Chapter 1: The Role of BR I. The Nature of Research A. BR defined B. Applied & basic BR C. The scientific method II. Managerial Value of BR A. Identifying problems or opportunities B. Diagnosing & assessing problems or opportunities C. Selecting & implementing a course of action D. Evaluating the course of action III. When is BR Needed? A. Time constraints B. Availability of data C. Nature of the decision D. Benefits vs costs IV. BR In The 21st Century A. Communication technologies B. Global BR
Chapter 3: Theory Building I. Introduction A. What is a theory? B. What are the goals of theory? II. Research Concepts, Constructs, Proposition, Variables & Hypotheses A. Research concepts & constructs B. Research proposition & hypotheses III. Understanding Theory A. Verifying theory B. Theory building

Chapter 5: The Human Side of BR: Organizational & Ethical Issue I. Introduction II. Ethical issue in BR A. Ethical qs are philosophical qs B. General rights & obligation of concerned parties C. Rights & obligation of the research participant * The obligation to be truthful * Participants’ right to privacy * Active & Passive research * Deception in research designs & the right to be informed * Experiment designs * Descriptive research * Protection from harm D. Rights & obligation of the researcher * Research the isn’t research * Mixing sales or fund-raising with research * Pseudo-research * Push polis
Chapter 6: Problem definition: The foundation of BR I. Introduction A. Importance of starting with a good problem definition B. Problem complexity * Situation frequency * Dramatic changes * How widespread are the symptoms? * Symptom ambiguity II. The problem-definition process A. Problems mean gaps B. The problem-definition process steps C. Understand the business decision * Interview process * Identifying symptoms D. Identifying the relevant issues from the symptoms E. Writing managerial decision statements & corresponding research objectives F. Determine the unit of analysis G. Determine relevant variables * What is a variable? * Types of variables H. Write research objective & qs III. Clarify in research qs & hypotheses IV. How much time should be spent on problem definition? V. The research proposal A. The proposal as planning tool B. The proposal as a contract C. Anticipating outcomes
Chapter 10: Survey research: Communicating with respondents I. Personal interviews A. Adv of personal interviews * Opportunity for feedback * Probing complex answer * Length of interview * Completeness of questionnaire * Props & visual aids * High participation B. Disadv of personal interview * Interviewer influence * Lack of anonymity of respondent * Cost C. Door-to-door interviews & shopping mall intercepts * Door-to-door interviews * Callbacks * Mall intercepts interviews D. Global considerations II. Telephone interviews A. Mobile phone interviews B. Phone interview characteristics * Speed * Cost * Absence of face-to-face contact * Cooperation * Incentives to respond * Representative samples * Callbacks * Limited duration * Lack of visual medium C. Central location interviewing D. Computer-assisted telephone interviewing E. Computerized voice-activated telephone interview F. Global consideration III. Self-administered questionnaires A. Mail questionnaires * Geographic flexibility * Cost * Respondent convenience * Anonymity of respondent * Absence of interviewer * Standardized qs * Time is money * Length of mail questionnaire B. Response rates C. Increasing response rates for mail surveys * Cover letter * Money hlps * Interesting qs * Follow-ups * Advance notification * Survey sponsorship * Other techniques * Keying mail questionnaires with codes D. Global considerations IV. Self-administered questionnaires using other forms of distribution A. Fax surveys B. Email surveys C. Internet surveys * Speed & cost-effectiveness * Visual appeal & interactivity * Respondent participation & cooperation * Representative samples * Accurate real-time data capture * Callbacks * Personalized & flexible questioning * Respondent anonymity * Response rates * Security concerns
Chapter 13: Measurement & scaling I. What do I measure A. Concepts B. Operational definitions * Variables * Constructs II. Levels of scale measurement A. Nominal scale B. Ordinal scale C. Interval scale D. Ration scale E. Mathematical & statistical analysis of scales * Discrete measures * Continuous measures

III. Index measures A. Index & composites B. Computing scale values IV. 3 criteria for good measurement A. Reliability * Internal consistency * Test-retest reliability B. Validity A. Establishing validity C. Reliability vs validity D. Sensitivity
Chapter 14: Attitude measurement I. Attitude as hypothetical constructs A. Importance of measuring attitudes II. Techniques for measuring attitudes III. Attitude rating scales A. Simple attitude scales B. Category scales C. Method of summated ratings: the likert scale * Reverse recoding * Composite scales D. Semantic differential E. Numerical scales F. Staple scale G. Constant-sum scale H. Graphic rating scale I. Turnstone interval scale IV. Measuring behavioural intention A. Behavioural differential V. Ranking A. Paired comparisons B. Sorting VI. Other methods of attitude measurement VII. Selecting a measurement scale: some practical decisions A. Ranking, sorting, rating, or choice technique? B. Monadic or comparative scale? C. What type of category labels, if any? D. How many scale categories or response positions? E. Balanced or unbalanced rating scale? F. Even or odd number of scale points? G. Use a scale that force a choice among predetermined options? H. Single measure or an index measure?
Chapter 15: Questionnaire design I. Questionnaire quality and design: basic considerations A. What should be asked? B. Questionnaire relevancy C. Questionnaire accuracy II. Wording questions A. Open-ended response vs fixed-alternative qs * Using open-ended response qs * Using fixed-alternative qs B. Types of fixed-alternaive qs C. Phrasing qs for self-administered, telephone, and personal interview survey III. Guideline for constructing qs A. Avoid complexity: use simple, conversational language B. Avoid leading & loaded qs C. Avoid ambiguity: be as specific as possible D. Avoid double-barreled items E. Avoid making assumptions F. Avoid burdensome qs that may tax the respondent’s money G. Make certain qs generate variance IV. What is the best qs sequence? V. What is the best layout? A. Traditional questionnaire B. Internet questionnaire * Layout issue * Software that makes questionnaire interactive VI. How much pretesting & revising e necessary? VII. Designing questionnaires for global markets
Chapter 16: Sampling design & sampling procedures I. Sampling terminology II. Why sample? A. Pragmatic reasons B. Accurate & reliable results C. Destruction of test units III. Practical sampling concepts A. Defining the target population B. The sampling frame * Sampling frames for international research C. Sampling units IV. Random sampling & non-sampling errors A. Random sampling error B. Systematic sampling error C. Less than perfectly representative samples V. Probability vs non-probability sampling VI. Non-probability samples A. Convenience sampling B. Judgment sampling C. Quota sampling * Possible source of bias * Advantage of quota sampling D. Snowball sampling VII. Probability sampling A. Simple random sampling B. Systematic sampling C. Stratified sampling D. Proportional vs disproportional strata E. Cluster sampling F. Multistage area sampling VIII. What is the appropriate sample design? A. Degree of accuracy B. Resources C. Time D. Advance knowledge of the population E. National vs local project IX. Internet sampling s unique A. Website visitors B. Panel samples C. Recruited ad hoc samples D. Opt-in lists
Chapter 24: Multivariate statistical analysis I. Introduction A. What is multivariate data analysis? B. The ‘variate’ in multivariate II. Classifying multivariate techniques A. Dependence techniques B. Interdependence techniques C. Influence of measurement scales III. Analysis of dependence A. Multiple regression analysis * A simple example * Regression coefficients in multiple regressions * R2 in multiple regressions * Statistical significance in multiple regressions * Steps in interpreting a multiple regressions model IV. Analysis of interdependence A. Factor analysis * How many factors * Factors loadings * Factors rotation * Data reduction technique * Creating composite scales with factor result * Community * Total variance explained
Chapter 2: The process of conducting research using quantitative & qualitative approaches [Author of reference material: John Cresswell] I. A definition of research & its importance A. Research adds to our knowledge B. Research improves practice C. Research informs policy debates D. Several problems with research today II. The 6 steps in the process of research A. Identifying a research problem B. Reviewing the literature C. Specifying purpose for research D. Collecting data E. Analysing and interpreting the data F. Reporting & evaluating research III. The characteristics of quantitative & qualitative research in each of the 6 steps A. Quantitative research characteristics B. Quantitative research characteristics C. Similarities & differences with quantitative & qualitative research D. Research design associated with quantitative & qualitative research * Experimental design * Correlational design * Survey design * Grounded theory design * Ethnographic design * Narrative research design * Mixed research design * Action research design IV. Important ethical issue in conducting research A. Institutional review boards B. Professional associations C. Ethical practices throughout the research process D. Some ethical issue in data collection E. Some ethical issue in data reporting V. Skills needed to design & conduct research A. Solving puzzles B. Lengthening your attention span C. Learning to use library resources D. Writing, editing & more writing