Empirical research methods in operations management

This paper discusses the need for more research in operations management which is based on data from the real world. Tying operations management theory in with practice has been called for over a long period of time, however, many P/OM researchers do not have a strong foundation in gathering and using empirical data. This paper provides a starting point that encourages operations management researchers to use empirical data and provides a systematic approach for conducting empirical studies.