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Richardson et al, 1990, p75
“Research is about illumination. If a person reads something and doesn’t feel any wiser, then why was it done?
What is research?• A process of inquiry and
investigation
… Questions
• Systematic and methodical
… so methods matter
• Increases knowledge
… illumination?
Do you need research?
Intelligence-gathering - the ‘what’ questions
• Gathering information
• Audit
• Evaluation (might be research)
Research - the ‘why’ questions
Research looks for explanations, relationships, comparisons, predictions, generalizations and theories. It may need to gather information in order to do this, but the emphasis is on "why".
Your view of the world matters …
View of the world
Tools and techniques (methods)
Data/evidence
Views of the world …
Morgan G (1986) “Images of Organisations”
Views of the world … and research approaches
Scientific
focus on measurement:
• look for general patterns to turn into theories or “laws”
• typically interested in physical or macro systems rather than people or micro systems
Ethnographic
focus on culture:
• Uncover differences in how people see the world and see what shapes these different perceptions
• typically interested in people, groups or organisations
The facts are definitely out
there
Truth depends on your
viewpoint
• Answer WHAT? and HOW MUCH? questions
• Tools include SURVEYS and EXPERIMENTS
• Data is mainly NUMBERS• Findings are about MEASURE
The questions, the method and the data
• Answer WHY? and HOW? questions
• Tools include OBSERVATION and INTERVIEWS
• Data is mainly WORDS• Findings are about MEANING
Not all research is “good” … what you find out depends on
• Context • Methods used
• How data have been analysed and interpreted
Be careful if you (the researcher) are involved …
Trust
Bias
Ethics
Politics
They tell you what they
think you want to know
Asking the same things to everyone, in the same
wayConfidentialit
y?Where is the
power?
Are you trying to change the organisation in some way as part of the research?
This is ACTION RESEARCH – be careful not to go “native”
organisational skills
perseverance
intellectual skills
Qualities of a good researcher
communication skills
independence
IT skillsmotivation
So does research matter?
• Is there a question to be answered?
• Is there a way to answer it?
• Is there data that can be collected?
• Are there ways it can be analysed?
• Will the findings be useful to others?
• Can you do it?
If people feel that research illuminates their
understanding and gets into their thinking, then it’s
of use
