| Course | GB601 MBA Capstone |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Research plan |
| Length | About 850 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GB601 Unit 2
Four Questions and the Evidence to Answer Them: A Unit 2 Research Plan for the Brightwater Formalwear Capstone
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
GB601: MBA Capstone
Unit 2 Research Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Brightwater Formalwear, its people and every figure are composite and illustrative; the public data sources and methods cited are real.
Revisions After Feedback
The instructor's comments on Unit 1 led to three changes. First, rentals for corporate and theater events, about 10 percent of volume, are now out of scope, because they follow different buying patterns and would require separate evidence. Second, the geographic boundary is now defined precisely as the seven counties where Brightwater's stores draw at least 80 percent of their customers, using customer ZIP codes in the contract records. Third, the decision question now names the comparison point explicitly: each response will be judged against the status quo, not against a return to FY2022 levels. Rumelt (2011) warns that a strategy resting on a vague diagnosis cannot be tested, and each change narrows the diagnosis so the later units can test it.
The Decision Question, Narrowed
After the revisions, the question covers only wedding and prom rentals in the seven counties, and it still asks Brightwater to choose among three responses over three years, an online channel of its own, a deeper in-store service for wedding parties and proms, or a partnership with a national online renter, each measured against doing nothing.
Four Sub-Questions
Sub-question 1: Is Brightwater losing rentals because the market is shrinking or because customers are going elsewhere? Evidence: Brightwater contract records for FY2019 through FY2026; marriages by county from Ohio Department of Health vital statistics; enrollment in grades 11 and 12 by district from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. Method: estimate total wedding and prom rentals in the area each year, then separate the change in Brightwater's rentals into a market effect and a share effect. Output: a decomposition of the 5,600 lost rentals. Used in: Unit 3.
Sub-question 2: What do customers and partners value, and why do some go elsewhere? Evidence: a survey of wedding and prom customers, given at fittings and by email to former customers; interviews with twelve partners who plan weddings, run venues or organize proms; an audit of seven competitors' prices, services and policies. Method: descriptive statistics for the survey, thematic coding for the interviews, a comparison table for the audit. Output: a positioning map and the reasons customers leave. Used in: Unit 4.
Sub-question 3: What would each response cost and return? Evidence: Brightwater cost records, vendor quotes for shipping, software and inventory, and the outputs of sub-questions 1 and 2. Method: a five-year projection for each response and the status quo, discounted at 10 percent to a net present value, with a sensitivity analysis. Output: comparable financial results for all four options. Used in: Unit 5.
Sub-question 4: What could make the chosen response fail? Evidence: the competitor audit, trade press on national renters' expansion, tariff schedules for imported tailored clothing and the interviews. Method: a risk register with likelihood, impact in net present value and warning signs. Output: ranked risks and contingencies. Used in: Unit 8.
A sub-question that no unit will use is a sub-question the capstone cannot afford.
Evidence No Library Holds
Most of the decisive evidence is not published. Brightwater's own contract records are the only source of its rental counts by event type, party size and store. The survey and interviews are the only way to learn why customers left. Creswell and Creswell (2018) note that mixed methods designs suit questions where numbers can show what is happening but only interviews can show why, and sub-question 2 is that kind of question. Published data serve mainly to size the market: vital statistics for marriages and state enrollment data for proms.
The Survey
The survey will be given on tablets at fittings in all nine stores for eight weeks during spring prom and early wedding season, and emailed to about 2,400 customers who rented from Brightwater between FY2022 and FY2024 but have not rented since. It asks how the respondent obtained formalwear for their most recent event, what mattered most in choosing, and what would have made them choose Brightwater. A target of 400 responses would allow percentages to be estimated within about five points.
The Interviews
Twelve semi-structured interviews, each about thirty minutes, will be held with six people who plan weddings or run venues and six school staff who organize proms. They are chosen because they influence where wedding parties and prom groups rent. Interviews will be recorded with permission, transcribed and coded by theme following Braun and Clarke (2006).
Limits, Stated Before They Bite
Three limits are known in advance. Former customers who answer an email survey may be the unhappiest ones, which could inflate dissatisfaction. Interviews with partners who already work with Brightwater may understate competitors' strengths. And the market estimate depends on an assumed share of weddings and proms that involve rented formalwear, which no source reports directly; Unit 3 will test the estimate's sensitivity to that assumption.
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.
Rumelt, R. P. (2011). Good strategy bad strategy: The difference and why it matters. Crown Business.
GB601 Unit 2 instructions, in plain terms
The second GB601 milestone asks you to tighten your scope and plan the research that will answer your decision question. Begin with what changed after feedback on Unit 1 and why. Restate the decision question in its narrowed form. Break it into a small number of sub-questions, and for each, name the evidence, the method of analysis, the expected output and the unit that will use it. Explain which evidence must be gathered firsthand and how, including survey design, sampling and interview selection. State the limits of your evidence in advance. Many sections accept a research matrix or a structured narrative. About five pages with methods sources in APA 7 fits most sections.
Inside the GB601 Unit 2 example
A revision section records three changes: corporate and theater rentals dropped, a seven-county boundary set from customer ZIP codes and the status quo named as the comparison point, with Rumelt on testable diagnoses. The narrowed question is restated in new words. Four sub-questions follow, from share versus market to failure risks, each with evidence, method, output and unit. The highlighted sentence rejects sub-questions no unit will use. A section explains why decisive evidence must be gathered firsthand, citing Creswell and Creswell on mixed methods. The survey and interview designs follow, with Braun and Clarke for coding, and three limits close the plan.
GB601 Unit 2 rubric: what earns full points
Points in the GB601 research plan follow from how well each sub-question connects to the decision. Sub-questions that divide the decision question cleanly earn credit, and pairing each with evidence, method, output and the unit that uses it shows the plan was built to serve the capstone. Visible response to Unit 1 feedback demonstrates the student uses instructor comments. Primary research designed with a sampling approach and a target size shows feasibility. Methods grounded in recognized sources earn credit for rigor. Limits stated in advance show maturity. A clear matrix or structure and APA 7 citations complete the rubric. In GB601 the plan is also read as a promise: later milestones are checked against what Unit 2 said would be gathered, so a feasible plan protects the student's own grade.
GB601 Unit 2 help from the desk
Many GB601 research plans list sources without saying what question each answers, which produces a bibliography rather than a plan. Others propose sub-questions that no later unit uses. A common gap is relying entirely on published industry reports, which rarely say anything about one organization. Survey plans often omit how respondents will be reached or how many responses are needed. Writers sometimes ignore the instructor's Unit 1 feedback or bury the changes. Limits are usually discovered too late to address. Show what changed and why, divide the question into sub-questions, map each to evidence, method and unit, design the primary research and state the limits now. Request a free custom research plan for your capstone on this page.
Get a GB601 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Send the organization and decision question from your Unit 1 work, plus any instructor comments on it and the research plan brief with its rubric. What returns in 24-48h is a custom plan whose matrix ties each method to a sub-question of your own project. There is no charge for a first sample. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More GB601 papers and MBA samples
- GB601 Unit 1: Problem Statement and Scope
- GB601 Unit 3: Industry and Market Analysis
- GB601 Unit 4: Competitive Positioning Evidence
- GB601 Unit 5: Financial Projections
- GB601 Unit 6: Strategic Alternatives Comparison
- GB601 Unit 7: Implementation Roadmap
- GB601 Unit 8: Risk and Contingency Analysis
- GB601 Unit 9: Integrated Capstone Document
- GB601 Unit 10: Capstone Defense Presentation
- GB600 Unit 2: Environmental Scan Memo
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GB601 Unit 2 questions, answered
Does a GB601 research plan need primary research?
Many sections expect at least some, because a capstone built entirely on published sources rarely has anything specific to say about one organization. Company records count, and so do short surveys and interviews. The plan should show the primary work is feasible in the term and that permission and consent are handled; the guidelines set the minimum.
How much can scope change after Unit 1?
Narrowing is normal and usually welcomed, especially when an instructor asked for it. Changing the organization or the decision question itself is a bigger step, since every later unit depends on them. A short revision note at the top of the plan, saying what changed and why, lets the reader see the refinement as deliberate rather than drift.
Is a spreadsheet model part of the research plan?
Usually only as a promise. The plan names the model, what it will project and where its assumptions will come from, but the numbers themselves belong to the financial milestone. Stating now that each assumption must trace to evidence gathered in this plan prevents a later model built on guesses the research never tested.
Where can I find a free GB601 Unit 2 sample paper?
A complete GB601 Unit 2 research plan is on this page, with scope revisions after feedback, four sub-questions mapped to evidence, methods and units, a survey and interview design and stated limits.
How many sub-questions should a capstone research plan have?
Three to five is typical. Each should answer one part of the decision question and feed a specific later unit; more than that usually means some will never be used.