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    How to Manage a Research Project: Achieve Your Goals on Time and Within Budget
    How to Manage a Research Project: Achieve Your Goals on Time and Within Budget
    How to Manage a Research Project: Achieve Your Goals on Time and Within Budget
    Ebook124 pages53 minutes

    How to Manage a Research Project: Achieve Your Goals on Time and Within Budget

    By Ruth Belling

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The ability to manage research successfully is vital to every researcher’s career. Whether you are studying for a doctorate, or managing your first research grant or team, it is imperative not only that you achieve your research objectives, but that you can do so within a set timeframe and budget.

    Learning to manage any project can make a huge difference to your career, enabling you to complete your research, attain your PhD, show funders you have the necessary skills to deliver research on time and to budget, give you the confidence to manage project teams and stakeholders, plan more effectively, be more organized, build those valuable publications into your schedule, and much more.

    The question is: how do you do it?

    This guide is based on over 20 years’ experience managing research grants and developing researchers to help you be more effective and achieve your research goals, by:
    • Introducing you to the fundamental principles of effective research project management,
    • Showing you the eight key skills every successful research project manager needs to develop,
    • Taking you through the crucial stages and tasks in every research project’s lifecycle.

    This book will also walk you through the tried and tested process used by the author to:
    • Identify project stakeholders and prioritize their needs,
    • Assess the impact of potential risks to your research and discover tried and tested strategies for overcoming the most common threats,
    • Identify what skills and resources your project needs to achieve its objectives,
    • Break your project into manageable tasks,
    • Work out how long it should take to complete any given project,
    • Identify the critical activities you’ll need to monitor closely to make sure you complete your research as planned, and
    • Track any project through to completion without using any complicated or expensive tools.

    And more!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRuth Belling
    Release dateMar 24, 2016
    ISBN9780956763846
    How to Manage a Research Project: Achieve Your Goals on Time and Within Budget
    Author

    Ruth Belling

    Dr Ruth Belling is an independent researcher, evaluator, educator and writer with over 20 years’ experience. A former Reader in evaluation at the Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, she gained her PhD at Cranfield University’s world-renowned School of Management. She has particular interests in evaluation research, researcher development, management development, and health and social care.

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      Book preview

      How to Manage a Research Project - Ruth Belling

      Dr Ruth Belling is an independent researcher, evaluator, educator and writer with over 20 years’ experience. A former Reader in evaluation at the Faculty of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, she gained her PhD at Cranfield University’s world-renowned School of Management. She has particular interests in evaluation research, researcher development, management development, and health and social care.

      Visit her website: http://www.evaluationworks.co.uk

      Visit her Smashwords author page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/evaluationworks

      Online Course: Introduction to Research Project Management

      Masters and doctoral students can claim 65% off our online course: Introduction to Research Project Management: Achieve Your Research Goals on Time and Within Budget. Click here to find out more.

      The course is an extended version of this book with video lessons and downloadable templates and checklists you can use to get started managing any research project immediately. Normally the course costs £275 (US$380), but for a limited time masters and doctoral students can get lifetime access and free updates for just £97. Not a student? No problem. You could still save up to 40% on the normal price. For more details, or to enrol, click here.

      Table of Contents

      About the Author

      1. Introduction

      2. Definitions

      3. Research Project Manager Key Skills

      4. Research Project Management Lifecycle

      5. Scoping and Design

      5.1 Project Scope

      5.2 Stakeholders

      5.3 Roles and Responsibilities

      5.4 Research Design/Proposals

      5.5 Research Risk Management

      6. Planning the Research Project

      6.1 Planning for Success

      6.2 Work Breakdown Structure

      6.3 Network Analysis

      6.4 Gantt Charts

      6.5 Resources

      6.6 Project Plans Revisited

      7. Implementation and Monitoring

      7.1 Monitoring Tools

      7.2 Managing the Budget

      7.3 Time Management

      7.4 Communication

      7.5 Leadership and Teamwork

      7.6 Managing Problems

      8. Completion

      References

      Further Resources

      More Books by the Author

      One Last Thing

      1. Introduction

      The ability to manage research successfully is vital to every researcher’s career. Whether you are studying for a doctorate, managing your first research grant or research team, it is imperative not only that you achieve your research objectives, but that you can do so within a set timeframe and budget.

      Learning to manage any project can make a huge difference to your career, enabling you to complete your research, attain your PhD, show funders you have the necessary skills to deliver research on time and to budget, give you the confidence to manage project teams and stakeholders, plan more effectively, be more organized, build those valuable publications into your schedule, and much more.

      The question is: how do you do it?

      This guide is based on over 20 years’ experience managing research grants and developing researchers, from supervising successful PhD and Professional Doctorate students to working with academics, evaluators and researchers at every career stage. Evaluation Works’ publications and courses are designed to share knowledge and practical experience of what works (and what to avoid), to help you be more effective and achieve your research goals.

      Chapters Two to Four of this book will:

      • Introduce you to the fundamental principles of effective research project management,

      • Show you the eight key skills every successful research project manager needs to develop,

      • Take you through the crucial stages and tasks in every research project’s lifecycle.

      From Chapter Five onwards we delve a little deeper and walk you through the tried and tested process we use so you can:

      • Identify project stakeholders and prioritize their needs,

      • Assess the impact of potential risks to your research and discover tried and tested strategies for overcoming the most common threats,

      • Identify what skills and resources your project needs to achieve its objectives,

      • Break your project into manageable tasks,

      • Work out how long it should take to complete any given project,

      • Identify the critical activities you’ll need to monitor closely to make sure you complete your research as planned, and

      • Track any project through to completion without using any complicated or expensive tools.

      So, let’s get started!

      2. Definitions

      So, what is project management?

      What is a research project? And how does that differ from a research programme?

      And what exactly do we mean by successful management of a research project?

      In essence, managing any kind of project is about getting things done.

      Research is often described as an intellectual, largely solitary pursuit, particularly if you have embarked on a doctorate. But, as you move beyond the PhD the emphasis shifts from getting things done by yourself to getting things done through other people.

      Project management requires ‘the application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project’s objectives’ (Association of Project Management, 2012).

      For the purposes of this book, we’re focusing on research projects, but once you understand the principles, you can apply them to any kind of project, from organizing family holidays to managing large-scale change.

      What is a research project?

      A research project is a unique and finite endeavour designed to achieve planned research objectives.

      A research programme consists of multiple research projects that are linked in some way, usually by theme, or in a series of projects where findings or recommendations from one study are taken forward in a new project.

      How do you know when a research project has been successful?

      There are three criteria for success.

      First, the research project must achieve its planned objectives.

      Those objectives will

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