The Research Process
Writers usually treat the research task as a sequential process involving several clearly defined steps. No one claims that research requires completion of each step before going to the next. Recycling, circumventing, and skipping occur. Some steps are begun out of sequence, some are carried out simultaneously, and some may be omitted.
Despite these variations, the idea of a sequence is useful for developing a project and for keeping the project orderly as it unfolds.
Exhibit 3–1 models the sequence of the research process. We refer to it often as we discuss each step in subsequent chapters. Our discussion of the questions that guide project planning and data gathering is incorporated into the model (see the elements within the pyramid in Exhibit 3–1 and compare them with Exhibit 3–2). Exhibit 3–1 also organizes this chapter and introduces the remainder of the book.
The research process begins much as the vignette suggests. A management dilemma triggers the need for a decision. For MindWriter, a growing number of complaints about postpurchase service started the process. In other situations, a controversy arises, a major commitment of resources is called for, or conditions in the environment signal the need for a decision. For MindWriter, the critical event could have been the introduction by a competitor of new technology that would revolutionize the processing speed of laptops. Such events cause managers to reconsider their purposes or objectives, define a problem for solution, or develop strategies for solutions they have identified.
In our view of the research process, the management question—its origin, selection, statement, exploration, and refinement—is the critical activity in the sequence.
Throughout the chapter we emphasize problem-related steps. A familiar quotation from
Albert Einstein, no less apt today than