Each fall, thousands of eager freshmen descend on college and university campuses expecting the best education imaginable: inspiring classes taught by top-ranked professors, academic advisors who will guide them to a prestigious job or graduate school, and an environment where learning flourishes outside the classroom as much as it does in lecture halls. Unfortunately, most of these freshmen soon learn that academic life is not what they imagined. Classes are taught by overworked graduate students and adjuncts rather than seasoned faculty members, undergrads receive minimal attention from advisors or administrators, and potentially valuable campus resources remain outside their grasp. Andrew Roberts’ Thinking Student’s Guide to College helps students take charge of their university experience by providing a blueprint they can follow to achieve their educational goals—whether at public or private schools, large research universities or small liberal arts colleges. An inside look penned by a professor at Northwestern University, this book offers concrete tips on choosing a college, selecting classes, deciding on a major, interacting with faculty, and applying to graduate school. Here, Roberts exposes the secrets of the ivory tower to reveal what motivates professors, where to find loopholes in university bureaucracy, and most importantly, how to get a personalized education. Based on interviews with faculty and cutting-edge educational research, The Thinking Student’s Guide to College is a necessary handbook for students striving to excel academically, creatively, and personally during their undergraduate years.

Develop powerful study skills that will last a lifetime! When you have strong study habits, you learn more in class, get more out of your homework, and, best of all, have a much easier time completing any type of assignment. How to Study for Success lets you build those habits and master essential study skills that will help you become a better student. Filled with easy-to-follow advice, this hands-on guide includes 7 Keys to Success that will help you improve your school performance: * Get Ready to Study Now * Get Organized * Make the Most of Class Time * Make the Most of Home Study Time * Make the Most of Homework * Put Your Computer to Good Use * Go the Extra Mile So get ready to improve your school performance-and study for success!

"...{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.

Here's something worth learning: Studying doesn't have to be a chore! This fun and accessible resource provides the tools you need to develop better study habits, boost your grades, and position yourself for academic success. Educational consultant Cynthia Clumeck Muchnick uses a wide range of ideas taken from hundreds of students to help you find a unique, effective method suited for your individual learning style. You'll improve transcripts for college applications, ace standardized tests, and become a better student at any level of education. This indispensable guide shows you how to: Get the most out of class time Use the best strategies for note-taking and memorizing Improve writing skills Prepare completely for tests Safely and effectively conduct online research Use Skype, iChat, or social media to form study groups With this guide in your backpack, you'll be able to balance school and activities, avoid pre-test panic, and achieve consistently better results.

Lecturers, why waste time waiting for the post to arrive? Request your e-inspection copy today! 'Brilliant little book! ... It's easy to follow and understand, full of practical hints and tips, helps to remove some of the pressures of uni life!' - Amazon review 'Really useful sections on reading and taking notes ... the bread and butter of student life.' - Amazon review Do you want to do better at university? Whether you're a student wanting to improve their study skills or a lecturer who wants to give their students a helping hand with their work, this book is for you. Packed with study tips and handy activities, this proven guide shows you step-by-step how to study effectively and make the best of your time - whatever level you're at. Whether you are going to university straight from school, a mature student, or an overseas student studying in the UK for the first time, you'll find out how to: Sail through those tricky first weeks Get the most out of lectures by understanding how you learn Learn techniques for academic writing and research Pass exams with flying colours Stay cool and cope with stress. Practical and interactive, this edition features six brand new chapters to arm you with even more essential skills including how to produce a dissertation, planning your career and focusing on building relationships with lecturers and other students to help you get ahead. Visit the Essential Study Skills Companion Website Launched with this edition is an improved and expanded companion website. Don't miss the extensive range of guidance and resources for both students and tutors, including video tips, study packs, practice exercises and other tools for you to use in both your preparation and actual work. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university.

Nearly a third of all college students are enrolled in at least one online course, and that number continues to grow. Meeting students where they are means bringing student services and supports to online learners by creating innovative ways to carry out traditional student affairs functions. This book shares best practices, case studies, examples, experiences, and ideas for supporting online learners through their college experience. The first section focuses on preparing for the everchanging higher education landscape and situating student affairs in the 21st century. The authors address how to support learners taking hybrid and fully online courses within virtual learning environments and how to educate and support 21st-century students. The second section focuses on the paradigm shift needed to bring traditional student affairs work to the online environment. The authors address how individual functional areas within student affairs can provide services and supports to students who take their courses 100% online and to traditional on-campus students who take online courses. The third and final section explores leveraging technology to advance the work of student affairs for online learners. Tools discussed include learning management systems, virtual conferencing systems, online integrative cocurricular programming, digital badging, and virtual learning communities.

Using rich examples and engaging pedagogical tools, this book equips students to master the challenges of academic writing in graduate school and beyond. The authors delve into nitty-gritty aspects of structure, style, and language, and offer a window onto the thought processes and strategies that strong writers rely on. Essential topics include how to: identify the audience for a particular piece of writing; craft a voice appropriate for a discipline-specific community of practice; compose the sections of a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods research article; select the right peer-reviewed journal for submitting an article; and navigate the publication process. Readers are also guided to build vital self-coaching skills in order to stay motivated and complete projects successfully. User-Friendly Features *Exercises (with answers) analyzing a variety of texts. *Annotated excerpts from peer-reviewed journal articles. *Practice opportunities that help readers apply the ideas to their own writing projects. *Personal reflections and advice on common writing hurdles. *End-of-chapter Awareness and Action Reminders with clear steps to take.

*Shortlisted for the BPS Book Award 2014 in the Textbook Category* *Winner of the 2014 Distinguished Publication Award (DPA) from the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)* Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners is an accessible, practical textbook. It sidesteps detailed theoretical discussion in favor of providing a comprehensive overview of strategic tips and skills for starting and completing successful qualitative research. Uniquely, the authors provide a "patterns framework" to qualitative data analysis in this book, also known as "thematic analysis." The authors walk students through a basic thematic approach, and compare and contrast this with other approaches. This discussion of commonalities, explaining why and when each method should be used, and in the context of looking at patterns, will provide students with complete confidence for their qualitative research journey. This textbook will be an essential textbook for undergraduates and postgraduates taking a course in qualitative research or using qualitative approaches in a research project.

" a fabulous resource for graduate advisors" Eric Mazur, Harvard University Successful Research Supervision offers a research-based practical framework for academics to be able to examine and further develop their effectiveness as research supervisors. Research supervisors working in all levels of higher education must ensure that their students gain efficiencies from working as part of an effective cohort and develop high levels of interdisciplinary understanding and critical thought. To impart these disciplines effectively is essential for any successful research supervisor. From helping researchers to begin to managing a project through to successful completion, this book guides the reader through a series of exercises to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses and then provides theoretically sound advice in a practical and easy to use format. Successful Research Supervision is full of examples of the best practice from outstanding scientists, social scientists and humanities supervisors from both the UK and the USA. This book will encourage and help academics to: Expand their own repertoire and array of actions and responses, thus giving them the flexibility to meet different situations with ease and confidence Identify the optimum combination of approaches to best fit individual students Understand the influence of their own value and experiences in the choice of their approach to research students Be able to choose the most appropriate combination of approaches for a particular curriculum or project Employ a neutral language for developing and assisting others It also provides policy makers and curriculum designers with practical guidelines for evaluating their work. Anne Lee is an independent academic and was Senior Academic Development Adviser at the University of Surrey

"This new edition retains the excellent structure and tone of previous editions whilst bringing the text and examples up to date, reflecting the changing and dynamic social world we live and research in." Dr Steven Gascoigne, Assistant Professor, Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Warwick, UK "This book combines theoretical knowledge and practical skills with case studies, examples, and reflections in one easy-to-read book... A must for novice researchers." Dr Christina Cooper, Assistant Professor in Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, UK Now on its eighth edition, Doing Your Research Project remains the authoritative guide to conducting an outstanding research project. Guiding readers through each stage of the research journey, this book gives students the confidence to successfully conceptualise and complete their research. Written in its trademark, student-friendly style, each chapter includes reflective questions to help students apply the advice to their own work. The authors cover a range of disciplines and methodologies, empowering students to make an informed choice about what best suits their research. While retaining its most-loved features from previous editions, the latest edition: Provides updated coverage of digital research techniques Examines the nature of research and the roles that researchers occupy Expands the discussion of research methods This bestselling resource is the ultimate companion to any research project, whether you are a first-time or experienced researcher. Practical, clear and concise, Doing Your Research Project is vital reading for anyone embarking on a research project.