Author: Alex wilson

Defining the research problem: The How and the Why!

Research Question and Research Problem are often used as synonyms in reference to the problem that is desired to be investigated. From the mind-set that is followed in the research process, the problem that is desired to be solved is done by putting up a lot of questions so the research problem becomes the foundation of the study and all subsequent research activities are based on it.
When you design your research proposal, you try to convince a third party about your study and its relevance and importance. To be able to do that convincingly your research problem has to be strong enough and should consider the following points:

  1. Retain your interest: other than making sure that the topic is topical and holds relevance and interest of the academic world it is also important to note that it should sustain your interest because you would be working on it for a long time and if it does not interest or excite you then you may not be able to complete the study. The eagerness that have to go in studying about the topic will determine how soon and faster you complete your study.
  2. It should match your competencies: even if you have the enthusiasm to take up the study, you must not overestimate your skills and ability and go for a research problem that is over ambitious. Rather choose a topic that falls in the limits of your skill set.
  3. Give sufficient clarification: you must be aware of the basic step by step process for creating a research problem. All that your audience primarily wants is “who, what, when, where and how”. Make sure you answer each of these questions. By doing so, you would successfully put across the message to others and to yourself that the chosen topic of study has the viability and also, very important is that you are the right person to be doing it.
  4. Institute the feasibility of your study: put across the feasibility of your study so that you are aware of the parameters and at the same time the audience knows that you have evaluated and understood the possible challenges that might come in this study and are well prepared to handle them as and when they arrive.
  5. Justify its USP: this is more important when you are wanting to get awarded some monetary funding or resources for your study and more than one applicant is there for the same. Your research problem should convincingly put across why your study should be considered over others. Identify the USP of your study and place them well so that it doesn’t go unnoticed.

The Love Hate Relationship Between You and Your Supervisor

What are dream supervisors made up of? Well, a dream supervisor has the following qualities

  • Wisdom
  • Positivity
  • Communication skills
  • Analytical clarity
  • Patience
  • In-depth knowledge
  • Creativity
  • Empathy, to name a few.

I am sure by the end of the list, you have understood pretty well that dream supervisors do not exist and are merely utopian. Even if you come across a person who has all the above traits and is willing to be your supervisors, remember to acknowledge that they are humans and not saints and most of the time they are so pressurised with their own jobs and perhaps even frustrated that they can’t shower all their goodness on their scholars. Whatever be your supervisor like, but he would surely want to see you succeed and not be a failure. It is an expectation with a selfish expectation attached to it as with your success is associated their reputation and subsequent promotions in the future. For a while during your PhD course, if you stop performing it starts to reflect in the position of your supervisor in the department. No way can you take this relationship for granted, even for a short while during your complete PhD journey.

With all the connection that you and you supervisor have and where you success is interdependent, surprisingly your supervisor may not exactly tell you what to do or what is expected from you. This can frustrate you or make you feel disconnected with your supervisor but don’t do that. As a scholar, you need to be pragmatic and take initiatives to meet and interact with your supervisor as you would need that advice from time to time. You need not wait or look for an initiative from your supervisor rather ask queries and seek advice from time to time. Rarely would you find supervisors who themselves get in touch and provide inputs without the scholar asking for it.

Remember that the ball is in your court always and at the same time, whether you like it or not but your success is dependent on the single most significant individual. You have to be focused on understanding the role and advice of your supervisor for a smooth as well as successful PhD experience.

Try to schedule quality time for discussion with your supervisor. They are busy people and may give you erratic responses depending on their work pressure and state of mind. Give them attention if you want them to give you attention. That’s the only way that you can ensure they focus on you and your PhD remains on their priority list.

Tips to Eliminate Mistakes from your Research Paper

The objective of each writer is to bring in perfection in his work and make sure that his writing is flawless. Well, for that you need very good and impeccable writing skills and to add to that you need to know how to avoid mistakes when you write, in the first place itself. What are the ways in which you can avoid mistakes so that your writing gets that extra edge of quality and impeccability? Here are a list of things that you should be careful of so that your research document is not anything less than a flawless write up:

  1. Strong control over grammar
  2. Accuracy in spellings
  3. Format guidelines followed meticulously
  4. Make sure you have added relevant data to the topic. If your data isn’t connected to the topic and it goes haywire then it is a very bad impression that you create about your writing. Your writing should go in a specific direction so that your writing stays focused and you restrict what you write in the limitations of the focus of the topic.
  5. Stay away from abrupt jumps. Even if the amount of information that you want to give is ample, do not do it very rapidly. Make the transition from one sub topic to another in a very smooth manner
  6. Keep the use of jargons to the minimum, as less as possible is what is required.
  7. In your first draft, do not try to get accuracy in the work. First draft is supposed to be the rough draft so you can easily let go of spelling mistakes and typographical errors in the first draft stage. But with all this liberty in the first draft, you must stick to the logical sequence of the paper else it would become all haywire and unorganised.
  8. Having the first draft dome, highlight your mistakes upon reading the document thoroughly. Double check the document to further refine its quality
  9. Do editing and proofreading. Having another perspective and a friend doing it for you to identify mistakes you couldn’t find can actually help to give a holistic improvement to the document. Try to do the editing and proofreading work in a corner of your house or work place that does not distract you and helps you to rectify mistakes without any distractions. Reading aloud is always a good idea.
  10. Lastly, stay neutral when others give a critical perspective to your document. Incorporate changes which you think will actually enrich the quality of your document.

Effective writing ideas for a perfect research question

The job of a research question is to express accurately in words what you desire to learn and explore in a particular topic by the means of research, whether qualitative or quantitative. There is no thumb rule or perfect formula that exists for a research question. In fact, better said would be that the perfect research questions are rather refined over a period of time rather than discovered one fine day. If you wish to create a successful research question, you must first think of a subject area that generates a spark or interest within you and then a relevant problem that you wish to solve. There are few characteristics here of a good research question:

  1. The question should have relevance in the subject matter: It should be novel enough to spark the interests of the people in your chosen area of study. To do it, what works is that it should arise from an issue that is linked to more topical literature. You must establish the purpose of your research in context to the general information that is related to your subject area.
  2. The research has feasibility execution: you must have a realistic vision about your research as it should be within the scope of your abilities. If you so find that it is getting unmanageable, you must be ready with a contingency plan to take care of the problem. It could be perhaps another alternative research problem. Do it, especially if you have sceptical thoughts about the applicability of your research problem.
  3. It aligns well with your research requirements: your course/university would have some set criteria and it is important that your research question gels well with it. For instance, if you intend to create a purely theoretical research, find on early on from your course rules whether you have the scope to do it. You must and should be able to justify your choice of study/question. More so if you have a chosen a path that few take up.
  4. It is simple and clear: it has to be away from ambiguity and confusion. The final question must not lead towards an unclear research process and uncertain results. If at all your research question has a lot of complexity involved, you must have one key question that can further bifurcation into simpler components.

Last but not the least, it should generate interest not just in you but kindle the spark in the reader as well!

Good luck!

How Does a Dissertation Outline Help?

Firstly, let us understand what is a dissertation outlines so that if you are one of those who is writing a dissertation and does not have one yet, you wait no more and create it as the first thing after reading this blog.
A dissertation outline is a list that is a summary of the content and the activities that are required for producing a good dissertation. Ideally, it is to be prepared at the beginning of the dissertation after the topic is chosen. There are various advantages of having an outline and make it an integral part of the dissertation. Here are some benefits not to be missed:
•It aids the scholar to organise his work
•A dissertation outline helps the student to plan the work in an efficient maner. Meticulous and detailed planning always helps in preventing the last minute rushes that can cause mistakes to occur.
•It is nothing less than a guiding tool that can help the student to execute the writing process effectively
•It gives a good and planned structure to the dissertation and helps to improve the final appearance of the dissertation
•A good dissertation outline is something by which the scholar is able to assign adequate time to each part of the essay
•The review of the work also becomes easier and simpler because of a well drafted outline as it can be reviewed against some previously drafted standards
•It enhances the appearance of the document and makes it simple and neat which further helps in simplifying the proofreading exercise.
•Time management and allocation becomes easier and the scholar is able to decide how much needs to be allocated to each section
•An outline is way to chart out the scope of the document and determine the width and depth of the document so that one can know the amount of time and effort needed for the document.

Do you need more reasons to get convinced for creating a dissertation outline? If you are convinced here are some characteristic of a good outline:
•It should be well organised
•It should be well prepared and neat
•It should be simple , detailed and straightforward at the same time
•It should be objective, focused and straightforward
•It should be comprehensive and have no extra information about other subjects

Thus, don’t wait any further and using reliable sources, do meticulous planning and creatively draft your outline so simplify your dissertation writing journey.