Dissertation Research Methods: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Up Your Research in the Social Sciences focuses specifically on the methodology for planning, writing and submitting your dissertation thesis. Written by two methodology experts in the social sciences, the book provides a step-by-step guide through each stage of the dissertation process. It covers all aspects of the methodological considerations needed, from choosing a topic or research question, developing a literature review, identifying research gaps, accessing potential study participants, utilizing the right sampling strategies, analyzing data and writing up findings. Readers are introduced to the main research methods normally used in dissertations and their characteristics, and they are guided to choose an appropriate research method for their study, provide a substantial description of the selected method and articulate strong arguments in support of it. The book is filled with templates, exemplars and tools to help students write about methodology in their thesis and to equip readers to successfully troubleshoot any methodology challenges they may face. This compact book will be of use to all graduate students and their supervisors in the Social Sciences and Education and Behavioural Sciences who are looking for a guide to working with robust and defensible methodological principles in their dissertation research and theses.

Dissertation Research Methods: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Up Your Research in the Social Sciences focuses specifically on the methodology for planning, writing and submitting your dissertation thesis. Written by two methodology experts in the social sciences, the book provides a step-by-step guide through each stage of the dissertation process. It covers all aspects of the methodological considerations needed, from choosing a topic or research question, developing a literature review, identifying research gaps, accessing potential study participants, utilizing the right sampling strategies, analyzing data and writing up findings. Readers are introduced to the main research methods normally used in dissertations and their characteristics, and they are guided to choose an appropriate research method for their study, provide a substantial description of the selected method and articulate strong arguments in support of it. The book is filled with templates, exemplars and tools to help students write about methodology in their thesis and to equip readers to successfully troubleshoot any methodology challenges they may face. This compact book will be of use to all graduate students and their supervisors in the Social Sciences and Education and Behavioural Sciences who are looking for a guide to working with robust and defensible methodological principles in their dissertation research and theses.

One of the primary concerns in a small business is the problem of risk. Many who begin the start-up process terminate it in less than one year. Of those that survive, many are unable to achieve sustained growth and profits. Small-to-medium business enterprises (SME) have a 50% to 90% chance of failure within the first five years. While there are measures of personal risk behavior of entrepreneurs, the literature contains no measure of risk orientation for the enterprise.The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a researcher-designed instrument to measure the critical forces of business risk. The 37-item Entrepreneurial Risk Assessment Scale (ERAS) was developed from key theoretical concepts grounded in economics, marketing, management, finance, and entrepreneurship literature. It was developed and finalized through a process of reviewing literature, subject matter expert panels' review, and a pilot test. The a priori assumption of the ERAS constructs were (a) personal characteristics, (b) intangible operations, (c) enterprise operations, (d) market climate, and (e) business environment.This study utilized a quantitative methodology to establish construct, content, and criterion validity using Bryant's (2000) framework found in Reading and Understanding More Multivariate Statistics edited by Grimm and Yarnold (2000). A sample (N = 276) was taken from an urban/suburban area in South Texas. A principal axis factoring (PAF) analysis was used to establish construct validity; a principle component analysis (PCA) was used to establish content validity; and a logistic regression was used to establish criterion validity. Reliability was assessed within the efforts to establish content validity. What emerged from both the factor analyses were five new factors of entrepreneurial risk that were different from the a priori assumptions and thus renamed: (a) customer and resources, (b) security, (c) operations, (d) external pressures, and (e) other/alternate factors. The results of the PAF and PCA provided strong support for the content and construct validity of the ERAS instrument. In the assessment of criterion validity, the logistic regression analysis showed the endogenous factors, (a) customer and resources, and (c) operations reliably predicted risk behavior of both nascent and incumbent SMEs.

The major complications with the pursuit of business ownership are the significant risks involved. As a result, there are a significant number of small business failures. Notably, a remarkably large percentage of people who begin the start-up process terminate it less than one year later. Of those that survive, many are unable to achieve sustained growth and profits. Small-to-medium business enterprises (SME) have a 50% chance of surviving five year or more. There are many variables of risk that influence the survival of a business enterprise. There are five critical forces of entrepreneurial risk: (a) personal characteristics, (b) intangible operations, (c) enterprise operations, (d) market climate, and (e) business environment. Building on key theoretical concepts grounded in economics literature such as endogenous and exogenous risks, this research focuses on examining the five forces of entrepreneurial risk associated with small business failure.