BOEK Researching and writing a dissertation: an essential guide for business students
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RESEARCHING
AND WRITING
A DISSERTATION
AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE
FOR BUSINESS STUDENTS
COLIN FISHER
THIRD EDITION
18/12/09 11:17:22
,Researching and Writing a Dissertation
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,Researching and Writing
a Dissertation
An essential guide for
business students
Third edition
Colin Fisher
with
John Buglear and Diannah Lowry
Alistair Mutch
Carole Tansley
,Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow
Essex CM20 2JE
England
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First published 2004
Second edition 2007
Third edition 2010
The right of Colin Fisher to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the
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All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this
text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor
does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners.
ISBN: 978-0-273-72343-1
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fisher, C. M. (Colin M.)
Researching and writing a dissertation : an essential guide for business students /
Colin Fisher with John Buglear ... [et al.]. -- 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-273-72343-1 (pbk.)
1. Dissertations, Academic. 2. Business--Research. 3. Report writing. I. Buglear, John. II. Title.
LB2369.F537 2010
808'.02--dc22
2009042463
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
14 13 12 11 10
Typeset in typesize/font by 30
Printed by Ashford Colour Press Ltd., Gosport
The publisher's policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
,Contents
Acknowledgements ix
0 Introduction 1
Who is this guide for? 3
What does doing a dissertation involve? 3
The process of doing a dissertation 4
What does working at Master’s level mean? 8
The assessment criteria 11
The learning outcomes and assessment criteria 12
Jargon, ‘isms’ and ‘ologies’ 15
How to use this guide 27
Suggested reading 28
Other recommended books 29
References 29
1 Choosing a topic and designing the project 31
Introduction 32
Choosing a topic 33
Criteria for choosing a topic 33
A six-stage process for choosing your topic 35
Designing your project 42
Modes of knowledge 42
The researcher’s role 48
Methodological stance 49
Breadth or depth 69
Choice of research methods 71
Ethical considerations 72
Writing the research proposal 84
Summary 87
Suggested reading 88
References 88
,vi Contents
2 Writing a critical literature review 91
Introduction 92
The sources 94
Searching for literature 97
Mapping and describing the literature 100
Describing the literature 100
Assessing the quality of an article or book 106
Forensic critique 108
Soundness of arguments 108
Evaluating arguments 111
Radical critique 119
The critical approach by Alistair Mutch 119
Developing a radical critique 122
Summary 131
Suggested reading 131
References 131
3 Concepts, conceptual frameworks and theories 133
Introduction 134
The roles of theory and conceptual frameworks 136
Developing conceptual frameworks 139
Defining concepts 140
Conceptual frameworks 141
Theories 148
Seeking inspiration: using your ‘intellectual baggage’ 149
Examples of the use of conceptual frameworks 155
An example of conceptualising and theorising in a study
of organisational cultures 155
Another example 159
Summary 164
Suggested reading 164
References 164
4 Collecting and analysing research material 167
Introduction 168
Discoverers 169
Structure of the chapter 173
, Contents vii
The range of research methods 174
Interviews 174
Panels 175
Questionnaires 176
Documentary research 177
Observational research 177
Deciding whether to use open or pre-structured methods 181
Planning and setting milestones 181
Exploratory research methods 182
Collecting the material 182
Interpretative approaches 187
Analysing the material 196
Survey research: pre-coded and structured research
methods 207
Collecting the material 207
Analysing the material: basic statistical analysis of data
by Diannah Lowry 226
Summary 240
Suggested reading 241
References 241
5 Interpreting the research material 243
Introduction 244
Choosing an interpretive grid 248
Styles of interpretive grid and the problem of ‘universals’ 250
Realism 252
Nominalism 257
Critical realism 261
Mixing interpretive grids 265
The validity and authenticity of research material 267
Saying what you mean 267
Saying what is valid 271
Improving the validity of research findings 276
Dialectical critique 280
Framing conclusions and recommendations 285
Problems of implementation 288
Accepting the limitations 290
Summary 290
Suggested reading 291
References 291
,viii Contents
6 Framing arguments and writing up 293
Introduction 294
Structuring your dissertation 295
Writing a thesis, not just a dissertation 298
Constructing arguments 299
Constructing dialectical arguments 301
Supporting your arguments 304
Style guide 316
Dissertation, report and paper specifications 316
Style hints 318
Summary 327
Suggested reading 328
References 328
7 Using software for research 329
Introduction 330
Using Minitab and SPSS to analyse survey results
by John Buglear 331
Software for analysing qualitative material
by Carole Tansley 415
Summary 426
References 426
Index 427
, Acknowledgements
I tried the patience of my friends at Nottingham Business School by con-
stant requests for feedback. They replied with good humour, useful
feedback and new material. I wish to thank Alistair Mutch, Diannah
Lowry, John Buglear and Carole Tansley especially for writing whole sec-
tions of this book. John and Carole have written completely new sections
for this third edition. All the contributions by colleagues are acknowledged
in the text. Among other colleagues, and ex-colleagues who have moved to
other universities, I wish to thank are Jim Stewart, Tony Woodall, Val
Caven, Denise Fletcher, Sue Kirk, Suzanne Tietze and John Leopold. Many
thanks also to Christos Athanasoulis for his helpful advice. Tony Watson
deserves particular thanks. It was only when I was writing the first edition
of the book that I realised what an influence he has been on my thinking
in the twenty and more years we had worked together at Nottingham
Business School. Nevertheless, neither he nor any other colleague is
responsible for errors or misunderstandings that might have found their
way into this guide.
Much of any practical wisdom to be found in this guide comes from the
many postgraduate students I have worked with at Nottingham Business
School when they were doing their dissertations. Many thanks are due to
them. In particular I want to thank Alastair Allen who allowed me to use
some of his research material to illustrate points about conceptual frame-
work building.
Finally, I would like to thank the reviewers (both academic and student)
who made valuable comments and suggestions on the second edition
which have helped to shape and revise this third edition. In particular:
Lecturers
● Dr Garance Marechal, University of Liverpool Management School
● Michael Le Duc, Malardalen University, Sweden
● Caroline Hodgson, Hope Business School, Liverpool Hope University
● Diane O’Sullivan, University of Glamorgan Business School
● Dr Jennifer Tomlinson, Leeds University Business School
● Howard Jackson, University of Huddersfield Business School
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