Process of Constructing the Research Problem

1. Point of Departure Researchers can use different points of departure to elaborate their research problem. Concepts, theories, theoretical models relating to the phenomenon they wish to study, methodological approaches or tools, facts observed within organizations, a field-study opportunity, a general theme of interest, or a com­bination of these may be used. Studying a

Theoretical Background of Processes Central to the Construction of Knowledge

Exploration and testing are two processes through which we construct knowl­edge. To explore in management consists of discovering, or looking further into, a structure or a way of functioning in order to satisfy two broad objectives: the quest for explanation (and prediction) and the quest for comprehension. Through explo­ration, researchers satisfy their initial intentions:

Exploration Process to the Construction of Knowledge

In management research, empirical methods – various forms of observation, interviews, investigations, simulations or quasi-experimentation, or a combi­nation of various techniques (multi-methods) – are used more frequently to explore and to develop new theoretical constructs than in testing them (Snow and Thomas, 1994). While the exploration process itself does not presuppose a choice of

Testing Process to the Construction of Knowledge

Testing is, as we have noted, a process by which a theoretical element is assessed in a real situation. While researchers are free to employ qualitative or quantitative methodological designs to test their propositions, quantitative methods are more frequently used to serve the logic of the testing process. 1. Testing a Hypothesis When a

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Choosing Data: What Approach with Which Data

1. What Is ‘Data’? ‘Data’ is conventionally seen as forming the premises of theories. Researchers seek out and gather information – data – which can then be processed, using methodical instrumentation, to produce results and to improve on or to replace existing theories. However, two unstated and questionable propositions are hidden behind this commonsense

Choosing a Research Approach: Qualitative or Quantitative?

Researchers have to decide what type of approach they want to use to collect and to analyze their data. In other words, how they are going to tackle the empirical side of their research. We begin this section by examining what distinguishes a qualitative from a quantitative approach. We then show how these two

Researching Content and Researching Process

Understanding a research question requires making a certain number of choices. We will examine here two ways of studying the same management phenomenon: researchers can choose between content-based study and process-based study. The many different definitions found in books and articles describing these two options all focus on the following elements: Content-based research proposes

Content-Based Research

Researchers carry out content-based research in order to reveal the composition of the object under study. There are many reasons why a researcher may want to carry out this type of research. Nevertheless, this elementary, broad definition of content-based research hides the tremendous diversity to be found within studies of this type. This suggests

Process-Based Research

Let us go back to the metaphor of video. If content-based research is com­parable to hitting the pause button, then the film is rolling again in process- based research. The time dimension is placed at the heart of the managerial issues studied. That which researchers intend to describe and understand (for example, decision-making or

Positioning Research

The first two sections of this chapter contrasted content-based research with process-based research. The aim of the third section is to enable researchers to measure the consequences of their choices and clearly position their research. We encourage researchers to be aware that the two approaches, one based on content and one on process, are

Research Design

The research design1 is the framework through which the various components of a research project are brought together: research question, literature review, data, analysis and results. According to Grunow (1995), it is a crucial element of any empirical research project, whatever the research question and the chosen methodological point of view. However, many research

Epistemology and Research Design

Before we present in detail the debate over the implications the epistemo­logical positioning of a research project may have on its design, we will briefly mention the evolution of research approaches that has brought about this debate. The related question of the degree of maturity of knowledge in a field of study and the

Planning the Research

The design stage often results in a proposal stating the approach the researcher will follow and the essential methodological choices he or she has made (the data collection and analysis methods he or she will use, and the observational field). These choices should always be justified in line with the research question. Although such

Evolution of a Research Design

Although the relevance and coherence of the initial research design have a direct influence on the quality of later research stages, this design is by no means inalterable. Problems and opportunities will arise as the research pro­gresses, which can have an effect on the design. Meyer (1992) illustrates such evolution. His research design evolved

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Linking Concepts and Data

Two essential modus operandi can be distinguished in management research. Researchers tend to either compare theory to an observed reality, or they try to elicit theoretical elements from reality. In practice this means that, once a research problem has been defined and the researcher has chosen the type of research to undertake, he or

The Translation Process of the Research

In this section we introduce and outline the principle elements that characterize the translation process. 1. Concepts and Data 1.1. The theoretical realm The theoretical realm encompasses all the knowledge, concepts, models and theories available, or in the process of being constructed, in the literature on a subject. With respect to translation, however, researchers

Designing the Translation Process of the Research

1. Measurement Measurement is the process by which we translate from the theoretical realm to the empirical. Once researchers have selected a concept, they have to find a way to measure it – that is, to identify the type of data they need to collect. Drawing on previous works, the researcher begins by looking

Sampling in Research

Most statistics handbooks define a sample as a subset of elements drawn from a larger unit called a population. In this chapter, however, we use the term ‘sample’ in a broader sense. A sample is defined as the set of elements from which data is collected. We thus are interested in all types of

Selecting Research Sample Elements

1. Sampling Methods External validity can be achieved by employing one of two types of inference: statistical or theoretical. Statistical inference uses mathematical properties to generalize from results obtained from a sample to the population from which it was taken. Theoretical inference (or analytical generalization) is another form of generalization, but one that is

Determining Research Sample Size

Determining the size of a sample really comes down to estimating the mini­mum size needed to obtain results with an acceptable degree of confidence. For samples destined for quantitative data processing this means determining the size that enables the study to attain the desired degree of precision or signi­ficance level; for qualitative research it