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 glearning goutcomes;
summary gof gthe gcontent;
comments gon glikely gstudent greactions gand gpossible guse gof gmaterials;
ideas gfor gstudents’ gpreparatory gwork;
suggestions gfor gdelivery gin gthe gclassroom;
ideas gfor gstudents’ gfollow-up gwork.
In gaddition, gwe ghave gincluded ga gcopy gof ga gresearch gproject gassignment, ga ggroup
gresearch gproject gposter gassignment gand ga gcopy gof ga gdissertation gproposal
gassignment gas gappendices.
Research gMethods gfor gBusiness g– gan goverview gof gthe geighth gedition
Pedagogic g features
The gover-riding gpurpose gof gResearch gMethods gfor gBusiness gStudents gis gto ghelp
gundergraduate gand gpostgraduate gstudents gand gstudents gon gprofessional gcourses gto
gundertake gresearch. gEach gchapter gdeals gwith ga gpart gof gthe gresearch gprocess gand
gdiscusses gthe gideas, gtechniques gand gmethods gusing gas glittle gjargon gas gis gpossible.
gTables, gchecklists gand gdiagrams gare gused gto gaid gthis gdiscussion. gWhere gnew gterms gare
gintroduced gfor gthe gfirst gtime, gthey gare gshown gin gbold, gand ga gdefinition gor gexplanation
gfollows gshortly gafterwards. gThey gare galso glisted gwith ga gbrief gdefinition gin gthe
gglossary. gThe gapplication gof gappropriate ginformation gtechnology gis gconsidered, gin
gmost ginstances gas gan gintegral gpart gof gthe gtext. gChapters ghave gbeen gcross-referenced
gas gappropriate, gand gan gindex gis gprovided gto ghelp gstudents gfind gtheir gway garound
gthe gbook.
Focus gon gstudent gresearch gboxes gare gincluded gwithin gthe gtext gof geach gchapter.
g These gare gbased gon gactual gresearch gprojects, gundertaken gby gstudents, gin gwhich
g points gmade gin gthe gtext gare gillustrated. gIn gmany ginstances, gthese gworked gexamples
gillustrate gpossible gpitfalls gstudents gmay gcome gacross gwhile gundertaking gtheir
gresearch. gWhere ga gpitfall ghas gbeen gillustrated, git gwill, git gis ghoped, ghelp gyour
gstudents gavoid gmaking gthe gsame gmistake. gFurther gillustrations gare gprovided gby
gfocus gon gmanagement gresearch gand gresearch gin gthe gnews gboxes.
Focus gon gmanagement gresearch gboxes gdiscuss grecent gresearch gin gbusiness gand
gmanagement. gThese gare gnormally gderived gfrom grefereed gacademic gjournal garticles,
gand gstudents gare glikely gto gbe gable gto gdownload gthe gactual garticles gfrom gonline
gdatabases gat gtheir guniversity.
Focus gon gresearch gin gthe gnews gboxes gprovide gtopical gnews garticles gthat gillustrate
g pertinent gresearch-related gissues. gAll gthese gwill ghelp gstudents gto gunderstand gthe
5
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, g technique gor gidea gand gto gassess gits gsuitability gor gappropriateness gto gtheir gresearch.
Boxed gchecklists gprovide gstudents gwith gfurther gfocussed gguidance gfor gtheir gown
g
g research.
A gsummary gof gkey gpoints gat gthe gend gof geach gchapter gcan gbe gused gby gstudents
gbefore gand gafter greading gthe gchapter gto gensure gthat gthey ghave gdigested gthe gmain
gpoints.
Self-check gquestions genable gstudents gto gcheck gthey ghave gunderstood gthe gchapter.
These gcan gall gbe ganswered gwithout grecourse gto gother g(external) gresources. gAnswers
g
are gprovided gto gall gthe gself- gcheck gquestions gat gthe gend gof geach gchapter.
g
Review gand gdiscuss gquestions gfollow gthe gself-check gquestions. gThese gsuggest ga
gvariety gof gactivities g students g can g undertake g to g help g them g further g develop g their
g knowledge g and g understanding gof gthe gmaterial gin gthe gchapter, goften ginvolving
gdiscussion gwith ga gfriend.
Self-test gmultiple gchoice gquestions gand gtrue/false gquestions gfor geach gchapter gare
g available gon gthis gbook’s gcompanion gwebsite.
All gchapters ginclude ga gsection gtowards gthe gend gtitled g“Progressing gyour gresearch
gproject” gthat gcan gbe gundertaken gas gpart gof gthe gstudent’s gresearch gproject. gThese gare
gpresented gin gsufficient gdetail gto genable gthem gto gfocus gon gthe gtechniques gthat gare
gmost gappropriate gto ghis gor gher gresearch. gBy gcompleting gall gthese gsections, gthe
gstudent gwill ghave galso gcompleted ghis gor gher gproject greport.
Each gchapter gis galso gaccompanied gby greferences, gfurther greading gand ga gcase gstudy.
Further greading gis gincluded gfor gtwo gdistinct greasons:
▪ to gdirect gstudents gto gother gwork gon gthe gideas gcontained gwithin gthe gchapter;
▪ to g direct g students g to g further g examples g of g research g where g the g ideas g contained
g in g the g chapterghave gbeen gused.
Case gstudies gat gthe gend gof geach gchapter gare gall gnew gto gthe geighth gedition. gThey ghave
gbeen gdrawn gfrom ga gvariety gof gbusiness gand gmanagement gresearch gscenarios gand ghave
gbeen gbased gon gthe gcase gstudy’s gauthors’ gstudents’ gexperiences gwhen gundertaking ga
gresearch gproject. gThey ghave gbeen gwritten gto ghighlight greal gissues gthat goccur gwhen
gundertaking gbusiness gand gmanagement gresearch. gTo ghelp gfocus gstudents’ gthoughts gor
gdiscussion gon gsome gof gthe gpertinent gissues, geach gcase gis gfollowed gby gevaluative
gquestions, ganswers gto gwhich gare gprovided gon gthe gInstructors’ gCompanion gWeb gSite.
gA gcase gstudy gfollows gevery gchapter. gA gfurther g75 gcase gstudies gfrom gearlier geditions gof
gthe gbook gare gavailable gon gthe gStudents’ gCompanion gWeb gSite; ganswers gto gthese
gcases gare gprovided gon gthe gInstructors’ gCompanion gWeb gSite. gA gcomplete glist gof
gthese gcases gis gprovided gin gAppendix g4.
Contents
Chapter g1 goutlines gthe gnature gof gresearch gand, gmore gspecifically, gof gbusiness gand
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 glearning goutcomes;
summary gof gthe gcontent;
comments gon glikely gstudent greactions gand gpossible guse gof gmaterials;
ideas gfor gstudents’ gpreparatory gwork;
suggestions gfor gdelivery gin gthe gclassroom;
ideas gfor gstudents’ gfollow-up gwork.
In gaddition, gwe ghave gincluded ga gcopy gof ga gresearch gproject gassignment, ga ggroup
gresearch gproject gposter gassignment gand ga gcopy gof ga gdissertation gproposal
gassignment gas gappendices.
Research gMethods gfor gBusiness g– gan goverview gof gthe geighth gedition
Pedagogic g features
The gover-riding gpurpose gof gResearch gMethods gfor gBusiness gStudents gis gto ghelp
gundergraduate gand gpostgraduate gstudents gand gstudents gon gprofessional gcourses gto
gundertake gresearch. gEach gchapter gdeals gwith ga gpart gof gthe gresearch gprocess gand
gdiscusses gthe gideas, gtechniques gand gmethods gusing gas glittle gjargon gas gis gpossible.
gTables, gchecklists gand gdiagrams gare gused gto gaid gthis gdiscussion. gWhere gnew gterms gare
gintroduced gfor gthe gfirst gtime, gthey gare gshown gin gbold, gand ga gdefinition gor gexplanation
gfollows gshortly gafterwards. gThey gare galso glisted gwith ga gbrief gdefinition gin gthe
gglossary. gThe gapplication gof gappropriate ginformation gtechnology gis gconsidered, gin
gmost ginstances gas gan gintegral gpart gof gthe gtext. gChapters ghave gbeen gcross-referenced
gas gappropriate, gand gan gindex gis gprovided gto ghelp gstudents gfind gtheir gway garound
gthe gbook.
Focus gon gstudent gresearch gboxes gare gincluded gwithin gthe gtext gof geach gchapter.
g These gare gbased gon gactual gresearch gprojects, gundertaken gby gstudents, gin gwhich
g points gmade gin gthe gtext gare gillustrated. gIn gmany ginstances, gthese gworked gexamples
gillustrate gpossible gpitfalls gstudents gmay gcome gacross gwhile gundertaking gtheir
gresearch. gWhere ga gpitfall ghas gbeen gillustrated, git gwill, git gis ghoped, ghelp gyour
gstudents gavoid gmaking gthe gsame gmistake. gFurther gillustrations gare gprovided gby
gfocus gon gmanagement gresearch gand gresearch gin gthe gnews gboxes.
Focus gon gmanagement gresearch gboxes gdiscuss grecent gresearch gin gbusiness gand
gmanagement. gThese gare gnormally gderived gfrom grefereed gacademic gjournal garticles,
gand gstudents gare glikely gto gbe gable gto gdownload gthe gactual garticles gfrom gonline
gdatabases gat gtheir guniversity.
Focus gon gresearch gin gthe gnews gboxes gprovide gtopical gnews garticles gthat gillustrate
g pertinent gresearch-related gissues. gAll gthese gwill ghelp gstudents gto gunderstand gthe
5
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
, g technique gor gidea gand gto gassess gits gsuitability gor gappropriateness gto gtheir gresearch.
Boxed gchecklists gprovide gstudents gwith gfurther gfocussed gguidance gfor gtheir gown
g
g research.
A gsummary gof gkey gpoints gat gthe gend gof geach gchapter gcan gbe gused gby gstudents
gbefore gand gafter greading gthe gchapter gto gensure gthat gthey ghave gdigested gthe gmain
gpoints.
Self-check gquestions genable gstudents gto gcheck gthey ghave gunderstood gthe gchapter.
These gcan gall gbe ganswered gwithout grecourse gto gother g(external) gresources. gAnswers
g
are gprovided gto gall gthe gself- gcheck gquestions gat gthe gend gof geach gchapter.
g
Review gand gdiscuss gquestions gfollow gthe gself-check gquestions. gThese gsuggest ga
gvariety gof gactivities g students g can g undertake g to g help g them g further g develop g their
g knowledge g and g understanding gof gthe gmaterial gin gthe gchapter, goften ginvolving
gdiscussion gwith ga gfriend.
Self-test gmultiple gchoice gquestions gand gtrue/false gquestions gfor geach gchapter gare
g available gon gthis gbook’s gcompanion gwebsite.
All gchapters ginclude ga gsection gtowards gthe gend gtitled g“Progressing gyour gresearch
gproject” gthat gcan gbe gundertaken gas gpart gof gthe gstudent’s gresearch gproject. gThese gare
gpresented gin gsufficient gdetail gto genable gthem gto gfocus gon gthe gtechniques gthat gare
gmost gappropriate gto ghis gor gher gresearch. gBy gcompleting gall gthese gsections, gthe
gstudent gwill ghave galso gcompleted ghis gor gher gproject greport.
Each gchapter gis galso gaccompanied gby greferences, gfurther greading gand ga gcase gstudy.
Further greading gis gincluded gfor gtwo gdistinct greasons:
▪ to gdirect gstudents gto gother gwork gon gthe gideas gcontained gwithin gthe gchapter;
▪ to g direct g students g to g further g examples g of g research g where g the g ideas g contained
g in g the g chapterghave gbeen gused.
Case gstudies gat gthe gend gof geach gchapter gare gall gnew gto gthe geighth gedition. gThey ghave
gbeen gdrawn gfrom ga gvariety gof gbusiness gand gmanagement gresearch gscenarios gand ghave
gbeen gbased gon gthe gcase gstudy’s gauthors’ gstudents’ gexperiences gwhen gundertaking ga
gresearch gproject. gThey ghave gbeen gwritten gto ghighlight greal gissues gthat goccur gwhen
gundertaking gbusiness gand gmanagement gresearch. gTo ghelp gfocus gstudents’ gthoughts gor
gdiscussion gon gsome gof gthe gpertinent gissues, geach gcase gis gfollowed gby gevaluative
gquestions, ganswers gto gwhich gare gprovided gon gthe gInstructors’ gCompanion gWeb gSite.
gA gcase gstudy gfollows gevery gchapter. gA gfurther g75 gcase gstudies gfrom gearlier geditions gof
gthe gbook gare gavailable gon gthe gStudents’ gCompanion gWeb gSite; ganswers gto gthese
gcases gare gprovided gon gthe gInstructors’ gCompanion gWeb gSite. gA gcomplete glist gof
gthese gcases gis gprovided gin gAppendix g4.
Contents
Chapter g1 goutlines gthe gnature gof gresearch gand, gmore gspecifically, gof gbusiness gand
6
© Pearson Education Limited 2019
