Management Research Methods

SEMINAR 2

Developing research questions

This seminar focuses on a crucial aspect of any study: the research question(s). We
will explore ways of developing research questions, how research questions emerge
from and relate to existing literature, and what a ‘good’ research question looks like.
The two tasks provide the opportunity to practice formulating new research questions
and to evaluate research questions developed by previous students.

Please read the following chapter from the book Developing Research Questions
(2nd Ed) by Patrick White, which can be found on Blackboard, in advance of the
seminar:

White (2017) “Where do research ideas come from?”, Developing Research

Questions (2nd Ed), London: Palgrave Macmillan

TASK 1:

Read the following article, available on blackboard, in advance of the seminar:

Ryan, M. K. and Haslam, S. A. (2005). "The Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are
Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions". British Journal of
Management. 16 (2): 81–90

In small groups you will:

 Evaluate the quality of the argument(s) in the paper by drawing on the

material we covered in Seminar 1 (i.e. the nature of the claims and the quality
of the evidence).
  Discuss possible directions for further research and formulate a set of research
questions that you could explore in relation to this topic.
 Conduct a literature search for articles published on this topic since 2005 and
distil the key research questions that have emerged since this original paper.
 Consider the philosophical positions that are (in the articles that you identified
in your literature search) and could (for the questions you have formulated as a
group) be adopted to address these questions.

TASK 2:

In class you will be provided with two examples of previous students’ research
questions and literature reviews to evaluate. Please note: these will not be made
available on blackboard so you will have to attend this seminar if you would like to
see these examples.

In groups you will review the two research proposals and critique the quality of the
work in terms of:

 The clarity and appropriateness of the research question(s)

 The argument(s) (and warranting) that underpin these research question(s)
 The relationship between the literature review and the research question(s)
 The feasibility of question(s)/aims/objectives (i.e. what the research intends to
achieve)
 What, if anything, could be done to improve the research question(s)?
 Can you think of further research questions that could be developed in relation
to these topics?