Most researchers begin thinking about their research by considering whether they should administer a questionnaire or conduct interviews. However, answers to such question lie in the center of research onion as developed by Saunders. Questions to be asked are choice of research philosophy, research paradigm and research approach to be adopted. Few noteworthy points include:

* Research philosophy contains assumptions about the way you view the world.
* There are three major ways of thinking about research philosophy: Epistemology, ontology and axiology. Each contains important differences which will influence the way in which you think about the research process.
* Positivism relates to the philosophical stance of a natural scientist. This entails working with an observable social reality.
* Deductive research approach is about testing a theory. It includes deducing a hypothesis from the theory, expressing the hypothesis in operational terms, testing this operational hypothesis.
* Inductive research approach is about building a theory. it includes gaining an understanding of the meanings humans attach to events.

Quantitative or qualitative research, primary or secondary data depends more on the intrinsic characteristics of the research topic. A mixed research methodology is often adopted to dig out answers to specific research questions in specific contexts.