Dr Robert Thomas
This post is an interview with Dr Robert Thomas, the instructor on the SAGE Campus Conduct a Literature Review and Analyze Qualitative Data online courses, which are launching in January 2022.
Robert is currently a Lecturer (Marketing) at Aston Business School. His primary research interests and publications encompass Brand Management, specifically the areas associated with sponsorship, fandom, co-creation, and brand community. Robert sits on the editorial boards for Journal of Product and Brand Management and International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, winning reviewer of the year for Journal of Product and Brand Management in 2015.
Interview with Dr Robert Thomas
Q: Hello Robert, tell us a bit about yourself?
A: Hi, Ok. Let’s start with the interesting bits first! I love music and will listen to anything and everything. I’m the world’s greatest guitar player in my head but the reality is vastly different. If I’m not playing the guitar (badly) or watching local musicians and bands, I love being up in the hills and mountains and enjoying the adventures they offer. Travel too is a passion and I combine that with a love of history. I’m so fortunate to have had opportunities to see the parts of the world that keep their secrets to themselves. I’m also a huge rugby fan and like nothing better on a wet and windy winters day than watching the grassroots game and supporting the local community. If I’m indoors I do love a Netflix series or documentary and have several guilty pleasures like ‘American Horror Story’, Stranger Things’ and ‘Rick and Morty’.
Professionally, I have been in academia for nearly two decades and feel very privileged to be able to say that. I’ve taught at several institutions but I’m proud to be currently at Aston University in the UK and part of their award-winning business school. My specialist area is marketing, specifically brand, but I enjoy engaging and lecturing in other disciplines as well, particularly qualitative research methods.
Q: You're the instructor for the Conduct a Literature Review and Analyze Qualitative Data courses. Who do you think will most benefit from your courses?
A: A great question! With regard to “Conduct a Literature Review,’ I passionately believe that anybody beginning their University or College journey, regardless of the discipline, will benefit. I have taught thousands of undergraduates and I can say with certainty that the ability to write and present a meaningful review is a skill you’ll need and a skill you’ll fall back on repeatedly. I’m confident that the course I’ve designed along with SAGE Campus will guide, support, and help you develop the confidence you need to produce quality work.
‘Analyze Qualitative Data’ has been designed primarily for those beginning their research adventure, those who have taken the first tentative steps in the world of research and those planning or have undertaken a qualitative research project. It can be daunting and my passion when designing this course has been to remove any doubts and provide a simple, step by step process that anyone can follow. Moreover, the course is for anybody wanting to brush up on their skills or revisit the analytical process.
Q: What inspired you to make two online courses with SAGE Campus on these topics?
A: The inspiration for teaming up with SAGE Campus for these exiting projects is that I’m an idealist when it comes to education and I could sense we shared a passion for the student journey, the ability for education to transform people and wanted to develop courses that would allow students to succeed and make a statement about their abilities. I passionately believe education can take you wherever you want to go. That reflects my journey, and that important value is shared by SAGE Campus. Moreover, in my two decades in education, I can say with total confidence that it’s these topics that students want to explore and revisit away from the lecture theatres and seminar rooms. So, the chance to provide that was too good to miss.
Q: What advice can you give to students and researchers on the early stages of their project?
A: Take it one step, one idea and one concept at a time. Do not worry about the big picture. Undertaking a project is a process and I want all of my students to treat it as such. Get the basics right. Structure, writing style, critical thinking, argumentation, and tone are essential. So, by getting these right the rest of the project will have coherence and a framework your supervisor is looking for.
Q: What do you think the benefits are of teaching these topics in an online course format?
A: It’s the ability for the learner to go at their own pace, be able to revisit topics whenever they want, and develop, and enhance their current skills at a pace that suits them. I wish I had this when I was starting out. We had a one-hour lecture, and if you did get it, you didn’t have another chance.
Q: What’s a top tip/takeaway from your courses? Do you have a particular technique or structure in place when planning a project?
A: I would just repeat what I said earlier; one step at a time. We need to get the basics right and if we do that success will follow.
Q: Why is it so important for institutions to get it right when teaching these skills?
A: These skills are the structural pillars of what organisations, companies and institutions will look for when employing graduates regardless of your chosen area. I say this with total confidence as I regularly speak to business leaders, employers and companies running graduate schemes. Critical skills like presenting data and being able to articulate well-rounded ideas are essential. Fact! If you want that, then these courses can help.
Watch on-demand a SAGE Campus introductory webinar with Dr Robert Thomas to learn more about what to expect from the courses’ modules and how faculty and librarians can use these courses to equip students with in-demand research skills.
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Dr Robert Thomas is the author of two SAGE books, Turn Your Literature Review Into An Argument and Find the Theme in Your Data from the Little Quick Fix collection, from which his new courses were inspired and based.
These courses are coming to the SAGE Campus platform in January 2022. If you’re interested in the course for yourself or for use at your institution, try a free module on our demo hub platform. Please note that SAGE Campus is a digital library product, so you can only access it via your institution.
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