agree or disagree 

This week we were asked to research and discuss data sources available for the proposed projects. In previous weeks, I mentioned that my proposed topics are forecasting sales during different holidays and deciding which departments may need to increase their stock to meet the demand, to determine factors that contribute to employee retention and the correlation between when and why they choose to leave a company, and to explore the stock market and predict what it will do in the next 6 months, year, and so forth.

Data for holiday products was found in a Walmart Retail Dataset file provided by data.world that contains sales information over a 3-year period. The data has the dates purchased, what department the product came from, what product was sold, and more (Hoover, 2021). This will be beneficial for this particular project because it contains exactly what is needed to find what items are more likely to sell during holiday seasons. It can also be used to help other companies who sell similar items, decide what customers would like to purchase. 

Data for the employee retention topic would need to allow sentiment analysis, therefore a survey or statements from employees would be required as well as company data that shows the duration of employees' service. For the survey to take place, an Institutional Review Board would need to approve this project and the data sources. This is a reason why it is not my top project idea and it is likely to be the last choice on my list of three at this time.

Data for the final stock market project would likely need to be narrowed down to one specific stock, rather than the market as a whole. However, some market data of the S&P 500 would also be beneficial to understand the market as a whole and how it might play a part in an individual stock. If I were to choose this project, I would like choose the company, Tesla, as I have invested in them in the past and have found their projects to be reinvigorating. The dataset would likely come from Tesla's Investor Relations page and Morningstar research investment analysis. The Investor Relations page contains quarterly earnings, annual reports, and events (Tesla, 2021). Morningstar is a famously-known investor site that also provides earnings and reports, but additionally includes stock data, company shares, and helps investors connect with the bigger picture (Morningstar, 2021). 

The data itself is extremely important as it is what will be used to conduct business analysis with. However, previous textbook data, journal entries, and classwork will also be needed in order to bring the project to fruition as well as new research. Each project will require these sources. They will also require the use of Microsoft Excel and will likely use RStudio as I have found it to be helpful throughout my educational journey.

Resources

Hoover, Gary. (2021, December). Walmart Retail Dataset. data.world. https://data.world/garyhoove470/walmart-retail-dataset

Morningstar. (2021). Our Top Investment Picks. https://www.morningstar.com/premium?referid=A4497&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MORNP_General_Gen_Search_Branded_Exact_T1_National+Morningstar&utm_content=engine:google%7Ccampaignid:10102290419%7Cadid:436713190228%7Cgclid:Cj0KCQiAq7COBhC2ARIsANsPATGaSs780ZAFB9bmQHUSs4KhFUtGhBXhRA38jOguLiNEVCNclXt99kYaAnxqEALw_wcB&utm_term=morningstar&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq7COBhC2ARIsANsPATGaSs780ZAFB9bmQHUSs4KhFUtGhBXhRA38jOguLiNEVCNclXt99kYaAnxqEALw_wcB

Tesla. (2021). Investor Relations. https://ir.tesla.com/#tab-other-documents-and-events