HBS CASE

6 STEP GUIDE TO DESIGNING A RESEARCH PROJECT:

THE RESEARCH ‘ONION’
(DO ONIONS MAKE YOU CRY?)

HBS CASE July 2017 Dr Courtney

What is the ‘research onion’? (Saunders et al, 2007)

Introduction

The diagram above (sometimes called the ‘research onion’, because it has many layers), was
developed by Saunders et al. (2007). It illustrates the stages that must be included when
developing a research strategy. Each layer describes a more detailed stage of the research
process and the model provides an effective progression through the stages of designing a
research methodology for a research project such as a dissertation. Students (and
supervisors!) can get quite confused about these different stages so this guide is useful when
you have to design a research methodology for a research proposal, and when you have to
write your methodology section, describing your research methodology decisions.

Here are the six stages you need to go through:

Stage 1: Choose your research philosophy

Stage 2: Choose your research approach

Stage 3: Choose your research strategy

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Stage 4: Choose your research method

Stage 5: Choose your research time horizon

Stage 6: Chose your data collection and data analysis tools

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STAGE 1: Choosing a research philosophy

What’s your own philosophy of life? Work hard to get a good job or just have fun? We all
have a personal ‘ontology’ or view of what life is about and how the world works. A research
philosophy refers to the set of beliefs concerning the nature of the reality being investigated
(Bryman, 2012). It is the underlying definition of the nature of knowledge itself. The
assumptions of a research philosophy provide your justification for how the research will be
undertaken. Research philosophies will differ in terms of the view of the ‘real world’ that
they present, and this will affect the goals of research and the objectives you choose to
achieve the aim of your research. Understanding the research philosophy you use is
essential to explain the assumptions inherent in the research process and how this fits the
methodology you choose.

Two main ontological frameworks dominate the modern research process: positivism
(scientific method) and constructionism (the view that we all ‘construct’ our own meanings
in life). These frameworks can be described differently (e.g., empiricism and interpretivism)
but the underlying assumptions are broadly similar. Positivism assumes that reality exists
independently of the thing being studied so that that the meaning of phenomena is
consistent between subjects. Conversely, constructionism suggests that the inherent
meaning of social phenomena is created by each observer or group. In this philosophy, you
can never assume that what is observed is interpreted in the same way between participants
and the key approach is to examine differences in this understanding.

One philosophy is not inherently better than the other, although researchers may favour one
over the other, and in some cases, positivism might be a better ‘tool’ to use and give your
research better ‘construct validity’ (did you use appropriate research methods for your aim
and objectives?). Basically, the research philosophy is your starting point, which is why it is
‘stage 1’ and it provides the justification for the research methodology. The methodology
should then be informed by the nature of the phenomena being observed.

So, you start your research process by deciding how you are going to view the world you are
studying – you must choose your research philosophy and state it as the first item in your
methodology chapter. You have a choice of the following ten philosophies, although there
can and will be overlap between them in many cases. Don’t worry about keeping your
philosophy or your methodology ‘pure’ – there is no advantage in just using one (mono)
method, but you do need to state what philosophy you are using, and understand why.

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Philosophy 1: Positivism

This is ‘scientific method’ and only suitable for science, engineering and any research which
only uses numerical (quantitative) data. You set up ‘control groups’ and test each group to
test hypotheses

X does affect Y positively - it makes things better

X has no affect on y (sometimes called the Null hypothesis) – it doesn’t change anything

X does affect Y negatively – it makes things worse

Note: affect comes first alphabetically, and an action (to affect) has to occur before you can
have a result - an effect.

Philosophy 2: Realism

Realism is a research philosophy which is a theory about how we ‘see’ the world. It is divided
into two types: Direct realism and Critical realism. Direct realism can be summed up as the
view that ‘what you see is what you get’ and that the world is exactly as we see it.

Direct realist researchers will focus on only one level of a research issue. This might be the
individual, group or the organisation or nation.

Critical realists see the world as multi-layered in terms of the perspectives of the different
‘actors’ (research subjects) who are also seen as ‘constructing’ their own different world
views depending on their own situations. As a critical realism researcher, you investigate the
influence and interrelationship between the individual, the group and the organisation.
Critical realism will capture more of the important details when studying a phenomenon.
Critical realism is the best approach for modern research.

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Philosophy 3: Phenomenology

Related to realism above, Phenomenology research is concerned with experiences, events

and issues with minimum regard for any ideas about external and physical reality.
Phenomenology is a variation of interpretivism (see below) along with other variations such
as hermeneutics, symbolic interactionism and others which we needn’t concern ourselves
with here.

Phenomenologist researchers use induction to record many observations of the

‘phenomenon’ or the ‘phenomena’ being researched. Phenomenology in business research
studies observes the human interests and reactions in an organisation, as well as
stakeholder perspectives which might be impacting the study context. For example, if you
are attempting to assess the impact of leadership style on employee motivation in an
organisation using in-depth interviews with employees, then your research design is built on
a phenomenology philosophy.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Phenomenology

Advantages associated with phenomenology include better understanding of meanings

attached by people and its contribution to the development of new theories. Its
disadvantages include difficulties with analysis and interpretation, usually lower levels of
validity and reliability compared to positivism, and more time and other resources required
for data collection.

Philosophy 4: Interpretivism (interpretive, interpretivist)

Interpretivism and positivism are the two basic approaches to research methods in the
Social Sciences. Positivists prefer scientific quantitative methods, while Interpretivists prefer

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humanistic qualitative methods. Interpretivism, also known as interpretivist involves
researchers to interpret elements of the study, thus interpretivism integrates human interest
into a study. Accordingly, “interpretive researchers assume that access to reality (given or
socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness,
shared meanings, and instruments”. Development of interpretivist philosophy is based on
the critique of positivism in social sciences.

Interpretivism is related to the philosophical position of ‘idealism’, and incudes diverse

approaches such as social constructivism, phenomenology and hermeneutics. All these
research approaches assume that we all ‘construct’ our own versions of social reality, so it is
the job of the researcher to try to find out these individual perceptions and appreciate the
differences between people. Interpretivism studies focus on ‘meaning’ and how and why
social actors make sense of their own situations.

Philosophy 5: Objectivism

Objectivism is a perspective or world view (ontology) which can be adopted by some social
science researchers. in all the social sciences. In business studies, for example, objectivist
ontology means that psychological phenomena such as consumer buying behaviour are real
phenomena and can be generalizable as having definite properties and causes which the
researcher can find out by observation and questioning.

Philosophy 6: Subjectivism

Qualitative methodology recognizes that the subjectivity of the researcher is inevitable since
researchers are humans and all humans are biased in many ways depending on their cultural
upbringing and education etc. Subjectivity guides everything from the choice of topic that a
researcher studies to selecting methodologies, and interpreting data. In qualitative

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methodology, the researcher is actively encouraged to reflect on the values and objectives
he or she brings to the research and how these affect the research project.

A key issue that arises with the recognition of subjectivity is how it affects objectivity. Two
positions have been taken on this:

1) Objectivity is said to negate subjectivity since it renders the observer a passive recipient of
external information, devoid of agency.

2) The researcher's subjectivity is said to negate the possibility of objectively knowing a

social psychological world. The researcher’s values are theorised to define the world that is
studied. We never really ‘see’ the same world as others, we only see what our own values
and ontology (view of the world) dictate. A world may exist beyond these values, but it can
never be known ‘objectively’. Does a fish know it is wet?

There is no right answer here – but as a researcher, you need to appreciate the arguments
and to indicate your understanding of them in your methodological limitations section.

Philosophy 7: Pragmatism

Pragmatism in its simplest sense is a practical approach to a research problem. For most
practical purposes, students will want to use both primary and secondary data for their
research, so pragmatism is often associated with mixed methods research and also to action
research where the goal is a practical improvement in a situation. According to pragmatism
research philosophy, the research question is the most important determinant of the
research philosophy to be used, so ifyour research question is something like “How can
customer service be improved in the XYZ company?, then you will be taking a ‘pragmatic
approach to the research. Pragmatics can combine both, positivist and interpretivism
positions within the scope of a single research study, according to the nature of the research
question.

Philosophy 8: Functionalist

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Functionalism is really a sociological theory rather than a research methods theory. It is
based largely on the works of sociologists such as Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott
Parsons, and Robert Merton. Their main theoretical assumption is that society is a system of
interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and
social equilibrium for the whole. As such, the philosophy is ‘right wing’ ideologically, and
Marxism is the ‘left wing’ opposite view – that society doesn’t work in harmony but has
within its capitalist, exploitative economy, the ‘seeds of its own destruction’ (see radical
structuralism below). Both are not to be recommended as a ‘balanced’ research philosophy
since both perspectives are highly ideologically biased from the beginning. This doesn’t
mean of course, that the recommendations from any research would not have an ideological
implication.

Philosophy 9: Radical humanist

The radical humanist research philosophy views the world as one in which we all have the
potential to improve ourselves or our organisations, despite the constraints of society. As
such, this view of “endless possibilities” is closely allied to the interpretive viewpoint as it is a
view which allows and encourages subjectivity, and also related to action research which is
‘improvement research’. As such, the ‘critical social researcher’ is the role inevitably taken by
the researcher as he or she seeks to justify personal or organisational change. ‘Radical’
implies this critical stance, and ‘humanism’ is a philosophy which foregrounds human value
and subjectivity above all other concerns. If your research was looking at the treatment of
refugees in the context of the UK economy, you might well take a radical humanist
philosophical stance.

Philosophy 10: Radical structuralist

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A researcher using a radical structuralist research philosophy would focus on the power
relations within organisations, and see them as constraining structures. The researcher
would view the social world as comprised of structures which are fundamentally in
opposition to one another. Therefore, the focus of this research would be to identify ways in
which opposition can lead to conflict, which would eventually lead to political or economic
change for the better. The resultant new structure that replaces the old structure would
have solved the problems that the previous structure embodied.

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STAGE 2: Choosing a research approach

Approach 1: Inductive

There is a lot of confusion over an inductive approach and a deductive approach. This is
understandable since the word means different things in different specialisms. The main
difference between inductive and deductive approaches to research is that a deductive
approach is aimed at testing theory, and an inductive approach is concerned with the
generation of new theory emerging from the data.

Inductive reasoning is actually the way that all scientific discoveries are made – observing
from real world experience and then formulating hypotheses which can then be tested
deductively (logically and with credible supporting evidence). Induction begins with detailed
observations of the world, leads to abstract generalisations and ideas. For example, Newton
getting hit on the head with an apple led him over his lifetime to formulate and refine his
theory of gravity.

An inductive research approach

When following an inductive approach, beginning with a topic, a researcher develops

empirical (real world) generalisations and begins to identify themes and relationships as he
or she progresses through the research. Because of this, inductive reasoning is often
referred to as a “bottom-up” approach to research because the researcher uses observations
to start to get some idea about the issue being researched.

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Approach 2: Abductive

An abductive research approach is very similar to an inductive research approach, so also

see induction above. Philosophers will identify subtle differences but for all practical
research purposes at HBS, abductive reasoning (also called abduction, abductive inference,
or retroduction) is a form of logical inference which starts with an observation then seeks to
find the simplest and most likely explanation.

Abductive or inductive?

Approach 3: Deductive

Professor Karl Popper (Google Images)

In very general terms, a deductive approach is basically gathering evidence (think of it as

detective work) to support the initial ideas created inductively. In Newton’s case, it was in
spending the rest of his life trying to establish a general theory of gravitational pull from
observing inductively, the single example of the falling apple. Generally, in business studies,
using a deductive approach follows these stages:

1. Deducing hypotheses from a general theory arrived at inductively (something must be

pulling the apple down).

2. Formulating hypotheses in operational terms and proposing relationships between two

specific variables

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3. Testing hypothesis with the application of relevant research method(s)

4. Examining the outcome of the test, and thus confirming or rejecting the theory.

5. Modifying theory in instances when a hypothesis is not confirmed. Professor Karl Popper,
a famous economist and philosopher at the London School of Economics, stressed the
importance of admitting when the evidence doesn’t support the hypothesis. He stated that
the important thing to do in research was actually to find evidence that did not support the
hypotheses, rather than just looking for evidence that only supported the hypothesis (seeing
only what you want to see). This was his important ‘falsification’ test for ‘good’ research.

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STAGE 3: Choosing your research strategy (research design)

The research design is the description of how the research process will be completed. It is a
framework which includes the considerations that led to the appropriate methodology being
adopted, the way in which the respondents were selected, and how the data will be
analysed. There are three main research designs: the descriptive, explanatory, and the
exploratory.

1) The descriptive research design

This type of research is usually qualitative and aims to capture and reflect the experiences of
respondents. It is thus related closely to ethnographic studies, but a quantitative framework
could also be an appropriate framework. For example, the demographic characteristics of a
population or subgroup can be reported statistically. The aim of this type of research is to
gain a ‘deeper’ description of the issue or problem.

2) The explanatory research design

This type of research is focused on how to effectively explain the characteristics of a

population or a social or economic phenomenon for example. This may be seen as effective
when using a quantitative framework, where the influence of one variable on another can
be established. The exploratory study is an exploration of an issue that takes place before
enough is known to conduct a formulaic research project. It is usually used in order to
inform further research in the subject area.

3) The exploratory research design

This is the type of research which you would do for a Phd. It involves ‘exploring’ your subject
area in great detail until you find the issues you think are most important to focus on and
which you feel are under-researched (knowledge ‘gap’). You will then develop your own
theory (grounded theory) in order to test the usefulness of the theory against real world
(empirical) evidence.

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Below are the main research designs:
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Research design 1: Experimental (explanatory)

This is really only suitable for ‘scientific’ research where you can control for variables – not
usually possible with social science (business) research. This type of research sets up
hypotheses which are then ‘tested’ for positive, null (no effect) or negative outcomes by
giving ‘treatments’ to the different control groups. It is sometimes called a ‘pre-test/post-
test research method.

Experimental research refers to the strategy of creating a research process that examines the
results of an experiment against the expected results. It can be used in all areas of research,
and usually involves the consideration of a relatively limited number of factors. The
relationship between the factors are examined, and judged against the expectation of the
research outcomes. In business research, this type of positivist design, using hypotheses
might be appropriate for research looking at the variation in stock market process in relation
to say, company mergers and acquisitions.

Research design 2: Survey (descriptive)

A survey research method involves sampling individual units from a population and uses
survey data collection techniques, such as questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. The
point of a survey is to gather relevant data about an issue. Statistical surveys are undertaken
with a view towards making statistical generalisations about the population being studied,
and the sampling techniques used and the questions asked become key issues for accurate
surveys. Polls about public opinion, public health surveys, market research surveys,
government surveys and population censuses are all examples of quantitative research that
use contemporary survey methodology to answer questions about a population.

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Surveys tend to be used in quantitative research projects, and involve sampling a
representative proportion of the population. The surveys produce quantitative data that can
be analysed empirically. Surveys are most commonly used to examine causative variables
between different types of data.

Samples

A sample is a representative segment of a larger population. In quantitative research, the

sample size and how it is selected can be used to establish the reliability of the results of the
study. In qualitative research, the sample characteristics are also important, but much
smaller samples tend to be used (see CASE guide to research methods).

Sample Size

The sample size represents the number of respondents selected from the overall population
that are used in the research. In quantitative research, the size of the sample is essential in
determining the reliability of the results of a study. At HBS, supervisors tend to suggest 50
respondents as a practical number, but depending on what your research aim is, 100 is a
general number after which your statistics can be expected to gain some statistical
significance. In qualitative research, the size of the sample is less important, and the concept
of ‘representativeness’ (does your sample accurately represent your targeted population?) is
not as strong a guideline for the validity of the research.

Sampling Techniques

Sampling techniques are the ways in which an appropriate sample size is selected for the
wider study. There are some guides for this on the CASE website and also plenty of research
methods books in the LRC – some are given in the bibliography section at the end of this
guide. There are a number of accepted techniques that can be used. A random sample
represents individuals within a larger population who are chosen at random. However, this
can result in random distribution, which can mean significant bias resulting from the random
nature of sample selection. For example, a random sample may result in more male students
than females being represented in a sample, or an unequal distribution across ages. A
stratified sample may then be used to ensure that the representatives of the population in
the sample reflect the significant characteristics of the wider population, such as making
sure that the demographic characteristics of age and gender are reflected in the sample. A
convenience sample is often used at HBS and this is where the sample is taken from an
existing framework, such as all international students using the LRC. This may be appropriate
if a study is concerned with student views, and it proved convenient to sample just one
educational institution.

Research design 3: Case Study (descriptive and explanatory)

A ‘case’ can be an individual, an organisation, an issue, a country etc. Case study research is
how business studies were originally taught – by taking the ‘case’ of local businesses at
Harvard in America, and working out how they were successful or otherwise. A case study is
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therefore the assessment of a single unit in order to establish its key features and draw
generalisations. It’s distinguishing feature is that it cannot just be a description, but must
also involve some analytical framework. It can offer an insight into the specific nature of any
example, and can establish the importance of culture and context in differences between
case. This form of research is popular in economic and financial research at HBS, such as
comparing the experiences of two companies, or comparing the effect of investment in
difference contexts.

Research design 4: Action Research (descriptive)

Action research is characterised as a practical approach to a specific research problem within

a community of practice, but think of it as practical research that usually aims for
‘improvement’ in a situation. It can be internal action research if you are researching your
own organisation, or external action research, if your role is more like an external
consultant. It involves examining practice to establish that it corresponds to the best
approach. It tends to involve reflective practice, which is a systematic process by which the
professional practice and experience of the practitioners can be assessed. This form of
research is common in public sector professions such as teaching, nursing, social work,
where the practitioner can assess ways in which they can improve their professional
approach and understanding.

Research design 5: Grounded Theory (exploratory)

This ‘exploratory’ design is really only appropriate for a Phd. Grounded theory is theory that
you arrive at yourself after a long process of inductive exploration of your subject area. It is
what Phd students do, and their exploration of their subject areas should lead them to seek
knowledge ‘gaps’ in their disciplines, which their own theory, ‘grounded’ in intensive
exploration of the subject, is intended to fill. This means that the result of their research is
derived fundamentally from the research that has been completed, rather trying to fit the
data to with pre-existing theories and frameworks. Most Master’s dissertations at HBS will
compare the research data to pre-existing theories.

Research design 6: Ethnography (descriptive)

Ethnography involves the close observation of people, examining their cultural interaction
and their meaning constructions. In this research process, the observer conducts the
research from the perspective of the people being observed, and aims to understand the
differences of meaning and importance or behaviours from their perspective. The researcher
‘lives’ with the research subjects, so ethnography has a lot in common with internal action
research, except that ethnographers do not want or expect to ‘change’ the observed
situation in any way.

Research design 7: Secondary research (descriptive)

This is data collected by other researchers. All dissertations will have some secondary
research in the form of a literature review. There are many different methods for analysing
secondary data, and most of them overlap in some ways, since they are all based on the idea

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that the secondary researcher is looking for significant information and patterns in
secondary data ‘texts’ – the research reports, company reports, independent ‘expert’
reports, and stakeholder reports (in the media) in relation to the dissertation topic.

The following secondary or ‘desk research’ methods are explained in more detail in the CASE
guide to secondary research:

1) Thematic coding
2) Template analysis
3) Framework analysis
4) Narrative reviews
5) Quantitative reviews
6) Meta-analysis
7) Synthesis of selected evidence
8) Meta-interpretation
9) Realist synthesis

These are not the only secondary methods which you will come across in research
publications, and many of them will have slightly different interpretations – and perhaps new
names – from different researchers and research publications. However, the list above does
contain the main methods you could use, although some of them also allow for primary data
as well – for example, ‘realist synthesis’. I and 2 (thematic coding and template analysis) are
the main secondary data methods you will come across and probably are the best choices for
your own secondary research (See CASE guide to secondary research dissertations).

Research design 8: Archival (descriptive)

An archival research strategy is essentially a secondary research strategy, one where the
research is conducted from existing materials. The form of research may involve a systematic
literature review, where patterns of existing research are examined and summed up in order
to establish the sum of knowledge on a particular study, or to examine the application of
existing research to specific problems. Archival research may also refer to historical research,
where a body of source material is mined in order to establish results.

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STAGE 4: Choices: Choosing your research method

Research method 1: Mono (pure) method – (primary or secondary, quantitative only)

Research method 2: Mixed methods (primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative)

Research method 3: Multi-method (primary, secondary, case study, qualitative and

quantitative)

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Let’s get rid of a misconception straight away. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with mixed methods
research – in fact, most modern research is mixed method. The choices outlined in the
research onion include the mono method, the mixed method, and the multi-method
(Saunders et al., 2007). As the names of these approaches suggest, the mono-method
involves using only one research approach for the study. Mixed-methods require the use of
two or more methods of research, and usually include both a qualitative and a quantitative
methodology. In the multi-method, an even wider selection of methods is used, perhaps
including diaries, videos and narratives. The main difference between the mixed and the
multi-method is that the mixed-method involves a combined methodology that creates a
single dataset. The multi-method approach is where the research is divided into separate
segments, with each producing a specific dataset; each is then analysed using techniques
derived from quantitative or qualitative methodologies.

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STAGE 5: Choosing your time horizon

The Time Horizon is the time framework within which the project is intended for completion.
Two types of time frames are specified within the research onion: the cross sectional and
the longitudinal.

Time frame 1: Cross sectional

The cross sectional timeframe can be conceptualised as a ‘snapshot’, where the data is
collected at a certain point. This is used when the investigation is concerned with the study
of a particular phenomenon at a specific time.

Time frame 2: Longitudinal

A longitudinal time horizon for data collection refers to the collection of data repeatedly
over an extended period, and is used where an important factor for the research is
examining change over time, for example, in an organisation which has been subjected to
external policy constraints. This has the benefit of being valid to study change and
development. Furthermore, it allows the establishment of some control over the variables
being studied. The time horizon selected is not dependent on a specific research approach
or methodology.

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Stage 6: Choosing your data collection and data analysis tools

The sixth stage represents the stage at which the data collection methodology is identified.
The benefits of the research onion are thus that it creates a series of stages under which the
different methods of data collection can be understood, and illustrates the steps by which a
methodological study can be described. Firstly, there are two broad types of data:

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Quantitative data

As the name suggests, this type of data is concerned with numbers rather than words. It
uses a number of accepted statistical probability (p) values to assess the validity of the
approach. Although this research approach is informed by a positivist philosophy, it can be
used to investigate a wide range of social phenomena, including feelings and subjective
viewpoints, using perhaps a questionnaire Likert scale which enables feelings to be recorded
quantitatively. The quantitative approach can be most effectively used for situations where
there are a large number of respondents available, where the data can be effectively
measured using quantitative techniques, and where statistical methods of analysis can be
used.

Qualitative data

This type of data is concerned with words. The qualitative approach is drawn from the
constructivist and interpretivist paradigms. This approach requires the researcher to avoid
imposing their own perception of the meaning of social phenomena upon the respondent.
The aim is to investigate how the respondent interprets their own reality. This presents the
challenge of creating a methodology that is framed by the respondent rather than by the
researcher. An effective means by which to do this is through interviews, or texts, where the
response to a question can be open. The researcher can also develop the questions
throughout the process in order to ensure that the respondent further expands upon the
information provided. Qualitative research is used to examine the meaning of social
phenomena, rather than seeking a causative relationship between established variables as in
positivist designs.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection and analysis is dependent on the methodological approach used. The
process used at this stage of the research contributes significantly to the study overall
reliability and validity. Regardless of the approach used in the project, the type of data
collected can be separated into two types: primary and secondary.

Data collection and analysis 1: Primary Data

Primary data is that which is derived from first-hand sources. This can be historical first-hand
sources, or the data derived from the respondents in survey or interview data. However, it is
not necessarily data that has been produced by the research being undertaken. For example,
data derived from statistical collections such as the census can constitute primary data.
Likewise, data that is derived from other researchers may also be used as primary data, or it
may be represented by a text being analysed.

Data collection and analysis 2: Secondary Data

Secondary data is that which is derived from the work or opinions of other researchers. For
example, the conclusions of a research article can constitute secondary data because it is
information that has already been processed by another researcher. Analyses conducted on
statistical surveys can also constitute secondary data. However, there are some grey areas,
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for example, newspapers may be considered as both a primary and secondary source for
data, depending on how you as a researcher deal with the data. If you perform a critical
discourse analysis on a newspaper article, then it is actually primary data, because you
created it.

Quantitative data collection and analysis methods

Surveys
Questionnaires
Interviews
Computer algorithms
Concordance software
Quantitative data analysis software: EXCEL, SPSS

Qualitative data collection and analysis methods

Surveys
Questionnaires
Interviews
Focus groups
Diaries
Video
Discourse analysis
Archival

Qualitative data analysis software for thematic analysis

Nvivo, Atlas.ti, QDA Miner, MAXQDA, Hyper Research, Web QDA, Xsight, Focuss On, Raven’s
Eye, Annotations (MAC), F4analyse, Dedoose, Quirkos, Qiqqa, Datagrav, Saturate.

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References and bibliography

Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bryman, A., and Allen, T. (2011). Education Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

Bryman, A., and Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods (3rd ed.) Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009) Business Research: A practical Guide for Undergraduate and
Postgraduate students. London. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Courtney, M. (2017a) CASE Guide to common types of Research at HBS. Available at:
http://www.studynet2.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/asu.nsf/Teaching+Documents?
OpenView&count=9999&restricttocategory=Dissertations+and+Projects/Research+Skills
[Accessed 5.7.17].

Courtney, M. (2017b) CASE Guide to Secondary Research Dissertations. Available at:

http://www.studynet2.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/asu.nsf/Teaching+Documents?
OpenView&count=9999&restricttocategory=Dissertations+and+Projects/Research+Skills
[Accessed 5.7.17].

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007). Research Methods for Business Students, (6th
ed.) London: Pearson.

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