This book builds on Business Research Methods by Donald R. Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler, which has already seen eight editions, and has been a successful text around the world. The current text is more than just an adaptation of the original text, however. It contains completely new chapters, as well as substantially rewritten and rearranged chapters. Moreover, 25 new exhibits have been added to clarify issues discussed and new data sets are provided on the accompanying CD-ROM to reflect the European and international examples used in the book.
The main changes made for this new European edition are as follows.
A better balance of quantitative and qualitative methods. This edition maintains the original text’s excellent coverage of quantitative methods and supplements this with a broader and deeper treatment of qualitative methods. All chapters covering the different methods of collecting information explicitly acknowledge that information can be quantitative as well as qualitative.
A student-focused pedagogic approach. While the original text was more tailored to research conducted or sponsored by companies, this book focuses more on student and academic research, although company-sponsored research is still covered.
European and international examples. A distinctive feature of this book has been, and continues to be, the use of real-life examples to illustrate different facets of research methods. In this edition, many of the examples used are based on European and international material to ensure the text is ever relevant to a European audience.
An accompanying CD-ROM containing chapters on data analysis. Many universities offer quantitative methods as a separate course, while others cover research methods and analysis in one course. Research and analysis methods are highly interwoven and both are essential elements in the complete research process. We acknowledge this by offering five additional chapters on data analysis on the CD-ROM. This adds flexibility
to the way the text can be used as a teaching aid, for those with different course needs. The table of contents clearly reflects what topics are on the CD and which are in the text itself.
Inclusion of classroom discussion questions. Working with students on research methods, I have often encountered the comment that everything seems somewhat straightforward – often too much so. Teaching research methods is certainly about learning new research skills, but also an assessment of the consequences of decisions about the research design and research process requires a deeper understanding of the methods and trade-offs involved. The classroom discussion questions address these trade-offs.
Other changes for this edition are as follows.
A more profound discussion of different research philosophies, in particular positivism and interpretivism.
The chapter on research ethics now focuses more on the ethical dilemmas involved in conducting research, including a discussion of plagiarism by academic scholars and students.
A new chapter covering how to plan and write a literature review, an essential part of both academic and student papers.
A sub-chapter that deals thoroughly with case study research. Starting with the distinct features of case study research, it also explains how best to actually conduct the research.
A completely rewritten chapter covering observations, unstructured interviews, action research and ethnographic research.
The chapter on experiments now contains a sub-section on quasi-experiments, an important issue in social, business and economic research.
The chapter on secondary data now focuses on data sources and includes a sub-section on meta-analysis.
Pedagogical features
Each chapter starts with clear learning objectives and concludes with a summary and key terms, which highlight the important aspects of each chapter. All chapters are complemented by many real-life examples that show students how research methods may be applied in practice. These examples enable students to see how each of the research methods topics applies to business situations. The discussion questions that appear at the end of each chapter will help students gauge their understanding of the core chapter concepts. These questions are pitched at different levels, both for individual study and class discussion.
The book also features a separate ‘Cases’ section that presents six diverse case studies, along with questions that are suitable for individual or group work. These cases offer a more detailed example of research methods relating directly to business scenarios that complement the examples given in the chapters.
A CD-ROM containing additional chapters on data analysis and the data files referred to in the text accompanies the book. These supplementary chapters can be used by students for additional study or by those students taking courses where a more quantitative approach is taken. The book and CD-ROM are also supported by an online learning centre featuring supplementary material that includes a selection of new cases, and both tutor and student downloads.
2005 McGraw-Hill Education Europe