ABSTRACT
Once the research topic has been selected and the terms of reference for the academic business research or consultancy project have been agreed upon through the project/consultancy brief and the plan, then we are in a position to begin the research/consultancy project itself beginning with the process of collecting data. In this chapter we start the process of looking in detail at the ways of collecting data in the process of conducting consultancy research. We shall be concerned in this particular chapter with collecting data which already exists, either inside the organization itself or is held external to the organization. We shall see that most organizations have a wealth of such data which they can draw on and analyse in seeking to address consultancy issues and problems. We shall also see that it is to this existing data that the consultant should turn to before considering the need for further data that will have to be collected for the first
time. Finally, we shall see that there is a plethora of existing data that a consultant can turn to and utilize. Such data is, if anything, more abundant than ever in today’s information age and in addition developments in data and information technology systems are enabling much speedier and detailed access to already available data.
