Category Archives: Howard Becker

the dictionary is (sometimes) your friend – starting the PhD

Posted on September 5, 2022 by pat thomson

If you are doing a PhD it’s a good idea to buy, or find online, a good reliable dictionary.  Not only doctoral researchers a good dictionary. Most of us use a dictionary rather more than we let on. Just yesterday … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing voice, dictionary, Howard Becker, starting the PhD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

don’t try to write “classy” – starting the phd

Posted on October 23, 2017 by pat thomson

One of the earliest books on academic writing in the social sciences is by Howard Becker. Or  Howie as I gather he likes to be known. As I don’t know him, I’m compelled to call him by the full name … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Howard Becker | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

writing course: The Literatures

Posted on February 4, 2015 by pat thomson

So next to The Literatures. Literatures, a broad term covering anything from the scholarly works to popular texts, social and print media and policy texts. But always including the scholarly materials relevant to the research being reported in the paper. … Continue reading →

Posted in dinner party, Howard Becker, literature review, Pierre Bayard, table metaphor | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

finding and defining your research agenda

Posted on August 26, 2013 by pat thomson

I have what could be seen as a pretty messy cv. This is not because I’ve switched from schools to universities but rather that the research and writing that I’ve done seems to cover pretty disparate areas. If you just … Continue reading →

Posted in cv, early career researchers, Howard Becker, research agenda | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments