Research topics - Derek Stephens

Competitive Intelligence in business

CI has developed in different ways in different countries. It would be interesting to evaluate the ways CI has evolved and assess whether this is because of cultural reasons, government support, or possibly national reasons such as defeats in war. The Japanese, for example, created a significantly sophisticated approach to competitive intelligence after the Second World War. China has purportedly the fastest growing community of CI professionals. So there are research opportunities for international studies and nationally how can the UK stimulate similar approaches at a strategic national level?

Business information and competitive intelligence are crucial for companies seeking competitive advantage. But what are the ethical constraints that affect the behaviours of individual staff, groups of employees and are these subtly informed by the views of senior management? These may differ significantly by country and culture. An extensive research project looking at what professional associations, such as the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SKIP), government legislation and internal company guidance documents advise, limit and proscribe concerning ethical behaviours could inform debate about the moral maze individuals in business find themselves in. Will the recent recession make adhering to ethical guidelines easier or more difficult? Does ethical behaviour pay-off long term in regards to employee sense of worth, enhancing brand and company reputation and image or will short-term gain always be more appealing? This is a research area which can be discussed with staff in the department to arrive at agreed foci to suit an individual researcher.

Marketing of Libraries and Information Centres

Research into how certain types of libraries conduct marketing and the links with strategic aims of both the library and the host organisations would be of interest. For example academic and national libraries both have a type of monopoly on users and yet in the Google Era the information seeking behaviour of new generations is significantly different than before. Can marketing be used to reach new potential users and indeed better inform them of the benefits of academic and national libraries? A research project would look at just ONE of the two types in depth, using case studies, external evaluation of websites and promotional material to possible conduct a textual analysis of communication and meaning.

Computerised marking

Typically marking in the higher education sector is still conducted using paper and pen by academics. What software could be used to enhance the process, speed feedback to students and build comprehensive analysis features? Surprisingly there are a variety of packages available both commercial and home-grown. Yet no one package has developed a significant following. Analysis of what must be some deep seated reasons for the lack of use by academics is needed, together with a developmental and piloting approach to the concept of ‘An Idealised Marking Software’. I have worked on this in the past for personal reasons but reached no satisfactory conclusions. What is needed is in depth research. I have possible contacts with various existing software authors and developed some possible approaches, suggest the research requires someone to work on this full time with the necessary software programming skills, together with a willingness to probe the reasons for academic reluctant to use such software, which may be behavioural or cultural in nature.