Undergraduate and Graduate
Research in Business

Students can enrich their educational experience by conducting research on a wide variety of business topics.  Participating in undergraduate and graduate research can provide opportunities for you to:

• Develop a range of transferable skills
• Improve your communication skills
• Sharpen your critical and analytical thinking skills
• Develop mentoring relationships
• Develop creativity, problem-solving, and intellectual independence
• Find opportunities to present and publish your ideas
• Explore career and graduate education options
• Test your determination and perseverance
• Cultivate an understanding of research design and methodology 

Funding opportunities for research are available from on-campus sources, including the College of Business and the Office of Student Research and Innovation. 

Resources offered by the Office of Student Research and Innovation:

• Student Travel Award grants: highly competitive mini-grants for up to $1,000 (international travel) and $750 for domestic travel. 

• Undergraduate Research Enrichment Funding grants: approximately 10 projects are funded up to $3,000 to support research projects conducted by undergraduates with faculty mentor support. 
• Presentation opportunities at the Annual APSU Research & Creativity Forum and Graduate Research Extravaganza.

• Print posters for presentations, organized on-campus displays of research and creative activities, and directed summer activities for free.   

To learn more about other research opportunities and funding, visit the Office of Student Research and Innovation.

Ashleigh Knoll-Harris

Marketing (‘18)

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The opportunity to learn and lead in undergraduate research at Austin Peay has continued to help me in the classroom and in my career. Working 1:1 with my professor and research partner allowed me to ask questions, participate in discussions, and to develop skills that are applicable in all aspects of business. I now have a strong mentor in the College of Business and a lifetime friend that continue to support me and be my biggest allies throughout my career.

Terry Damron

Instructor of Marketing

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Through undergraduate research partnerships, my students and I have the opportunity to explore topics that pique our curiosity, building on conversations and questions that emerged during our work in prior courses. It is extremely fulfilling work.

Bailey Carruth

Marketing (‘18)

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Having the opportunity to conduct and present our research has better prepared me for many situations even after graduation. This experience taught me things beyond classroom learning that will stick with me throughout my continuing education and career.

Recent Research Activities in the College of Business

In April, Austin Peay State University College of Business faculty and students traveled to Destin, Florida, to attend the Society of Business, Industry, and Economics (SOBIE) academic conference. The annual event, hosted by the University of Northern Alabama, brought universities together to promote peer-reviewed research and student research at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Representatives from more than 40 universities across17 states attended the event.

APSU business students Benjamin Ferrell and William Edison worked with Dr. Susan Cockrell and Dr. Di Paolo Harrison  to publish “The Influence of Financial Performance on Marketing Expenditures Among U.S. Hospitals Participating in the Medicare Program,”  in Health Marketing Quarterly – a B-rated journal according to the Australian Business Deans Council’s Journal Quality List. That means the final paper was accepted at one of the field’s more prestigious publications.

College of Business students presented their research at the Society of Business, Industry, and Economics (SOBIE) conference in Florida in April 2019. Participants included Savannah Vezeau (student presentation award recipient), Phillip Burch, Coya Davis, Matthew O'Brien, Elizabeth Morgan, and Amanda Mills (advisor, Dr. David Grimmett), Steven Royall (advisor, Dr. Amye Melton), and Matthew Heard (advisor, Dr. Dong Nyonna).

Undergraduate marketing students Sarah Robinson, Rachel Wheeler, Kirsten Nicholson, Rebekah Lambert, and Katie Palmer presented research projects completed in partnership with Dr. Terry Damron at the Institute for Global Business Research Conference in New Orleans in April 2019. 

 
Bailey Carruth (‘18) and Dr. Terry Damron presented "Promoting Innovative Product Adoption via Facebook" at the Atlantic Marketing Association Conference in New Orleans.  Along with Ashleigh Knoll (‘18), Carruth worked with Marketing Instructor Terry Damron to produce the research during the Spring 2018.