Category Archives: Uncategorized

if only …

Posted on October 12, 2017 by pat thomson

This is a confession. One I know I shouldn’t be making in public. But I am. I need to explain, before I let you in on my guilty secret, that I am a fanatical reader. I read every day and … Continue reading →

Posted in journal, Uncategorized | Tagged journal, Pat Thomson | 11 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 emotion, interview, Jozica Kutin, research | 11 Comments

professor of the academic dark arts

Posted on October 2, 2017 by pat thomson

Professor of the dark academic arts. It’s a job. Yes, really. No, you never see this position advertised. But it exists. And not just in J K Rowling’s world. In real life. Professors of academic dark arts magick away other … Continue reading →

Posted in academic dark arts, plagiarism, power relations, supervision, Uncategorized | Tagged academic dark arts, bullying, Karin Bodewits, Pat Thomson, plagiarism | 8 Comments

creative re-vision

Posted on September 28, 2017 by pat thomson

If you have a writing practice which begins with a quickly written and almost inevitably loose first draft, then you need a range of strategies that you can call on to beat the text into shape. And even if … Continue reading →

Posted in creative writing, play, revision, revision strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged creative revision strategies, Kristen Iversen, Pat Thomson, revision | 2 Comments

literatures work – and a pair of new shoes…

Posted on September 25, 2017 by pat thomson

It’s September and the Autumn equinox. To mark the occasion, I took my new pair of lace-up boots out of their box and gave them their first wearing/airing. Now anyone who knows me knows that I always have a pair … Continue reading →

Posted in literature mapping, literature review, literature reviews, mapping, reading, scan-reading, scoping, Uncategorized | Tagged literatures work, mapping, noting, Pat Thomson, scoping | 6 Comments

guilty, as charged

Posted on September 21, 2017 by pat thomson

I’ve been thinking about guilt lately. Academic guilt. And why I seem to feel it – a lot. The most recent guilt ridden occasion was just last weekend. The week before I’d been away for four days at a conference. … Continue reading →

Posted in Emotion, emotional labour, guilt, Uncategorized | Tagged emotional labour, guilt, Pat Thomson | 12 Comments

the citation dump – and three more citation tactics to avoid – #thesisknowhow

Posted on September 18, 2017 by pat thomson

All doctoral researchers know they must locate their work in the literatures. They also know that they must refer to the relevant literatures when they make an argument. Unsubstantiated claims are not acceptable, unless of course they are what is … Continue reading →

Posted in argument, citation, citation dump, citations, literature review, literature reviews, Uncategorized | Tagged citation dump, citation practice, literature review, Pat Thomson | 6 Comments

academic writing and the connoisseur-critic

Posted on September 14, 2017 by pat thomson

I often write, well no, I actually often rant about, the importance of reading to writing. Researchers can simply read for the content of papers, chapters and books – or they can also read for the writing. Reading for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

avoiding the laundry list literature review

Posted on September 11, 2017 by pat thomson

I’ve been asked to say more about the laundry list literature review. The laundry list is often called ‘He said, she said” – as one of the most usual forms of the laundry list is when most sentences start with a … Continue reading →

Posted in authority in writing, he said, she said, laundry list, literature review, passive voice, Uncategorized | Tagged authority, he said, laundry list, literature, Pat Thomson, she said | 38 Comments

two things that made me think this week

Posted on September 7, 2017 by pat thomson

Last weekend brought the inevitable long Saturday newspaper read – that’s a thing in our house. We only buy one paper a week and we do like to sit down and savor it the morning it’s bought. We leave some … Continue reading →