Doing Research in Business and
Management
An essential guide to planning your project
Mark Saunders and Philip Lewis
ISBN: 978-1-292-13353-2
Summary:
Chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
Additional notes from teachers
All information provided in this summary is derived from the book of Saunders and Lewis, some
additional notes from the teachers are added. All definitions are directly copied from the book.
Some chapter include a mind map, after the summary has been studied your knowledge can be
tested to the mind map. At the end of this document all definitions are listed in alphabetical order
where you can test if you are familiar with all definitions.
Created and copy righted by L. ten Bosch.
Further distributing of this summary is illegal due to copy rights.
,Chapter 1. Choosing your research topic
Studying research develops the following competencies:
- Individuality
- Ingenuity
- Imagination
- Resourcefulness
- Personal organisational skills
1.2
Why choosing the right research topic is so important?
- You have to life with it
o You will become intimately familiar with the topic
o There is (normally) no going back
o Choose the right topic
- It will be better choosing a topic that will both exploit and develop your knowledge and skills
o What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?
o What knowledge and skills do you think you will need in the future?
o What resources can you drawn upon to help? (Or which resources you don’t?
▪ Money, time, lectures, experts
o Will your choice of topic help you pass the whole course?
1.3
choosing a research topic is difficult because
- There is simply too much choice
- The fear it will be too difficult
- The fear that it will be insufficiently theoretical
- The temptation to re-use work you have already done
1.4
There are 10 ways to generate ideas for a research topic.
1. Thinking
2. Looking at past project titles
3. Using past projects. Use the following four steps to select one.
Step 1: Select six projects you like
Step 2: Answer the following questions:
a) What appeals about the project
b) What is good about the project?
c) Why is the project good?
Step 3: Select the three least appealing
, Step 4: answer the following questions
a) What do you dislike about the project?
b) What is bad about the project?
c) Why is the project bad
4. Using past course assignments
5. Using relevant literature
6. Following the news media
7. Brainstorming
a technique that can be used to generate and refine research ideas. It is best undertaken in a group
of people. The following five steps are very important
1. Do record as many suggestions as possible
2. Do record all suggestions, also when they seem bad or off the wall
3. Don’t criticise or evaluate any ideas until they have been considered
4. Do consider all the suggestions and explore the precise meaning of each of them
5. Do analyse the list of suggestions and decide which appeal to you most as a research idea
and why
8. Concept mapping
a diagram which represent visually the way we organize our thoughts about a set of related ideas.
9. Making a note of ideas.
10. Discussion with colleagues, friends and lecturers.
1.5
How to refine research topic ideas?
- The following topics may occur
o You don’t like the topic
o You have to dive into new topics outside your current knowledge
o You promise to deliver research outcomes to your employer and not do so
- The preliminary study
The process by which a research idea is refined in order to turn it into a research project.
It is similar to using relevant literature and following in the media and it helps you to decide
if the research project will be viable.
- The Delphi technique
A technique which can be used within a group of people who are either involved or
interested in the research topic to generate and select a more specific research idea. The
following six steps need to be performed:
1. Explain your research idea to the members of the group
2. Encourage group members at the end of your explanation to seek clarification and
more information as appropriate
3. Ask each and every member, to generate independently up to three specific research
ideas based on the idea that has been described.
4. Collect the research ideas in an unedited and non-attributable form and distribute all
of them to all members of the group
5. Repeat step 2-4l individuals comment on research ideas, and revise own
contributions
, 6. Repeat 2-5 until a consensus is reached. Use discussions, voting or other methods.
- Narrowing down
One useful way of moving from the general to a specific research idea is to think of yyour
research ideas as developing through a process which goes through three stages of idea
classifications:
1. The general area
2. The more specific field
3. The precise focus of the research
1.6
What makes a good research topic?
- It is a topic about which you are enthusiastic and which matches your career goals
- There are resources available, particularly data and time
- The subject is topical
- Whatever the outcome, you still have a worthwhile project
- The topic fits the specifications and will meet the assessment criteria set by the university
- There is a clear link to the relevant literature
- Fresh insights into the topic are provided
- Research questions and objectives are capable of being stated clearly.
1.7
Step 1: is settling on a suitable research idea.
Step 2: is to create and develop research questions.
Research question the overall question or number of key questions that the research
process will address. These are often the precursor of the research
objective.
Research Question
- That give descriptive answers + Meet standards of project owner
- Too difficult + Clear link to relevant literature
+ Fresh insights
+ Subject to goldilocks test
Goldilocks test is used to describe if a research question is ‘too big’, ‘too small’, ‘to hot’(sensitive), or
‘just right’.
Russian doll principle means that the research can be broken down from the original statement to
something which strips away all the complicated layers and obscurities until the heart of the question
can be expressed.
Step 3: is to create research objectives
Research objectives clear, specific statement that identify what the research process
seeks to achieve as a result of doing a research.
Research objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reliable, and Timely)
Theory plays a big role in developing research questions. Theory is not:
- Lots of data
- List of variables
- Numerous hypothesis
- Pages of references
- Frequent use of diagrams
Management
An essential guide to planning your project
Mark Saunders and Philip Lewis
ISBN: 978-1-292-13353-2
Summary:
Chapters: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
Additional notes from teachers
All information provided in this summary is derived from the book of Saunders and Lewis, some
additional notes from the teachers are added. All definitions are directly copied from the book.
Some chapter include a mind map, after the summary has been studied your knowledge can be
tested to the mind map. At the end of this document all definitions are listed in alphabetical order
where you can test if you are familiar with all definitions.
Created and copy righted by L. ten Bosch.
Further distributing of this summary is illegal due to copy rights.
,Chapter 1. Choosing your research topic
Studying research develops the following competencies:
- Individuality
- Ingenuity
- Imagination
- Resourcefulness
- Personal organisational skills
1.2
Why choosing the right research topic is so important?
- You have to life with it
o You will become intimately familiar with the topic
o There is (normally) no going back
o Choose the right topic
- It will be better choosing a topic that will both exploit and develop your knowledge and skills
o What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?
o What knowledge and skills do you think you will need in the future?
o What resources can you drawn upon to help? (Or which resources you don’t?
▪ Money, time, lectures, experts
o Will your choice of topic help you pass the whole course?
1.3
choosing a research topic is difficult because
- There is simply too much choice
- The fear it will be too difficult
- The fear that it will be insufficiently theoretical
- The temptation to re-use work you have already done
1.4
There are 10 ways to generate ideas for a research topic.
1. Thinking
2. Looking at past project titles
3. Using past projects. Use the following four steps to select one.
Step 1: Select six projects you like
Step 2: Answer the following questions:
a) What appeals about the project
b) What is good about the project?
c) Why is the project good?
Step 3: Select the three least appealing
, Step 4: answer the following questions
a) What do you dislike about the project?
b) What is bad about the project?
c) Why is the project bad
4. Using past course assignments
5. Using relevant literature
6. Following the news media
7. Brainstorming
a technique that can be used to generate and refine research ideas. It is best undertaken in a group
of people. The following five steps are very important
1. Do record as many suggestions as possible
2. Do record all suggestions, also when they seem bad or off the wall
3. Don’t criticise or evaluate any ideas until they have been considered
4. Do consider all the suggestions and explore the precise meaning of each of them
5. Do analyse the list of suggestions and decide which appeal to you most as a research idea
and why
8. Concept mapping
a diagram which represent visually the way we organize our thoughts about a set of related ideas.
9. Making a note of ideas.
10. Discussion with colleagues, friends and lecturers.
1.5
How to refine research topic ideas?
- The following topics may occur
o You don’t like the topic
o You have to dive into new topics outside your current knowledge
o You promise to deliver research outcomes to your employer and not do so
- The preliminary study
The process by which a research idea is refined in order to turn it into a research project.
It is similar to using relevant literature and following in the media and it helps you to decide
if the research project will be viable.
- The Delphi technique
A technique which can be used within a group of people who are either involved or
interested in the research topic to generate and select a more specific research idea. The
following six steps need to be performed:
1. Explain your research idea to the members of the group
2. Encourage group members at the end of your explanation to seek clarification and
more information as appropriate
3. Ask each and every member, to generate independently up to three specific research
ideas based on the idea that has been described.
4. Collect the research ideas in an unedited and non-attributable form and distribute all
of them to all members of the group
5. Repeat step 2-4l individuals comment on research ideas, and revise own
contributions
, 6. Repeat 2-5 until a consensus is reached. Use discussions, voting or other methods.
- Narrowing down
One useful way of moving from the general to a specific research idea is to think of yyour
research ideas as developing through a process which goes through three stages of idea
classifications:
1. The general area
2. The more specific field
3. The precise focus of the research
1.6
What makes a good research topic?
- It is a topic about which you are enthusiastic and which matches your career goals
- There are resources available, particularly data and time
- The subject is topical
- Whatever the outcome, you still have a worthwhile project
- The topic fits the specifications and will meet the assessment criteria set by the university
- There is a clear link to the relevant literature
- Fresh insights into the topic are provided
- Research questions and objectives are capable of being stated clearly.
1.7
Step 1: is settling on a suitable research idea.
Step 2: is to create and develop research questions.
Research question the overall question or number of key questions that the research
process will address. These are often the precursor of the research
objective.
Research Question
- That give descriptive answers + Meet standards of project owner
- Too difficult + Clear link to relevant literature
+ Fresh insights
+ Subject to goldilocks test
Goldilocks test is used to describe if a research question is ‘too big’, ‘too small’, ‘to hot’(sensitive), or
‘just right’.
Russian doll principle means that the research can be broken down from the original statement to
something which strips away all the complicated layers and obscurities until the heart of the question
can be expressed.
Step 3: is to create research objectives
Research objectives clear, specific statement that identify what the research process
seeks to achieve as a result of doing a research.
Research objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reliable, and Timely)
Theory plays a big role in developing research questions. Theory is not:
- Lots of data
- List of variables
- Numerous hypothesis
- Pages of references
- Frequent use of diagrams
