You will probably find it valuable first to work through, in order, all the learning activities in this introductory section. The core idea of following the logic of enquiry is at the heart of thinking like an expert management researcher. The 'key topics' each build on this core idea. The initial activities explore the notion of academic discourse as a process of enquiry where everyone has two roles: as a listener or reader, and as a speaker or writer. The next activities encourage you to think about the expectations of the audience for your writing and how you can maximise your chances of meeting these expections in your work. The final activities invite you consciously to learn from the way authors whose work you read develop their argument, and to apply your insights to your own writing.

The introduction to following the logic of enquiry will also help you to put the notion of the logic of enquiry into context. Management is a distinctive field of study whose characteristics affect the way the logic of enquiry is followed. In higher education systems following a western tradition of academic scholarship, you will be expected to develop a constructively critical approach in your management studies.

The self-assessment exercises in this section will help you to get a sense of how far you are already promoting your own learning to think like an expert management researcher, and how you can maximise your learning opportunities as you go along.