The Management of a Student Research Project

by Howard; Keith

• ISBN13: 9780566084904
• ISBN10: 0566084902
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2002-06-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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

Table of Contents

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