Project Management for Research: A Guide for Graduate Students

Graduate research is a complicated process, which many undergraduate students aspire to undertake. The complexity of the process can lead to failures for even the most brilliant students. Success at the graduate research level requires not only a high level of intellectual ability but also a high level of project management skills. Unfortunately, many graduate students have trouble planning and implementing their research.

Project Management for Research: A Guide for Graduate Students reflects the needs of today’s graduate students. All graduate students need mentoring and management guidance that has little to do with their actual classroom performance. Graduate students do a better job with their research programs if a self-paced guide is available to them. This book provides such a guide. It covers topics ranging from how to select an appropriate research problem to how to schedule and execute research tasks. The authors take a project management approach to planning and implementing graduate research in any discipline. They use a conversational tone to address the individual graduate student.

This book helps graduate students and advisors answer most of the basic questions of conducting and presenting graduate research, thereby alleviating frustration on the part of both student and advisor. It presents specific guidelines and examples throughout the text along with more detailed examples in reader-friendly appendices at the end. By being more organized and prepared to handle basic research management functions, graduate students, along with their advisors, will have more time for actual intellectual mentoring and knowledge transfer, resulting in a more rewarding research experience.

Adedeji B. Badiru, PhD, is dean of the Graduate School of Engineering and Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). He previously was professor and head of Systems Engineering and Management at the AFIT, professor and department head of Industrial & Information Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and professor of Industrial Engineering and dean of University College at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. He is a registered professional engineer (PE), a certified project management professional (PMP), a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.

Major Christina F. Rusnock, PhD, is an assistant professor of Systems Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), a faculty research fellow for AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management, and program chair of the Systems Engineering Distance Learning Program. She is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the Association of Military Industrial Engineers. She earned her BA in economics-government from Claremont McKenna College, an MS in research and development management from AFIT, and an MS and a PhD in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida.

Major Vhance V. Valencia, PhD, is an assistant professor of Systems Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). He currently is a faculty research fellow for AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management, director of the Graduate Engineering Management program, a registered professional engineer (PE), and a member of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). He earned his BS in mechanical engineering from San Diego State University and then pursued his graduate studies at AFIT, earning his MS in engineering management and PhD in systems engineering.