Choosing Qualitative Methods for Entrepreneurial Cognition Research: A Canonical Development Approach

This article presents a structured, manageable approach to the complex problem of how to choose, from the vast arsenal loosely labeled “qualitative methods,” sets of techniques appropriate to advancement of the emerging field of entrepreneurial cognition. Summary consideration is given to four key issues of philosophical context as a necessary predicate to presentation of a “canonical development” approach, stylized in diagrammatic form. The approach is able to accommodate due regard for both methodological controversy and operational complexity without being overwhelmed by either. Three illustrative examples indicate how use of the approach can stimulate a researcher to create productive matches between questions evolved from the entrepreneurial cognition canon and techniques selected from the complex array of qualitative methods.