Methodological and Developmental Tools

Action 1: Choosing the field of research

Choosing your field of research might be a fairly straightforward affair; on the other hand, you may need to learn more about different areas of research to find the best fit for your interests and career goals. For example, you might find your interests compatible with your current job’s issues or challenges.

Perhaps you know what could benefit your company, but aren't sure if you want to work on that, or have the resources for doing it, or will be able to publish the results (indeed, making information available for other researchers…and competitors).

Once should, as a researcher, ask him/herself the questions:

· Are the results of the research useful (for a given company, the sector of industry, the research community)?

· What am I interested in?

· Do I have the matching resources in time, data access, and respondent (interviewee)?

What could help?

· Talk to people working in the field, go to visit. Speak with a wide range of people and consider multiple perspectives.

· Read, watch and observe, be aware of where there are challenges/issues/problems/gaps which could be addressed and given answers to through your research.

My field or research is (give a set of 5 to 10 keywords or a short sentence):

NEMO – negative emotions

The claim process from the company’s point of view – how to take advantage of negative discussions on social media/ how to take advantage of negative emotions in customer service.

Example: Risk Management process in the Service Industry – Efficiency, quality control and metrics for performance measurement – SME