Designing and Managing a Research Project: A Business Student's Guide

"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, Ph.D, Hofstra University

Designing and Managing 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.

Michael Jay Polonsky is an Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in the Department of Marketing in Deakin Business School. He received his PhD from the Australian Catholic University in 1999. Michael has taught at a number of Australian Universities, as well as into their international programs in China, Malaysia and Singapore. He specialises in teaching business marketing, marketing strategy, and environmental marketing. His research focuses on blood donation, environmental, social and ethical issues in marketing and management, and stakeholder theory. He has published over 135 journal articles in over 70 different academic journals, as well as published numerous conference papers and book chapters.

David S. Waller (Ph.D) is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. David was born and raised in Sydney and, after working in the banking and film industries, taught at a number of universities in Australia, including the University of Newcastle, the University of New South Wales, and Charles Sturt University. David has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney, a Master of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, and a Ph.D from the University of Newcastle. His research interests include advertising agencies, agency– client relationships, controversial advertising, international advertising, and marketing education. David has published a wide range of journal articles, including the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, European Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Business Ethics, primarily relating to advertising and marketing communication, and is a regular presenter at academic conferences. He has also authored/co-authored a number of university-level textbooks and workbooks which are used in several countries.