Research Outlook, Innovations & Research Trends in Social Sciences

Book excerpt: Methodology is the field which is indisputably complex. In the academic world, it is often said to be important, yet in everyday academic practice, it is not always treated accordingly. In teaching, methodology is often a mandatory course. Usually, it consists of learning how to adopt several common approaches when doing research, and how to conceive a research design. Effective research methods are the tools by which information is gathered. Without the appropriate design and use of research methods, we are unlikely to gather quality information and as such create a shaky foundation to any review, evaluation or future strategy. The book Research Outlook, innovations and Research Trends in Social Sciences provides several examples to illustrate the concepts and points presented. Users will also note throughout the book the variety of examples in different areas of business—production, operations management, business policy and strategy, organizational behavior ,human resources management, information systems, marketing, accounting, and finance—cited to illustrate that research finds application in all areas of business. Above all, this book is aimed at students who working the field of Social sciences and to those who are specifically involved in the studies that concern the functioning, structuring, diagnosing, or changing of organizations. The goal is to offer them a preliminary guide to define and carry out various forms of research. We would like to thank all the contributors who have made the production of this book so fascinating and enjoyable. Their scholarship and dedicated commitment and motivation to ‘getting it right’ are the keys to the book’s quality, and we greatly appreciate their good nature over many months in the face of our editorial demands and time limits. We are also grateful for using their texts, ideas, and critical remarks. We are grateful to all the 18 institutions for their support. It will not be possible to bring out this edition. We would also like to thank all reviewers and all authors for their help in consolidating the interdisciplinary of the book.