This book will be the foundation of a research career inside and outside universities, in a modern world where efficiency and effectiveness are increasingly emphasised. Part A aims to help readers write their thesis and journal articles in an efficient way; it can be used for both quantitative and qualitative research reports. In the second chapter, this approach to thesis writing leads into a comprehensive guide to efficient article writing. In turn, Part B presents steps in three qualitative social science research methodologies that are particularly effective for unearthing findings about what humans actually do in work and other situations: case, interview and action research. Examples of how to carry out the methodologies are described.

CONTENTS - 1. INTRODUCTION - 2. A METHOD OF SOLVING PROBLEMS - 3. CREATIVE THINKING - 4. TAKE ACTION-SELL RESULTS - 5. TRAINING THE RESEARCHER - 6. SELECTING THE PROBLEM - 7. SELECTING THE RESEARCHER - 8. THE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION - 9. MORALE AND MOTIVATION - 10. COMMUNICATIONS - 11. EQUIPMENT FOR RESEARCH - 12. CONCLUSION - INDEX - Preface - The need for increased productivity in scientific research is generally recognized. Mounting costs of research require constantly greater output "just to stay even," while at the same time the potential leverage which research can give to profits beckons toward even greater commitment to it. Many researchers, old and young, have not learned to apply good techniques. This book is seeks specific answers to the HOW questions: How does one do what one ought to do? How does one assemble facts? How does one arrange them in an orderly fashion? How can creativity be improved? This is, in a sense, a "do-it-yourself" manual for self-improvement in the selection of problems and in solving them. The examples are largely taken from the chemical industry, but the principles are broadly applicable to all types of problems. The first part of the book is concerned primarily with the problem of solving problems; the second part is directed to problems of research management.

Marketing Research for Small Business: An Efficient and Effective Functional Approach is as the title suggests, a work focused on providing small to medium sized firms with the tools and techniques needed to successfully undergo a marketing research campaign. Special consideration is made for firms with limited budgets and knowledge of appropriate research techniques. Two of the most common comments made regarding marketing research for small firms are: 1) It is too expensive and 2) it is too complicated. The authors work hard at setting straight these two chief concerns. Good marketing research can uncover substantial insight into your customer, competitor, market and potential new business opportunities. This book is primarily broken into three parts, with the first part focusing on the setup. Specifically, the content is directed at how research benefits the firm, how the research agenda is setup, and how firms can look at existing data first to answer some of their key questions. The second part looks at collecting information, either existing or new, making sure that everything you want to know is made possible. And lastly, we explain very simply how to analyze the information and turn it into usable knowledge. It is interesting sometimes when speaking with small business owners who are struggling to grow their business. They often do not really know their customer or business well for that matter. Normally, the typical entrepreneur has an idea, possibly affirms it with a few friends, and then runs with it. This is a disastrous formula with a high percentage chance of failure. It goes along with the old saying: It is much better to build on rock than sand. This simply means that preparation through knowledge gathering, preferably early in the process, is the key to success. As Benjamin Franklin once said, An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

FIND THE INFO YOU'RE AFTER &break;&break;The internet is a valuable research tool for anyone, but finding relevant, accurate information isn't always as easy as the click of a mouse. If you've found yourself at a dead end on the information superhighway, then let experienced researcher Maura Shaw show you the way. &break;&break;Shaw takes you through the techniques and tools you need to find information ranging from historical data to medical information to images and videos. Screen shots of different pages enable you to follow along as Shaw explains the process of finding information. Simple explanations of technical terms and step-by-step instruction help you learn how to: &break;&break; Use bookmarks effectively&break; Evaluate websites for relevancy, accuracy, and currency&break; Use basic and advanced search features, such as Boolean operators&break; Locate and access helpful reference websites&break; Conduct market research to help with writing and publishing&break; Know when you have enough information to stop researching&break; Distinguish between types of search engines &break;&break;With the skills and knowledge found in this comprehensive guide, you'll be able to search the internet with speed and accuracy in no time, so you spend less time digging for information and more time putting it to good use.

This is a management oriented book about efficiency, quality and effectiveness designed for an audience of management practitioners, scholars, and students. The integrative approach developed in this book contains new ideas regarding quality and efficiency-based effective management. These ideas lend themselves to managerial applications. This work is not meant to provide an exhaustive account of the measurement, and applications of effectiveness, quality, and efficiency concepts. With the exception of the treatment of conventional productivity concepts and measurements in Chapter 2, and of production flexibility in Chapter 5, the discussion in this book is largely non-teclmical. Among management practitioners, the book may be of particular interest to managers with broad strategic orientations in the fields of production management, quality management, marketing, and management of human resources. The academic audience is likely to include scholars and students interested in strategic planning, applied productivity analysis, quality management, marketing management, and management of human resources. The book could also be used as a supplementary text to or part of the readings in basic and advanced courses in strategic management, production management, and quality management. Concepts and dimensions of efficiency, quality, and effectiveness, as used throughout this book, are introduced in Chapter 1. The intricate sets of relationships among effectiveness, quality, and efficiency are explored.

The past half-century has witnessed a dramatic increase in the scale and complexity of scientific research. The growing scale of science has been accompanied by a shift toward collaborative research, referred to as "team science." Scientific research is increasingly conducted by small teams and larger groups rather than individual investigators, but the challenges of collaboration can slow these teams' progress in achieving their scientific goals. How does a team-based approach work, and how can universities and research institutions support teams? Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science synthesizes and integrates the available research to provide guidance on assembling the science team; leadership, education and professional development for science teams and groups. It also examines institutional and organizational structures and policies to support science teams and identifies areas where further research is needed to help science teams and groups achieve their scientific and translational goals. This report offers major public policy recommendations for science research agencies and policymakers, as well as recommendations for individual scientists, disciplinary associations, and research universities. Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science will be of interest to university research administrators, team science leaders, science faculty, and graduate and postdoctoral students.

The authors have joined forces again to reflect upon the ever changing world of health promotion. As a result, their highly respected textbook has been substantially rewritten to document both theoretical and practical developments within this important sphere of professional activity.