Tag Archives: data analysis

playing about with data

Posted on February 24, 2020 by pat thomson

Not everything we do in our research has to have a definite end point. Sometimes it’s good to set aside all those anxieties about ‘getting through and getting done’. We might even like to take some time to simply play … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, data, data analysis, play | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

a festive gift from patter – a checklist for revising methods chapters

Posted on December 23, 2019 by pat thomson

PhDers sometimes find writing the thesis methods chapter a pretty tedious business. But the methods chapter is a key part of the examination process – it shows that the researcher knows how to research. You see, examiners make their decision … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, data, data analysis, methodology, methods, methods chapter, research methods, revision, revision strategy, thesis revision | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

beginning data analysis – orienting yourself

Posted on August 21, 2017 by pat thomson

This post is a response to a question about how to begin data analysis. When you were little, I bet you played sorting games. You might have organised pencils into colours, or blocks into various shapes. Later on, you may … Continue reading →

Posted in data, data analysis, orienting questions, qualitative data, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

play with your data

Posted on August 17, 2017 by pat thomson

Data analysis can be pretty scary.  That moment when you realise that making sense of the stuff you’ve so painstakingly generated comes down to you – just you.  Well, relax. It’s not just you that has to leap into the … Continue reading →

Posted in data, data analysis, play, qualitative data, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

data analysis – jigsaw puzzling writ large?

Posted on January 9, 2017 by pat thomson

I do love a good jigsaw. The more complicated the better. Tiny pieces. Ambiguous shapes that could be one of any number of things. Large slabs of mono colour. What’s not to like? And over Christmas I got hooked on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

pack ratting – a common or garden field work practice

Posted on November 24, 2016 by pat thomson

Pack rats are nest builders. They use plant material such as branches, twigs, sticks, and other available debris. Getting into everything from attics to car engines, stealing their ‘treasures’, damaging electrical wiring, and creating general noisy havoc can easily cause … Continue reading →

Posted in archive, data, data analysis, pack-ratting, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , , , | 12 Comments

what did I do? – the research diary

Posted on November 10, 2014 by pat thomson

I’ve got an OK memory. Most of the time I can summon up the details that I need to remember, when I need to remember them – passwords, deadlines, the way home. But I do struggle to recall all of the … Continue reading →

Posted in data analysis, research decisions, research diary | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

devouring your data

Posted on November 6, 2014 by pat thomson

You’ve read hundreds of books. You’ve waded through archival material. You’ve got mountains of surveys, folders full of transcripts, notebooks stuffed with barely legible field notes, and rather more photographs than you initially intended. Now what? How is it going … Continue reading →

Posted in analysis, data | Tagged , | 10 Comments

find a strategic entry to the data…

Posted on August 8, 2013 by pat thomson

When I’m beginning a new slab of data analysis I try to locate a strategic way into the overall topic. I look to see if there are one or two things that I can do fairly quickly to create something … Continue reading →

Posted in data, Tate Summer School, voice recognition software | Tagged , , | 5 Comments