Research Methods For Business Students 4th Edition Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill - Solutions

You have chosen to undertake your research project following a the deductive approach. What factors may cause you to work inductively, although working deductively is your preferred choice? LO6
Visit an online database or your university library and obtain a copy of a research-based refereed journal article that you think will be of use to an assignment you are currently working on. Read this article carefully. What research philosophy do you think the author has adopted? Use Section 4.2
Agree with a friend to watch the same television documentary. LO6 a To what extent is the documentary inductive or deductive in its use of data?b Have the documentary makers adopted a positivist, realist, interpretivist or pragmatist philosophy?Do not forget to make notes regarding your reasons for
identify the main issues that you need to consider when preparing quantitative data for analysis and when analysing these data by computer. LO9
recognise different types of data and understand the implications of data type for subsequent analyses. LO9
create a data matrix and to code data for analysis by computer. LO9
select the most appropriate tables and diagrams to explore and illustrate different aspects of your data. LO9
select the most appropriate statistics to describe individual variables and to examine relationships between variables and trends in your data. LO9
interpret the tables, diagrams and statistics that you use correctly. LO9
The following secondary data have been obtained from the Park Trading Company’s audited annual accounts: LO9 Year Income (£) Expenditure (£)1997 11 000 000 9 500 000 1998 15 200 000 12 900 000 1999 17 050 000 14 000 000 2000 17 900 000 14 900 000 2001 19 000 000 16 100 000 2002 18 700 000 17
a How many variables will be generated from the following request? LO9 Please tell me up to five things you like about this film. for office use................................................................................ ■ ■
a What measures of central tendency and dispersion would you choose to describe the Park Trading Company’s income (self-check question 12.1) over the period 1997–2005? LO9 b Give reasons for your choice.
A colleague has collected data from a sample of 80 students. He presents you with the following output from the statistical analysis software: LO9Explain what this tells you about undergraduate and postgraduate students’ opinion of the information technology facilities. Output2-SPSS Viewer File
Briefly describe when you would use regression analysis and correlation analysis, using examples to illustrate your answer. LO9
a Use an appropriate technique to compare the following data on share prices for two financial service companies over the past six months, using the period six months ago as the base period: LO9 EJ Investment Holdings AE Financial Services Price 6 months ago €10 €587 Price 4 months ago €12
Use the Google search engine to discover coding schemes that already exist for ethnic group, family expenditure, industry group, socio-economic class and the like. To do this you will probably find it best to type the phrase “coding ethnic group” into the search box. LO9 a Discuss how credible
With a friend, choose a large company in which you are interested. Obtain a copy of the annual report for this company. If it is not readily available in your university library, electronic versions can often be viewed using the Internet. Examine the use of tables, graphs and charts in your chosen
Find out whether your university provides you with access to SPSS. If it does, visit this book’s companion website and download the self-teach package and associated data sets. Work through this to explore the features of SPSS. LO9
What Is Research?
Why Is Research Conducted?
Who Does Research?
How Is Research Conducted?
be able to outline the purpose and distinct focus of management research.
What are the key differences between basic and applied research?
Obtain a copy of one or two of the articles referred to in Section 1.3. Read the article carefully. To what extent do you believe that business and management research should always meet the twin requirements of rigour and relevance? Give reasons for your answer.
Provide an example of a cross-sectional study that you are familiar with. How do you think the researchers attempt to make the study representative?
Give an example of a longitudinal study that you would wish to carry out. What particular problems might you encounter?
understand the importance of having thought carefully about your research design. LO8
identify the main research strategies and explain why these should not be thought of as mutually exclusive. LO8
explain the differences between quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques and analysis procedures. LO8
explain the benefits of adopting multiple methods to the conduct of research. LO8
consider the implications of adopting different time horizons for your research design. LO8
explain the concepts of validity and reliability and identify the main threats to validity and reliability. LO8
understand some of the main ethical issues implied by the choice of research strategy. LO8
You are about to embark on a year-long study of customer service training for sales assistants in two supermarket companies. The purpose of the research is to compare the way in which the training develops and its effectiveness. What measures would you need to take in the research design stage to
You are working in an organisation that has branches throughout the UK. The managing director is mindful of the fact that managers of the branches need to talk over common problems on a regular basis. That is why there have always been monthly meetings. However, she is becoming increasingly
You wish to study the reasons why car owners join manufacturer-sponsored owners’ clubs. Your chosen research design is to have unstructured discussions with some members of these owners’clubs. You are asked by small group of marketing managers to explain why your chosen research design is as
Agree with a friend to watch the same television documentary.a To what extent is the purpose of the documentary exploratory, descriptive or explanatory?b Does the documentary use a mono method, a multiple method or mixed methods?Do not forget to make notes regarding your reasons for your answers to
Visit the online gateway to the European Union (http://europa.eu.int/) and click on the website in your own language. Discuss with a friend how you might you use the data available via links from this web page in archival research. In particular, you should concentrate on the research questions you
Which of the research approaches outlined in this chapter would be suitable for the following research topics?1. Measuring the success of stock market forecasts 2. Identifying factors affecting the development of small businesses 3. Measuring the suitability of partners for outsourcing 4.
The model formulated to describe the relationship between monthly sales of product X and prices, incomes and advertising expenditure seems perfectly reasonable.Give reasons why you would not expect this model to be a particularly good predictor of monthly sales of product X.
What problems might you encounter in 1. Providing a definition for the above variables 2. Gathering appropriate data on the above variables
understand the importance and purpose of the critical literature review to your research project. LO9
know what you need to include when writing your critical review. LO9
be aware of the range of primary, secondary and tertiary literature sources available. LO9
be able to identify key words and to undertake a literature search using a range of methods including the Internet. LO9
be able to evaluate the relevance, value and sufficiency of the literature found. LO9
be able to reference the literature found accurately. LO9
be able to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding gained to your own research project. LO9
Outline the advice you would give a colleague on: LO9 a how to plan her search;b which literature to search first.
Brainstorm at least one of the following research questions, either on your own or with a colleague, and list the key words that you have generated. LO9 a How effective is profit-related pay as a motivator?b How do the opportunities available to a first-time house buyer through interpersonal
You are having considerable problems with finding relevant material for your research when searching online databases. Suggest possible reasons why this might be so. LO9
Rewrite the following passage as part of a critical literature review using the Harvard system of referencing: LO9 From what I’ve read, the English Language Teaching market, which this company serves, remains attractive for publishers despite a decline in growth as this quote shows: ‘Overall,
Go to the website of the general search engine Google (http://www.google.com). Use the different Google services such as ‘Google Search’, ‘Google Scholar’ and ‘University Search’ to search for articles on a topic which you are currently studying as part of your course. LO9 a Make notes
Agree with a friend to each review the same article from a refereed academic journal, which contains a clear literature review section. Evaluate independently the literature review in your chosen article with regard to its content, critical nature and structure using the checklists in Boxes 3.1,
Why Do Interviews?
List three brands that you identify with.
For each brand tell me why you associate with them.Supplementary question 1: so based on these questions what type of person do you think you are?
Are you a customer of these brands?Supplementary question 2: for those brands you are a customer of in five years time do you think you will still be a customer of these brands.Supplementary question 3: for those brands which you are not a customer of—why not?
Ask to discuss what the advertising means to the individual.Supplementary question 4: ask them to try and explain why they have attached these meanings.
Give a list of emotional words such as anger, upset, romantic, loyal, happy, contentment, sexy, hostility, etc., and ask on a scale of 1–5 to what degree these are associated with the brand.Supplementary question 5: ask for some phrases to describe the brands and what they mean to the individual.
Ask how frequently and how much they spend on the brand.Supplementary question 6: ask how satisfied they were with their purchases.Supplementary question 7: ask how this compares with other brands.
Ask them to describe the features of a brand they feel hostile to.
End with recording demographic characteristics of the respondent
Scenario: Two studies were carried out to establish if there is a link between smoking and certain types of cancer. One study was conducted in the 1950s and compared mortality rates for ex-servicemen with the general population. The second study was carried out in the early 1990s and compared the
How Are Theories Generated?
Which of the research approaches outlined in this chapter would be suitable for the following research topics?1. Measuring the success of stock market forecasts 2. Identifying factors affecting the development of small businesses 3. Measuring the suitability of partners to outsource 4. Identifying
Discuss how you might conduct field research if researching the play patterns of children at home and in school. What particular problems would you encounter in gathering suitable data? What ethical issues will need to be addressed?
Read over the ethical codes of conduct links included in this chapter and discuss the similarities and any differences between them.Which issues are likely to be particularly relevant to your own future research, with respect to both completing your programme of studies and your future career?
Review a suitable journal article (related to your own area of expertise) in terms of the ethical issues addressed by the researcher. What other ethical issues might the researcher consider?
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using surveys, case studies and observation togather primary information.
The following data relates to the unit cost per journey to the workplace for eight people.From the information provided, determine which of age, gender and travel mode affectthe cost of travel, and to what extent.FactorAge Gender Travel Mode Cost per Journey18 Male Bus 718 Female Car 918 Male Car
• Design a data collection form to allow observation of workers’ behaviour in anopen-plan office.• Design a data collection form to allow observation of sales staff interactions withcustomers.• Design a data collection form to allow observation of employees in a restaurant.
aware of issues related to gaining access and research ethics. LO2
able to evaluate a range of strategies to help you to gain access to organisations and to individual participants. LO2
able to anticipate ethical issues at each stage of your research process and be aware of a range of strategies to help you deal with these. LO2
able to evaluate the ethical issues associated with a range data collection techniques, so that you can consider these in relation to your proposed research methods. LO2
How can you differentiate between types of access, and why is it important to do this? LO2
What do you understand by the use of the terms ‘feasibility’ and ‘sufficiency’ when applied to the question of access? LO2
Which strategies to help to gain access are likely to apply to the following scenarios:a an ‘external’ researcher seeking direct access to managers who will be the research participants; LO2 b an ‘external’ researcher seeking access through an organisational gatekeeper/broker to her/his
What are the principal ethical issues you will need to consider irrespective of the particular research methods that you use? LO2
What problems might you encounter in attempting to protect the interests of participating organisations and individuals despite the assurances that you provide? LO2
With a friend, discuss how you intend to gain access to the data you need for your research project. In your discussion make a list of possible barriers to your gaining access and how these might be overcome. Make sure that the ways you consider for overcoming these barriers are ethical! LO2
Visit the Suzy Lamplugh Trust website at http://www.suzylamplugh.org. and browse their guidance leaflets. Make a list of the actions you should take to help ensure your own personal safety when undertaking your research project. Make sure you actually put these into practice. LO2
understand the role that observation may play as a data collection method in your research design. LO3
identify two types of observation, participant observation and structured observation, and their differing origins and applications. LO3
adopt particular approaches to data collection and analysis for both participant observation and structured observation. LO3
identify threats to validity and reliability faced by the two types of observation. LO3
You are a project manager responsible for the overall management of a large project to introduce your company’s technology into the development of a new hospital. Most of the members of your team and from UK, France and Germany. However, several of the engineers are from the newest EU states,
Look again at Box 9.10. Ask the questions contained in Box 9.10 in relation to the coding schedule in Figure 9.2. How well does it match? LO3
Compile a behaviour observation sheet similar to that in Box 9.6 in respect of either your job or that of a friend. Use this to compile a record of the behaviours observed. LO3
Video record a current affairs (or similar) discussion on television. Use the recording sheet in Figure 9.2 to record the interactions and then assess interaction patterns. LO3
identify the main issues that you need to consider when preparing qualitative data for analysis, including when analysing these data using computer aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). LO6
transcribe an audio-recorded interview or interview notes and create a data file for analysis by computer. LO6
recognise the differences between qualitative and quantitative data and understand the implications of this for qualitative data analyses. LO6
discuss both deductive and inductive approaches to, and processes for, analysing qualitative data. LO6
use deductively based and inductively based analytical approaches to, and procedures for, analysing qualitative data. LO6
outline reasons for quantifying qualitative data as a means of analysis. LO6
identify the common functions of CAQDAS and the issues associated with its use. LO6
Why do we describe qualitative analysis as an ‘interactive process’? LO6

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Research Methods For Business Students 4th Edition Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill - Solutions

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