Business Research Methods - A Managerial Approach

by A. J. Veal Second Edition

Published by Pearson Education, Sydney, 2005, ISBN 174103 2539, 361 pages. Support materials available at: www.pearsoned.com.au/veal

OUTLINE CONTENTS PART I Preparation 1. Introduction: the research process 2. Approaches to research 3. Planning and designing research projects 4. Using the literature 5. Secondary data sources PART II Approaches to Data Collection 6. Observation 7. Qualitative methods 8. Questionnaire surveys 9. The Case-study method 10. Experimental methods 11. Sampling and its implications PART III Analysis 12. Analysing Secondary data 13. Survey analysis 14. Statistical analysis 15. Qualitative Analysis PART IV Reporting 16. Reporting Research Results Appendices 1. Print and electronic resources for management and business research 2. Increasing response rates in mail surveys 3. Suggested appendix on sample size and confidence intervals 4. Details of SPSS data file used in Chapter 14 5. Cluster analysis data References Author index Subject index

DETAILED CHAPTER CONTENTS

PART I PREPARATION 1. Introduction: the research process Introduction W hat is management? W hat is research? Management Research W ho does research? Academics Students Government and business organisations Consultants Managers W hy research? Research in the management process Relevance of published research to business The history of management thinking and research Pre-industrial The classical school Behavioural approaches Human relations approaches Modern approaches Management trends and fads The diversity of contemporary business research Summary Exercises Further reading Approaches to research Introduction Paradigmatic issues - Positivist and critical/interpretive research - Qualitative and quantitative research - Induction and deduction - Experimental and non-experimental research Data issues - Primary and secondary data - Self-reported and observed data The range of research methods - Scholarship - Just thinking - Using the existing literature - Using secondary data - Observation - Qualitative methods - Questionnaire-based surveys - The case-study method - Experimental methods - Cross-cutting/subsidiary methods - Textual analysis - Longitudinal studies - Panel surveys - Projective techniques - Media surveys - Delphi technique Multiple Methods - Triangulation Choosing a method - The research question or hypothesis

2.

- Previous research - Data availability/access - Resources - Time - Validity, reliability and generalisability - Ethics - Uses/users of the findings Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 3. Planning and designing research projects Introduction Stages in the research process 1. Selecting the topic - Personal interest - The literature - Policy or management - Social concern - Popular issues 2. Reviewing the literature 3. Devising a conceptual framework 4. Deciding on research questions - From concept map to research questions - Scale and scope - Answerability - Primary and subsidiary questions - Research questions vs objectives - Research questions vs hypotheses 5. Listing information needs 6. Developing a research strategy - Information-gathering methods - Data analysis methods - Budget and timetable 7. Conducting the research 8. Reporting findings Research proposals - Self-generated proposals - Responsive proposals Research ethics Summary Questions, Exercises and Further reading Using the literature Introduction The literature search: preparing a bibliography Literature sources - Library catalogues - Published indexes - Electronic databases - The internet - General management books - Reference lists - Published bibliographies - Library browsing - Asking (librarians and academics) Obtaining copies of material Compiling and maintaining a bibliography Reviewing the literature - Inclusive - Inclusive/evaluative/meta-analysis - Exploratory

4.

- Instrumental - Content analysis/hermeneutics Reading critically and creatively Summarising the literature review Recording references to the literature References and referencing systems - Author/date system - Footnote/endnote system - The best of both worlds Other referencing issues - Internet/electronic references - 'Secondhand' references - Excessive referencing - Latin abbreviations Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 5. Secondary data sources Introduction Company information - Internal sources - external sources Government agencies - Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) - AusInfo - Austrade - Australian Government Index of Publications Educational institutions and specialist centres - Universities - Specialist centres - Contacting academic researchers Professional organisations Management-related fields Archival materials Internet-based resources Questions, Exercises and Further Reading

PART II DATA COLLECTION 6. Observation Introduction Contexts for observational research - Spatial use of sites - W orkplace behaviour - Consumer testing - Complementary research - Social behaviour Elements in observational research 1 Choose site 2 Choose observation point(s) 3 Choose study time period(s) 4 Decide on continuous observation or sampling 5 Decide on number and length of sampling periods 6 Decide what to observe 7 Divide into zones 8 Design a recording sheet 9 Conduct study 10 Analyse data Technical aids - Aerial photography

- Still photography - Video - Time-lapse photography - Counters 'Just looking' Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 7. Qualitative methods Introduction The nature of qualitative methods - Some advantages of qualitative methods The qualitative research process The range of qualitative methods In-depth interviews - Nature - Purposes - Checklist - Interviewing - Recording - Example Focus groups - Nature - Purposes - Methods Participant observation - Nature - Purposes - Methods Analysis of texts Ethnography Biographical methods - Biography/Autobiography - Oral history - Memory work - Personal domain histories Grounded theory and qualitative research Management contexts for the use of qualitative methods - Corporate culture - Consumer decision-making Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading Questionnaire surveys Introduction The nature of questionnaire surveys Merits of the questionnaire survey method Interviewer-completion versus respondent-completion Types of questionnaire survey - The household questionnaire survey - Street/quota intercept surveys - Telephone surveys - Mail surveys - E-surveys - Customer/visitor on-site intercept surveys - Captive group surveys - Organisation surveys Questionnaire design - Research problems and information requirements - Open-ended and pre-coded questions - W ording of questions

8.

- Measuring attitudes and opinions - Ordering of questions - Layout - Filters - Introductory remarks Conducting a pilot survey Validity of questionnaire surveys Questionnaire-based interviewing Coding - Pre-coded questions - Open-ended questions - Recording coded information Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 9. The Case-study method Introduction - defining the case-study method Purposes - Testing a single existing theory - Evaluating existing alternative/competing theories - Develop theory where none exists Merits of the case-study approach Types of case-study Design of case-studies - Defining the unit of analysis - Selecting the case(s) - Data gathering Analysis Case-studies in Practice - Secondary data/textual/qualitative - Secondary data/quantitative - Multiple case-studies/biographical - The Historical Narrative Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading

10. Experimental methods Introduction Principles of experimental research Variables, treatment and control Experimental design Experimental validity - Internal validity - External validity - Field experiments vs. laboratory experiments Quasi-experimental designs - One-shot design - One group pre-testpost-test design - The static group design Experimental research decisions Summary Test questions/Exercises/Further Reading 11. Sampling and its implications Introduction: the idea of sampling Samples and populations Random sampling - Introduction - Random sampling in household surveys - Random sampling in site/visitor/intercept surveys - Random sampling and mail surveys

Sample size - Introduction - Confidence intervals - Level of detail of analysis - Budget - Small populations W eighting Sampling for qualitative research Summary Test questions/Exercises/Further Reading

PART III ANALYSIS 12. Analysing Secondary data Introduction Internal data - Trend analysis - Catchment area analysis - Employee data - Data mining External data - Catchment area analysis - Demographic projection - Company advertising and press coverage The literature - Meta-analysis Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 13. Survey analysis Introduction Introduction to SPSS - General - Starting up - Example data - Saving your work Defining variables - 'Variable View' - Name - Type - W idth - Decimals - Labels - Values - Missing - Columns - Align - Measure Data entry Survey analysis - Types of research and approaches to analysis - Starting up - Frequencies for a single variable - Frequencies for multiple variables - Missing values - Checking for errors - Multiple response - Recoding - Means - Attitude/Likert scales - Presenting results - Crosstabulation

- W eighting - Graphics Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 14. Statistical analysis Introduction The statistics approach - Measures of central tendency and dispersion - The idea of probabilistic statements - The normal distribution - Probabilistic statement formats - Significance - The null hypothesis - Dependent and independent variables W hat tests? Chi-square test - Introduction - Null hypothesis - The value of chi-square - Degrees of freedom - Expected frequencies rule - Presentation of results Comparing two means: the t-test - Introduction - Paired samples test - Independent samples test Comparing more than two means: one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) - Introduction Analysis of variance - Introduction - Null hypothesis - Variance - SPSS procedures and output Comparing groups of means: factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) - Introduction - Null hypothesis - Factorial analysis of variance Correlation - Introduction - Correlation coefficient ) - Significance of r - SPSS and correlation Regression - Introduction - Linear regression model - SPSS and regression - Nonlinear regression - Multiple regression Factor and cluster analysis - Factor analysis - Cluster analysis In conclusion Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading 15. Qualitative Analysis Introduction Data storage and confidentiality Manual methods - Introduction

- Reading - Emergent themes - Mechanics - Analysis Qualitative analysis using computer software - introduction NVivo - Introduction - Running NVivo software - Starting up - Creating a Project - Creating documents - Document attributes - Coding documents - Analysis Summary Questions, Exercises and Further Reading

PART IV REPORTING 16. Reporting Research Results Introduction The importance of the report Actually getting started Beginnings and Endings - Cover and title page - Contents page - Executive summary/synopsis/abstract - Preface/foreword - Acknowledgements - Appendices Main body of the report technical aspects - Section numbering - Heading hierarchy - Paragraph numbering - Page numbering - Typing layout/spacing -Tables, graphics and text - Tables, graphics and text Main body of the report content - Structure - Functions of a report - Audiences and style - The narrative structure - The report as record Other media In conclusion Summary Further Reading Appendices 1. Print and electronic resources for management and business research 2. Increasing response rates in mail surveys 3. Suggested appendix on sample size and confidence intervals 4. Details of SPSS data file used in Chapter 14 5. Cluster analysis data