Fifth Edition

Uma Sekaran and Roger Bougie

WILEY
A John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, Publication

CONTENTS

About the authors Preface Chapter 1 Introduction to research What is research? Business research Definition of business research Research and the manager Types of business research: applied and basic Applied research Basic or fundamental research Managers and research The manager and the consultant-researcher The manager-researcher relationship Internal versus external consultants/researchers Internal consultants/researchers External consultants/researchers Knowledge about research and managerial effectiveness Ethics and business research Summary . Discussion questions Chapter 2 Scientific investigation The hallmarks of scientific research Purposiveness Rigor Testability Replicability

xvii xix 1 2 2 3 3 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 19 19 19 20 20

CONTENTS

Precision and confidence Objectivity Generalizability Parsimony Some obstacles to conducting scientific research in the management area The hypothetico-deductive method The seven-step process in the hypothetico-deductive method Review of the hypothetico-deductive method Other types of research Case studies Action research Summary Discussion questions The research process: the broad problem area and defining the problem statement Broad problem area Preliminary information gathering Nature of information to be gathered Literature review ' Conducting the literature review Defining the problem statement What makes a good problem statement? The research proposal Managerial implications Ethical issues in the preliminary stages of investigation Summary Discussion questions Practice projects Appendix Some online resources useful for business research Bibliographical databases APA format for referencing relevant articles Referencing and quotation in the literature review section Chapter 3

21 22 22 23 23 24 24 28 30 30 31 31 32

35 36 37 37 38 39 45 45 47 50 50 51 52 53 55 55 60 61 64

CONTENTS

ix

The research process: theoretical framework and hypothesis development The need for a theoretical framework Variables Types of variables Theoretical framework The components of the theoretical framework Theoretical framework for the example of air safety violations Hypothesis development Definition of a hypothesis Statement of hypotheses: formats Directional and nondirectional hypotheses Null and alternate hypotheses Hypothesis testing with qualitative research: negative case analysis Managerial implications Summary Discussion questions Practice project The research process: elements of research design ,t The research design Purpose of the study: exploratory, descriptive, hypothesis testing (analytical and predictive), case study analysis Exploratory study Descriptive study Hypothesis testing Case study analysis Review of the purpose of the study Type of investigation: causal versus correlational Extent of researcher interference with the study Study setting: contrived and noncontrived Unit of analysis: individuals, dyads, groups, organizations, cultures Time horizon: cross-sectional versus longitudinal studies Cross-sectional studies Longitudinal studies Chapter 5

Chapter 4

67 69 69 70 80 80 82 86 87 87 88 88 92 95 96 96 99 101 102 103 103 105 108 109 109 110 111 114 116 119 119 119

CONTENTS

Review of elements of research design Managerial implications Summary Discussion questions Measurement of variables: operational definition How variables are measured Operationalization of variables Operationalization: dimensions and elements Operationalizing the (multidimensional) concept of achievement motivation What operationalization is not Review of operationalization International dimensions of operationalization Summary Discussion questions Chapter 7 Measurement: scaling, reliability, validity Scales Nominal scale * Ordinal scale , Interval scale Ratio scale Review of scales Rating scales Dichotomous scale Category scale Semantic differential scale Numerical scale Itemized rating scale Likert scale Fixed or constant sum scale Stapel scale Graphic rating scale Chapter 6

120 122 123 123

125 126 127 129 129 135 136 137 137 137 139 141 141 142 143 145 148 149 149 149 150 150 151 152 152 153 153

'

CONTENTS

XI

Consensus scale Other scales Ranking scales Paired comparison Forced choice Comparative scale International dimensions of scaling Goodness of measures Item analysis Validity Reliability Reflective versus formative measurement scales What is a reflective scale? What is a formative scale and why do the items of a formative scale not necessarily hang together? Summary Discussion questions Appendix Examples of some measures Chapter 8 Data collection methods " Sources of data , Primary sources of data Secondary sources of data .Data collection methods Interviewing Questionnaires Other methods of data collection Multimethods of data collection Review of the advantages and disadvantages of different data collection methods and when to use each Setting from which data are gathered International dimensions of surveys Special issues in instrumentation for cross-cultural research Issues in data collection

154 154 155 155 155 156 156 157 157 158 161 163 163 163 165 165 167 167 179 180 181 184 184 186 197 211 216 217 218 218 219 219

xii

CONTENTS

Managerial implications Ethics in data collection Ethics and the researcher Ethical behavior of respondents Summary Discussion questions Chapter 9 Experimental designs The lab experiment Control Manipulation of the independent variable Controlling the contaminating exogenous or "nuisance" variables Internal validity of lab experiments External validity or generalizability of lab experiments The field experiment External validity Trade-off between internal and external validity Factors affecting the validity of experiments History effects Maturation effects Testing effects Selection bias effects / Mortality effects Statistical regression effects Instrumentation effects Identifying threats to validity Internal validity in case studies Review of factors affecting internal and external validity Types of experimental design and validity Quasi-experimental designs True experimental designs Simulation Ethical issues in experimental design research Managerial implications Summary

220 220 221 221 222 222 225 228 229 229 231 233 233 234 234 235 235 235 236 237 238 238 239 239 240 241 242 242 243 245 249 251 252 253

CONTENTS

xiii

Discussion questions Appendix Further experimental designs Chapter 10 Sampling Population, element, sample, sampling unit, and subject Population Element Sample Sampling unit Subject Parameters Reasons for sampling Representativeness of samples Normality of distributions The sampling process Defining the population Determining the sample frame Determining the sampling design Determining the sample size Executing the sampling process x Probability sampling Unrestricted or simple random sampling Restricted or complex probability sampling Review of probability sampling designs Nonprobability sampling Convenience sampling Purposive sampling Review of nonprobability sampling designs Examples of when certain sampling designs would be appropriate Simple random sampling Stratified random sampling Systematic sampling Cluster sampling Area sampling

253 255 255 261 262 262 263 263 263 263 264 264 265 265 266 267 267 267 268 268 270 270 270 275 276 276 276 278 278 278 282 283 284 284

XV I

CONTENTS

Double sampling Convenience sampling Judgment sampling: one type of purposive sampling Quota sampling: a second type of purposive sampling Sampling in cross-cultural research Issues of precision and confidence in determining sample size Precision Confidence Sample data, precision, and confidence in estimation Trade-off between confidence and precision Sample data and hypothesis testing Determining the sample size Importance of sampling design and sample size Efficiency in sampling Sampling as related to qualitative studies Managerial implications Summary Discussion questions Chapter 11 Quantitative data analysis Getting the data ready for analysis Coding and data entry Editing data Data transformation Getting a feel for the data Frequencies Measures of central tendency and dispersion Relationships between variables Excelsior Enterprises - descriptive statistics part 1 Testing goodness of data Reliability Validity Excelsior Enterprises - descriptive statistics part 2 Summary Discussion questions

284 285 285 286 287 287 287 288 289 290 291 293 296 297 297 298 298 299 303 306 306 308 310 311 313 316 319 322 324 324 327 327 331 331

CONTENTS

XV

Chapter 12

Quantitative data analysis: hypothesis testing

Introduction Type I errors, type II errors, and statistical power Choosing the appropriate statistical technique Testing a hypothesis about a single mean Testing hypotheses about two related means Testing hypotheses about two unrelated means Testing hypotheses about several means Regression analysis Standardized regression coefficients Regression with dummy variables Multicollinearity Testing moderation using regression analysis: interaction effects Other multivariate tests and analyses Discriminant analysis Logistic regression Conjoint analysis Two-way ANOVA MANOVA Canonical correlation Excelsior Enterprises -/hypothesis testing Overall interpretation and recommendations to the president Data warehousing, data mining, and operations research Some software packages useful for data analysis Summary Discussion questions Chapter 13 Qualitative data analysis Introduction Data reduction Data display Drawing conclusions Reliability and validity in qualitative research Some other methods of gathering and analyzing qualitative data

335 336 336 337 339 340 345 346 348 351 351 352 354 355 356 356 357 358 358 359 359 361 363 364 365 365 369 369 372 382 382 384 385

XI V

CONTENTS

Content analysis Narrative analysis Summary Discussion questions Chapter 14 The research report The report The written report The purpose of the written report The audience for the written report Characteristics of a well-written report Contents of the research report Integral parts of the report Oral presentation Deciding on the content Visual aids The presenter The presentation Handling questions Summary Discussion questions Appendix Report 1: Sample of a report involving a descriptive study Report 2: Sample of a report where an idea has to be "sold" Report 3: Sample of a report offering alternative solutions and explaining the pros and cons of each alternative Report 4: Example of an abridged basic research report A final note to students Statistical tables Glossary Bibliography Index

385 386 386 387 389 390 390 391 394 395 396 397 402 403 403 404 404 404 405 405 407 407 412 415 418 423 425 435 449 457