Identify threats to the validity of your conclusions and how you will reduce them.
Inside the BUS 499 Module 4 example
The plan opens by linking each research question to a data source. Creswell and Creswell's convergent design explains why records and interviews will be collected in the same weeks and compared afterward. The records section lists fields from the billing and service system and a seven-row table codes the outcome and six predictors, including billing method, technician continuity and complaint status. Hosmer, Lemeshow and Sturdivant's text supports binary logistic regression, reported as odds ratios with confidence intervals. The interview section explains a sample of about 20 chosen for variety in tenure and billing, citing Guest and colleagues' finding that most themes appeared within the first twelve interviews. Braun and Clarke's six phases guide coding. Sections cover a joint display for integration, data protection and four threats to validity.
BUS 499 Module 4 rubric: what earns full marks
Method chapters are evaluated on fit, transparency and rigor: whether the design suits the questions, whether a reader could repeat the study from the description and whether the analysis can support the conclusions. This plan connects each research question to a data source and an analysis, so nothing is collected without a purpose. The coding table makes measurement exact. Statistical and qualitative methods are each justified with a recognized source: Creswell and Creswell's research design text, Hosmer, Lemeshow and Sturdivant's Applied Logistic Regression, Guest, Bunce and Johnson's article in Field Methods and Braun and Clarke's article in Qualitative Research in Psychology. The validity section names specific threats, such as confounding between billing method and tenure, and explains how the analysis addresses each. Ethical protections are concrete rather than general promises.
Common BUS 499 Module 4 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students often describe their method in general terms, such as I will analyze the data, without saying which data or how. Name every variable and the test you will use. Another common gap is a mismatch between the question and the analysis; a yes or no outcome like cancellation calls for methods suited to binary outcomes, not a simple average. Justify your interview sample size with a source rather than an arbitrary number. Write your interview questions in advance and keep them open, so you do not lead participants. Plan how you will combine the two kinds of data before collecting them. Address ethics concretely: who sees the data, how it is stored and when it is destroyed. If statistics are new to you, ask your instructor early whether a simpler comparison, such as cancellation rates by group, would meet the requirement.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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BUS 499 Module 4 questions, answered
What does BUS 499 Module 4 usually ask for?
Aspen's BUS 499 asks for the research method and data plan at this stage, so a paper describing design, data, analysis, ethics and validity for your project is typical. Follow your classroom prompt.
What is a convergent mixed methods design?
A design in which quantitative and qualitative data are collected in the same period, analyzed separately and then compared to see where they agree or differ.
Why use logistic regression?
It suits outcomes with two values, such as canceled or stayed, and estimates how each factor relates to the odds of the outcome while holding the others constant.
Where can I find a free BUS 499 Module 4 sample paper?
The full plan is posted above: a mixed methods design for a pest control retention capstone, with a variable coding table, logistic regression, interview sampling, thematic analysis and validity threats.
How many interviews does a capstone need?
Enough to see themes repeat; research by Guest, Bunce and Johnson found most themes emerged within about twelve interviews in a fairly uniform group.