Postgraduate Research - need help

[Kay]

Hello

I'm a final year MSc student doing a dissertation on how web design relates to successful e-commerce ventures.

I'd like to post a bit more about my research and ask for help, but I'm not sure if you allow this. I've read your posting guidelines but couldn't find the answer.

BTW, all participants will receive a copy of my report (if they want it) which may provide some valuable insights for their business.

May I go ahead and post more details?

Thanks for your time.

Kay

[Ozzy]

Hi Kay,
Please ask away and if anyone is available to help I'm sure they will.

Maybe I'm being to bit brass, but to me it just makes sense ... good web design is key to a successful website. Now, how to categories good web design?

[Kay]

Hi Richard

Many thanks. I've copied the "official" blurb below.

What constitutes good website design? That's what I'm trying to find out.
Read my report when it's finished. :lol:

Kay

Postgraduate research into creating successful e-commerce websites

Dear Sir or Madam

My name is Kay McMahon and I'm a final year student on the MSc e-Business course at The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. I'm now at the dissertation stage and am researching what makes for a successful e-commerce website design and what role, if any, the business manager had in the creation and design of a successful website. The completed research will, I believe, offer valuable findings which will help businesses make their e-commerce sites more effective.

All that I require is for business managers to complete a quick and easy
questionnaire online. It takes less than 10 minutes to do. The
questionnaire can be found at: http://www.flowtheory.com/questionnaire.php

I'm looking for British business managers or company directors of e-commerce businesses, where the business is a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME), and the manager is NOT also the web designer or webmaster.

(The DTI defines SMEs as having fewer than 250 employees, turnover below £35m, balance sheet total below £30m.)

I have already contacted several hundred business managers by email and via website contact forms. However, the response so far has been
disappointingly low. I desperately need more participants in order to
obtain enough data to make the findings meaningful.

All data will be treated in confidence and anonymised for the report, which will be made available to participants on request. More details about the research can be found on the homepage of the survey site:
http://www.flowtheory.com

If there is anything at all you can do to alert your readers to my research
and to encourage them to participate, I would be most grateful. The
questionnaire takes less than 10 minutes. Please help!

Kind regards

Kay McMahon
Final Year Student
MSc e-Business
Robert Gordon University
Aberdeen

http://www.flowtheory.com - research into successful e-commerce

[Kay]

Update:

I was initially asking for managers/owners who were NOT web designers. However, I've received some helpful feedback and considerable interest from designers. Thanks folks! I've now added a new questionnaire specifically for designers. It'll be interesting to see how their opinions compare with the managers'.

Plus I've added another one for those managers who do their own websites but are not web designers as their main occupation. Hope that's finally covered all angles. :)

[Edited to add stuff. Kay]