Designing and Managing a Research Project

A research guide designed for today′s business student  

This practical, step-by-step guide shows business students how to successfully conduct a research project, from choosing the topic to presenting the results. The book is divided into sections on preparing and planning the project, undertaking the research, and communicating the results. The authors have applied their many years of experience in supervising student projects to provide examples of actual research problems and to offer practical solutions. Unique to this book is the inclusion of chapters on topics such as supervision, group work and ethics, and both qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

An Instructor Teaching Site at www.sagepub.com/polonskyinstr2e includes PowerPoint slides, guidance on using the end-of-chapter questions, sample answers for the case questions, and teaching tips.

This guide is ideal for supporting undergraduate research projects in business and management, as well as MBA assignments and other graduate classes in applied fields such as public administration and health care administration.

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.