SOLUTION MANUAL
Research Methods For Business
Students
8th Edition Mark Saunders, Philip
Lewis Chapters 1 - 14, Complete
3
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, 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 diaries54
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
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:
4
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, 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 aMethods afor aBusiness a– aan aoverview aof athe aeighth aedition
Pedagogic a features
The aover-riding apurpose aof aResearch aMethods afor aBusiness aStudents ais ato ahelp
aundergraduate aand apostgraduate astudents aand astudents aon aprofessional
acourses ato aundertake aresearch. aEach achapter adeals awith aa apart aof athe aresearch
aprocess aand adiscusses athe aideas, atechniques aand amethods ausing aas alittle ajargon
aas ais apossible. aTables, achecklists aand adiagrams aare aused ato aaid athis adiscussion.
aWhere anew aterms aare aintroduced afor athe afirst atime, athey aare ashown ain abold, aand
aa adefinition aor aexplanation afollows ashortly aafterwards. aThey aare aalso alisted awith
aa abrief adefinition ain athe aglossary. aThe aapplication aof aappropriate ainformation
atechnology ais aconsidered, ain amost ainstances aas aan aintegral apart aof athe atext.
aChapters ahave abeen across-referenced aas aappropriate, aand aan aindex ais aprovided
atoahelp astudents afind atheir away aaround athe abook.
Focus aon astudent aresearch aboxes aare aincluded awithin athe atext aof aeach
achapter. aThese aare abased aon aactual aresearch aprojects, aundertaken aby astudents,
ain awhich apoints amade ain athe atext aare aillustrated. aIn amany ainstances, athese
aworked aexamples aillustrate apossible apitfalls astudents amay acome aacross awhile
aundertaking atheir aresearch. aWhere aa apitfall ahas abeen aillustrated, ait awill, ait ais
ahoped, ahelp ayour astudents aavoid amaking athe asame amistake. aFurther
aillustrations aare aprovided aby afocus aon amanagement aresearch aand aresearch ain
athe anews aboxes.
Focus aon amanagement aresearch aboxes adiscuss arecent aresearch ain abusiness
aand amanagement. aThese aare anormally aderived afrom arefereed aacademic ajournal
aarticles, aand astudents aare alikely ato abeaable ato adownload athe aactual aarticles afrom
aonline adatabases aat atheir auniversity.
Focus aon aresearch ain athe anews aboxes aprovide atopical anews aarticles athat
5
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, aillustrate apertinent aresearch-related aissues. aAll athese awill ahelp astudents ato
aunderstand athe atechnique aor aidea aand ato aassess aits asuitability aor
aappropriateness ato atheir aresearch. aBoxed achecklists aprovide astudents awith
afurther afocussed aguidance afor atheir aown aresearch.
A asummary aof akey apoints aat athe aend aof aeach achapter acan abe aused aby
astudents abefore aand aafter areading athe achapter ato aensure athat athey ahave
adigested athe amain apoints.
Self-check aquestions aenable astudents ato acheck athey ahave aunderstood athe
achapter. aThese acan aall abe aanswered awithout arecourse ato aother a(external)
aresources. aAnswers aare aprovided ato aall athe aself- acheck aquestions aat athe aend
aof aeach achapter.
Review aand adiscuss aquestions afollow athe aself-check aquestions. aThese asuggest
aa avariety aof aactivities a students a can a undertake a to a help a them a further a develop
a their a knowledge a and a understanding aof athe amaterial ain athe achapter, aoften
ainvolving adiscussion awith aa afriend.
Self-test amultiple achoice aquestions aand atrue/false aquestions afor aeach achapter
aare aavailable aon athis abook’s acompanion awebsite.
All achapters ainclude aa asection atowards athe aend atitled a“Progressing ayour aresearch
aproject” athat acan abe aundertaken aas apart aof athe astudent’s aresearch aproject.
aThese aare apresented ain asufficient adetail ato aenable athem ato afocus aon athe
atechniques athat aare amost aappropriate ato ahis aor aher aresearch. aBy acompleting
aall athese asections, athe astudent awill ahave aalso acompleted ahis aor aher aproject
areport.
Each achapter ais aalso aaccompanied aby areferences, afurther areading aand aa acase astudy.
Further areading ais aincluded afor atwo adistinct areasons:
▪ to adirect astudents ato aother awork aon athe aideas acontained awithin athe achapter;
▪ to a direct a students a to a further a examples a of a research a where a the a ideas
a contained a in a the a chapterahave abeen aused.
Case astudies aat athe aend aof aeach achapter aare aall anew ato athe aeighth aedition. aThey
ahave abeen adrawn afrom aa avariety aof abusiness aand amanagement aresearch ascenarios
aand ahave abeen abased aon athe acase astudy’s aauthors’ astudents’ aexperiences awhen
aundertaking aa aresearch aproject. aThey ahave abeen awritten ato ahighlight areal
aissues athat aoccur awhen aundertaking abusiness aand amanagement aresearch. aTo ahelp
afocus astudents’ athoughts aor adiscussion aon asome aof athe apertinent aissues, aeach acase
ais afollowed aby aevaluative aquestions, aanswers ato awhich aare aprovided aon athe
aInstructors’ aCompanion aWeb aSite. aA acase astudy afollows aevery achapter. aA afurther
a75 acase astudies afrom aearlier aeditions aof athe abook aare aavailable aon athe aStudents’
aCompanion aWeb aSite; aanswers ato athese acases aare aprovided aon athe
aInstructors’ aCompanion aWeb aSite. aA acomplete alist aof athese acases ais aprovided ain
aAppendix a4.
6
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
Research Methods For Business
Students
8th Edition Mark Saunders, Philip
Lewis Chapters 1 - 14, Complete
3
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, 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 diaries54
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
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:
4
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, 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 aMethods afor aBusiness a– aan aoverview aof athe aeighth aedition
Pedagogic a features
The aover-riding apurpose aof aResearch aMethods afor aBusiness aStudents ais ato ahelp
aundergraduate aand apostgraduate astudents aand astudents aon aprofessional
acourses ato aundertake aresearch. aEach achapter adeals awith aa apart aof athe aresearch
aprocess aand adiscusses athe aideas, atechniques aand amethods ausing aas alittle ajargon
aas ais apossible. aTables, achecklists aand adiagrams aare aused ato aaid athis adiscussion.
aWhere anew aterms aare aintroduced afor athe afirst atime, athey aare ashown ain abold, aand
aa adefinition aor aexplanation afollows ashortly aafterwards. aThey aare aalso alisted awith
aa abrief adefinition ain athe aglossary. aThe aapplication aof aappropriate ainformation
atechnology ais aconsidered, ain amost ainstances aas aan aintegral apart aof athe atext.
aChapters ahave abeen across-referenced aas aappropriate, aand aan aindex ais aprovided
atoahelp astudents afind atheir away aaround athe abook.
Focus aon astudent aresearch aboxes aare aincluded awithin athe atext aof aeach
achapter. aThese aare abased aon aactual aresearch aprojects, aundertaken aby astudents,
ain awhich apoints amade ain athe atext aare aillustrated. aIn amany ainstances, athese
aworked aexamples aillustrate apossible apitfalls astudents amay acome aacross awhile
aundertaking atheir aresearch. aWhere aa apitfall ahas abeen aillustrated, ait awill, ait ais
ahoped, ahelp ayour astudents aavoid amaking athe asame amistake. aFurther
aillustrations aare aprovided aby afocus aon amanagement aresearch aand aresearch ain
athe anews aboxes.
Focus aon amanagement aresearch aboxes adiscuss arecent aresearch ain abusiness
aand amanagement. aThese aare anormally aderived afrom arefereed aacademic ajournal
aarticles, aand astudents aare alikely ato abeaable ato adownload athe aactual aarticles afrom
aonline adatabases aat atheir auniversity.
Focus aon aresearch ain athe anews aboxes aprovide atopical anews aarticles athat
5
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, aillustrate apertinent aresearch-related aissues. aAll athese awill ahelp astudents ato
aunderstand athe atechnique aor aidea aand ato aassess aits asuitability aor
aappropriateness ato atheir aresearch. aBoxed achecklists aprovide astudents awith
afurther afocussed aguidance afor atheir aown aresearch.
A asummary aof akey apoints aat athe aend aof aeach achapter acan abe aused aby
astudents abefore aand aafter areading athe achapter ato aensure athat athey ahave
adigested athe amain apoints.
Self-check aquestions aenable astudents ato acheck athey ahave aunderstood athe
achapter. aThese acan aall abe aanswered awithout arecourse ato aother a(external)
aresources. aAnswers aare aprovided ato aall athe aself- acheck aquestions aat athe aend
aof aeach achapter.
Review aand adiscuss aquestions afollow athe aself-check aquestions. aThese asuggest
aa avariety aof aactivities a students a can a undertake a to a help a them a further a develop
a their a knowledge a and a understanding aof athe amaterial ain athe achapter, aoften
ainvolving adiscussion awith aa afriend.
Self-test amultiple achoice aquestions aand atrue/false aquestions afor aeach achapter
aare aavailable aon athis abook’s acompanion awebsite.
All achapters ainclude aa asection atowards athe aend atitled a“Progressing ayour aresearch
aproject” athat acan abe aundertaken aas apart aof athe astudent’s aresearch aproject.
aThese aare apresented ain asufficient adetail ato aenable athem ato afocus aon athe
atechniques athat aare amost aappropriate ato ahis aor aher aresearch. aBy acompleting
aall athese asections, athe astudent awill ahave aalso acompleted ahis aor aher aproject
areport.
Each achapter ais aalso aaccompanied aby areferences, afurther areading aand aa acase astudy.
Further areading ais aincluded afor atwo adistinct areasons:
▪ to adirect astudents ato aother awork aon athe aideas acontained awithin athe achapter;
▪ to a direct a students a to a further a examples a of a research a where a the a ideas
a contained a in a the a chapterahave abeen aused.
Case astudies aat athe aend aof aeach achapter aare aall anew ato athe aeighth aedition. aThey
ahave abeen adrawn afrom aa avariety aof abusiness aand amanagement aresearch ascenarios
aand ahave abeen abased aon athe acase astudy’s aauthors’ astudents’ aexperiences awhen
aundertaking aa aresearch aproject. aThey ahave abeen awritten ato ahighlight areal
aissues athat aoccur awhen aundertaking abusiness aand amanagement aresearch. aTo ahelp
afocus astudents’ athoughts aor adiscussion aon asome aof athe apertinent aissues, aeach acase
ais afollowed aby aevaluative aquestions, aanswers ato awhich aare aprovided aon athe
aInstructors’ aCompanion aWeb aSite. aA acase astudy afollows aevery achapter. aA afurther
a75 acase astudies afrom aearlier aeditions aof athe abook aare aavailable aon athe aStudents’
aCompanion aWeb aSite; aanswers ato athese acases aare aprovided aon athe
aInstructors’ aCompanion aWeb aSite. aA acomplete alist aof athese acases ais aprovided ain
aAppendix a4.
6
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
