Instructor’s Manual Research Methods for Business Students Eighth edition Mark NK Saunders

Instructor’s Manual Research Methods for Business Students Eighth edition Mark NK Saunders Contents Chapters Pages Introduction 5 1 Business and management research, reflective diaries and the purpose of this book 15 2 Choosing a research topic and developing your research proposal 19 3 Critically reviewing the literature 23 4 Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development 27 5 Formulating the research design 32 6 Negotiating access and research ethics 36 7 Selecting samples 40 8 Utilising secondary data 44 9 Collecting data through observation 48 10 Collecting primary data using research interviews and research diaries 54 11 Collecting primary data using questionnaires 59 12 Analysing data quantitatively 63 13 Analysing data qualitatively 68 14 Writing and presenting your project report 72 Appendix 75 1 Research project assignment 75 2 Group poster research project assignment 80 3 Research proposal assignment 84 4 Additional cases on the companion website 89 4 © Pearson Education Limited 2019 5 © Pearson Education Limited 2019 INTRODUCTION An overview of the instructors’ manual This instructors’ manual provides commentary for the eighth edition of the textbook Research Methods for Business Students. The commentary is on a chapter by chapter basis and includes: • chapter learning outcomes; • summary of the content; • comments on likely student reactions and possible use of materials; • ideas for students’ preparatory work; • suggestions for delivery in the classroom; • ideas for students’ follow-up work. In addition, we have included a copy of a research project assignment, a group research project poster assignment and a copy of a dissertation proposal assignment as appendices. Research Methods for Business – an overview of the eighth edition Pedagogic features The over-riding purpose of Research Methods for Business Students is to help undergraduate and postgraduate students and students on professional courses to undertake research. Each chapter deals with a part of the research process and discusses the ideas, techniques and methods using as little jargon as is possible. Tables, checklists and diagrams are used to aid this discussion. Where new terms are introduced for the first time, they are shown in bold, and a definition or explanation follows shortly afterwards. They are also listed with a brief definition in the glossary. The application of appropriate information technology is considered, in most instances as an integral part of the text. Chapters have been cross-referenced as appropriate, and an index is provided to help students find their way around the book. Focus on student research boxes are included within the text of each chapter. These are based on actual research projects, undertaken by students, in which points made in the text are illustrated. In many instances, these worked examples illustrate possible pitfalls students may come across while undertaking their research. Where a pitfall has been illustrated, it will, it is hoped, help your students avoid making the same mistake. Further illustrations are provided by focus on management research and research in the news boxes. Focus on management research boxes discuss recent research in business and management. These are normally derived from refereed academic journal articles, and students are likely to be able to download the actual articles from online databases at their university. Focus on research in the news boxes provide topical news articles that illustrate pertinent research-related issues. All these will help students to understand the technique or idea and to assess its suitability or appropriateness to their research. Boxed checklists provide students with further focussed guidance for their own research. Saunders, Research Methods for Business Students, 8e, Instructor’s Manual 6 © Pearson Education Limited 2019 A summary of key points at the end of each chapter can be used by students before and after reading the chapter to ensure that they have digested the main points. Self-check questions enable students to check they have understood the chapter. These can all be answered without recourse to other (external) resources. Answers are provided to all the selfcheck questions at the end of each chapter. Review and discuss questions follow the self-check questions. These suggest a variety of activities students can undertake to help them further develop their knowledge and understanding of the material in the chapter, often involving discussion with a friend. Self-test multiple choice questions and true/false questions for each chapter are available on this book’s companion website. All chapters include a section towards the end titled “Progressing your research project” that can be undertaken as part of the student’s research project. These are presented in sufficient detail to enable them to focus on the techniques that are most appropriate to his or her research. By completing all these sections, the student will have also completed his or her project report. Each chapter is also accompanied by references, further reading and a case study. Further reading is included for two distinct reasons:  to direct students to other work on the ideas contained within the chapter;  to direct students to further examples of research where the ideas contained in the chapter have been used. Case studies at the end of each chapter are all new to the eighth edition. They have been drawn from a variety of business and management research scenarios and have been based on the case study’s authors’ students’ experiences when undertaking a research project. They have been written to highlight real issues that occur when undertaking business and management research. To help focus students’ thoughts or discussion on some of the pertinent issues, each case is followed by evaluative questions, answers to which are provided on the Instructors’ Companion Web Site. A case study follows every chapter. A further 75 case studies from earlier editions of the book are available on the Students’ Companion Web Site; answers to these cases are provided on the Instructors’ Companion Web Site. A complete list of these cases is provided in Appendix 4. Contents Chapter 1 outlines the nature of research and, more specifically, of business and management research. The basic versus applied research and relevance debates are considered and advice offered regarding keeping a reflective diary or notebook. The chapter concludes with an overview of the purpose and structure of the book. Chapter 2 is written to assist students in the generation of ideas, which will help them to choose a suitable research topic, and offers advice on what makes a good research topic. If your students have already been given a research topic, perhaps by an organisation or tutor, they will need to refine it into one that is feasible and should still therefore read this chapter. After their idea has been generated and refined, the chapter discusses how to turn this idea into clear research question(s) and objectives. (Research questions and objectives are referred to throughout the book.) Finally, the chapter provides advice on how to write a research proposal.