Research Methods

David Crowther, Geoff Lancaster

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781138135567
• eBook ISBN: 9781136368608
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This is the ideal companion for those needing guidance when carrying out a research project in a management or a business-related subject. The text is succinct and concise, written with modular courses in mind for the reader to quickly gain an overall perspective of the fundamental areas and identify the key points that need to be addressed. This clear and practical book also covers the requirements of more general areas of business research and consultancy. New to this edition is a chapter devoted to the analysis of qualitative data - an area many students find they want to focus on. A new accompanying student website also gives practical guidance on some of the problems students face: assistance with writing a research proposal; the structure of a dissertation; collecting data - how much is enough; citing references; links to other resources. Dissertations and projects form an integral part of many MBA and degree programmes and this text is invaluable when tackling this area for the first time. The authors approach the research task in a step-by-step manner, covering areas such as data collection, observational methods, and data analysis.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Managing Your Development as a Manager
• 3. Introduction to Research in Management
• 4. Management Consultancy and Research
• 5. The Consultancy Research Process
• 6. An Overview of Data Collection: Approaches, Methods, and Techniques
• 7. Data Collection: Secondary Data
• 8. Data Collection: Observational Research
• 9. Data Collection: Experimental, Quasi-experimental, and Action Research
• 10. Data Collection: Asking Questions
• 11. Analyzing Data: Nature and Purpose
• 12. Analyzing Qualitative Data
• 13. Actioning Research
• Appendix I: Activity Solutions
• Appendix II: Bibliography
• Appendix III: Introduction to Management Research
• Appendix IV: Internet Gateways, Research and Databases, Search Engines and Directories for Social Science Researchers
• Appendix V: Amalgamated Glossary
• Appendix VI: Referencing and Advice on Presentation
• Appendix VII:Resources for Methods in Evaluation and Social Research
• Index