Quantitative Methods In Construction Management And Design

Demands on the construction industry are changing, and it is now virtually essential for environmental management to be considered at all stages of a project. Many construction managers are finding a quantitative approach useful, and this book outlines four quantitative methods which can be applied at different construction stages, and which fit within a comprehensive framework of dynamic Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). These include: a method to quantitatively evaluate and reduce pollution and hazards levels a method to evaluate the environmental-consciousness of proposed construction plans a method to reduce on-site construction wastes through an incentive reward programme a method to promote C and D waste exchange in the local construction industry. With an experimental case study of the application of these methods, this book delivers a comprehensive review of environmental management issues in construction. With regulatory requirements potentially favouring the quantitative approach, this timely guide ensures that contractors will be able to keep pace with environmental management standards.

Novel research in construction management is often distant from existing practice. This collection of reviews serves to bridge this gap under three major themes: innovation, organisation and human behaviour, and methods and tools. It outlines a series of successful collaborative projects between industry and the academic and research communities. Many of the authors have worked in technology transfer, as change agents, resolving industrially-relevant problems by using scientifically-based research. The book reveals the source of ideas, data and results to provide a useful resource for researchers, academics and graduate students, and a challenging guide for senior industry managers.

Research Methods for Construction will help you instil rigour into your problem-solving, and into your reports and publications. It will be of value to construction, surveying, architecture and civil engineering students undertaking research, whether for bachelors and masters degree dissertations, or for masters and doctoral research degree theses. Now in its Fourth Edition, this remains one of the few books to provide guidance on research formulation, methodologies, and methods specifically for construction students. Three main sections – Producing a Proposal, Executing the Research and Reporting the Results discuss the key issues in research and examine the primary approaches, both qualitative and quantitative. The methods adopted for scientific and engineering experiments, model building and simulations are discussed, as well as those employed for research into management, social and economic issues. The authors examine the requirements for data and analysis, including the important statistical considerations and a range of qualitative techniques that enable construction researchers to appreciate what needs to be evaluated in devising how research may be carried out effectively and efficiently. This new edition has been updated to reflect current debates and concerns, including ethical issues, legislation and codes of practice concerning the collection, processing, storage, use and disposal of data. Pressures of time and funding to carry out the empirical work all too often lead to a lack of attention to how the study should be done and why. The authors address the importance of explaining the philosophical approach adopted (ontology, epistemology) and the consequent methodology. They advocate close scrutiny of the methods available for appropriateness, both academically and practically. The fundamental theme of the book remains to facilitate a researcher’s informed and justified selection of a philosophical paradigm and of appropriate methods to execute the research.

This book provides a bridge between the introductory research methods books and the discipline-specific, higher level texts. Its unique feature is the coverage of the detailed process of research rather than the findings of research projects. Chapter authors have been carefully selected by their expertise, discipline and location to give an eclectic range of perspectives. Particular care has been taken to balance positivist with interpretivist approaches throughout. The authors focus is on the practical consequences of research philosophies, strategies and techniques by using their own research and by evaluating the work of others. Advanced Research Methods in the Built Environment addresses common topics raised by postgraduate level researchers rather than dealing with all aspects of the research process. Issues covered range from the practicalities of producing a journal article to the role of theory in research. The material brought together here provides a valuable resource for the training and development of doctoral and young researchers and will contribute to a new sense of shared methodological understanding across built environment research.

The application of mixed methods research design in the built environment discipline by students and academics has continued to grow exponentially. However, with no dedicated mixed methods research design textbook in this domain, students have struggled to conduct research projects involving a mixed methods research design. Mixed Methods Research Design for the Built Environment provides a useful research methodololgy resource for students, academics, and researchers across various disciplines in the built environment such as construction management and project management, property and real estate management, quantity surveying and commercial management, building surveying, building services engineering, civil and geodetic engineering, and other built environment disciplines. The book can also be useful for students and academics outside the built environment knowledge domain. This textbook offers practical and step-by-step guidance on how to apply mixed methods research design, including an elucidation of the various philosophical and methodological underpinnings upon which the choice of a particular variant of the mixed methods research design is predicated. It provides practical case examples and guidance on the processes involved to design and undertake mixed methods research, the advantages and disadvantages of using mixed methods research, and how multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative data can be combined and applied to carry out research projects.

Design Methods and Practices for Research of Project Management is the most comprehensive guide on how to do research on and in project management. Project management as a discipline has experienced near-exponential growth in its application across the business and not-for-profit sectors. This second edition of the authoritative reference book offers a substantial update on the first edition with over 60% new content and so provides both practitioner and student researchers with a fully up-to-date and complete guide to research practice on project management. In Design Methods and Practices for Research of Project Management, Beverly Pasian and Rodney Turner have brought together 26 original chapters from many of the leading international thinkers in project management research. The collection looks at each step in the research stages, including research strategy, management, methodology (quantitative and qualitative), and techniques as well as how to share and publish research findings. The chapters offer an international perspective with examples from a wide range of project management applications; engineering, construction, megaprojects, high-risk environments, and social transformation. Each chapter includes tips and exercises for the research student, as well as a complete set of further references. The book is the go-to text for practitioners undertaking research in companies, and also doctoral and master’s students and their supervisors who are involved in research projects in and for universities.