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58 THE RESEARCH PROCESS

The example of a conceptual issue that needs to be tightened would be
for the basic researcher to study sexual harassment so as to define that concept
in precise terms. Currently, sexual harassment might only be broadly defined as:

Any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other ver-
bal and physical conduct of a sexual nature.
However, in practice, certain nonverbal or nonphysical attention, such as ogling,
might also be unpalatable to some and could be termed “harassment.” Thus, the
researcher might want to come up with a precise statement of what sexual
harassment is and expand the definition of the term. Here is a clear case for a
better understanding and definition of the concept itself. An example of a
researcher wanting to find some answers empirically might be when the issue
of perceived or actual sexual harassment and its impact on the consequences for
the individuals (e.g., psychological stress) and organizations (poor performance)
is explored by gathering data and testing the relationships. This is a situation
where some specific answers are sought to a research question.
Examples of broad problem areas that a manager could observe at the work-
place are as follows:
1. Training programs are perhaps not as effective as anticipated.
2. The sales volume of a product is not picking up.
3. Minority group members in organizations are not advancing in their careers.
4. The daily balancing of accounting ledgers is becoming a continuing concern.
5. The newly installed information system is not being used by the managers
for whom it was primarily designed.
6. The introduction of flexible work hours has created more problems than it
has solved in many companies.
7. The anticipated results of a recent merger have not been forthcoming.
8. Inventory control is not effective.
9. The installation of an MIS keeps getting stalled.
10. The management of a complex, multidepartmental team project is getting
out of hand in the R & D department of a firm.

The broad problem area would be narrowed down to specific issues for inves-
tigation after some preliminary data are gathered by the researcher. This may be
through interviews and literature research.

PRELIMINARY DATA COLLECTION

Nature of Data To Be Gathered
In Chapter 2 we mentioned that unstructured interviews, structured interviews,
and library research would help the researcher to define the problem more