Student research

APM is keen to support all students at all levels regarding their research into the management of projects. Our research department encourages students to submit their surveys and would like to see the project management community becoming involved by completing the surveys, if applicable, and answering questions which will assist students in their studies.

Two ways to promote your research

Your input will help to develop the knowledge base of project management and drive the profession forward. Please see the Promote your research section below on how to upload your survey.

Members can promote their research via our Surveys and media requests feed on APM Community.

Surveys and media requests is a space where you can ask for help with your research, ask for survey's to be completed from a diverse range of professionals from a wide range of project and sectors.

Disclaimer: Please note that whilst APM are keen to advertise these research opportunities it is the responsibility of each student to follow their University's ethical guidelines.

List of current research by students

The following is a list of current and recent requests from students for assistance and contributions to aid their research activities. Please note that some of these are date sensitive.

Empirical Evaluation of Project Management Methodologies and Their Impact on Success in Large-Scale UK Construction Projects

Synopsis  I am a MSc student in Project Management at the University of Salford, conducting research on:

• How project management methodologies (PRINCE2, PMBOK, Agile, Lean, traditional approaches or hybrid combinations) are currently adopted, adapted and perceived by practitioners.
• Their perceived effectiveness on traditional success criteria (cost, time, quality) and emerging criteria (resilience to disruptions, net-zero/carbon reduction targets, whole-life value/sustainability).

The study uses a short anonymous online questionnaire (~10–12 minutes) to gather insights from UK construction professionals and aims to propose a practical hybrid framework to support improved project outcomes. 

Requirement  I am currently inviting participants to complete a short anonymous online questionnaire (hosted on Microsoft Forms) to share their professional experiences and views on project management methodologies in large-scale UK construction projects. The survey takes approximately 10–12 minutes and is completely voluntary and anonymous.

Target audience  UK-based construction and project management professionals with at least 3 years of experience in project management and direct involvement in at least one large-scale UK construction project valued at £10 million or more.

Survey closing date  30 April 2026

If you're interested or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me.

Exploring ways to mitigate scope creep through the applications of Artificial Intelligence

Synopsis  This research investigates the mitigation of scope creep in construction projects through the application of artificial intelligence, with particular focus on the use of retrieval-augmented generation to analyse project communication.

Scope creep is widely recognised as a persistent problem in construction management because it leads to cost escalation, schedule overruns, quality issues, and contractual disputes. Although formal change management procedures exist, many scope deviations originate earlier in informal communication exchanges such as emails, clarification requests, and evolving stakeholder expectations. These early signals are often missed by conventional project monitoring systems, which tend to focus on downstream effects rather than communicative causes.

The aim of this study is to determine whether retrieval-augmented AI can provide a proactive and explainable mechanism for identifying emerging scope creep before it becomes embedded in project delivery. The research adopts a mixed-method design science research methodology, integrating literature review, practitioner surveys, interviews, artefact design, and empirical evaluation. Findings from practitioners revealed the need for earlier visibility of scope deviation, alongside strong requirements for explainability, traceability, and human oversight. These insights informed the development of a Python-based scope creep detector application. The developed framework processes project emails by semantically comparing them with contractual scope documents. Using retrieval-augmented reasoning, it generates a structured output that includes a scope-creep classification, evidence-based explanation, confidence score, risk assessment, and recommended management action. This approach ensures that outputs are grounded in retrieved scope evidence rather than produced as unsupported predictions. The artefact was evaluated using two labeled datasets annotated by project managers. Results showed complete agreement between the system and human ground truth across both pilot and validation datasets.

The study concludes that retrieval-augmented communication analytics can enhance construction project governance by enabling earlier detection of scope deviation, improving transparency in decision support, and extending digital construction control from reactive monitoring to proactive scope governance.

Requirement  Every member can help fill the survey; there is no specific requirement.

Target audience  Project Managers, Quantity Surveyors / Commercial Managers, Construction Managers, Researchers, Engineers & Consultants, BIM / Digital Construction Professionals, Contractors & Client Representatives.

Survey closing date  End of May 2026

Participate in survey

Across industry: Need for an SME Decarbonisation Toolkit for Measurement and Verification

Synopsis  I’m Jordan Hutchinson, a Year 4 Construction Management student at the Technological University of the Shannon. I’m researching the need for a practical decarbonisation toolkit for construction SMEs with cross industry inputs.

Many SMEs deliver a large share of project work but often don’t have the time, staff, or systems to measure emissions consistently, and many existing carbon tools are designed for larger organisations. My dissertation is developing a lightweight toolkit (simple data inputs + clear outputs) to help SMEs identify emissions “hotspots” and prioritise practical actions.

Requirement  Could you spare 8–10 minutes to complete this short survey? Responses are confidential and will be anonymised in analysis for academic purposes. Contact details (if provided) are collected separately for follow-up only. 

Target audience  Seeking responses from all industry stakeholders. It would really benefit the study if you could also share/forward the link to any relevant colleagues or contacts (especially those involved in sustainability, operations, procurement, or project delivery).

Participate in survey

Dynamism in External Stakeholder Engagement in infrastructure megaproject

Synopsis  I am a PhD candidate at University College London, conducting research on Dynamism in External Stakeholder Engagement in infrastructure megaproject. Key research area covers: 

• Various perspectives on external stakeholder engagement.
• Dynamism of external stakeholder engagement, how engagement has changed or evolved over time.
• Narratives surrounding protesters and promoters.

Requirement  I am currently inviting participants for a 45-minute semistructured interview to share their experiences and insights on external stakeholder engagement in megaprojects.

Target audience  Engagement managers, Local authorities, Environmental activists, Local community members.

Closing date  31 October 2026

If you're interested or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me at wei-zhang@ucl.ac.uk or reach out via LinkedIn.