This book gives a complete guide to carrying out and completing a project or dissertation which has a leadership or management focus. It is written in accessible, jargon-free language and provides practical advice in all the relevant areas of research and its reporting.

The authors provide case examples of students' work from a range of contexts. They give guidance on what pitfalls to avoid, and show clearly how to structure the project, write a literature review, present personal research findings, as well as how to understand different kinds of research, assessment, and maximising tutorial support.

The book is essential for Masters' students - and their tutors - in fields such as education or business studies, giving a clear step-by-step approach to doing the fieldwork and writing up the outcomes, including how to make conclusions and recommendations. It provides a comprehensive resource to ensure success in leadership and management projects and dissertations.

DAVID MIDDLEWOOD is a part-time Research Fellow at The University of Warwick, UK, having previously worked for the Universities of Leicester and Lincoln.

IAN ABBOTT is an associate professor at the University of Warwick, UK. He is currently the director of external relations at the Institute of Education at the University.

Setting the Scene
Choosing Your Topic and Designing the Research
The Literature Review
Research Methodology
Applying Research Methods
Practitioner Research
Presenting and Analysing Data
Making the Most of Available Support
Writing up
Understanding Assessment
Next Steps

David Middlewood is currently a part-time Research Fellow at the Centre for Educational Studies in the University of Warwick, having previously worked at the University of Lincoln and the University of Leicester where he was Deputy Director of the Centre for Educational Leadership and Management. Prior to working in Higher Education, David taught in schools for many years, culminating in the principalship  of a comprehensive secondary school for nine years, where awards were won for creative arts and equal opportunities. He has taught and researched extensively in the UK and also in various countries in Europe and Africa, being a visiting professor in New Zealand and in South Africa. David has written and edited more than twenty books, many on people leadership and management, strategic leadership, appraisal, practitioner research and some recent research includes work on high performing teams, support staff and student voice. He was co-editor of two professional journals for both primary and secondary school leaders for over six years. He recently co-authored a book on the  leadership of groups of schools and his current work (with Ian Abbott) concerns leadership of learning for disadvantaged pupils.