Research Methodology: A Guide For Researchers In Management And Social Sciences

The Book Intended to serve as a text for postgraduate students of commerce, management, and social sciences, and especially for the first-time researchers, this well-organized book deals with the variety of research methods used in management and social sciences, with particular emphasis on the implementation of these methods. It offers readers practical guidelines for research and directs them through all the stages of research—from identifying a viable research project to the submission of a dissertation, report, or research article.

The text identifies three dimensions of research methodology—research strategies, research methods and research data—that provide a structure for the book.

1. An Overview of Research Methodology.

2. Setting up a Research Project.

3. Case Studies as a Methodological Strategy.

4. Surveys as a Methodological Strategy.

5. Experiments as a Methodological Strategy.

6. Action Research as a Methodological Strategy.

7. Interview Methods.

8. The Use of Questionnaires.

9. Observational Methods.

10. Documentary Sources.

11. The Concept of Level of Measurement.

12. Methodology of Analysing Quantitative Data.

13. Methodology of Analysing Qualitative Data.

14. Writing About Research.

Appendixes

A. Basic Statistical Measures.

B. Significance Tests for Use with an Experimental Strategy.

C. Testing Hypotheses about the Shape of Distribution.

D. Factor Analysis in Constructing a Likert Scale.

E. Analysis of Variance.

F. Basic Elements of Sampling Theory. Index.