Research Questions: how they change and whether that is a good or a bad thing.

Your PhD will focus on answering some research questions. Where research questions come from, how to find them and what are the characteristics of good research questions are topics dealt with elsewhere in this blog ... e.g. in the researchable questions posting. Recently, I wrote a piece on the ways in which research questions change with Jean Bartunek, Mamta Bhatt and Donald MacLean. In the paper we argue that those doing empirical research in organizations often end up changing their research questions either subtly or significantly once the research itself gets underway. Organizations change, restructure, are subject to regulatory change and a myriad of other things that can alter what it is possible to ask/answer in your research. However, precious little is written about how, why and when research questions ought to change. You can find a draft of the full paper here. Enjoy.