a quantitative market research

According to a comparative study conducted in April 2014 on 326 university undergraduates in the United Kingdom, students attend student social hubs for a variety of purposes. One of the most common reasons is that social hubs encourage people to learn knowledge and expertise in order to become tomorrow’s social leaders. Nearly half of the students in the study sample, or 40%, decided that they would attend student social action hubs for professional growth and experience in order to become potential social leaders.

38% of the survey population decided that they would attend the students’ social activism hub and achieve the ability to shape the future. The same percentage concurred that they join social hubs since it gives them an opportunity to address challenges in the community through research, ideas generation, and project management. This information shows that a good number of students believe that students social hubs are essential tools in empowering students to shape the world. Also, they think that social hubs give students an opportunity to address challenges in the community (Brewis., pp 67-87).

Thirty-seven percent of the sample population join students’ social hubs because they see high-quality student action, that is volunteering, fundraising, and campaigning, which has the potential to benefit students, communities, and universities. This percentage communicates students’ perception on the benefits of a social action hub to the community, students, and universities

According to this research, a more significant percentage of students do not join social action hubs because every student should participate in the social action, positively impacting their community at university and beyond. Apparently, most students do not enter social action hubs because it is a mandate, they join for other convincing and informed reasons. Students have diverse reasons for joining a social action hub.

Word count: 288

Task Two

Topic Guide for Second-year undergraduates.

In preparation for the construction of the student social action hub at the University of Westminster, there is a need for the students to be informed of the need for the center. This knowledge will prepare them to make good use of the hub once it is constructed. The diagram below shows a list of topics that will best prepare the students to make good use of the social action hub.

Topic Allocated time (Minutes)

Environmental preservation and conservation 10

Fundraising for a cause 10

Involvement with local schools 5

Campus volunteering 10

Community Social Responsibility 5

Online campaigns 5

Participation with religious groups 5

Importance of a social action hub 10

The above topics will address the key areas that have been neglected, according to the quantitative study carried on the students. There is need to discuss the environment, know its importance and learn how students can participate in its preservation and conservation (Brewis et al., pp 23- 25). The moderator should focus on helping students identify their part in environmental conservation, and develop the need for participation.

According to the research, there is reduced student participation in fundraising for a cause. This topic is aimed at helping students understand, how and why they should participate in fundraising. The moderator should give clear facts on the importance of student participation in fundraising, they should emphasize on informing the students of the various ways in which they can participate in fundraising for a cause.

Campus volunteering is convenient for students, and they can during their free time in school without having to wait for the holidays (Brewis., pp 111-133). Following a small number of student participation in campus volunteering, this topic is aimed at helping students understand the importance of campus volunteering, its efficiency, and impacts. Here, the moderator should encourage student participation in campus voluntary activities and help them identify areas where they can volunteer.

While covering the topic on the importance of a social hub, the moderator should first use a word association test on the focus group. This test will help the moderator understand the students’ feelings and attitudes towards a social action hub. Information collected from the test will enable the moderator to clear bad attitudes towards social centers and create a positive image of a social hub.

The rest of the topics are allocated five minutes each. These topics are also essential to discuss in preparation for the focus group for a social hub. Community social responsibility is a topic that is aimed at helping students understand the need for taking part in community projects (Holdsworth et al., pp 204-219). The moderator should help students identify projects in which they can participate and inform them of the different ways in which they can engage.

Few students are involved with local schools and with religious groups. These two topics are worth a discussion to help students understand how they can participate in any of the two teams. The moderator should inform the students of what involvement with these two groups takes. Also, the moderator should discuss online campaigns, how to do them, and the impacts of online campaigns.

Word count: 467

Task Three

A quantitative study is vital in understanding a population; it assumes that a sample is representative of the whole. Students in many cases have a similar pattern of thinking; they perceive certain things in a way that is more common. Doing a quantitative study on a sample population of students produces a reliable and objective information on the whole of the student population. It is not subject to researcher’s bias.

Quantitative research is less detailed and easy to understand in comparison to a qualitative study. Analysis of this kind of education is straightforward, a relationship between variables can be quickly established since this study captures actual numbers of the sample population during the research. This study is justified for use in this kind of research whereby one wants to identify the number of students involved in specific community activities, the reasons why they participate in social hubs, and to determine students’ involvement in various activities.

In summary, a quantitative study was the best fit in this case. The data obtained from the sample student population is a representation of the whole population. This study gives a precise information with regard to students in the university.

Word count: 195

References

Brewis, G., 2014. No Longer the Privilege of the Well-to-Do? Student Culture, Strikes and Self-Help, 1926–1932. In A Social History of Student Volunteering (pp. 67-87). Palgrave Macmillan US.

Brewis, G., 2014. Students in Action: Students and Antifascist Relief Efforts, 1933–1939. In A Social History of Student Volunteering (pp. 111-133). Palgrave Macmillan US.

Brewis, G., Holdsworth, C. and Russell, J., 2010. Bursting the Bubble: Students Volunteering and the Community.

Holdsworth, C. and Brewis, G., 2014. Volunteering, choice and control: a case study of higher education student volunteering. Journal of Youth Studies, 17(2), pp.204-219.