Business Research Methods
CHAPTER 2
The Complexities of Business Research
Student Diagramming reference sheet
You may not always want to carry your book with you. This ‘digest’ of
key points is intended to be a portable aid to drawing diagrams in class or
meetings. It covers Checkland’s ‘rich pictures’, relationship diagrams,
multiple-cause diagrams, Ishikawa/fishbone diagrams, and basic cognitive
mapping.
1 Rich pictures
A rich picture is a sort of cartoon which represents all the elements in a
situation that might be relevant, and linking lines, coded (eg crossed
swords for conflict, £££s for financial relationships).
Summary of rich picture uses:
 To stimulate the creative identification of as many potentially relevant
factors as possible
 To build a shared understanding of a situation among stakeholders
 To capture and develop an ‘unframed’ picture for future reference
 Not for communication in a formal report.
Drawing and usage guidelines:
 Draw as a group
 Treat it like a brainstorming – have fun and rule nothing out at first.
 Don’t worry about your artistic ability
 Discuss what you have produced
 Tidy up, discarding anything completely irrelevant.
 Use as a resource for future thinking
2 Relationship diagrams
These show key relationships in a situation, often at least as important as
the elements themselves, and of course the elements that are related. .They
can be developed from a rich picture for use when communicating outside
the group.
Summary of relationship diagram uses:
 To represent key relationships between elements in a situation
 To organise information from a rich picture for presentation to an
uninitiated audience.
Drawing and usage guidelines:
 Do a rough drawing first. Using whiteboard or Post-Its may help.
 Rearrange elements to minimise line-crossing.
 Focus on key relationships.
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Label your diagram clearly.
It is useful as adiagnostic tool.
It can help identify relevant systems.
It may also be useful later to check the likely impact of changes.
3 Multiple-cause diagrams
These are used to explore the ‘Why?’ of a situation. Why does the
problem exist? What is causing it? Wicked problems or messes usually
involve many causes which together bring the situation about. Multiplecause diagramming can stop you assuming a ‘single cause’ and help you
understand different levels of underlying causal factors.
The elements in a multiple-cause diagram are the event or situation you
are investigating (this is often circled to distinguish it), phrases
representing events or states that contribute to the causation of that
situation or to other causal factors, and arrows. An arrow pointing from
event A to event B means that event A causes or contributes to event B.
Summary of multiple-cause diagram uses:
 To explore the factors causing or contributing to an issue
 To find root causes.
Multiple-cause diagrams can be used individually, in interviews or by
groups.
Note: diagrams are always drawn backwards from the issue in question.
Drawing and usage guidelines:
 Identify the situation you want to explore.
 Write this in a blob.
 Ask why is this happening – look for all the contributory causes.
 Draw an arrow from each to your blob..
 Take each causal factor in turn and ask what might be causing that.
 Join these causes to the relevant causal factor.
 Repeat until you have all the factors involved.
 Check that your arrows point toward the thing being caused – it is
easy to reverse the logic by accident.
 Label your diagram clearly.
 Use it to ensure that you – or a team – understand the underlying
causes of an issue.
 Use it in an interview to ensure that you have elicited the underlying
causes of an issue from an informant.
4 Cause-and-effect or Ishikawa/fishbone diagrams
In contrast to a multiple-cause diagram which explores existing causes, an
Ishikawa or fishbone diagram seeks to capture all possible causes. It is
commonly used in quality management. Each major ‘bone’ represents a
type of error or quality fault, with subsidiary bones showing factors which
might contribute to or cause these (as shown in the following example
[slide]). Fishbone diagrams are useful in suggesting what data to look for.
Summary of the key uses of Ishikawa diagrams:
 To identify possible causes of faults
 To guide future thinking
 To indicate what data may be needed.
Drawing and usage guidelines:
 Work from logical possibilities rather than using only actual data.
 Involve those who fully understand the process in question.
 Keep the diagram tidy.
 Label your diagram clearly.
5 Cognitive mapping
Cognitive mapping refers to a variety of approaches to attempting to
represent cognitive structures, or people’s tacit theory, as part of a group’s
exploration of an aspect of an issue, or as an interviewing technique.
Typically, cognitive maps seek to represent and link ideas that people are
using, and often also to arrange them in a hierarchy. Multiple-cause
diagrams are a very simple example of a cognitive map, but you might
wish to map perceived causes and effects, show different sorts of effects,
and use a variety of symbols to distinguish (for example) positive from
negative effects.
Summary of cognitive mapping uses:
 To help the researcher structure his/her initial thinking
 To surface, structure and analyse ideas during an interview or
workshop
 To analyse qualitative data after it is collected
 To communicate findings in a report.
Drawing and usage guidelines:
 Decide on the purpose for your diagram.
 Provide a key to any symbols used.
 Use cognitive mapping with either individuals or groups.
 Ensure that interviewees and groups understand the process.
 Use for surfacing assumptions and tacit theory.
Final checklist for any diagram
Is it clearly titled?
Is it clear what all symbols indicate?
Is the diagram uncluttered enough for its message to be clear?
Yes/No