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 fMethods ffor fBusiness f– fan foverview fof fthe feighth fedition
Pedagogic f features
The fover-riding fpurpose fof fResearch fMethods ffor fBusiness fStudents fis fto fhelp
fundergraduate fand fpostgraduate fstudents fand fstudents fon fprofessional fcourses
fto fundertake fresearch. fEach fchapter fdeals fwith fa fpart fof fthe fresearch fprocess fand
fdiscusses fthe fideas, ftechniques fand fmethods fusing fas flittle fjargon fas fis fpossible.
fTables, fchecklists fand fdiagrams fare fused fto faid fthis fdiscussion. fWhere fnew fterms
fare fintroduced ffor fthe ffirst ftime, fthey fare fshown fin fbold, fand fa fdefinition for
fexplanation ffollows fshortly fafterwards. fThey fare falso flisted fwith fa fbrief fdefinition
fin fthe fglossary. fThe fapplication fof fappropriate finformation ftechnology fis
fconsidered, fin fmost finstances fas fan fintegral fpart fof fthe ftext. fChapters fhave fbeen
fcross-referenced fas fappropriate, fand fan findex fis fprovided fto fhelp fstudents ffind
ftheir fway faround fthe fbook.
Focus fon fstudent fresearch fboxes fare fincluded fwithin fthe ftext fof feach fchapter.
fThese fare fbased fon factual fresearch fprojects, fundertaken fby fstudents, fin fwhich
fpoints fmade fin fthe ftext fare fillustrated. fIn fmany finstances, fthese fworked
fexamples fillustrate fpossible fpitfalls fstudents fmay fcome facross fwhile fundertaking
ftheir fresearch. fWhere fa fpitfall fhas fbeen fillustrated, fit fwill, fit fis fhoped, fhelp fyour
fstudents favoid fmaking fthe fsame fmistake. fFurther fillustrations fare fprovided fby
ffocus fon fmanagement fresearch fand fresearch fin fthe fnews fboxes.
Focus fon fmanagement fresearch fboxes fdiscuss frecent fresearch fin fbusiness fand
fmanagement. fThese fare fnormally fderived ffrom frefereed facademic fjournal farticles,
fand fstudents fare flikely fto fbe fable fto fdownload fthe factual farticles ffrom fonline
fdatabases fat ftheir funiversity.
Focus fon fresearch fin fthe fnews fboxes fprovide ftopical fnews farticles fthat
fillustrate fpertinent fresearch-related fissues. fAll fthese fwill fhelp fstudents fto
5
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, funderstand fthe ftechnique for fidea fand fto fassess fits fsuitability for fappropriateness
fto ftheir fresearch. fBoxed fchecklists fprovide fstudents fwith ffurther ffocussed
fguidance ffor ftheir fown fresearch.
A fsummary fof fkey fpoints fat fthe fend fof feach fchapter fcan fbe fused fby fstudents
fbefore fand fafter freading fthe fchapter fto fensure fthat fthey fhave fdigested fthe fmain
fpoints.
Self-check fquestions fenable fstudents fto fcheck fthey fhave funderstood fthe fchapter.
fThese fcan fall fbe fanswered fwithout frecourse fto fother f(external) fresources. fAnswers
fare fprovided fto fall fthe fself- fcheck fquestions fat fthe fend fof feach fchapter.
Review fand fdiscuss fquestions ffollow fthe fself-check fquestions. fThese fsuggest fa
fvariety fof factivities f students f can f undertake f to f help f them f further f develop f their
f knowledge f and f understanding fof fthe fmaterial fin fthe fchapter, foften finvolving
fdiscussion fwith fa ffriend.
Self-test fmultiple fchoice fquestions fand ftrue/false fquestions ffor feach fchapter fare
favailable fon fthis fbook’s fcompanion fwebsite.
All fchapters finclude fa fsection ftowards fthe fend ftitled f“Progressing fyour fresearch
fproject” fthat fcan fbe fundertaken fas fpart fof fthe fstudent’s fresearch fproject. fThese
fare fpresented fin fsufficient fdetail fto fenable fthem fto ffocus fon fthe ftechniques fthat
fare fmost fappropriate fto fhis for fher fresearch. fBy fcompleting fall fthese fsections, fthe
fstudent fwill fhave falso fcompleted fhis for fher fproject freport.
Each fchapter fis falso faccompanied fby freferences, ffurther freading fand fa fcase fstudy.
Further freading fis fincluded ffor ftwo fdistinct freasons:
▪ to fdirect fstudents fto fother fwork fon fthe fideas fcontained fwithin fthe fchapter;
▪ to f direct f students f to f further f examples f of f research f where f the f ideas
f contained f in f the f chapterfhave fbeen fused.
Case fstudies fat fthe fend fof feach fchapter fare fall fnew fto fthe feighth fedition. fThey fhave
fbeen fdrawn ffrom fa fvariety fof fbusiness fand fmanagement fresearch fscenarios fand
fhave fbeen fbased fon fthe fcase fstudy’s fauthors’ fstudents’ fexperiences fwhen
fundertaking fa fresearch fproject. fThey fhave fbeen fwritten fto fhighlight freal fissues
fthat foccur fwhen fundertaking fbusiness fand fmanagement fresearch. fTo fhelp ffocus
fstudents’ fthoughts for fdiscussion fon fsome fof fthe fpertinent fissues, feach fcase fis
ffollowed fby fevaluative fquestions, fanswers fto fwhich fare fprovided fon fthe fInstructors’
fCompanion fWeb fSite. fA fcase fstudy ffollows fevery fchapter. fA ffurther f75 fcase fstudies
ffrom fearlier feditions fof fthe fbook fare favailable fon fthe fStudents’ fCompanion fWeb
fSite; fanswers fto fthese fcases fare fprovided fon fthe fInstructors’ fCompanion fWeb
fSite. fA fcomplete flist fof fthese fcases fis fprovided fin fAppendix f4.
Contents
Chapter f1 foutlines fthe fnature fof fresearch fand, fmore fspecifically, fof fbusiness fand
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 fMethods ffor fBusiness f– fan foverview fof fthe feighth fedition
Pedagogic f features
The fover-riding fpurpose fof fResearch fMethods ffor fBusiness fStudents fis fto fhelp
fundergraduate fand fpostgraduate fstudents fand fstudents fon fprofessional fcourses
fto fundertake fresearch. fEach fchapter fdeals fwith fa fpart fof fthe fresearch fprocess fand
fdiscusses fthe fideas, ftechniques fand fmethods fusing fas flittle fjargon fas fis fpossible.
fTables, fchecklists fand fdiagrams fare fused fto faid fthis fdiscussion. fWhere fnew fterms
fare fintroduced ffor fthe ffirst ftime, fthey fare fshown fin fbold, fand fa fdefinition for
fexplanation ffollows fshortly fafterwards. fThey fare falso flisted fwith fa fbrief fdefinition
fin fthe fglossary. fThe fapplication fof fappropriate finformation ftechnology fis
fconsidered, fin fmost finstances fas fan fintegral fpart fof fthe ftext. fChapters fhave fbeen
fcross-referenced fas fappropriate, fand fan findex fis fprovided fto fhelp fstudents ffind
ftheir fway faround fthe fbook.
Focus fon fstudent fresearch fboxes fare fincluded fwithin fthe ftext fof feach fchapter.
fThese fare fbased fon factual fresearch fprojects, fundertaken fby fstudents, fin fwhich
fpoints fmade fin fthe ftext fare fillustrated. fIn fmany finstances, fthese fworked
fexamples fillustrate fpossible fpitfalls fstudents fmay fcome facross fwhile fundertaking
ftheir fresearch. fWhere fa fpitfall fhas fbeen fillustrated, fit fwill, fit fis fhoped, fhelp fyour
fstudents favoid fmaking fthe fsame fmistake. fFurther fillustrations fare fprovided fby
ffocus fon fmanagement fresearch fand fresearch fin fthe fnews fboxes.
Focus fon fmanagement fresearch fboxes fdiscuss frecent fresearch fin fbusiness fand
fmanagement. fThese fare fnormally fderived ffrom frefereed facademic fjournal farticles,
fand fstudents fare flikely fto fbe fable fto fdownload fthe factual farticles ffrom fonline
fdatabases fat ftheir funiversity.
Focus fon fresearch fin fthe fnews fboxes fprovide ftopical fnews farticles fthat
fillustrate fpertinent fresearch-related fissues. fAll fthese fwill fhelp fstudents fto
5
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, funderstand fthe ftechnique for fidea fand fto fassess fits fsuitability for fappropriateness
fto ftheir fresearch. fBoxed fchecklists fprovide fstudents fwith ffurther ffocussed
fguidance ffor ftheir fown fresearch.
A fsummary fof fkey fpoints fat fthe fend fof feach fchapter fcan fbe fused fby fstudents
fbefore fand fafter freading fthe fchapter fto fensure fthat fthey fhave fdigested fthe fmain
fpoints.
Self-check fquestions fenable fstudents fto fcheck fthey fhave funderstood fthe fchapter.
fThese fcan fall fbe fanswered fwithout frecourse fto fother f(external) fresources. fAnswers
fare fprovided fto fall fthe fself- fcheck fquestions fat fthe fend fof feach fchapter.
Review fand fdiscuss fquestions ffollow fthe fself-check fquestions. fThese fsuggest fa
fvariety fof factivities f students f can f undertake f to f help f them f further f develop f their
f knowledge f and f understanding fof fthe fmaterial fin fthe fchapter, foften finvolving
fdiscussion fwith fa ffriend.
Self-test fmultiple fchoice fquestions fand ftrue/false fquestions ffor feach fchapter fare
favailable fon fthis fbook’s fcompanion fwebsite.
All fchapters finclude fa fsection ftowards fthe fend ftitled f“Progressing fyour fresearch
fproject” fthat fcan fbe fundertaken fas fpart fof fthe fstudent’s fresearch fproject. fThese
fare fpresented fin fsufficient fdetail fto fenable fthem fto ffocus fon fthe ftechniques fthat
fare fmost fappropriate fto fhis for fher fresearch. fBy fcompleting fall fthese fsections, fthe
fstudent fwill fhave falso fcompleted fhis for fher fproject freport.
Each fchapter fis falso faccompanied fby freferences, ffurther freading fand fa fcase fstudy.
Further freading fis fincluded ffor ftwo fdistinct freasons:
▪ to fdirect fstudents fto fother fwork fon fthe fideas fcontained fwithin fthe fchapter;
▪ to f direct f students f to f further f examples f of f research f where f the f ideas
f contained f in f the f chapterfhave fbeen fused.
Case fstudies fat fthe fend fof feach fchapter fare fall fnew fto fthe feighth fedition. fThey fhave
fbeen fdrawn ffrom fa fvariety fof fbusiness fand fmanagement fresearch fscenarios fand
fhave fbeen fbased fon fthe fcase fstudy’s fauthors’ fstudents’ fexperiences fwhen
fundertaking fa fresearch fproject. fThey fhave fbeen fwritten fto fhighlight freal fissues
fthat foccur fwhen fundertaking fbusiness fand fmanagement fresearch. fTo fhelp ffocus
fstudents’ fthoughts for fdiscussion fon fsome fof fthe fpertinent fissues, feach fcase fis
ffollowed fby fevaluative fquestions, fanswers fto fwhich fare fprovided fon fthe fInstructors’
fCompanion fWeb fSite. fA fcase fstudy ffollows fevery fchapter. fA ffurther f75 fcase fstudies
ffrom fearlier feditions fof fthe fbook fare favailable fon fthe fStudents’ fCompanion fWeb
fSite; fanswers fto fthese fcases fare fprovided fon fthe fInstructors’ fCompanion fWeb
fSite. fA fcomplete flist fof fthese fcases fis fprovided fin fAppendix f4.
Contents
Chapter f1 foutlines fthe fnature fof fresearch fand, fmore fspecifically, fof fbusiness fand
6
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
