Wages vs. Education

Wages vs. Education Part III

RES/341 Research and Evaluation I

Mike McEuen

March 2, 2009

Wages vs. Education Part III

Introduction

Even though business research does not have a systematic process, following a process will aid in effectively communicating results and determining a solution to the problem. Discovering what is causing the problem is the first step. “The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution” (Zikmund, 2003, Ch 4). To identify the true cause of a problem, researchers use observation, gathering preliminary data and defining the issues. Identifying education versus wages as the concept leads to the problem definition; to what extent does the number of years of education account for an increase or decrease in overall compensation. Having defined the problem, leads to understanding the purpose of the research, developing questions and theories, and identifying the data that needs to be measured. Looking at both primary and secondary data is very important for research. Using peer-reviewed articles will aid in getting a basic understanding for the problem at hand. After preliminary setup, we can define our population and begin to interpret our data through tables and graphs for a better understanding of the results.

Purpose of the Research

With the present state of the economy in the United States, is a higher education paying off in the overall wages earned by present day graduates? Prices for a higher education are escalating annually, causing high school graduates to question the value of continuing education beyond high school. Families now play the juggling game over whether or not the high cost of tuition outweighs the cost of working a full time job over the cost of choosing college and the accumulation of school debts and loans. Is the long-term investment of a higher education paying off in today’s economy? Those who are especially at risk are the low-income families who have a difficult time making...