Table of Contents

Ch 1 - Why am I doing this and what should I expect? Ch 2 - What skills do I need? Ch 3 - Should I keep a research diary? Ch 4 - How should I manage the relationship with my supervisor? Ch 5 - How should I manage the research project? Ch 6 - How should I manage my time? Ch 7 - How do I stay on track? Ch 8 - How do I maintain a good work/life balance? Ch 9 - How do I decide on my guiding assumptions? Ch 10 - How should I position my study? Ch 11 - How do I identify/frame my research problem and questions? Ch 12 - How do I scope and shape my research project? Ch 13 - How should I select, read and review the literature? Ch 14 - What data gathering strategies should I use? Ch 15 - How do I handle academic integrity issues? Ch 16 - How should I shape and defend my proposal? Ch 17 - How can I gain access to data sources? Ch 18 - When and how should I deal with measurements? Ch 19 - How do I manage the sampling process? Ch 20 - How should I organise my data? Ch 21 - How should I approach data analysis and display results? Ch 22 - How should I tell a convincing story? Ch 23 - How should I respond to criticisms that arise? Ch 24 - How will my thesis/dissertation be examined? Should I publish as I go? Ch 26 - Common pitfalls

About the Author

Professor Ray W Cooksey is Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Decision Making in the New England Business School at the University of New England. He earned his PhD in Psychology from Colorado State University in 1981. Since his appointment to UNE in 1982, he has taught and conducted research as a member of departments in three faculties, including the Faculty of Education (Centre for Behavioural Studies in Education; 1982-1989), the Faculty of Arts (Department of Psychology; 1990-1993) and the Faculty of Economics, Business & Law (School of Marketing & Management, then the New England Business School; 1994-present). This background has provided him with a unique multi-disciplinary perspective on human behaviour as well as on research methods and approaches to data analysis. Ray has an established international reputation in the area of human judgment research. He is also an acknowledged expert in research methodology, survey design and statistical analysis of behavioural and social science data.

Professor Gael McDonald is Dean of Business & Law at Deakin University. Previously she was Vice President of Research at Unitec NZ. Her Doctorate was obtained from The London School of Economics & Political Science, England, in 1995 in the field of cross-cultural business ethics. Professor McDonald is a past-President and Research Fellow of the Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM), and has twice been a member of the New Zealand Performance-based Research Fund (PBRF) Business & Economics Panel, as well as a member of the PBRF Sector Reference Group which is tasked with facilitating the re-design of the NZ Research Quality Evaluation process. Gael has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Macau, the US and Canada in the areas of business ethics, international marketing, HRM and organisational behaviour. She is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Management and Organisation, and has published extensively in academic and professional journals and consulted in the private sector.