Lessons in Geometry, Volume I. Plane Geometry

The market-leading textbook that offers clear, robust and pragmatic guidance on your dissertation or research project. Ranked as the most highly cited text in Business, Marketing, Accounting & Economics! According to the Financial Times' Teaching Power Rankings (research by Open Syllabus) With over 500,000 copies sold, Research Methods for Business Students by Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill is the definitive textbook for Business, Marketing, and Management students conducting a research-led project or dissertation. This fully revised 9th edition provides excellent coverage guiding you through the entire process, from deciding on a research topic to writing your dissertation or project and presenting your academic poster. By taking a transactional approach, the textbook will help you choose your project through critically reviewing the literature and designing your research, answering key questions such as: How do I generate a research idea and design my research? How do I review the literature critically? Why is research philosophy relevant to my research? How do I collect and analyse my data? When and what do I need to write? How can I do research virtually? This comprehensive guide to conducting research will support you step-by-step at every stage of the process, offering a wealth of thought-provoking features and activities, such as tips and tricks from other students' experiences on their research projects and a complete glossary of terms. It provides case studies, news, and articles based on the latest virtual and face-to-face methods, discussing how research is used in practice within organisations worldwide. Self-study prompts will further encourage you to apply what you have learned to your own research project. Get data-confident with the worked examples, self-test questions, and downloadable datasets, and take the Heightening Awareness of Research Philosophy survey (HARP) to understand more about your own research philosophy and how it affects ... Front Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Brief contents Contents How to use this book Preface Contributors 1 Research, reflective diaries and the purpose of this book Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The nature of research 1.3 Business and management research 1.4 The research process 1.5 Keeping a reflective diary or research notebook 1.6 The purpose and structure of this book 1.7 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Starting your reflective diary or notebook References Further reading Case 1: A reflective journal? . . . About research? . . . Where do I even begin? Emily A Morrison Self-check answers 2 Generating a research idea and developing your research proposal Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Characteristics of good research ideas 2.3 Generating research ideas 2.4 Refining research ideas 2.5 Developing your overarching research question 2.6 Writing a research aim and set of research objectives 2.7 The importance of theory 2.8 The need for a research proposal 2.9 Structuring your research proposal 2.10 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Choosing a research topic and developing your research proposal References Further reading Case 2: Keza's research aim formulation Adina Dudau Self-check answers 3 Critically reviewing the literature Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Being 'critical' and the purposes and forms of review 3.3 The content and structure of a critical review 3.4 Literature sources 3.5 Planning your literature search 3.6 Conducting your literature search 3.7 Reading critically and evaluating the literature 3.8 Note-taking and referencing 3.9 Using systematic review 3.10 Drafting the critical review 3.11 A note about plagiarism 3.12 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Critically reviewing the literature References Further reading Case 3: Shaping powerful questions when reviewing the literature Mat Hughes Self-check answers 4 Understanding research philosophy and approaches to theory development Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill and Alexandra Bristow Learning outcomes 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The philosophical underpinnings of business and management 4.3 Research paradigms 4.4 Five management philosophies 4.5 Approaches to theory development 4.6 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Heightening your Awareness of your Research Philosophy (HARP) References Further reading Case 4: Working out your philosophical assumptions Natasha Mauthner Self-check answers 5 Formulating the research design Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Achieving a coherent research design 5.3 The research purpose 5.4 Methodological choice: choosing a quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods research design 5.5 Developing a coherent research strategy 5.6 Considering time horizons 5.7 Anticipating potential ethical issues 5.8 Assessing the quality of research design 5.9 Recognishing your role as researcher 5.10 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Deciding on your research design References Further reading Case 5: Internationalizing strategy: Developing small firms and their local communities via engaged scholarship Fariba Darabi and Jonathan M Scott Self-check answers 6 Negotiating access and research ethics Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Characteristics of access 6.3 Researcher status 6.4 Internet-mediated access 6.5 Strategies to gain access 6.6 Research ethics and acting ethically 6.7 Ethical issues at specific research stages 6.8 Data protection principles 6.9 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Negotiating access and addressing ethical issues References Further reading Case 6: Onboarding practices and employee retention Josephine LaPointe Self-check answers 7 Selecting samples Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The need to sample 7.3 An overview of sampling procedures 7.4 Probability sampling - sampling frame 7.5 Probability sampling - sample size 7.6 Probability sampling - procedures 7.7 Probability sampling - representativeness 7.8 Non-probability sampling - sample size 7.9 Non-probability sampling - procedures 7.10 Mixed and multi-stage sampling designs 7.11 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Using sampling as part of your research References Further reading Case 7: Female ride share app drivers' careers in Tehran Mina Beigi, Shahrzad Nayyeri and Melika Shirmohamma Self-check answers 8 Obtaining and evaluating secondary data Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Types of secondary data and uses in research 8.3 Advantages of secondary data 8.4 Disadvantages of secondary data 8.5 Searching for and locating secondary data 8.6 Evaluating and selecting secondary data sources 8.7 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Assessing utility, selecting and incorporating secondary data in your research References Further reading Case 8: Investigating refugees' challenges in setting up a business Megan Miralles, Marc Stierand and Viktor Dorfler Self-check answers 9 Collecting primary data using observation Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Observation choices 9.3 Participant observation 9.4 Structured observation 9.5 Internet-mediated observation 9.6 Recording video 9.7 Creating static images 9.8 Audio recording 9.9 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Deciding on the appropriateness of observation References Further reading Case 9: Observing leadership and team dynamics using simulation Trevor Morrow Self-check answers 10 Collecting primary data using interviews and diaries Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Standardisation and structure in questioning 10.3 Interview mediums and modes 10.4 The potential of semi-structured and in-depth interviews 10.5 Data quality issues and evaluating interviewing practice 10.6 Preparing for semi-structured or in-depth interviewing 10.7 Conducting one-to-one face-to-face interviews 10.8 Conducting one-to-one online interviews 10.9 Conducting one-to-one telephone interviews 10.10 Conducting group interviews and focus groups 10.11 Conducting visual interviews 10.12 Using diaries and diary studies 10.13 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Using research interviews and research diaries References Further reading Case 10: Conducting audio diaries of work-life conflict Catherine Cassell Self-check answers 11 Collecting primary data using questionnaires Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Questionnaires: an overview 11.3 Deciding what data need to be collected 11.4 Questionnaire validity and reliability 11.5 Designing individual questions 11.6 Designing the questionnaire 11.7 Pilot testing 11.8 Distributing the questionnaire 11.9 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Using questionnaires in your research References Further reading Case 11: Assessing the utility of questionnaire scales Sarah Forbes Self-check answers 12 Analysing data quantitatively Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill and Catherine Wang Learning outcomes 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Data types and precision of measurement 12.3 Preparing data for quantitative analysis 12.4 Data entry and checking 12.5 Exploring and presenting data: an overview 12.6 Exploring and presenting individual variables 12.7 Exploring and comparing two or more variables 12.8 Describing data using statistics 12.9 Statistical tests' assumptions and hypothesis testing 12.10 Examining associations and differences 12.11 Assessing the strength of relationships 12.12 Making predictions 12.13 Examining trends 12.14 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Analysing your data quantitatively References Further reading Case 12: High performance work practices in SMEs Maura Sheehan and Mark NK Saunders Self-check answers 13 Analysing data qualitatively Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Analysing qualitative data, diversity and interactive processes 13.3 Choosing a qualitative analysis technique 13.4 Preparing data for analysis 13.5 Aids to help analysis 13.6 Thematic Analysis 13.7 Template Analysis 13.8 Explanation Building and Testing 13.9 Grounded Theory Method 13.10 Narrative Analysis 13.11 Discourse analysis 13.12 Visual analysis 13.13 Data display and analysis 13.14 Using CAQDAS 13.15 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion question Progressing your research project: Analysing your data qualitatively References Further reading Case 13: What makes a good project tutor? Neve Abgeller Self-check answers 14 Writing and presenting the project report Mark NK Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill Learning outcomes 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Undertaking writing 14.3 Reporting approaches and report structures: an overview 14.4 The traditional (academic) report structure 14.5 Alternative (academic) report structures 14.6 The consultancy (practitioner) report 14.7 Ensuring clarity and accessibility 14.8 Developing an appropriate writing style 14.9 Meeting the assessment criteria 14.10 Writing a reflective essay or section 14.11 Presentations 14.12 Summary Self-check questions Review and discussion questions Progressing your research project: Writing your project report References Further reading Case 14: Chloe's poster creation Clare Burns Self-check answers Bibliography Appendices 1 Systems of referencing 2 Calculating the minimum sample size 3 Guidelines for non-discriminatory language Glossary Index Publisher's acknowledgements Back Cover