Managing a research project : roles and processes

Being a research leader confers both great opportunities and responsibilities and, whether one is an undergraduate student with an interest in getting some work as a research assistant or is working in a postdoctoral role, understanding the key issues related to managing research projects is important. After applying for research funding"”a time-consuming and large endeavour that often results in not being funded"”if the news from the funder is positive there is a flurry of activity to get the project started. Being funded for a research project after many years of applying can be career changing as it offers the researcher an opportunity to generate new and exciting evidence that would otherwise not be possible. Most crucially, however, getting funded is not an end point, and managing a research project is a major responsibility. The onus is on the lead researcher not only to conduct the study in a rigorous manner as outlined in the research proposal, but also to ensure that the research project team operates to the highest ethical standards. Achieving this outcome requires the lead researcher to be more than a content and research design expert. That is, there is a need to be across the detail of signed legal agreements, setting up and monitoring employment contracts and understanding a myriad of employment regulations. Lead researchers manage often large budgets while operating within sometimes complex financial guidelines and ensuring that project milestones are met at specific timepoints over the life of the project. This chapter unpacks some of this detail, not to overwhelm the novice or budding researcher, but rather to offer a glimpse into how being a researcher is an exciting and important career goal that requires many diverse leadership skills. First, the chapter focuses on setting the project up to succeed, then it gives some necessary detail about conducting a research project, and finally it provides an overview of the final stages of a research project. This detail is intersected with some opportunities for critical reflection and some activities for a tutorial-like session.