Research Methods for Business Students.

Front Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Brief contents -- Contents -- How to use this book -- Preface -- Contributors -- 1 Research, reflective diaries and the purpose of this book -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 The nature of research -- 1.3 Business and management research -- 1.4 The research process -- 1.5 Keeping a reflective diary or research notebook -- 1.6 The purpose and structure of this book -- 1.7 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Starting your reflective diary or notebook -- References -- Further reading -- Case 1: A reflective journal? . . . About research? . . . Where do I even begin? -- Emily A Morrison -- Self-check answers -- 2 Generating a research idea and developing your research proposal -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Characteristics of good research ideas -- 2.3 Generating research ideas -- 2.4 Refining research ideas -- 2.5 Developing your overarching research question -- 2.6 Writing a research aim and set of research objectives -- 2.7 The importance of theory -- 2.8 The need for a research proposal -- 2.9 Structuring your research proposal -- 2.10 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Choosing a research topic and developing your research proposal -- References -- Further reading -- Case 2: Keza's research aim formulation -- Adina Dudau -- Self-check answers -- 3 Critically reviewing the literature -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Being 'critical' and the purposes and forms of review -- 3.3 The content and structure of a critical review.

3.4 Literature sources -- 3.5 Planning your literature search -- 3.6 Conducting your literature search -- 3.7 Reading critically and evaluating the literature -- 3.8 Note-taking and referencing -- 3.9 Using systematic review -- 3.10 Drafting the critical review -- 3.11 A note about plagiarism -- 3.12 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Critically reviewing the literature -- References -- Further reading -- Case 3: Shaping powerful questions when reviewing the literature -- Mat Hughes -- Self-check answers -- 4 Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill and Alexandra Bristow -- Learning outcomes -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The philosophical underpinnings of business and management -- 4.3 Research paradigms -- 4.4 Five management philosophies -- 4.5 Approaches to theory development -- 4.6 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Heightening your Awareness of your Research Philosophy (HARP) -- References -- Further reading -- Case 4: Working out your philosophical assumptions -- Natasha Mauthner -- Self-check answers -- 5 Formulating the research design -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Achieving a coherent research design -- 5.3 The research purpose -- 5.4 Methodological choice: choosing a quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods research design -- 5.5 Developing a coherent research strategy -- 5.6 Considering time horizons -- 5.7 Anticipating potential ethical issues -- 5.8 Assessing the quality of research design -- 5.9 Recognishing your role as researcher -- 5.10 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions.

Progressing your research project: Deciding on your research design -- References -- Further reading -- Case 5: Internationalizing strategy: Developing small firms and their local communities via engaged scholarship -- Fariba Darabi and Jonathan M Scott -- Self-check answers -- 6 Negotiating access and research ethics -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Characteristics of access -- 6.3 Researcher status -- 6.4 Internet-mediated access -- 6.5 Strategies to gain access -- 6.6 Research ethics and acting ethically -- 6.7 Ethical issues at specific research stages -- 6.8 Data protection principles -- 6.9 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Negotiating access and addressing ethical issues -- References -- Further reading -- Case 6: Onboarding practices and employee retention -- Josephine LaPointe -- Self-check answers -- 7 Selecting samples -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 The need to sample -- 7.3 An overview of sampling procedures -- 7.4 Probability sampling - sampling frame -- 7.5 Probability sampling - sample size -- 7.6 Probability sampling - procedures -- 7.7 Probability sampling - representativeness -- 7.8 Non-probability sampling - sample size -- 7.9 Non-probability sampling - procedures -- 7.10 Mixed and multi-stage sampling designs -- 7.11 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Using sampling as part of your research -- References -- Further reading -- Case 7: Female ride share app drivers' careers in Tehran -- Mina Beigi, Shahrzad Nayyeri and Melika Shirmohamma -- Self-check answers -- 8 Obtaining and evaluating secondary data.

Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Types of secondary data and uses in research -- 8.3 Advantages of secondary data -- 8.4 Disadvantages of secondary data -- 8.5 Searching for and locating secondary data -- 8.6 Evaluating and selecting secondary data sources -- 8.7 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Assessing utility, selecting and incorporating secondary data in your research -- References -- Further reading -- Case 8: Investigating refugees' challenges in setting up a business -- Megan Miralles, Marc Stierand and Viktor Dorfler -- Self-check answers -- 9 Collecting primary data using observation -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Observation choices -- 9.3 Participant observation -- 9.4 Structured observation -- 9.5 Internet-mediated observation -- 9.6 Recording video -- 9.7 Creating static images -- 9.8 Audio recording -- 9.9 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Deciding on the appropriateness of observation -- References -- Further reading -- Case 9: Observing leadership and team dynamics using simulation -- Trevor Morrow -- Self-check answers -- 10 Collecting primary data using interviews and diaries -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Standardisation and structure in questioning -- 10.3 Interview mediums and modes -- 10.4 The potential of semi-structured and in-depth interviews -- 10.5 Data quality issues and evaluating interviewing practice -- 10.6 Preparing for semi-structured or in-depth interviewing -- 10.7 Conducting one-to-one face-to-face interviews -- 10.8 Conducting one-to-one online interviews.

10.9 Conducting one-to-one telephone interviews -- 10.10 Conducting group interviews and focus groups -- 10.11 Conducting visual interviews -- 10.12 Using diaries and diary studies -- 10.13 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Using research interviews and research diaries -- References -- Further reading -- Case 10: Conducting audio diaries of work-life conflict -- Catherine Cassell -- Self-check answers -- 11 Collecting primary data using questionnaires -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill -- Learning outcomes -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Questionnaires: an overview -- 11.3 Deciding what data need to be collected -- 11.4 Questionnaire validity and reliability -- 11.5 Designing individual questions -- 11.6 Designing the questionnaire -- 11.7 Pilot testing -- 11.8 Distributing the questionnaire -- 11.9 Summary -- Self-check questions -- Review and discussion questions -- Progressing your research project: Using questionnaires in your research -- References -- Further reading -- Case 11: Assessing the utility of questionnaire scales -- Sarah Forbes -- Self-check answers -- 12 Analysing data quantitatively -- Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill and Catherine Wang -- Learning outcomes -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Data types and precision of measurement -- 12.3 Preparing data for quantitative analysis -- 12.4 Data entry and checking -- 12.5 Exploring and presenting data: an overview -- 12.6 Exploring and presenting individual variables -- 12.7 Exploring and comparing two or more variables -- 12.8 Describing data using statistics -- 12.9 Statistical tests' assumptions and hypothesis testing -- 12.10 Examining associations and differences -- 12.11 Assessing the strength of relationships -- 12.12 Making predictions -- 12.13 Examining trends -- 12.14 Summary.

Self-check questions.

Support your students' research project with robust and pragmatic guidance on the entire process. Research Methods for Business Students introduces a range of features, including a glossary of terms, case studies and articles, and self-study prompts that will encourage your students to apply what they have learned to their own research project.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.