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Business research methods 14th ed
So much is happening in business as we move into this third decade of the millennium. I wanted to know how researchers were dealing with the constancy of change. I heard two themes consistently: justification and speed. With so much of a firm’s resources being committed to data-driven decision making and data analytics, justifying the need for new data has become difficult for some managers. Speed in research continues to be increasingly important in the current business environment. Happily, quality is not being sacrificed for quick information. Being confident in the results is still critically important.
All sorts of terms are used to describe the unstable environment in which most businesses are operating: chaos, upheaval, and disruption are some of the most common terms that surfaced. Some firms are sacrificing research and standing their ground or making bold moves without its guidance. Other firms are finding alternative methodologies that can deliver insights more quickly. Others are forming ecosystems and sharing their existing data with this partnership of firms. Still others are conducting new research to make bolder moves to cause disruptions in their own industries.
I’ve used various interim GreenBook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) reports to guide the research for this revision. The latest GRIT Report is based on the largest study of research suppliers and users ever conducted. Automation and privacy are hot topics in GRIT, so I’ve added material on both these topics in the 14th edition. GRIT is always a wealth of great analysis and a stimulator of questions that has me seeking out collaborators for their ideas and experiences.
In researching trends in business research, I discovered several outstanding books published on research methodologies since the last edition, so I’ve shared some highlights of those in some of the snapshots. Some of my favorite research ideas come not from the world of business, which makes their discovery all the more special. I hope you’ll be enticed to explore these books, not just settle for the nuggets I’ve shared in Snapshots and Closeups.
As revealed in the Detailed Changes in this Edition, you’ll find many new Snapshots, CloseUps, and PicProfiles that reveal how research is being conducted in a variety of different industries. The topics covered by the research stories and issues featured in this edition include extended reality in research, e-cigarettes, automation, foresight in decision making, avoiding problem participants, Nielsen’s recruiting process, humanizing participants, interviewing strangers, sharpening observation by studying art, grocery experiments with delivery, use of QR codes in research, phone survey response rates, lifetime value as a metric, diversity and inclusiveness, Generation Z, a new prediction metric influencing advertising, research on top workplaces, relationship between smoking and vaping, relationship between negative feedback and performance enhancement, radio spins and artist success in country music, infographics as a reporting tool, word clouds to report text data, video as a learning tool, a persona as a reporting device, the power of a single number to accomplish action, cyber security, prediction markets, sentiment analysis, why data analytics isn’t delivering results, millennials and housing, the art of asking questions, learning to tell research stories, automation in secondary data searches, agile research, mixed access sample recruitment, digital transformation, eye tracking, experiments in employee health, use of robots, experimental labs, gaming in research, packaging redesign, question banks, survey engagement, coding word data, data insights, finding best practices, presentation venues, and more.
I’ve let news headlines guide me as I looked for new discussion questions, so you’ll find discussion questions, especially those labeled From the Headlines, covering Sandra Bullock and Ellen DeGeneres’ lawsuit against firms using their likenesses to sell fraudulent products, personal data and privacy concerns, loyalty programs, Victoria’s Secret, robots replacing workers, Boeing 737 MAX and safety, HR Trends Report: The DNA of Human Capital, Brazil’s Natura Cosmeticos SA, GM’s Cadillac in China vs. U.S., fast-fashion retailer Forever 21, media streaming and AMC theaters, sensitive content and monetization on YouTube, Globalforce MoodTracker employee engagement survey, sexual harassment of country music rising stars, and Ipsos MORI study of Generation Z.
The various studies of Generation Z also influenced the revision of the peripherals, especially the Instructor’s Manual and PowerPoint. Gen Z students have a different way of learning (see the Walkthrough) that helps explain the frustrations of my teaching colleagues over the last few years—and from this edition’s reviewers—about student lack of engagement. Research methods is a subject where active learning is not only possible, but highly desirable; such methods are directly synchronized with how Gen Z likes to learn. I’ve added more suggestions for in-classroom engagement to the Instructor’s Manual, to help instructors who are new to this type of teaching. The PowerPoint slide decks have been reorganized to facilitate active learning as well.
Keep the Features Adopters Love, but Add Value
In each new revision, I’m always sure to keep Business Research Methods responsive to (1) industry practices and page xiii(2) shifts in teaching pedagogy and environment, and (3) student learning approaches. In an attempt to make the 14th edition more flexible to current instructional methodologies or learning styles, I’ve stayed true to what made the book an industry leader.
•Critical Core Content. My faculty reviewers this time around didn’t pull their punches. It gave me a fresh perspective when looking at material I’ve looked at for more than 30 years. I’ve listened to their sometimes-contradictory remarks and tried to find common ground to strengthen areas they thought needed a fresh angle or approach. Materials adopters have loved for decades are still, though, the core of this edition.
•Strong Summaries for Each Learning Objective. The summaries are comprehensive, knowing sometimes these are the only material a student has time to read before class. These are tightly tied to the learning objectives and the key terms in the chapter.
•Multipurpose Discussion Questions. These can serve as review for students, as testing exercises, or as options for lively class discussions as many are pulled from the headlines reflecting real business situations.
•Appendices that Add Value. End-of-chapter and end-of-text appendices offer information that, given the differing skills and knowledge of their students, professors may choose to emphasize or exclude. End-of-book appendices offer opportunities for active learning, and testing, supplementing text material.
•End-of-Chapter Appendices in the 14th edition relate to
•Calculating sample size (Chapter 5).
•Sources for measurement questions (Chapter 11).
•Building better tables for examining data (Chapter 13).
•Describing data statistically (Chapter 13).
•Tips on improving reports (Chapter 16).
When an end-of-chapter appendix loses its usefulness, I drop the appendix but incorporate some of its more valued content into a relevant text chapter exhibit or content. I did this with two appendices in the 14th edition.
•End-of-Book Appendices in the 14th edition
•Appendix A (Business Research Proposals and RFPs) is organized with three active-learning exercises in mind: writing a formal proposal, creating an RFP, and assessing a proposal submitted in response to an RFP. Professors sometimes use writing a proposal or an RFP as an end-of-term project or testing exercise, and find the appendix and the sample within this appendix valuable.
•Appendix B (Focus Group Discussion Guide) can be used as a sample for developing a guide or for a discussion of issues and problems related to conducting focus groups.
•Appendix C (Nonparametric Significance Tests) can be used to supplement the chapter on hypothesis testing.
•Appendix D (Statistical Tables) can be used to discuss the mathematical foundation of hypothesis testing, association, and correlation.
Add Value to Teaching and Learning Resources
As a teacher and a researcher, I always assume there is a better way to do something. Just as innovation is the lifeblood of a business, it’s the lifeblood of a classroom, too. At educational conferences, I’m always drawn to sessions on teaching approaches. I’ve mentored dozens of new faculty in various teaching approaches in my career. When faculty reveal they don’t look at the resources that come with their books or share the appropriate ones with their students, I wonder why. Business Research Methods comes with a comprehensive set of teaching and learning resources for both faculty and students. I hope you’ll use them and send me suggestions for improving them for the next edition.
•Instructor’s Manual (instructors only). Decades of reviewers tell me that Business Research Methods is often assigned to professors new to teaching. I bring 40 years of teaching and even more years of research experience to the subject, so it’s important to me that both teachers and students have a wonderful experience. That means making the Instructor’s Manual a valuable tool. It’s full of information, teaching ideas, and teaching tools. It can help in a pinch, when preparation time is slim, when your tried-and-true approach seems to be failing to reach your Gen Z audience, or when you want to shake things up and try something fresh. Each chapter offers
•Suggestions for Active-Learning Exercises
•Suggestions for Web Exercises. While students surf the web all the time, they are often novices at finding the information they want on the web—just ask any librarian. Due to the ever-changing nature of web URLs, you’ll find these exercises within the IM, not the text.
•List of Exhibits, by number and title
page xiv
•List of Key Terms
•Chapter Outline
•Answers to end-of-chapter Review & Discussion Questions
•Additional Discussion Opportunities based on business research examples featured in prior editions.
Examine the Instructor’s Manual for ideas for using the resources below in your classroom.
•PowerPoint. While you can use these to guide a lecture, these slide decks are designed to facilitate discussion. This means one particular slide deck might be used for several class sessions, or only one. Faculty are encouraged to reorder the slides in any order that fits the activities you plan for your class session or just make notes of the slides you want and jump to them. Even when faculty don’t use PowerPoint, students might find the Chapter Outline portion of the slide deck a good review of the chapter or a good note-taking summary for class. Each chapter’s deck provides at minimum
•Exhibit slides: one or more slides for each exhibit providing the visual cues for concept development and discussion.
•Concept slides for key terms not covered by exhibit slides: providing deeper dives into concepts.
•Image slides: providing links to visual cues in the chapter.
•Snapshot/CloseUp/PicProfile slides: discussion slides, one or more for each of these special features in the chapter.
•Industry Thought Leadership slides, one or more for each chapter, sharing a quote or issue for discussion.
•Key Term List slide(s): one or more for each chapter, for review and quizzing.
•Video Supplements. Video supplements can be used as preparation for an in-class exercise or shown in the class as part of such an exercise. Some attach to a particular Snapshot/CloseUp/PicProfile or case. In the IM section on Video, you’ll find suggestions for video downloadable from company websites, YouTube.com, Ted.com, and more. Some explain concepts or provide examples; others set the stage for a thought-provoking discussion.
In CONNECT you’ll find video that my collaborators have shared, such as:
•An experiment in observation using body cameras; use for discussing error in observation research.
•Several short segments drawn from a two-hour metaphor elicitation technique (MET) interview; use to teach students to conduct almost any type of individual depth interview or to explain the concept of researcher–participant rapport.
•Cases. Cases offer an opportunity to examine management dilemmas and research projects in more depth and detail. You’ll find detailed discussion guides for each case in the Instructor’s Manual.
•Video Research Cases. Four full video cases were written and produced especially to match the text’s research process model. These feature noted companies Lexus, Starbucks, Wirthlin Worldwide (now Harris Interactive), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, GMMB, Visa, Bank One, Team One Advertising, U.S. Tennis Association, Vigilante New York, and the Taylor Group.
•Written Research Cases. You’ll find cases about hospital services, state lotteries, data mining, fundraising, new promotions, and website design, among other topics, featuring organizations like Akron Children’s Hospital, Kelley Blue Book, Starbucks, Yahoo!, the American Red Cross, and more.
•Data Files. If your course doesn’t involve a project where students collect their own data, use one of the cases that contain data to have them work with concepts found in Chapters 13–16. For example, you can modify the data (make it “dirty”) and have students prepare it for analysis, develop an analysis plans, construct dummy tables, choose appropriate tests for analysis, and more.
•Sample Questionnaires. The Case Index identifies which cases contain questionnaires. Use these for opportunities for active-learning exercises or discussion. Students can be asked to find problems with questions, question order, question transition, and so on.
•Sample Student Project. Appropriate data visualization in the finished deliverable is crucial to creating a strong research report. Have students critique this one.
•Appendices. You’ll find additional appendices within CONNECT: Bibliographic Database Searches, Advanced Bibliographic Searches, Complex Experimental Designs, Test Markets, and Pretesting Options and Discoveries. Assign these if you plan an active-learning exercise that needs more content than the text offers. For example, my class has a full period in the library computer lab where I team teach with our business librarian a session on an exploration strategy. Students review the
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781264364541
Call Number | Location | Available |
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658. 007 2 SCH b | PSB lt.1 - B. Wajib | 1 |
Penerbit | New York Mc Graw Hill., 2022 |
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Edisi | 14 |
Subjek | Research methods Industrial management |
ISBN/ISSN | 9781264704651 |
Klasifikasi | 658. 007 2 |
Deskripsi Fisik | xxv, 609 p. : ill. ; 27,5 cm. |
Info Detail Spesifik | - |
Other Version/Related | Tidak tersedia versi lain |
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