Research Methods for Business Students

Description

Features

• Case Studies and Focus on Student Research illustrate how student research can be conducted
• Research in the News and Focus on Management Research give examples of research in both academic and commercial environments
• Checklists, Questions and “Progressing your Research Project” give practical advice on the step-by-step process of conducting research
• Guidance on use of SPSS, NVivo and internet searching on the companion website

New to this Edition

• Brand new cases in each chapter
• Substantial revisions to ch. 3 (literature review), ch.4 (philosophies) and ch.5 (research design)
• Focus on research in consultancy projects (e.g. ch.14 writing & presenting)
• Greater emphasis on importance of internet-based research techniques (chat room, web-based q’aires)

Table of Contents

How to use this book

Guided tour

Preface

Contributors

1          The nature of business and management research and structure of this book

2          Formulating and clarifying the research topic

3          Critically reviewing the literature

4          Understanding research philosophies and approaches

5          Formulating the research design

6          Negotiating access and research ethics

7          Selecting samples

8          Using secondary data

9          Collecting primary data through observation

10         Collecting primary data using semi-structured, in-depth and group interviews

11         Collecting primary data using questionnaires

12         Analysing quantitative data

13         Analysing qualitative data

14         Writing and presenting your project report

Appendices

Glossary

Index

Back Cover

Through the course of five editions, Research Methods for Business Students has guided hundreds of thousands of student researchers to success in their research proposals, projects and dissertations.

So, if you're thinking ΠK

"How do I choose my topic?"

" I'm confused by all these different philosophies"

" I've got my data; what do I write first?"

ΠK then, open this book to read:

* Regular checklists and ЧProgressing your Research ProjectШ sections to give you step-by-step practical guidance on the process

* A glossary of clear definitions of over 400 research terms

* Cases and examples of student projects and academic research to show you how itЦs done

* Detailed chapters on choosing your topic, reviewing the literature,  understanding philosophies, research design, access and ethics, data collection and analysis, and writing and presenting

And, at www.pearsoned.co.uk/saunders, you can get online tutorials on research software, such as SPSS and NVivo. Plus, search the internet more efficiently and effectively with our Smarter Online Searching guide!

Start your project with confidence and complete it with success.

Author

Mark Saundersis Professor of Business Research Methods at School of Management, University of Surrey. Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill are former Principal Lecturers, Gloucestershire Business School, University of Gloucestershire.