Successful Research Projects: A Step-by-Step Guide is a concise and accessible text that guides students through each component of the research process. Using a step-by-step active learning approach, acclaimed professor and researcher Dr. Bernard C. Beins discusses each of the key actions required for students to confidently develop, perform, analyze, and report the results of their research in a thorough, accurate, and methodologically sound manner. Throughout the text, they will discover not only how to complete each step, but how the steps at any point relate to other aspects of their research and writing.

Framed by an overview of theories that guide student affairs practice, the cases in this book present a challenging array of problems that student affairs and higher education personnel face, such as racial diversity, alcohol abuse, and student activism. The revised edition has thirty new cases, with content on issues that reflect the complexity of today’s environment at colleges and universities, including the expanded use of social networking, the rise in mental health issues, bullying, study abroad, and athletics. The fully updated edition includes new references, expanded theory with an increased emphasis on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and three entirely new chapters on admissions, student identity, and campus life. An excellent teaching tool, this book challenges students to consider multiple overlapping issues within a single case study. Features include: A two-part structure that sets the stage for case study methods and links student affairs theory with practical applications Cases written by well-known and respected contributors set in a wide variety of institution types and locations Over 35 complex case studies reflecting the multifaceted issues student affairs professionals face in today’s college environment.

The best value that the reader will take from this book is the knowledge, skills, and wisdom offered by the editors and 26 chapter authors. The book offers many unique features on how to create a college environment that fosters student learning, growth, development, and supports student success. The book approaches the college environment issue from a philosophical foundation and shows the reader what has made student affairs work increasingly complex. By identifying some major shifts of student affairs work in history, the text demonstrates how student affairs service providers became student affairs educators who actively shape the environment instead of being shaped or reactionary. The book provides insights and implications on how the environmental theories might inform practice and also recommends how to study campus environments. Furthermore, the text clarifies what student access is, explores the primary frameworks used to boost student success, and suggest what student affairs educators should consider when implementing student success initiatives. Additionally, the book addresses the intersection of professional competency areas through campus environment cultivation with social justice and inclusion for diverse student populations. Particularly, the book provides useful and practical examples of how faculty can work with graduate students in training to conduct an assessment of student needs and success. This book is purposely written for those who are training to become student affairs educators and those who are newer in the profession. It not only provides the reader with a theoretical framework, but also some direction on how to create a college environment that is socially justice and inclusive.