The ability to carry out research successfully has come to be seen as a 'key transferable skill' required of all higher education students - and The Management of a Student Research Project addresses directly the skill element of this. Furthermore the research process, at all levels, is far more systematized than in the past. This is a hugely popular and highly successful textbook.

The third edition of this popular book has been extensively revised to reflect the changes that have affected student research in higher education in recent years. The ability to carry out research successfully has come to be seen as a 'key transferable skill' required of all higher education students - and The Management of a Student Research Project addresses directly the skill element of this. Furthermore the research process, at all levels, is far more systematized than in the past. The single largest change since the second edition came out in 1996 has been the impact of the World Wide Web on student research. The third edition has been thoroughly rewritten and developed in response to this. In particular, Chapter 4, 'Literature Searching', has been structured around a sample online search. Throughout, the comments and thoughts of readers of previous editions have been taken into account in framing this third edition. Its aims remain the same - to provide a clear, comprehensive and useful guide to students undertaking research projects in order to improve their chances of a successful outcome.

`The authors did an excellent job of addressing many of the "real world" issues in conducting a business research project. They have given care to address some of the issues that often represent the major stumbling blocks for students engaged in business research projects.... An excellent text.... It is concise, very readable and addresses many of the issues that we, as instructors, grapple with as we assign research projects′ - Andrew M Forman, PhD, Hofstra University Designing and Implementing a Research Project is a concise, easy to read text designed to guide business students through the various aspects of designing and managing research projects. The focus is on research projects that have a solid academic basis, although some implications for more applied projects are also highlighted. It is divided into three main sections, `Laying the Foundations′, `Undertaking the Research′, and `Communicating the Results′, which present a logical flow for the research project. A unique aspect of the book is the inclusion of particular chapters on topics like supervision, group work and ethics, and the focus of the discussion of data analysis (qualitative and quantitative). The authors have applied their years of past experience in supervising student projects, when writing this book to provide some actual examples of problems and practical guidelines. This unique book presents a step-by-step guide for undertaking research projects that is multidisciplinary in focus and student friendly in style. It could be used, as either a text, or a supplementary text on courses in management (including industrial psychology) and marketing. Graduate students in related fields such as health care administration, public administration, and nursing administration would also find this text useful.

Research and the research student; Selecting and justifying a research topic; Planing the research project; Literature searching; Analysing the data; Gathering the data; Executing the research; Presentation of the research findings.

Direct, informative and accessible the new edition of Gary Thomas's bestselling title is essential reading for anyone doing a research project. Packed full of relevant advice and real world examples the book guides you through the complete research process. Using refreshingly jargon-free language and anecdotal evidence it is a witty, easy to follow introduction that will answer your questions, set out best practice and walk you through every stage of your project step-by-step. It covers: - How to choose your research question - Project management and study skills - Doing an effective literature review - Methodology, theory and research design - Design frames - Ethics and access - Tools for data collection - Effective data analysis - Discussing findings, concluding and writing up The expanded, insightfully redesigned second edition has a fully integrated companion website including student worksheets, annotated examples and links to SAGE Journals. Gary Thomas also has an exciting new video in which he explains what’s new to this Second Edition. This popular book is ideal for anyone undertaking a research project in the applied social sciences.

Covering everything from selecting and refining a research topic, time and project management to the actual report and the viva, this is the ideal guide for all final year undergraduates and students on Masters degrees.

Doing Your Undergraduate Project is a practical step-by-step guide to managing and developing a successful undergraduate project. The book covers all aspects of project management, explaining in a clear and structured way how to undertake a project and helping readers to identify and acquire the necessary skills to plan and carry out the research and writing. This practical and concise book provides: Advice for preparing a project and choosing a topic Guidelines for writing a project proposal A checklist for planning A guide to producing a literature review Advice on choosing and implementing appropriate methodology An awareness of ethical issues Information for writing-up the report. Written in a lively and engaging manner, this detailed and accessible manual is an invaluable resource for students across the social sciences working on their undergraduate project. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!

Graduate research is a complicated process, which many undergraduate students aspire to undertake. The complexity of the process can lead to failures for even the most brilliant students. Success at the graduate research level requires not only a high level of intellectual ability but also a high level of project management skills. Unfortunately, many graduate students have trouble planning and implementing their research. Project Management for Research: A Guide for Graduate Students reflects the needs of today’s graduate students. All graduate students need mentoring and management guidance that has little to do with their actual classroom performance. Graduate students do a better job with their research programs if a self-paced guide is available to them. This book provides such a guide. It covers topics ranging from how to select an appropriate research problem to how to schedule and execute research tasks. The authors take a project management approach to planning and implementing graduate research in any discipline. They use a conversational tone to address the individual graduate student. This book helps graduate students and advisors answer most of the basic questions of conducting and presenting graduate research, thereby alleviating frustration on the part of both student and advisor. It presents specific guidelines and examples throughout the text along with more detailed examples in reader-friendly appendices at the end. By being more organized and prepared to handle basic research management functions, graduate students, along with their advisors, will have more time for actual intellectual mentoring and knowledge transfer, resulting in a more rewarding research experience.

The idea for this book came about one Friday afternoon towards the end of a summer term. I was giving the third project tutorial of the afternoon. The first had been to a BA (Business Studies) student, the second to a part-time MBA student, and the third to a student registered on the Diploma in Personnel Management programme, and a great variety of issues had been dealt with during the course of the time involved. Nevertheless, I noticed that some of the material was common to all three students. I found myself thinking that I was repeating myself, and wanting to get through the basics as quickly as possible so that we could move on to the specifics of each particular project, which we both, each student and I, found more interesting to deal with. Unfortunately, the basics were precisely those topics which I considered essential to the success of any project. What's more, they dealt with the sort of material which wouldn't, on the whole, have occurred spontaneously to many students, and so it was a necessary part of my job to go through them. One or two could be dealt with by issuing a handout, and the student could be referred to the library for some of the rest, but there wasn't a systematic written compilation of all the points that I needed to make.