The purpose of conducting research—Isn’t it all just common sense?
Definition: doctoral research—to know a lot about very little
Would you say that happier employees tend to be more productive? If you are like most people, your common sense would probably tell you, “yes.” Despite what you may believe, this is generally not true (Greenberg & Baron, 2003). Research shows that people who are satisfied with their jobs are generally no more productive than those who are dissatisfied with their jobs.
If we can not trust our common sense, then what can we trust? This is where the scientific method of research enters the picture. Although far from perfect, the tools, techniques, methods, and processes of research can tell us a great deal about a topic. Not everything from research contradicts common sense. In fact, most research confirms things we already believe to be true.
Research generates knowledge through its collection of data. Data—images, sounds, words, and numbers—are grouped into patterns, it becomes information. When information is put to use or applied, it becomes knowledge. Our research, over the next several years on the subject of “organized change,” will be qualitative, rather than quantitative. Qualitative research is analogous to being, “an inch wide and a mile deep” where quantitative research would be described as a “mile wide and an inch deep.”
As qualitative researchers, we will seek our answers in the “real world” through what we see, hear, and read from people, places, events, and activities. Do we know where we will end up at the end of this? No, that is what excites us. As we journey over the next several years into this subject, we are hoping our curiosity will grow to understanding to knowledge-building. As the adage says, “a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step," so begins ours.
Steve & Diana
References
Greenberg, J. & Baron, R. A., (2003). Behavior in Organizations, 8th Ed., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
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