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BRM by Mark Sounders in this we see the methods of research how we need to do research
Typology: Summaries
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Research Methods
for Business
Students
Fifth edition
Mark Saunders
Philip Lewis
Adrian Thornhill
Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world
Visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.pearsoned.co.uk
First published under the Pitman Publishing imprint in 1997 Second edition 2000 Third edition 2003 Fourth edition 2007 Fifth edition 2009 © Pearson Professional Limited 1997
© Pearson Education Limited 2000, 2003, 2007 © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
The rights of Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. ISBN: 978-0-273-71686-
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Saunders, Mark, 1959- Research methods for business students / Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill. —5th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-273-71686-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Business—Research. 2. Business—Research—Data processing. I. Lewis, Philip, 1945- II. Thornhill, Adrian. III. Title. HD30.4.S28 2009 650.072—dc 2008054877
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 13 12 11 10 09 Typeset in ITC Slimbach Std 9.5/12.5 by 73
Printed and bound by Rotolito Lombarda, Italy The publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
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Contents
How to use this book xvii Guided tour xxii Preface xxv Contributors xxvii Publisher’s acknowledgements xxix
1 The nature of business and management research and structure of this book 2 Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 2 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 The nature of research 4 1.3 The nature of business and management research 5 1.4 The research process 10 1.5 The purpose and structure of this book 10 1.6 Summary 15 Self-check questions 15 Review and discussion questions 15 References 16 Further reading 16 Case 1: Isabelle’s research dilemma 17 Michael Savvas Self-check answers 18
2 Formulating and clarifying the research topic 20 Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 20 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Attributes of a good research topic 22 2.3 Generating and refining research ideas 24 2.4 Turning research ideas into research projects 32
Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill
xv
Contents
Supporting resources
Visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/saunders to find valuable online resources:
Companion Website for students ■ Multiple choice questions to test your learning. ■ Tutorials on Excel, NVivo and SPSS. ■ Updated research datasets to practice with. ■ Updated additional case studies with accompanying questions. ■ Smarter Online Searching Guide – how to make the most of the Internet in your research.
For instructors ■ Complete, downloadable Instructor’s Manual. ■ PowerPoint slides that can be downloaded and used for presentations.
Also – the regularly maintained Companion Website provides the following features: ■ Search tool to help locate specific items of content. ■ E-mail results and profile tools to send results of quizzes to instructors. ■ Online help and support to assist with website usage and troubleshooting.
For more information please contact your local Pearson Education sales representative or visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/saunders
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How to use this book
Chapter 14: Writing and presenting your project report
Chapter 1: The nature of business and management research
Chapter 2: Formulating and clarifying the research topic
Chapter 3: Critically reviewing the literature
Chapter 4: Understanding research philosophies and approaches
Chapter 6: Negotiating access and research ethics
Chapter 7: Selecting samples
Chapter 12: Analysing quantitative data
Chapter 13: Analysing qualitative data
Chapter 5: Formulating the research design
Chapter 8: Using secondary data
Chapter 9: Collecting primary data through observation
Chapter 10: Collecting primary data using interviews and focus groups
Chapter 11: Collecting primary data using questionnaires
Figure P.1 Using this book in your second or final year of study
developing and refining these skills (Chapters 3 and 14), followed by Chapter 8, which introduces you to the range of secondary data sources available that might be of use for other assignments (Figure P.2). Once again, groups of chapters within which we believe you can switch the order without affecting the logic of the flow too much are shown on
xix
How to use this book
Chapter 14 : Writing and presenting your project report
Chapter 1 : The nature of business and management research
Chapter 3 : Critically reviewing the literature
Chapter 14 : Writing and presenting your project report
Chapter 8 : Using secondary data
Chapter 4 : Understanding research philosophies and approaches
Chapter 7 : Selecting samples
Chapter 9 : Collecting primary data through observation
Chapter 10 : Collecting primary data using interviews and focus groups
Chapter 11 : Collecting primary data using questionnaires
Chapter 12 : Analysing quantitative data
Chapter 13 : Analysing qualitative data
Chapter 2 : Formulating and clarifying the research topic
Chapter 6 : Negotiating access and research ethics
Chapter 5 : Formulating the research design
Figure P.2 Using this book as a new returner to academic study
the same level in the diagram and are: