The Management of a Student Research Project

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 new edition has been thoroughly rewritten and developed in response to this. In particular, Chapter 4, 'Literature Searching', is completely new and 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.

John A. Sharp is Professor of Management in the Canterbury Business School, University of Kent.

List of Figures and Tables

ix

Preface to the First Edition

xi

Preface to the Second Edition

xiii

Preface to the Third Edition

xv

Part A: Preparation

1

(108)

Research and the Research Student

3

(23)

The aim of this book

3

(2)

The structure of the book

5

(2)

What is research?

7

(3)

Some features of student research

10

(3)

Classifying research

13

(3)

The process of research

16

(2)

The successful completion of student research

18

(2)

Types of research and this book

20

(1)

The requirements to be satisfied

21

(4)

Chapter Summary

25

(1)

Selecting and Justifying a Research Project

26

(25)

Personal value of the topic

26

(1)

Selecting a project topic

27

(1)

Research degree topic selection in outline

27

(2)

Appointing the supervisor

29

(2)

Initial selection of a topic

31

(3)

Techniques for generating research topics

34

(5)

Feasibility of the research proposed

39

(3)

Social value of the research

42

(1)

Research symmetry

43

(1)

Scope for research

44

(1)

Developing a research proposal

45

(5)

Chapter Summary

50

(1)

Planning the Research Project

51

(22)

The need to plan

51

(2)

Network planning

53

(1)

An example of network planning in student research

53

(15)

Rendering progress explicit: research milestones

68

(1)

The role of network analysis during the execution stage

69

(1)

Planning part-time research

70

(2)

Chapter Summary

72

(1)

Literature Searching

73

(36)

The academic library

74

(1)

Major primary, secondary and tertiary sources

74

(8)

Why scan the literature?

82

(1)

Literature searches and relevance trees

83

(4)

Citation indexes

87

(3)

Carrying out a literature search electronically

90

(1)

An example of an electronic literature search

91

(1)

The web of science search

91

(7)

Using a search engine

98

(4)

Setting up one's own bibliography

102

(3)

Serendipity in literature searching

105

(1)

The roles of supervisor and librarian

105

(1)

Using the references

106

(1)

Chapter Summary

107

(2)

Part B: Data Analysis and Gathering

109

(58)

Analysing the Data

111

(28)

The role of analysis

111

(2)

Definition of analysis

113

(1)

Types of data and their place in analysis

114

(2)

The purpose of analysis

116

(1)

Proper argument and analysis

117

(3)

A review of some common purposes of analysis and applicable techniques

120

(12)

Testing a quantitative analysis

132

(3)

The use of the computer in analysis

135

(1)

Ensuring the analysis is of an appropriate standard

136

(2)

Chapter summary

138

(1)

Gathering the Data

139

(28)

Activities involved in data gathering

140

(1)

Access to data

141

(1)

Gathering data to an adequate standard

141

(10)

Preparing for data gathering

151

(1)

Organising the data

152

(1)

Collecting primary data

153

(6)

Secondary data sources

159

(6)

Chapter summary

165

(2)

Part C: Producing the Research Results

167

(64)

Executing the Research

169

(24)

The research plan

170

(1)

Overcommitment

171

(1)

Individual problems

172

(2)

Threats to the continuation of the study

174

(5)

Serious delay

179

(1)

General support problems

180

(2)

Harassment and intimidation

182

(1)

Problems and issues in working with a supervisor

183

(8)

Conclusion

191

(1)

Chapter summary

192

(1)

Presentation of the Research Findings

193

(38)

Introduction

193

(1)

Institutional guidelines

194

(3)

Style

197

(3)

Citation

200

(7)

Chapters and sections

207

(7)

Editing and proofreading

214

(3)

Copying, printing and binding

217

(2)

Preparing for a viva voce or oral examination

219

(5)

Publishing the research

224

(3)

Conclusion

227

(1)

Chapter summary

228

(3)

Appendices

231

(24)

1 An Example of Topic Analysis

233

(8)

2 A Select Bibliography on Student Research

241

(10)

3 Books and Articles Cited in the Main Text

251

(4)

Index

255

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The Management of a Student Research Project

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials