Category Archives: questions

starting the PhD – finding the literatures you need

Posted on November 30, 2015 by pat thomson

There is no one way to find the literatures that you need to read. There are many different strategies to use. One that I find helpful is based around the questions that are generated from the topic that you are … Continue reading →

Posted in literature review, literature reviews, questions | Tagged finding the literature, literature review, Pat Thomson | 2 Comments

starting the PhD – don’t panic

Posted on October 19, 2015 by pat thomson

I was sitting in my office the other day talking with a beginning PhDer. A nearly-finished doctor popped her head around the door. I asked her what advice she would give someone just starting out on their doctorate, and her … Continue reading →

Posted in data, doctoral research, literature review, panic, questions, research question, thesis | Tagged data analysis, literature review, Pat Thomson, PhD, research question, thesis text | 12 Comments

a different approach to research questions: a useful holiday read

Posted on December 30, 2013 by pat thomson

We don’t talk enough about research questions. Well, that’s according to the authors of a book I’ve just read. They are Mats Alvesson and Jorgen Sandberg, and the book is Constructing research questions: Doing interesting research (Sage 2013). Alvesson and … Continue reading →

Posted in gap-spotting, problematisation, questions, research question | Tagged Alvesson and Sandberg, gap-spotting, problematisation, research question | 5 Comments

a questions approach to the literature review

Posted on November 28, 2013 by pat thomson

There are various ways to approach literature reviewing. The most common is to start by scoping the field. (See the post on Inger and my blogging paper for an example of what scoping looks like.) Once you’ve scoped, you then … Continue reading →

Posted in literature review, literature themes, questions | Tagged literature review, Pat Thomson, questions approach | 9 Comments

problem, problematisation – what’s the difference?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by pat thomson

I’ve been thinking recently about problems. It’s probably because I edit an action research journal* where people very often begin their paper by outlining a problem that has arisen in their practice, and then go on to report an action … Continue reading →

Posted in problem, problematisation, questions | Tagged Jem Bloomfield, Pat Thomson, problem, problematisation, research questions | 2 Comments

preparing for the academic job interview

Posted on July 2, 2012 by pat thomson

This very helpful post is written by Sean Matthews, Director of Studies at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. So, you’ve polished your cv, sent in the (many, many) applications, run the gauntlet of the hiring committees, and finally you’ve … Continue reading →