.Task 3 – Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Methods [10%] Course Name: Integrated Industry Project Course Code: BUS 4966 Date: Week 10, Sunday, @ 4pm Word Count: 2000 – 3000 words Percentage of Total Grade: 10% Student Name Hesa Khalfan Obaid Student ID H00226310 Student Section BU01 LO 1 Propose the application of functional knowledge and managerial insight through research on complex challenges in facing the industry. Instructions: • Please follow the instructions provided. Cheating Statement I understand that if I cheat, try to cheat, or if I try to help another person to cheat in this assessment, I will be dismissed from the college. Student Signature: Date: For Examiner’s Use Only Section (Question) number TOTAL Marks Available 100 Marks Earned Marker Name Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research methods and research data in psychology can be placed into two basic categories: quantitative or qualitative. The differences between quantitative and qualitative are : (McLeod, 2008). Qualitative Method Quantitative Method Primarily inductive process. Primarily deductive process. Methods include focus groups, in-depth interviews, and reviews of documents for types of themes. Surveys, structured interviews & observations, and reviews of records or documents . No statistical tests. Statistical tests are used for analysis. More in-depth information on a few cases. Less in-depth but more breadth of information across a large number of cases. Gathers information that is not in numerical form (Text-based ). Gathers data in numerical form (Number-based ). This type of data can be used to construct graphs and tables of raw data. Typically descriptive data and as such is harder to analyze than quantitative data. This report will use a qualitative method because this study is using the case study to as an empirical part such as it will be applied methods. This method helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a situation. Also, qualitative research is useful for studies at the individual level, and to find out, in depth, the ways in which people think or feel (Johnson, 2010). Empirical Part A Case Study Of The Mobile Apps Industry Introduction Based on: Journal of Business Cases and Applications. A case study of : The mobile apps industry. The mobile apps industry has experienced nearly unprecedented growth. The unique aspects of the industry are discussed in terms of how they have encouraged the widespread popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices and have transformed electronic gaming, internet retailing, and social networking. As major competitors in this arena, Apple and Google have endeavored to distinguish themselves in terms of their relationships with app developers, numbers and uniqueness of apps available, as well as the marketplaces in which the apps are sold. Although the mobile apps industry began with Apple’s introduction of the iPhone, it’s phenomenal growth is due to the entry of several competitors into the marketplace, notably Motorola, LG, and Samsung. This competition has given rise to an entirely new product space known as smartphones. Smartphones have far greater functionality than normal mobile phones due to their ability to run mobile apps. These applications confer on smartphones the capabilities to send and receive e-mail, play music, movies, and video games, and even communicate remotely with computers from virtually anywhere in the world. The application execution environment contains all the application programming interfaces (APIs) for developers to program new mobile applications for the operating system. The application suite contains core applications which are packaged with the operating system by default. These applications include phone call software, text messaging, menu screens, calendars, and more. A mobile app is software that a user can install on a smartphone to perform a particular task. For example, Android has a GPS app which allows the user to obtain travel directions in real time, or even track the locations of family members from anywhere in the country. Impact On Mobile Gaming Before the dawn of smartphones, mobile gaming for most users occurred on handheld devices such as a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP. Now that smartphones have become commonplace and literally hundreds of low priced games with high-quality graphics are available, mobile gaming has become very different. Apple’s iOS and Google’s open-source Android operating systems are capable of running some of the most innovative games in the market. As a result Nintendo's and Sony's handheld devices are quickly losing ground to smartphones (iOS and Android Take Over Mobile Gaming Industry, 2011). In 2009, the Nintendo DS accounted for 70% of revenue generated by portable gaming software in the United States, with the iOS and Android at 19% and the Sony PSP at 11%. In 2010, the Nintendo DS dropped to 57% of the revenues while iOS and Android picked up 34%. By 2011, the Nintendo DS fell to 36% while iOS and Android claimed 58% of the revenues from portable gaming software. In 2009, the iOS and Android revenues from mobile gaming stood at $500 million. By 2010, these revenues spiked to $800 million, and continued to climb in 2011 when they hit $1.9 billion, demonstrating the speed with which mobile apps are revolutionizing the use of digital media and tools . Consumer Preferences In Mobile Apps By the year 2010, the mobile apps industry became increasingly saturated as new competitors entered the market flooding it with numerous varieties of utilitarian as well as lifestyle apps. A survey conducted by Nielsen in 2010 revealed the types of apps that were in greatest demand by users. A breakdown of the various categories of applications used within a span of 30 days as emerging from the survey is presented in Table 3 (Appendix) (The State of Mobile Apps, 2010). In addition, a chart of app popularity by users of specific operating systems is depicted in Table 4 (Appendix). The survey revealed that games, including both free and paid, were the most downloaded application category. Facebook, Google Maps, and the Weather Channel were the most popular apps across all platforms. In social networking, Facebook was by far the most popular app, with MySpace trailing behind in part due to its continuing popularity with teenagers. LinkedIn also attracted a large number of users in the age group of 25 to 44 (The State of Mobile Apps, 2010). The news and weather application category was dominated by The Weather Channel, which was downloaded by 58% of the users surveyed. Amazon and eBay led the shopping category with 57% and 41% respectively Revenue Generation From Apps There are various ways developers earn money from the apps. One common practice is to release an app for free, and generate revenues by placing advertisements throughout the app's user interface. When a user clicks an ad, revenue is instantly generated for the app's publisher. The advantage of this approach is that ad placement is easy to set up, and allows the app access to a wider audience because it does not cost the user any money. However, the amount of revenue generated per click is typically very low. Moreover, users may refrain from using an app if the advertisements are too intrusive. Developers may also sell their apps for a predetermined price in an online marketplace. In such cases, the platform owner, Apple or Google, charge a 30% royalty fee for each app sold while the remainder goes to the developer. No fees are however charged by the platform owner for the free apps. Some marketplaces also charge developers a one-time fee to establish a publisher account. Android's publisher accounts, for example, currently cost a one-time fee of $20. This revenue generation method is straightforward and requires minimal effort to set up. However, with so many apps available in the marketplace, competition is intense. Acquiring enough customers to create a significant revenue flow could be difficult if the app is not original, useful, or marketed creatively A more common business model to generate revenues from apps involves distributing an app in two forms: one a “for sale” version with no ads and full functionality, and a second version made available free of cost but with sponsored ads and limited functionality. This dual format allows potential customers to try the app risk-free while providing an incentive to eventually purchase the full version if a user finds that it delivers value for the money. However, in order to succeed in this model, developers must strike a balance in the number of features offered in the trial app. If too many features are offered free, the incentive for customers to purchase the full version may be reduced. On the other hand, if too few features are offered, customers may overlook the app's full potential. Apps can also be used by businesses to complement or advertise their existing products. A high quality app can potentially speak for the quality of the entire business which in turn could attract new customers. Alternatively, an app can improve the way existing customers use a product. Insurance companies, banks, video game studios, and a plethora of other businesses actively are pursuing this business model with great success. However, if the app does not integrate itself seamlessly with the business' agenda, it could have limited effectiveness. One effective way to increase revenue flows for app developers is to remain flexible in varying their business models. Each application must be analyzed and compared to the target market in order to determine the optimal marketplace for its distribution as well as the price structure. For example, some application marketplaces may be more suitable for distributing free apps, while others might be better for selling high-priced, high-quality apps. Through a careful analysis of customer trends, app developers and publishers can maximize their revenues. Conclusion Finally, app revenues could also be generated by creating an online store within the app itself. Many video games use this “freemium” model to generate revenue. For example, Zenonia by Gamevil is a free-to-play game that generates revenue by selling optional weapons, armor, and other virtual goods for real money. Other ways to employ this method include the creation of an e-store. Fandango uses this method with great success by selling movie tickets directly from an app that is ostensibly a source of information (movie reviews) and entertainment (movie trailers). When a ticket is purchased, a barcode appears on the smartphone's interface which is scanned by the staff in movie theaters. The advantage of using this revenue generation method is that customers believe that since the app is free, the additional payment is not directly linked to the app and therefore entails a lower risk of downloading and using it. However, from a technical standpoint, this method is also one of the most difficult to implement because it is not directly supported by Google's or Apple's application development kit. Bibliography Johnson, L. (2010). QUALITATIVE VERSUS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH. Retrieved 3 9, 2017, from xavier: http://www.xavier.edu/library/students/documents/qualitative_quantitative.pdf McLeod, S. (2008). Qualitative vs. Quantitative. Retrieved Mar 7, 2017, from simplypsychology: http://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html Appendix ( Objectives are : Adding new applications & Opening new stores )