search. Of course this is an important aspect which I will cover fairly briefly, not only
for reasons of space, but mostly because the connections between theories and valuations,
images of man, ideologies, etc. are also explored in other studies (see e.g. Budd
& Bhave, 2010), while the ideology content has hardly been analysed empirically. I will
also defer another point as it deserves a more in-depth coverage as well and which is
furthermore not directly linked to selectivity in empirical research but to the practical
reference of the empirical results: often practical “conclusions” are drawn based on
empirical results or “design recommendations” given etc. Logically there is, however,
no implication for practical matters from empirical results (alone). The derivation of
practical statements does not necessarily require values, but at least hypothetical targets.
Practical conclusions, however, would be crypto-normatively charged if they –
intentionally or unintentionally – were to appear as the logical consequence of the
empirical findings, although they would in fact only apply under the proposition of
specific (implicitly hypothetical) objectives. As this issue would need to be covered in
more detail, I will defer it here.
3.1 Selectivity in research topics and questions
The overall results of empirical research – i.e. the image that results from the basis of
all findings put together – depend on the topics that were selected and the questions
used to approach the respective topic (see also Habermas, 2001). Those topics and
questions that are not addressed or asked cannot contribute to the image. Topics and
questions of HRM research can be presented abstractly in a diagram like this.