Business Research Methods, Part III
Robert LaFond, Taylor Norman, Zephyr Scott, Vennita Watson
QNT 561
May 13, 2013
Sripathi Nilkar

Introduction As Ford Motor Company continues to seek ways to improve its current hybrid vehicles, the company will conduct a statistical analysis of the results of the questionnaires returned by its customers. Through this analysis, Ford Motor Company will be able to identify challenges that the company faces as well as the steps needed to reduce these challenges and improving both the company’s product and image.
Statistical Analysis
The results gathered from the questionnaire immensely helped Ford understand new aspects of an improved Hybrid vehicle. Subject 1 was the owner of a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Subject 1 has had 4 scheduled maintenance jobs performed on the car in the past year. On average, Subject 1 only drove 100 miles per week. Usually, scheduled maintenance is performed depending on the gas mileage of the car i.e. oil changes, tire rotation and balance, etc. Subject 1 took good care of their car over the past year, but still had two serious additional car problems. The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid costs Subject 1 on average $127.06 a week in gasoline. This customer is only satisfied at level 3. Being that this is only a three year old car, these problems point to inefficiencies with manufacturing. Both are costly for the owner to replace.
Subject 2 is the owner of a 2012 Toyota Prius. Scheduled maintenance was performed on the car 3 times within the last year with no additional repairs required. With one stop for gas within the week, they are able to cover their 100 mile average week for only $43.20. They are satisfied with the economy of their vehicle at a level 5. The Toyota Prius is a well-rounded car with good surveyed results.
Subject 3 owns a 2012 Ford C-Max Hybrid. Scheduled maintenance was performed four times in the past year with no additional required repairs. They travel an average of 150 miles per week and spend $49.01 each time they fill they car with gasoline. They are satisfied at a level of four.
Subject 4 owns a 2012 Honda Insight and has scheduled maintenance 5 times within the course of a year with no additional problems experienced. Subject 4 travels the most at 165 miles per week and fills up twice at a price of $38.48. They are completely satisfied with the performance of their vehicle.
Subject 5 owns a 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. They have four scheduled maintenance jobs performed on their car within a year, but had their intake hose replaced. He/she travels 115 miles and spends $62.44 twice within a week. They are satisfied with their vehicle at a level of four. The intake hose is part of the air filtering system.
Subject 6 is the owner of a 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. They have three scheduled maintenance jobs on their car a year and have had no additional maintenance required. Within a week, he or she travels 115 miles and spends $124.88 on gasoline. They are satisfied with their car at a level of 3. A scatter plot of the information shows the following:

The discussed information yielded results that reflected the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight are the most efficient vehicles assessed in the research done. These two cars yielded the best results in dollar spent/mile as well as had the most satisfaction amongst their owners. For Ford, this is the first step in understanding the characteristics they should implement for a better hybrid car.
Potential Challenges
Potential challenges to the validity and reliability of the research include variations in gas prices, the varying quality of inspections, and highway verses country mileage. Gas prices vary depending on the state of the economy and location. Prices of gasoline per gallon change consistently by as much as two dollars within the year. This could sway slightly the end result of miles per dollar each subject receives. The number of inspections that a customer receives within the year could be due to the quality of scheduled maintenance they have received. If potential problems were not noticed at first inclination, then they could develop into more serious complications- in this case analyzed as manufacturing problems. Most cars receive more mileage during stents of open road. It is in the city with constant starting and stopping along with slower mph that lessen miles attained by the car. For the assumptions of statistics to be true, all of these would need to be constant and analyzed under the same conditions.
Steps to Minimize these Challenges The potential challenges posed by our research question, data, and analysis are unfortunately beyond our control. We have no control over the state of the economy and location in which our research is conducted. Furthermore, we have no control over gas price variations, quality of inspections, and the consumers’ country mileage versus their highway mileage. So our best mode of defense to minimize these challenges is to broaden the research area and conduct multiple location research. This will allow us to have a more accurate accounting of various locations and be able to apply the results to similar locations. No vehicle can be 100% perfect for the car owner, and the car owner’s usage of the vehicle plays a major role in many aspects of vehicle efficiency and economics. Therefore, no changes need to be made to the research question or questionnaire. Instead, the research just needs to be expanded for accuracy and to increase reliability and validity of the data.
General Response Types A lot of thought goes into determining the most appropriate measurement scale to be used in research. The scales are placed into one of the four general response types: categorization, ranking, sorting, or rating (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). In our research and measurement scale, we went with the questionnaire method. This method allows us to gather as much information as possible from many consumers. Furthermore, it provides the information to us in an organized fashion to make placing the response to the questionnaire underneath the appropriate general response types. The car year, make, and model falls underneath the sorting response type. The most valued feature of the owners’ vehicles falls underneath the ranking general response type. The scheduled maintenance performed, car trouble, miles driven per week, times stopped for gas per week, and price to fill up the vehicle falls underneath the categorization general response type. And lastly, the owners’ satisfaction with their current hybrid vehicle falls underneath the rating general response type.
Classify your findings in order of power
As Ford Motor Corporation analyzes the results of its questionnaire, it will be able to identify which variables have the most impact on current hybrid vehicle owners. The current questionnaire identifies eight different variables for customers to rate. Of the eight questions asked, the questions concerning mileage and maintenance are weighted higher as they are more important to current and potential customers.
Each questions is weighted based on the responses received and ranked. By doing this, Ford is able to apply additional resources or efforts to questions that the company feels it should focus on to increase the marketability of their vehicles. To further aid in increasing their marketability, Ford will utilize a quadratic model to verify the results of the questionnaires returned by its customer. Of the measurement scales utilized, nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales, the ratio scales which “incorporate all of the powers of the previous scales plus the provision for absolute zero or origin” (Cooper & Schindler, 2011, p. 277) will provide the variables utilized in the quadratic model. Specifically, a complete second-order model will allow Ford to identify mileage and maintenance as independent variables as the company works towards improving their current vehicles.

Conclusion
This paper reflects the results of a detailed survey regarding the improvement of current hybrid vehicles. Several factors were used to come to the conclusion that influence validity, reliability, and practicality of scales must be considered when selecting and constructing a measurement scale. The scales are placed into one of the four general response types: categorization, ranking, sorting, or rating (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). Measurement scales will be utilized to ensure that the survey accurately reflects the desires of Ford Motor Company.
As shown in this paper conclusions are found through the use of a survey, Ford Motor Company will be able to rate the satisfaction level of the owners of its Hybrid vehicle as well as being able to make improvements based on the results of its survey.

Reference
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P.S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.