Although early identification of the research
question and possible constructs is helpful, it is
equally important to recognize that both are tentative
in this type of research. No construct is
guaranteed a place in the resultant theory, no
matter how well it is measured. Also, the research
question may shift during the research.
At the extreme, some researchers (e.g., Gersick,
1988; Bettenhausen & Murnighan, 1986) have
converted theory-testing research into theorybuilding
research by taking advantage of serendipitous
findings. In these studies, the research
focus emerged after the data collection had begun.
As Bettenhausen and Murnighan (1986, p.
352) wrote: ". . . we observed the outcomes of an
experiment on group decision making and coalition
formation. Our observations of the
groups indicated that the unique character of
each of the groups seemed to overwhelm our
other manipulations." These authors proceeded
to switch their research focus to a theorybuilding
study of group norms.
Finally and most importantly, theory-building
research is begun as close as possible to the
ideal of no theory under consideration and no
hypotheses to test. Admittedly, it is impossible to
achieve this ideal of a clean theoretical slate.
Nonetheless, attempting to approach this ideal
is important because preordained theoretical
perspectives or propositions may bias and limit
the findings. Thus, investigators should formulate
a research problem and possibly specify
some potentially important variables, with some
reference to extant literature. However, they
should avoid thinking about specific relationships
between variables and theories as much
as possible, especially at the outset of the process.