Category Archives: methods

learning from live pandemic research

Posted on June 8, 2020 by pat thomson

I haven’t taught research methods for a year or so. But right now I do wish I still was. I’m not asking for additional workload. Not at all. It’s just that there is so much potential for learning in the … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, epistemology, mess, methodology, methods, ontology, pandemic, research methods | Tagged knowledge-making, live research methods, ologies, pandemic, sciences | 5 Comments

research as creative practice

Posted on March 9, 2020 by pat thomson

Health warning – this is a tiny rant about one of my pet peeves, research “training”. It also draws on my own research in creativity and education. My starting point – Research is a creative process. The connection between research … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, courses, creativity, doctoral education, doctoral pedagogies, doctoral research, methods, research methods, research training | Tagged creativity, doctoral researchers, Pat Thomson, research nethods, training | 12 Comments

a festive gift from patter – a checklist for revising methods chapters

Posted on December 23, 2019 by pat thomson

PhDers sometimes find writing the thesis methods chapter a pretty tedious business. But the methods chapter is a key part of the examination process – it shows that the researcher knows how to research. You see, examiners make their decision … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, data, data analysis, methodology, methods, methods chapter, research methods, revision, revision strategy, thesis revision | Tagged data analysis, methodology, methods chapter, revision, revision strategy | 5 Comments

tiny texts – small is powerful

Posted on February 11, 2019 by pat thomson

I work a lot with tiny texts. Abstracts. Storyboards. Story threads. Lines of argument. Tiny texts are my academic writing tool of choice. If I had to abandon all the other writing strategies I have in my repertoire, this is … Continue reading →

Posted in abstracts, academic writing, methods, methods chapter, research methods, thesis, Tiny Text | Tagged abstratc, argument, methods chapter, Pat Thomson, thesis, Tiny Text | 5 Comments

three things examiners look for in methods chapters

Posted on June 26, 2017 by pat thomson

Once upon a time, when I worked in schools, early childhood teachers routinely issued young children with a ‘pen license’. A pen license was much sought after as it meant that a child could ‘advance’ to using a pen instead of … Continue reading →

Posted in data, data analysis, examiner, methods, methods chapter, research methods, thesis, Uncategorized | Tagged examiner, methods chapter, Pat Thomson, research | 7 Comments

writing course – the Methods Section

Posted on February 5, 2015 by pat thomson

Methods. Methodology. Being methodical. All of the above. The third day of the writing workshop (predictably, since we are following an ILMRaD structure) focused on what goes in the Methods Section of a journal article. And predictably again, the first … Continue reading →