Most work in business organisations, in what ever sector or ownership, will require research activities. Business research is likely to involve some theory or concept as well as purely practical questions such as "how does the product range compare in terms of contribution to profit?" Or "which method of training has produced more output-coaching or a group training course?" Both these questions have potential for theory applications as well as simple numerical survey, but some research problems are more obniously underpinned by theoretical ideas. Forexample, those which seeks to generalise or to compare one organisation with another."what are the most effective ways of introducing a new employee to the organisation?" or "how so marketing strategies differ in the aerospace industry?"
When choosing an area for research , we usually start either with a broad area of management, which particularly interest us e.g. marketing or operations management, or we start with a very practical question like those in the last paragraph, which need answers to help with managerial decision making. Refining from this point to a researchable question or objective is not easy.
>Choose a topic context where we can find some access to practioners if possible.
>Narrow down the study topic to one, which are both interested in and have the time to investigate thoroughly.
>Identify relevant theory or domains of knowledge around the question for reading and background understanding.
>Write and re-write the question or working title, checking thoroughly the implications of each phrase or word to check assumptions and ensure we really mean what we write. This is often best done with other people to help us check assumptions and see the topic more clearly.>Use published literature and discussion with others to help us narrow down firmly to an angle or gap in the business literature, which will be worthwhile to explore.
>Identify both the possible outcomes from this research topic, both the theoretical and practical. If they are not clear, can we refine the topic so that they become clear?