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Are you about to begin your dissertation or a research project, but don´t know what topic to choose? Are you unsure of what research methods to use and how they should be applied to your project? Are you worried about how to write up your research project? Then this is the book for you!

A balanced coverage of qualitative and quantitative methods means that no matter what approach you choose to use for your project, there are examples and case studies to help guide you through the process.

Student Research boxes provide an insight into situations and research decisions that students have encountered in real life projects. They contain hints, tips and sometimes questions to help you think through your own project.

A Running Case Study charts the progression of two student research projects - one qualitative and one quantitative - and shows how the content of each chapter can be used to develop their projects. Thought provoking questions are included in order to help you consider the issues and decisions involved, which you can then apply to your own project.

Deeper Insight boxes delve further into particular research issues, offering you a detailed description to increase your understanding of these areas, whilst Real Life examples put research methods into context, by showing you how they have been applied in real world situations.

The Online Learning Centre contains a vast amount of extra resources to help you create a superior project:

Six statistical chapters are available to help you prepare, test and analyse your hypotheses and data.
Extra cases, appendices and dataset exercises help you to take your study further.
Check out the Research Skills Centre for free chapters of Study Skills books, examples of good and bad proposals, and templates for questionnaires and surveys.

All of this and more can be found at www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/textbooks/blumberg

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Part 1: Essentials of Research

1. The Nature of Business and Management Research

2. The Research Process and Proposal

3. Literature Review

4. Ethics in Business Research

Part 2: Research Methods

5. Quantitative and Qualitative Research

6. Sampling Strategies

7. Primary Data Collection with Surveys

8. Primary Data Collection: Qualitative Data

9. Secondary Data and Archival Sources

10. Content Analysis and Other Qualitative Approaches

11. Case Studies

12. Experimentation

Part 3: Research Instruments

13. Fieldwork: Questionnaires and Responses

14. Measurement and Scales

15. Writing and Presenting Research Outcomes

Part 4: Statistical Background (ONLINE)

16. Data Preparation and Description

17. Exploring, Displaying and Examining Data

18. Hypothesis Testing

19. Measures of Association

20. Multivariate Analysis: An Overview

21. Qualitative Data Analysis: An Overview

Appendices

Cases

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Teaches research methods, statistics, and organizational behavior in the masters and doctoral programs of public administration and business. Cooper´s Ph.D. is from Kent State University. In addition to grants, articles, books, and monographs, he has received several teaching awards, most recently from the College of Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs. Dr. Cooper serves as the managing director of the Cooper Research Group, a consultancy specializing in customer satisfaction, loyalty, defection, and market segmentation research for the electronics and computer industries. Currently, he provides senior management of domestic and global firms with brand, segmentation, and service analysis. Prior to his academic career, Cooper was responsible for executive recruitment at a Fortune 500 and was an U.S. Air Force Captain during four years of active duty.

Professor of Management at Wittenberg University, is an educator and businesswoman. A winner of the prestigious Leavey Foundation Award in Free Enterprise Education, Schindler specializes in teaching marketing management, creative advertising, and supervising students on applied management projects. Serving as Director of Wittenberg´s Center for Applied Management, she coordinates the Small Business Institute (SBI) program, winner of the 1996 National Showcase Award for innovation and excellence, as well as the Project Management Assistance program, in which she has guided more than 300 students doing experiential research and strategic projects for businesses, not-for-profits, and government agencies. A management and marketing consultant, Schindler also holds operating responsibilities in her family´s property management business.

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