'How do You Know?' Methods first, results later - A chefs’ recipe

This paper chronicles the development of a methodology, empathetic with the emergent critical paradigms, which is designed to investigate a perennial hospitality industry human resource management issue. In particular the paper proposes that the judicial selection of various conceptual and operational research tools in the development of a methodology, including paradigm, research strategy, research design, instrument design and administration and finally data analysis, facilitates insights into research problems not necessarily illuminated by other methods. To assist in the contextualisation of the development of the methodology, abbreviated sections summarising the theoretical framework of the parent project, investigating the occupational attrition of chefs and preliminary findings are presented. Finally, some methodological implications are suggested.