| Course | DBAX 9103 Business Research Project Stage 3 |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 1 |
| Paper type | Reporting discussion |
| Length | About 540 words, 3 pages |
| Format | Discussion post, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for DBAX 9103 Week 1
Week 1 Discussion: Taking a Results Paragraph Apart
Pulling One Results Paragraph Apart Before the Chapter Exists: Separating What Was Counted, What Was Estimated and What Was Inferred in a Draft Finding on Supervisor Check-Ins and Caregiver Retention
The Paragraph
My study examined whether supervisor check-ins and onboarding completion relate to 90-day retention among newly hired caregivers at a home care agency in the Kansas City area. Here is the first paragraph I drafted for the results chapter, written quickly after the analysis ran:
"Supervisor check-ins strongly predicted retention. Caregivers who received more check-ins were much more likely to stay, with each check-in increasing the odds of retention by about a third. Onboarding completion did not matter. These results show that supervisors, not training modules, keep new caregivers."
Taking It Apart
Reading it again, the paragraph mixes three kinds of statement. Some sentences report what was counted: how many caregivers, how many stayed. Some report what was estimated: an odds ratio from a model. And some report what I inferred: that supervisors keep caregivers. Only the first two belong in a results section, and even they are stated loosely here.
"Strongly predicted" is an inference about strength the paragraph never supports with numbers. "Increasing the odds" implies causation; the model shows association. "About a third" rounds an odds ratio of 1.33 without giving its confidence interval, which runs from 1.10 to 1.61. "Did not matter" turns a nonsignificant result with a wide interval into a finding of no effect. And the last sentence is a conclusion, not a result.
What the Paragraph Should Say
A results paragraph that kept the layers apart would read more like this: "Among the 531 caregivers still employed at day 14, each additional supervisor check-in during the first two weeks was associated with higher odds of being employed at day 90 (odds ratio = 1.33, 95% CI [1.10, 1.61]). Completion of onboarding modules was not significantly associated with 90-day employment (odds ratio = 1.09, 95% CI [0.71, 1.67]); the interval is compatible with a small negative or a moderate positive association." The interpretation belongs in the discussion chapter.
Appelbaum et al. (2018) recommend reporting effect sizes with confidence intervals for every main result, and Cumming (2014) argues that intervals communicate uncertainty better than significance labels. My first draft did neither.
Why the Inference Was Tempting
The last sentence of my draft came from the literature as much as from my data. Bauer et al. (2007) pooled many studies of how newcomers adjust and reported that social support and role clarity during the first months were linked to newcomers' commitment and intention to stay. My result fit that story so well that I wrote the conclusion before checking whether my design could support it. It cannot: supervisors may check in more often with caregivers who already seem likely to stay.
Question for Classmates
Take one paragraph from your own draft results. Which sentences report a count, which an estimate and which an inference?
Reply to Mariana
Mariana, your paragraph says customer satisfaction "rose sharply." What number would a reader need to judge whether it was sharp?
Reply to Devon
Devon, you report that a difference was "not significant, showing no difference." Could the interval tell readers something more useful than that?
References
Appelbaum, M., Cooper, H., Kline, R. B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Nezu, A. M., & Rao, S. M. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000191
Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707-721. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.707
Cumming, G. (2014). The new statistics: Why and how. Psychological Science, 25(1), 7-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613504966
What the DBAX 9103 Week 1 instructions ask for
Week 1 asks you to take one paragraph from your draft results and pull it apart. Quote the paragraph exactly as you first wrote it. Mark which sentences report a count, which report an estimate from a model and which state an inference or conclusion. Identify words that claim more than the numbers show, such as causal verbs, strength adjectives or "no effect" for a nonsignificant result. Rewrite the paragraph so that only counts and estimates remain, each estimate with its interval, and move the inference to where it belongs. Explain why the inference was tempting. Close by asking classmates to sort their own sentences, then answer two classmates, each time questioning one number or phrase they used.
Inside the DBAX 9103 Week 1 example
The post opens with the study and quotes a four-sentence draft. A section sorts its sentences into counts, estimates and inferences and names the overreach in "strongly predicted," "increasing the odds," "about a third" and "did not matter." A section rewrites the paragraph with the sample of 531, an odds ratio of 1.33 with its interval and a wide interval for onboarding, citing Appelbaum and colleagues and Cumming. A section admits the conclusion was borrowed from Bauer and colleagues' meta-analysis before the design could support it. A question invites classmates. One reply asks what number would show a rise was sharp; another asks what an interval adds to "not significant." The rewrite keeps every number from the original draft but changes every verb that implied cause.
Where the marks sit in the DBAX 9103 Week 1 rubric
The skill rewarded is separating three layers in one's own writing. Marking each sentence as a count, an estimate or an inference carries the most weight. Naming the specific words that overreach shows close reading. A rewrite that reports estimates with intervals and moves interpretation to the discussion shows the habit the stage builds. Explaining why the inference was tempting shows self-awareness. Replies are valued when they question a specific number or phrase. Posts that critique a paragraph in general terms, rewrite without intervals or simply polish the prose miss the purpose of the opening thread. A rewritten paragraph short enough to read in one breath shows the author has cut rather than padded.
DBAX 9103 Week 1 help from the desk
Print your first results paragraph and use three colors: one for counts, one for model estimates, one for anything that interprets. Most first drafts have more of the third color than their authors expect. Look for verbs such as increased, drove or caused, and for "no effect" after a nonsignificant test. Rewrite with every estimate followed by its interval. Then ask why you wrote the conclusion so early; usually the literature suggested it before the data did. Many students correct the grammar of a paragraph without changing what it claims. Others strip it of all meaning. Aim for a paragraph a skeptical reader would accept. Our writers can mark up a paragraph with you in this way.
Get a DBAX 9103 Week 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 1 discussion prompt with its rubric, and say which classmate posts the replies should answer. The post, its two-column sort and both replies return within 24-48h, and the first request is free. Its specimen paragraph is built around an invented home care agency, so no sentence of your own study needs to leave your draft folder.
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DBAX 9103 Week 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free DBAX 9103 Week 1 sample paper?
The full post and both replies appear below, open to every reader at no cost.
What study does the DBAX 9103 Week 1 post draw on?
Supervisor check-ins and 90-day retention among new caregivers at a home care agency.
Which phrases overreach in the draft?
Strongly predicted, increasing the odds, about a third and did not matter.
How is the check-in result rewritten?
As an odds ratio of 1.33 with a 95 percent interval from 1.10 to 1.61.
Where does the inference belong?
In the discussion chapter, not the results.