Conducting research: a director's memoir

This book is the result of more than thirty years of supervising and mentoring master’s and doctoral students in Quebec and France. Alain Noël, a professor of strategy, international management, and qualitative research methods, is also the founding president (1991) and honorary president of the International Association for Strategic Management.

There are many books that justify the use of various research approaches, but no book addresses the challenge of conducting research—whether as a researcher or as an advisor to a graduate student; This handbook is unique in that it explains and illustrates the entire process of producing a dissertation, a thesis, or a career placement project report.

Graduate students who read research articles often find it difficult to apply what they’ve read to their own projects. This book therefore aims to provide, with the help of nearly 150 tables, diagrams, and illustrations, a wide range of answers to the question most frequently asked of a research advisor: “Do you have an example you can suggest?” The doubts, challenges, and solutions encountered by research students supervised by the author enrich the presentation of the selected research, analysis, and writing approaches.

Although the book is primarily intended for those who adopt qualitative and constructivist approaches to studying original and unique management problems, researchers working in the social sciences and humanities—or even those who opt for a more positivist approach—will find valuable guidance here for producing high-quality work. Written primarily for students, young faculty members will also find it a useful resource for developing their skills in supervising student projects, as well as a series of examples—drawn from master’s theses and dissertations—to help them answer the questions posed to them.