Case Background

Our client, New Boston Housing Authority (NBHA), is nearing completion of renovations on its 40-unit Dogwood Plaza apartments.  What sorts of features should be emphasized in promotions of these apartments?

Visit ApartmentRatings.com and do a content analysis of customer comments about apartments in Texarkana, TX.  Click HERE to directly reach the first page of the listing that we are using.

Your analysis must not be anecdotal, but must be based on an analysis that is substantiated with the spreadsheet method that was discussed in class.  The objective of this research is to determine what factors cause people in Texarkana, TX, to like or dislike local apartments.  Your report should end with recommendations regarding features that should be emphasized when our client promotes Dogwood Plaza. 

Assignment

Visit ApartmentRatings.com and do a content analysis of customer comments about apartments in Texarkana, TX. 

Assess the newest five usable reviews for each apartment that is listed.  Some apartments have fewer than five reviews; use the number that each has up to a limit of the latest five reviews.  Note that you are not to use any quantitative (numeric) ratings in your analysis; you are only to use the text of customer comments.

If you have to dis-include any reviews, your report must indicate how many were skipped and why they were skipped (discussed in the methodology section).  For example, you don't want to include any review that could have a bias (e.g., states that a family member is an employee) or that is focused on issues that are not an assessment of the organization (e.g., is a commentary on what is wrong with someone else's review). 

Your report must include the following format, not necessarily with any sort of headings:

1. objectives of the research

2. source of the data

3. discussion of the methodology

4. discussion of the findings

5. discussion of the conclusions
   (implications / recommendations)

The report should not include the spreadsheet itself; the spreadsheet is merely a working document that is a tool to assist in your analysis.  That is, the report should be understandable without your spreadsheet.  However, your spreadsheet must be readily available if the client wants to see it and absolutely must be submitted to me as your boss.  That is, for the sake of grading your report for this class, you must submit your spreadsheet as a separate (independent) document.

You are encouraged to collaborate with other class members in deciding how to set up the spreadsheet, how to interpret and enter data, and how to interpret the results.  Your final analysis and report submission, however, must clearly be your own work.