Tag Archives: Pat Thomson

getting to grips with new literatures

Posted on January 13, 2020 by pat thomson

Over time all researchers build a knowledge base about their key interests. A large part of this knowledge is a core set of literatures. They/we do need to keep up to date, but they/we can rely on – and use … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Endnote, literature mapping, literature review, literature reviews, note-taking | Tagged literature work, noting, Pat Thomson | 3 Comments

tracking the path to research claims

Posted on January 6, 2020 by pat thomson

All researchers make claims about their work. Remember the phrase staking a claim? That’s what we are actually doing when we claim something. We are metaphorically placing a marker in a field that we are prepared to stand on, stand … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, argument, claim, claims, evidence, revision, revision strategy, thesis, thesis revision | Tagged argument, claims, evidence, Pat Thomson, revision, thesis | Leave a comment

keeping up with the literatures – preliminary sorting is key

Posted on December 9, 2019 by pat thomson

This post is in response to a question about how to keep on top of what is being published I found out early on that academic work required finding ways to deal with a load of information. My undergraduate honours … Continue reading →

Posted in academic writing, Browzine, literature review, reading | Tagged categorising, keeping up with literatures, Literatures, Pat Thomson, reading, selecting, sorting | 6 Comments

blog as teach-in/teach-out

Posted on December 2, 2019 by pat thomson

During my protest-filled undergraduate years, there were regular sit -ins – where university offices were occupied – and teach-ins – where alternative interpretations of current events and their histories were explored. University staff and students collaboratively developed a radical curriculum … Continue reading →

Posted in academic life, academic writing, blogging, blogging about blogging, social media, teach-in | Tagged blogging, Pat Thomson, social media, teach-in | 4 Comments

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 feature creep, Pat Thomson, research, research risks | 1 Comment

grow your own writing practice

Posted on September 23, 2019 by pat thomson

You often hear writing described as a skill. And a skill is the capacity to do something well, to use expertise built up through practice. Skills are often seen as merely technical, but a skill requires specialist knowledge and often … Continue reading →

Posted in artisan, connoisseur, PhD, practice, reading, routine, starting the PhD | Tagged academic writing, artisan, coonoisseur, Pat Thomson, starting the PhD, writing skills | 5 Comments

a planner’s approach to the first draft

Posted on September 16, 2019 by pat thomson

Writing a draft. Mmm. The word ‘writing’ suggests that all you have to do is sit down and type or scribble away. And lo and behold a text is born. But there are different pathways to writing a draft. Some … Continue reading →