Category Archives: research plan

route recalculation – starting the phd

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

what’s a post PhD research plan, or research agenda?

You’ve passed the PhD. You’re past the PhD. Congratulations. And I hope that you’ve taken some time to celebrate and that you’ve got over– or are dealing with – the post PhD slump. You’re now applying for jobs and post-doctoral … Continue reading

Posted in post-PhD slump, research agenda, research plan | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

#readingforwriting: being specific in qualitative research

Every now and then patter offers a close-up of research writing. This near-sighted exercise is intended to illustrate how ‘reading for the writing’ can be helpful. This particular ‘reading for writing’ post looks at writing qualitative methods in a journal … Continue reading

Posted in research methods, research plan, research project, research question, vagueness | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

the ten habits of highly unsuccessful research bid writers

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

messy research – the benefits of following your nose

One of the problems with research plans is that they set up expectations. The plan is it. Once it’s down on paper in a Gantt chart or a timetable, that’s your guide to action. Apart from the obvious fact that … Continue reading

Posted in healthy schools, mess, research plan | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

why mess in a PhD can be a good thing

This guest post is by Dr Ben Kraal, who is a Research Fellow in the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology. At the moment he mostly works on the Human Systems part of the Airports of the Future … Continue reading

Posted in Human Computer Interaction, mess, PhD, research plan, research project, voice recognition software | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

messy research: the ethics of recruiting participants

This guest blog by Dr Simon Bailey, a research fellow at the Manchester Business School, addresses a very messy area in research – that of the basis on which we recruit people to our projects. WHAT’VE THE RESEARCHERS EVER DONE … Continue reading

Posted in ADHD, ethics, mess, research methods, research plan, rules of engagement | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

research track record – how do you get it?

One of the things that can count for or against you when bidding for research project money is track record. All funders would like to give their money to someone who they are pretty confident can produce the goods. So … Continue reading

Posted in early career researchers, peer review, publication plan, research funding, research mentoring, research plan, track record | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments