Reflections on Business Research: Working Backwards, Forwards, Sideways

This reflective thought paper considers approaches to doing business research that are discussed in the extant literature. The purpose is to stimulate debate by reflecting on the process of developing a research methodology, drawing on evidence from my own experiences of conducting research into social media in football. The paper questions the ‘top-down’ linear approach encouraged by research methods texts and usually evident in the presentation of research (Theses, Journals, and Conferences). It is suggested that the developing of a research methodology can be ‘bottom-up’ and iterative, thus posing challenges for the researcher to present such work in the more common style of a post-hoc rationalisation. In doing so, the paper makes a contribution to business research methodology and invites fellow researchers to share their views and experiences, for the benefit of early career researchers