Category Archives: research design

route recalculation – starting the phd

Posted on August 29, 2022 by pat thomson

Expectations are a funny thing. Particularly when it comes to the doctorate. On the one hand you want to anticipate the smoothest and most interesting route through the PhD. But focusing only on the dream doctorate can leave you shocked … Continue reading →

Posted in doctoral research, emotional research, research agenda, research as process, research design, research methods, research plan | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

the risk of research feature creep

Posted on September 30, 2019 by pat thomson

I’ve recently been reading a design manual – don’t ask – and came across the term feature creep. Designers define feature creep as “a continuous expansion or addition of new features”. And this feature creep is a problem. The term … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, feature creep, research, research as process, research decisions, research design | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

bad research questions

Posted on March 19, 2018 by pat thomson

Writing a research question is hard. And it takes time. Often much more time that you might think. The research question is really important as it underpins your research design. And your  design allows you to find an answer or … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, research design, research question | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

PhD stuck points

Posted on February 19, 2018 by pat thomson

There are some points in the PhD process where the going gets pretty tough. Stuck points, where it’s hard work. Where it’s difficult to move on. Now don’t get me wrong. These points don’t cause grief to everyone. I’m not … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, data analysis, PhD, research design, research question, structure, stuck points, style and structure, thesis | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

refining your research topic – starting the phd

Posted on November 27, 2017 by pat thomson

Where do research topics come from? The research topic you have at the start of your PhD may come from work you did in your Masters. It may come from a professional or policy context, perhaps your own professional work … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, doctoral research, doctoral researcher, research design, research proposal, research question, research warrant, starting the PhD | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

you’re so vague…

Posted on July 3, 2017 by pat thomson

It is important when writing about research to be specific. And by writing about research I mean writing about methods in a journal article, writing methods in a thesis or journal article, writing about research  design in a research bid. … Continue reading →

Posted in claims, research design, results, vagueness | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

what is a ‘research warrant’? #knowhow

Posted on August 7, 2015 by pat thomson

The notion of a warrant is important in research. It helps to know what the term means, particularly if you get asked a question about your research warrant in, say, a conference presentation or supervision tutorial. Most dictionaries define a … Continue reading →

Posted in evidence, research decisions, research design, research methods, research warrant | Tagged , | 5 Comments

the ten habits of highly unsuccessful research bid writers

Posted on April 27, 2015 by pat thomson

I’ve just reviewed a lot, and I mean a lot, of research bids. I review research bids regularly, as do a lot of senior academics. Some of them are great and some of them are decent, sensible and worth doing. … Continue reading →

Posted in research bid writing, research design, research funding, research methods, research plan, research proposal | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

thinking about research questions

Posted on September 8, 2014 by pat thomson

I’ve been asked a few times to post about research questions. My response up to now has been that there is already a lot out there on the topic and I’m not sure what I could add. But of course … Continue reading →

Posted in research, research design, research question | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

aims and objectives – what’s the difference?

Posted on June 9, 2014 by pat thomson

You’re ready, you’re aimed, and now you have to fire off the objectives. But you’re a bit confused. What”s the difference between the two? An aims-objectives confusion might arise when you are writing thesis proposal and the introductory thesis chapter. … Continue reading →

Posted in research design | Tagged , , | 100 Comments