Interrogating Business and Public Administration Research Attributes and Variables

Abstract

Research proposal presentation or assessment panels and ethics assessment committees almost always ask us why we have included certain questions in our data or information collection instruments as well as why we think such questions will help us realise our research purpose. How can we answer these questions? First, let us step back. Numerous books have described what a conceptual framework is and why we need it. Further, there are several attempts to describe how we can conceptualise conceptual frameworks primarily through reviewing literature. One of the sets of literature that we should review is on attributes or variables, if not both, that are key to the research that we are pursuing. However, we find the discussion on how we should interrogate literature on attributes or variables not exhaustive to adequately guide a research student or a research novice on what they should do. Therefore, this paper proposes how we should explicitly identify, interrogate, and integrate literature on qualitative attributes or quantitative variables that are key to our business and public administration research. Apart from summoning basic systems thinking principles, the paper draws on reverse engineering comments compiled from examiners’ reports[1] and consequent discussions with colleagues and students through devising seminars. We believe that the approach we have proposed in this paper will guide business and public administration research students and novices on how they should interrogate literature on attributes or variables that are key to the research that they are pursuing. If they get this right, it would contribute to robustness of their conceptual framework and, therefore, the research report. Before then, it will also empower us to answer the research proposal presentation or assessment panels and ethics assessment committees on why we have included certain questions in our data or information collection instruments and why we think such questions will allow us to achieve our research objectives.

[1]Examiner’s reports of some WITS Graduate School of Governance and WITS Graduate School of Business Administration students.