Doctoral Training Workshops

1
Doctoral Training Workshops

• Class of 2006-07

2
Project Planning Scoping your research

• First of three linked sessions
• Today Scoping
• Next week (Nov 9th) Organizing stages of
  research and workplan development
• Nov 21st Research Design and focussing

3
Getting Going reprise

• Your examiners require a PhD/Masters to
  demonstrate
• Good style and presentation
• Proficiency in Research Methods
• Initiative and independence of thought (Masters)
• Significant (distinct) contribution to knowledge
• Material worthy of publication (PhD)
• Able to pursue further research without
  supervision (PhD)
• Able to argue and discuss research (PhD Viva)

4
Overall you need to demonstrate..

• You have developed a command of your subject
• You have the ability to know where you can make a
  useful contribution
• You know what methods to use (and not use)
• You make that contribution
• You communicate results effectively

5
Scoping your research

• SESSION AIMS
• To explore research questions as a tool for
  scoping research
• To explore and refine your research questions
• To start identifying key tasks for your project

6
My project is about.

• What is the research question or hypothesis at
  the centre of your research project?
• Write this down in the form of a question (or
  two)
• Then, in pairs, briefly share what your question
  is and what you want to find out (2 minutes
  each).

7
Logics of Enquiry (simplified/different take)

• How did you formulate your question(s)? Did it
  involve
• How.. ?
• Why .. ?
• Who .. ?
• What .. ?
• Where .. ?
• How many .. ?
• What if .. ?
• Others???

• How you formulate your question will reflect you
  enquiry logic and the way you investigate it..

8
Different kinds of research question

• Source Finding out Fast Thomas, A. et al
  (1998), Sage Publications, London Chapter 1, pg
  23.

9
Research questions and data

• Different question formulations involve different
  logics of enquiry
• Very practically they require different sorts of
  data.
• This can help you to think through what
  information you want to come out of your project

10
What, How, Why and What If?

• Rewrite your research question (or one of your
  key questions) as a one involving (1)what (2)
  how (3) why (4) who and (5) what if?
• e.g. a social health care project could be.
• What types of intermediary care services are
  likely to be successful in reducing acute
  emergency hospital admissions?
• How can intermediary care services reduce acute
  emergency hospital admissions?
• Why are existing services not preventing rising
  numbers of acute emergency hospital admissions?
• What would be involved if patients needs for
  treatment after hip replacement operations were
  provided more at home?

11
Comments on the exercise

• Could you formulate 5 versions of your question?
• Examples..??
• What data would you need for different questions?
• Where would you get it?
• How would you get it?

12
Criteria for good research questions

• Be convertible into specific tasks
• Have a comparative element
• Specify when you have done enough
• Specify the
• Field of Study
• Limits the population studied (e.g.
  geographical area, industrial sector, person
  type, topic boundary)
• Unit of analysis
• Measures used
• Have theoretical links with big questions in the
  subject area as a whole.

13
Activity

• In pairs again, try to identify which formulation
  of your research question works best for the
  criteria mentioned?
• Was it the one you started with?

14
Reflection

• Reformulating the question can help you think
  through the different understandings alternative
  approaches might produce
• You should also consider how practical it is to
  gather your data with the time and resources you
  have available how far along to what if can
  you go?

15
Developing and scheduling tasks

• IN GROUPS
• Select one of your research questions
• List the tasks needed to provide information to
  answer this
• Schedule tasks into a sequence
• Make up a diagram scheduling the tasks

16
Early Tasks in practice

• Not so much on scheduling project activities as
  tasks to explore topic and focus

17
For Next Week

• UNIVERSITY RESEARCH DAY on Thursday 9th November
• Workshop is at 2-4pm as part of this
• Organizing your Research
• Dave Middleton and Sue Oreszczyn
• Dont forget Happy Hour 5.30 6.30 in the
  Cellar(!) Bar