Book excerpt: Managers increasingly must make decisions based on almost unlimited information. How can they navigate and organize this vast amount of data? Essentials of Business Research Methods provides research techniques for people who aren't data analysts. The authors offer a straightforward, hands-on approach to the vital managerial process of gathering and using data to make clear business decisions. They include such critical topics as the increasing role of online research, ethical issues, data mining, customer relationship management, and how to conduct information-gathering activities more effectively in a rapidly changing business environment. This is the only such book that includes a chapter on qualitative data analysis, and the coverage of quantitative data analysis is more extensive and much easier to understand than in other works. The book features a realistic continuing case throughout the text that enables students to see how business research information is used in the real world. It includes applied research examples in all chapters, as well as Ethical Dilemma mini - cases, and interactive Internet applications and exercises.