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PRELIMINARY DATA COLLECTION 59

specifically and evolve a theory, delineating possible variables that might exert
an influence on it. The nature of information needed by the researcher for the
purpose could be broadly classified under three headings:

1. Background information of the organization—that is, the contextual factors.
2. Managerial philosophy, company policies, and other structural aspects.
3. Perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral responses of organizational members
and client systems (as applicable).

Certain types of information such as the background details of the company
can be obtained from available published records, the web site of the company,
its archives, and other sources. Other types of written information such as com-
pany policies, procedures, and rules can be obtained from the organization’s
records and documents. Data gathered through such existing sources are called
secondary data. That is, they are data that already exist and do not have to be
collected by the researcher. Some secondary sources of data are statistical bul-
letins, government publications, information published or unpublished and
available from either within or outside the organization, data available from pre-
vious research, case studies and library records, online data, web sites, and the
Internet. In contrast, certain other types of information such as the perceptions
and attitudes of employees are best obtained by talking to them; by observing
events, people, and objects; or by administering questionnaires to individuals.
Such data gathered for research from the actual site of occurrence of events are
called primary data.
We will now see how the three broad types of information mentioned earlier
can be gathered.

Background Information on the Organization
It is important for the researcher or the research team—especially if an outside
agency conducts the research—to be well acquainted with the background of the
company or organization studied, before even conducting the first interview with
their officials. Such background information might include, among other things,
the undernoted contextual factors, which may be obtained from various pub-
lished sources such as trade publications, the Census of Business and Industry,
Directory of Corporations, several other business guides and services, records
available within the organization, and the web.

1. The origin and history of the company—when it came into being, business it
is in, rate of growth, ownership and control, and so on.
2. Size in terms of employees, assets, or both.
3. Charter—purpose and ideology.
4. Location—regional, national, or other.
5. Resources—human and others.