Category Archives: research

developing a research agenda

Posted on January 23, 2023 by pat thomson

So you’re thinking about how to develop a research agenda after your doctorate. This is often difficult to do. You’ve been down and dirty with the same question (and with all of the material you generated) for quite some time. … Continue reading →

Posted in research, research agenda, research decisions | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

making the most of research leftovers

Posted on September 27, 2021 by pat thomson

You all know about leftovers. The bits of a meal that you couldn’t quite finish. The remnants that end up in a plastic box or a covered bowl in the fridge. Mostly you get round to eating them for lunch … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, data, data analysis, leftover, Pat Thomson, research | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“discussion” – it’s about moving forward

Posted on July 20, 2020 by pat thomson

Discussion. It’s a word that immediately comes to mind when we think about communicating research. First we report the results, and then we discuss them. Discussion might be a separate thesis chapter just before the conclusion, or the end of … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, argument, contribution, discussion, research | 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 writing advice

Posted on April 23, 2018 by pat thomson

There’s some very bad writing advice out there. Most of it is well-intentioned. Most doesn’t aim to make profit from anxious writers. But unfortunately readily available writing advice is not uniformly good. Does this matter? Caveat emptor perhaps? Well, there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, advice, poor advice, research, writing research | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

putting the search into research – starting the phd

Posted on October 19, 2017 by pat thomson

Getting through a doctorate requires a finely honed information practice. You have to become pretty good at summarising, synthesising and categorising ‘stuff’ – otherwise known as ‘the literatures’.  But you also have to keep track of what you’ve read, and … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, keywords, literature review, literature reviews, research, searching, starting the PhD | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

big researchers don’t cry?

Posted on October 5, 2017 by pat thomson

This is a guest post from Jozica Kutin. Jozica is a researcher and PhD candidate at RMIT University, Melbourne.   At the end of each research interview I tell the person I’ve interviewed how appreciative I am of their time and … Continue reading →

Posted in Emotion, emotional research, interview, interviews, research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

blogging research projects

Posted on August 28, 2017 by pat thomson

I am often asked about the ways in which I use blogs for research purposes. I take this question  to mean I should talk about something other than the usual blogging that I do. So here goes. I have played … Continue reading →

Posted in academic blogging, archive, blogging about blogging, literature review, research, research agenda, research blogging | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

beware the shoehorn – #researchfunding

Posted on August 4, 2016 by pat thomson

For the last five years, I’ve directed a research development centre for the Arts and Social Sciences. I’ve just finished that job and am thinking about what I’ve learnt. This is one of the things that I’ve worried about. The dictionary tells me … Continue reading →

Posted in research, research agenda, research bid writing, shoehorning research bids | Tagged , , | 2 Comments