ABSTRACT
The usual problem for the management researcher or consultant when it comes to data is not the lack of it, or at least the potential for it, but rather the potential abundance of it. Quite simply, unless the researcher is careful s/he is likely to end up overloaded with data that sometimes they have little idea what to do with. Above all, the researcher should resist the temptation to collect everything
in sight. Data collection must be well planned and managed if the researcher is not to become hopelessly overwhelmed and the data become a barrier rather than an aid to the research project. Planning and managing data collection systematically requires an understanding of the different types of data allied to the different approaches to, methods of, and specific techniques of data collection. Provided the researcher knows what sort of data is required, it is then that we can proceed to select between the different approaches, methods and techniques of data protection, and plan the data collection process accordingly.
