State Farm Reply
The primary goal of the replies is to discuss the threads by offering analysis and critiques to include specific strengths and weaknesses and other insights for consideration. In your replies, address at least 1 strength and 1 weakness per reply.
Discussion: State Farm
Identify the various constructs and concepts involved in the study.
First, lets begin by defining what a construct and a concept are. A construct is a conceptualization of the research topic at hand (Yang et al., 2004, p. 32). These conceptualizations or abstractions help researchers when developing theories (Schindler, 2021, p. 13). Constructs are not tangible items. Concepts are a grouping of characteristics or notions that define “events, objects, conditions, or situations” (Schindler, 2021, p. 13). These are more realistic objects than constructs.
In this case study, State Farm
created a construct when identifying the most dangerous intersections in the United States. This is not a concrete item; therefore, it is an abstract condition created for the purpose of the research that State Farm was conducting. Another construct that is created in the case study is the idea that intersections can be safer than other ones. The concept in this case study is the categorization of information collected from State Farm clients who have filed claims after an accident at an intersection.
What hypothesis might drive the research of one of the cities on the top 10 dangerous intersection list?
According to Kaur (2017), a “hypothesis state the expected relationship between the independent
variable and the dependent variable within a population” (p. 122). A hypothesis seeks to define who, what, when, where, or how in the question. With this understanding, a hypothesis could be formulated around the specifics of a singular city. As an example: How does the layout of intersection “A” effect the number of automobile accidents that result in claims over the course of one year without regard to other variables?
Evaluate the methodology for State Farm’s research.
The methodology utilized by State Farm is the case study method. In this method, the researchers must define the case itself. Noor (2008), states that a case is “an event, an entity, an individual, or even a unit of analysis” (p. 1602). In this case study, the event being evaluated is the
crashes that result in claims to State Farm.
Noor (2008), also explains that the aim of case studies is to determine how or why things happen. To do this State Farm began to analyze its internal data about the number of crashes at given intersections, excluding public information such as police reports. This exclusion was to protect the integrity of data collected since not all municipalities’ reports are as detailed, frequent, or accurate.
If you were State Farm, how would you address the concerns of transportation engineers?
By having the support of the transportation engineers, State Farm could begin to institute real change that could make driving safer for everyone. As
Schindler (2021) indicated, many of the transportation engineers and their municipalities did not have the budgets to research or implement the issues that State Farm was presenting to them (p. 2). In an effort to build good faith, State Farm could plan part of the budget that they have allocated to go directly to supporting the transportation engineers.
Another idea would be to help develop a unified and structured data collection platform for analyzing the potential risk associated with each intersection. This platform could enable information sharing between the transportation engineers and allow for best practices to be highly visible.
By supporting the transportation engineers, State Farm would be building
trust with them. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (King James Version Bible, 2021, Romans 8:28). Although it would cost State Farm additional funds, they would be a light to others and this might be a driving force for people to decide to switch to them for their insurance needs in the future.
If you were State Farm, would you use traffic volume counts as part of the 2003 study? What concerns, other than those expressed by Nepomuceno, do you have?
In the initial case study conducted, State Farm should not have utilized the traffic volume information. By excluding this information, State Farm has reduced the number of errors from inaccurate
information. The ultimate goal or aim of the research is to bring the total number of accidents that result in a claim to zero, so by making the data weighted by volume it would not help to reduce the total number of accidents.
Some concerns with the format of the case study are the exclusion of the severity of the accidents. An insurance claim can be any incident that is reported to the insurance company by the insured. Under this premise, there are many accidents that are not as sever that would inflate the numbers of certain intersections. By either focusing on accidents that result in bodily damage or go above a certain dollar value State Farm could ensure that they are not including data that does not have a large impact.
References
Kaur, S. P. (2017). Writing the hypothesis in Research. International Journal of Nursing Education, 9(3), 122. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-9357.2017.00081.2
King James Version Bible. (2021). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
Noor, K. B. (2008). Case study: A strategic research methodology. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(11), 1602–1604. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2008.1602.1604
Schindler, P. S. (2021). Business research methods (14th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Yang, B., Watkins, K. E., & Marsick, V. J. (2004). The construct of the Learning Organization: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.1086