Research and Evaluation for Business

by Pelosi, Marilyn K.; Sandifer, Theresa M.; Sekaran, Uma

• ISBN13: 9780471390886
• ISBN10: 0471390887
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-31
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Research and Evaluation for Business is intended for use in either a one or two semester introductory business statistics course. The focus of the text is on decision making based on data analysis. This is a real data, and problem-oriented text that teaches the actual practice of statistical thinking, management of decision making for tool selection, assumptions management, outcome interpretation, and reporting. The text incorporates, where appropriate, Excel and Minitab commands and output in examples and exercises.

Author Biography

Marilyn K. Pelosi is the author of Research and Evaluation for Business, published by Wiley. Theresa M. Sandifer is the author of Research and Evaluation for Business, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

WORKSHOP 1	1	(119)
Introduction: The Role of Statistical Thinking in Business Research	2	(18)
Chapter Objectives	3	(1)
Dispelling the Myths about Research and Statistics	3	(1)
What Managers Should Know about Research and Statistics	4	(1)
Statistical Thinking---A New Paradigm for Management	5	(1)
Situations That Call for Research and Statistical Thinking	6	(5)
Starting to Think Statistically	8	(3)
Types of Research	11	(2)
Steps in Conducting Business Research	13	(3)
Key Components of Statistical Thinking	16	(1)
Organization of this Book	16	(4)
Summary	18	(1)
Exercises	19	(1)
The Language of Research and Statistics	20	(38)
Chapter Objectives	21	(1)
The Difference Between the Population and a Sample of the Population	21	(8)
Introduction to Sampling and Variability	26	(3)
The Difference Between a Parameter and a Statistic	29	(2)
Factors That Influence Sample Size: Some Sampling and Sample Size Considerations	31	(3)
Selecting the Sample	34	(7)
Introduction to Sampling	38	(3)
Sources and Types of Data	41	(4)
The Difference Between Descriptive Statistics and Inferential Statistics	45	(3)
Basic Summation Notation	48	(3)
Selecting a Sample in Excel	51	(7)
Summary	54	(2)
Exercises	56	(2)
Graphical Displays of Data	58	(61)
Chapter Objectives	59	(1)
Organizing Data	59	(16)
Graphical Displays of Data	75	(14)
Describing and Comparing Data	89	(9)
Thinking about Variability	95	(3)
Creating Graphical Displays Using Excel 97	98	(21)
Summary	109	(1)
Exercises	110	(9)
WORKSHOP 2	119	(128)
Measurement: Scaling, Reliability, Validity	120	(22)
Chapter Objectives	120	(1)
Rating Scales Frequently Used	120	(6)
Goodness of Measures	126	(1)
Item Analysis	127	(1)
Realibility	127	(2)
Validity	129	(13)
Summary	132	(2)
Exercises	134	(1)
Appendix: Examples of Some Measures	134	(8)
Data Collection Methods	142	(37)
Chapter Objectives	142	(1)
Data Collection Methods, Settings, and Sources of Data	143	(28)
Some Special Data Sources	171	(2)
Multimethods of Data Collection	173	(1)
Managerial Advantage	174	(5)
Summary	176	(2)
Exercises	178	(1)
Numerical Descriptors of Data	179	(68)
Chapter Objectives	180	(1)
Describing Data Numerically	180	(1)
Measures of Central Tendency	180	(20)
The Trimmed Mean	189	(6)
Investigating Variability	195	(5)
Measures of Dispersion or Spread	200	(13)
Descriptive Statistics for Grouped Data	213	(8)
Measures of Relative Standing	221	(12)
Numerical Descriptors in Excel	233	(14)
Summary	237	(2)
Exercises	239	(8)
WORKSHOP 3	247	(72)
Probability	248	(71)
Chapter Objectives	249	(1)
Basic Rules of Probability	249	(16)
Random Variables	265	(7)
The Binomial Probability Distribution	272	(16)
Exploring the Binomial Distribution	283	(5)
Continuous Random Variables	288	(2)
The Normal Distribution	290	(15)
Using Excel to Generate Probability Distributions	305	(14)
Summary	311	(1)
Exercises	312	(7)
WORKSHOP 4	319	(42)
The Business Research Proposal	320	(14)
Chapter Objectives	320	(1)
The Research Proposal	320	(7)
Ethics in Business Research	327	(7)
Appendix: Some On-line Databases Useful for Business Research	330	(4)
Sampling Distributions and Confidence Intervals	334	(27)
Chapter Objectives	335	(1)
Motivation for Point Estimators	336	(1)
Common Point Estimators	337	(5)
Desirable Properties of Point Estimators	342	(4)
Distribution of the Sample Mean, X	346	(2)
The Central Limit Theorem---A More Detailed Look	348	(9)
The Central Limit Theorem in Action	356	(1)
Drawing Inferences by Using the Central Limit Theorem	357	(4)
WORKSHOP 5	361	(92)
Sampling Distributions and Conidence Intervals (cont.)	363	(40)
Large-Sample Confidence Intervals for the Mean	363	(16)
Exploring Confidence Intervals for μ	373	(6)
Distribution of the Sample Mean: Small Sample and Unknown σ	379	(2)
Small-Sample Confidence Intervals for the Mean	381	(4)
Confidence Intervals for Qualitative Data	385	(3)
Sample Size Calculations	388	(5)
Using Excel to Find Confidence Intervals	393	(10)
Summary	396	(1)
Exercises	397	(6)
Hypothesis Testing: An Introduction	403	(50)
Chapter Objectives	404	(1)
What Is a Hypothesis Test?	405	(1)
Designing Hypotheses to Be Tested---An Overview	405	(5)
The Pieces of a Hypothesis Test	410	(4)
Formulating Hypotheses	412	(2)
Two-Tail Tests of the Mean: Large Sample	414	(12)
Exploring the Impact of Varying the Value of α	419	(7)
Which Theory Should Go into the Null Hypothesis?	426	(8)
One-Tail Tests of the Mean: Large Sample	434	(9)
What Error Could You Be Making?	443	(6)
Hypothesis Testing in Excel	449	(4)
Summary	452	(1)
Exercises	453