As already mentioned, a particular management research project may require and involve more than one method of data collection. We might start, for exam-ple, with say secondary research followed by observation and finally focus on group interviews and a large-scale survey. The use of several methods of research is common in business research projects. Not only is this because the different research methodologies may be used for different facets of the project, but in order to verify the quality of the information being collected, and in particular its validity and reliability. Where two or more methods are combined for this purpose we refer to this as triangulation.
The use and combination of several research methodologies in the process of conducting a particular project, for whatever reasons, serves to remind us that different research methodologies, types of data, and orientations for manage-ment and consultancy research are not mutually exclusive, and certainly not dichotomous. Both qualitative and quantitative research, as we have seen, can be used together. Secondary research will often serve as a prelude to primary research. Experimental research may be used in combination with focus groups and surveys, and so on. The different research methodologies and techniques are simply a set of tools that the researcher can use to address the particular consultancy and research problems.
6.6 Concluding comments
One of the most important stages of the research and consultancy process is to determine the most appropriate methods of research methodology and data collection. Data provides the basis for information and ultimately problem solv-ing and decision maksolv-ing. We can usefully distsolv-inguish between primary and secondary data and qualitative versus quantitative data. However, we must be careful to note the similarities as well as the differences between the different types of data and data-collection methods. There are many ways of identifying and classifying methods of data collection and in this chapter we have identi-fied six main alternative research methodologies for data collection which will now be considered in more detail in the chapters which follow. Irrespective of the methods of data collection selected, there are a number of issues regard-ing data and data collection with which the consultant/researcher needs to be familiar. These issues include building data collection methods around research objectives and hypotheses and the alternative approach of building hypotheses around data already collected. When considering data and organization for its collection, the researcher also needs to consider the issues of validity, reliabil-ity and generalizabilreliabil-ity. The researcher must also consider how errors can be introduced into data, how data is to be recorded, stored and retrieved, and how to prepare for data collection. Finally, we have considered the issues and the criteria in selecting between alternative research methodologies.
6.7 References
Becker, H. S. (1998) Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You’re Doing It, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Blaxter, L. Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2001) How to Research, 2nd edn, Buckingham: Open University Press, p. 65.
Burns, R. B. (2000) Introduction to Research Methods, 4th edn, London: Sage Publications.
Easterby Smith, M. Thorpe, R. and Lowe, A. (2002) Management Research: An Introduction, London: Sage Publications.
Ghosh, B. N. and Chopra, P. K. (2003) A Dictionary of Research Methods, Leeds, UK: Wisdom House Publications.
Gill, J. and Johnson, P. (2002) Research Methods for Managers, 3rd edn, London: Sage Publications.
Graziano, A. M. and Rawlin, M. L. (2004) Research Methods: A Process of Enquiry, 5th edn, Harlow: Pearson Education Group, p. 77.
Hakim, C. (2000) Research Design: Successful Designs for Social and Economic Research, 2nd edn, New York: Routledge.
Kervin, J. B. (1999) Methods for Business Research, 2nd edn, New York: Harper Collins.
McBurney, D. H. and White, T. L. (2004) Research Methods, Belmont, USA: Wadsworth/
Thomson Learning.
Oakley, A. (1999) ‘People’s way of knowing: gender and methodology’, in S. Hood, B. Mayall, and S. Oliver, (eds), Critical Issues in Social Research: Power and Prejudice, Buckingham: Open University Press, pp. 154–77.
Orna, E. and Stevens, G. (1995) Managing Information for Research, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students 3rd edn, Harlow: Pearson Education.
Seale, C. (ed) (2004) Social Research Methods: A Reader, London: Routledge.
Wysocki, D. K. (ed) (2004) Readings in Social Research Methods, 2nd edn, Belmont, USA:
Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
6.8 Glossary
data Data is comprised of the raw unprocessed details and facts pertaining to the issue or problem being explored.
generalizability The extent to which the patterns and results observed in a research project can be applied to other situations outside of the specific research study.
hypothesis A set of assumptions often couched in the form of tentative propositions which are subject to verification through subsequent investigation.
information Information is data that has been arranged, interpreted and assessed in such a way that it is useful for problem solving and decision making.
primary data Primary data is data that is collected for the first time for the purpose of a particular study (consultancy project) at hand.
qualitative data Non-numerical data which cannot be mathematically, statistically, or both - interpreted and analysed.
quantitative data Quantitative data is data in the form of numbers which can be interpreted and analysed mathematically, statistically, or both ways.
reliability The extent to which a data collection or measurement tech-nique yields the same results on different occasions.
research methodology The general category of research approach being used in a research/consultancy study and which relates particularly to the approach to data collection.
secondary data Information which is already collected and available in some form to the researcher.
triangulation The process whereby several methods of research and data collection are used such that the findings from one type of study can be checked against the findings derived from another type.
validity The extent to which a data collection or measurement tech-nique measures what it is supposed to measure.