Business Research Methods

William G. Zikmund was Professor of Marketing at Oklahoma State University, USA. Before beginning his academic career, he worked in marketing research for Conway/Millikin Company (a marketing research supplier) and Remington Arms Company (an extensive user of marketing research). During his academic career, Professor Zikmund published many articles in a variety of scholarly journals, ranging from the Journal of Marketing and Accounting Review to the Journal of Applied Psychology. Professor Zikmund was a member of several professional organisations, including the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Marketing Science, the Association for Consumer Research, the Society for Marketing Advances, the Marketing Educators’ Association and the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators. He served on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Marketing Education, Marketing Education Review, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Journal of Business Research. Barry J. Babin has authored more than 100 research publications in some of today's most prestigious peer-reviewed research periodicals such as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the International Journal of Wine Business Research. Dr. Babin is currently Phil B. Hardin Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Department of Marketing, Analytics, & Professional Sales in the Ole Miss School of Business Administration. He has won numerous honors for his research, including the Louis K. Brandt Faculty Research Award from the University of Southern Mississippi, Outstanding Researcher in the COB at Louisiana Tech University, the 1996 Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) Steven J. Shaw Award and the 1997 Omerre Deserres Award for Outstanding Contributions to Retail and Service Environment Research. He has also been recognized with the Academy of Marketing Science’s prestigious Harold W. Berkman Distinguished Service Award and the AMS/Vector Marketing Distinguished Marketing Educator Award. Dr. Babin is a past president of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Society for Marketing Advances and has been recognized as a distinguished fellow of both organizations. His research focuses on the effect of the service environment in creating value for employees and customers and on the impact of big data on consumer liberty. He offers expertise in building and understanding value that leads to long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with employees and customers. His teaching specialties involve advanced methods of marketing and consumer research and creative problem solving. A frequent international lecturer, he has presented in Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Peru, Israel and the United Kingdom. Jon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at TCU where he teaches courses in the area of New Ventures and Organizational Behavior. He previously taught at the University of Southern Mississippi. He has pulished articles in journals such as Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Management, and the Journal of Business Research. Mitch is an Associate Professor of Management at Bradley University. Mitch has previous teaching experience at Southern Illinois University, the University of Minnesota, and Louisiana State University. His current teaching interests include Principles of Marketing, Pricing and Product Strategies, Sales Management, Marketing Research, and Advanced Marketing Research. In recognition of his teaching, Dr. Griffin received the Foster College of Business Administration 1994 Midwest Grain Products Inc. Outstanding Teaching Award. His research has appeared in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal Of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector Marketing, and Advances in Consumer Research.

• Preface.PART I: INTRODUCTION.1. The Role of Business Research.2. Information Systems and Knowledge Management.3. Theory Building.4. The Business Research Process: An Overview.5. The Human Side of Business: Organizational and Ethical Issues.PART II: BEGINNING STAGES OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS.6. Problem Definition: The Foundation of Business Research.7. Qualitative Research Tools.8. Secondary Data Research in a Digital Age.PART III: RESEARCH METHODS FOR COLLECTING PRIMARY DATA.9. Survey Research: An Overview.10. Survey Research: Communicating with the Respondents.11. Observation Methods.12. Experimental Research.PART IV: MEASUREMENT CONCEPTS.13. Measurement and Scaling Concepts.14. Attitude Measurement.15. Questionnaire Design.PART V: SAMPLING AND FIELDWORK.16. Sampling Designs. and Procedures.17. Determination of Sample Size: A Review of Statistical Theory.18. Fieldwork.PART VI: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION.19. Editing and Coding: Transforming Raw Data into Information.20. Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics.21. Univariate Statistical Analysis.22. Bivariate Statistical Analysis: Differences Between Two Variables.23. Bivariate Statistical Analysis: Measures of Association.24. Multivariate Statistical Analysis.25. Communicating the Research Results: Research Report, Oral Presentation, and Follow-Up.PART VII: CRITICAL THINKING CASES.Appendix: Statistical Tables, Glossary of Frequently Used Symbols, Glossary, Endnotes.Index.