Product Description

"...The first edition of Professor Cryer's book was absolutely outstanding, in four main respects. First, it is comprehensive in its scope, covering everything from applying to undertaking a research degree. Second, it is applicable to PhDs across the board. Third, the book is exceptionally well written and highly readable. Finally, at each stage Pat Cryer has included questions and exercises to enable readers to reflect on their practice, check out whether they are on track and, if not, discover how they might return themselves to it. Overall, Pat Cryer has made a major contribution to the field and produced a quite exceptional book. It ought to be compulsory reading for intending or actual postgraduates and for academic staff teaching research training programmes." - "Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education". "...the "Research Student's Guide to Success" certainly does what it promises on the cover and every research student should find it a very valuable companion." - "Journal of Graduate Education". The second edition of this Open University set book is, like the first edition, for postgraduate research students wherever the language of instruction is English. Irrespective of their field of study, it will make their research programmes and day-to-day lives more productive and enjoyable. The book is easy to dip into and is in conversational style. Interest and realism are added through anecdotes, extracts from the literature and pithy quotations. The second edition is a complete revision of the original. New emphases include: the needs of the growing number of part time postgraduates; a wider understanding of the term 'research student' to embrace all postgraduate students undertaking research, whether for traditional PhDs and MPhils or within programmes such as professional doctorates, 'taught' masters degrees, diplomas and certificates; information technology as a day-to-day tool. There are also two new chapters: one on options for postgraduate study and research and the other on skills development and employment issues. There is a foreword by Professor Sir Martin Harris, Chair of the National UK Review of Postgraduate Education.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #415871 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Pat Cryer is Visiting Professor for the Development of Graduate Education at the University of Manchester. She convenes a national network of academics on Postgraduate Issues for the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and is the initiator and editor of a series of Guides on postgraduate issues for academics published jointly by SRHE and the Times Higher Education Supplement. She has given numerous presentations on postgraduate matters in the UK, Australia, Austria, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand.

Customer Reviews

Professor Cryer has a great guide for research students and their families
I read this as part of my preparation for my PhD course and found it very helpful, full of practical information and suggestions that will compliment any student's or potential student's preparations. What can be especially helpful is that it does not assume any substantial existing knowledge of the research courses and tries to explain things from the ground up; the author is genuinely trying to inform readers about the broad nature of a research degree and covers many things I had not thought of. Its warnings are well though of and it has helped me to avoid a number of potentially difficult situations. Even if you are already well into your research this book provides helpful hints for all stages and is not simply meant to be read before starting and then abandoned, indeed much of it is not intended to be used until you are well on your way in your work. While it does not provide a full picture of the PhD course but leaves you in no doubt which areas in which you should seek further information and suggests where this information may be found. Although the text is a little out of date when it comes to the online and electronic resources but this is easily forgiven as it provides so much in other areas. This is a useful book that will help prepare would-be research students for what lies ahead and will keep an existing researcher on track, I'd even suggest family of a research student read this book to improve their understanding of the work being undertaken by their loved one.

The best book to support research students
Amongst various publications about the doctoral research experience, Pat Cryer's contribution to the topic seems to be the best of all.

Like others, it gives a sweeping overview of the postgraduate research process, from its preparation before Day 1 of the doctoral throughout the various stages and moments of the research, supervision relation, writing up, etc. as one can see from the table of contents available above.

What is the most satisfying and the most unusual in this book is the specific takes it adopts on the various topics, prompting the reader with straightforward and highly relevant questions, to stimulate for further action.

This book is also a real companion, and I'm surprised it doesn't feature better in book sales ranking as it is really worth consideration and thorough perusal.

A Good Guide
A useful book for the research student. Comprehensive and lots of useful tips. I recommend this book to my own students.