The construction of research questions in project management

This article examines how opportunities for contributions are created in project research. In the article the arguments that underlie research question constructions are analyzed and their role in theory construction is reflected upon. The analysis is based upon a review of 61 papers published between 2007 and 2011 in the four major project management outlets. The results show that questions identify gaps and extend literature rather than challenge the theoretical assumptions. It is argued that the dominance of “gap spotting” hampers the development of the project field by producing theories that do not challenge long-held, sometimes possibly false, assumptions. Researchers are therefore urged to become bolder in their claims, some suggestions on how to achieve this are offered.

► Out of 61 reviewed papers, no one problematizes the assumptions of project research.
► Extending previous research two additional gap-spotting modes were identified.
► Lack of assumption-challenging research may hinder project research's development.