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How to Stay Motivated during PhD

“How to maintain PhD motivation?” This is a very common question asked by many PhD scholars. Below is an email from a PhD scholar that I am sharing with you.  Hi, I’m doing a PhD from Durham University. I was extremely excited until I went through intense pressure. Now I am losing interest. I find it back-breaking. Intensive research and writing a thesis is seriously a herculean task. I don’t get time, and perhaps I don’t know the ways to do it in a more efficient manner. My researchers have suggested several tips to finish my project calmly in time, but I don’t achieve the desired results. I am extremely depressed now. I feel like I can never have a PhD title.  read...

Some studies are painstakingly planned in advance; others are tailored as enquiry processes.

In presipified study questions of interest arguments supporting the inquiry,the specific procedures of the inquiry are worked out at the beginning of the investigation .Once the design is established ,the researcher implements the study,adhering to original plan as closely as possible. Much of the traditional empirical research in the social sciences is of this kind. Emergent studies have a long tradition in the humanities and in some branches of social sciences.In emergent studies ,the questions of interest ,supporting arguments ,and procedural details are worked out as the study proceeds .Such studies are most frequently employed to investigate natural variation ,to study phenomena afresh/or in all their normal complexity,or to explore the phenomena to see what can be learned.Emergent designs may also be used because researchers lack prior knowledge of phenomenon ,methodological tools are inappropriate or lacking,or situational control in inadequate to conduct a presipified study. read...

Summarizing and interpreting the information in case study research – PhD Help Series

In case study research,making sense of information collected from multiple sources is a recursive process in which the researcher interacts with the information throughout the investigative process.In other words, unlike some forms of research in which the data are examined only at the end of information collection period ,case study research involves ongoing examination and interpretation of the data in order to reach tentative conclusions and to refine the research questions .Case study researchers adhere to several guidelines as they simultaneously summarize and interpret information gathered when doing case study research. read...

How to Formulate a Research Problem in your PhD Research Proposal

There are two types of research problems, viz., those which relate  to states of nature and those which relate to relationships between variables. At the very outset, the researcher must single out the problem he wants to study, i.e, he must decide the general area of interest or aspect of a subject matter that he would like to inquire into. Initially, the problem may be stated in a broad general way and then the ambiguities, if any related to the problem, are resolved. Then the feasibility of a particular solution has to be considered before a working formulation of the problem can be set up. The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus constitutes the first step in a scientific inquiry. Essentially two steps are involved in formulating the research problem, viz., understanding the problem thoroughly, and rephrasing the same into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view.    read...

Pitfalls to Beware of While Doing Discourse Analysis

Discourse analysis is majorly used in social sciences research where the analysis of interactions and texts is required. This analytical method is used to describe and interpret the statements of subjects on a specific social issue or to analyse and critique the text. However, discourse analysis brings about some pitfalls with it, which researchers and scholars should beware of. Following are a few cautions to be taken while doing discourse analysis: read...

PhD Thesis Format – Frequently Asked Questions

The writing stage for any doctoral candidate is dreaded when he is not good with the academic writing style and format. While you reach the writing stage for your PhD thesis, you might have a few questions in your mind about the style, structure, and format of your thesis. Here are a few FAQs that would make all the PhD thesis requirements quite clear: Does my PhD thesis length matter if the content is accurate? No. The length of the thesis is not really a matter of concern when the content in your thesis is precise and accurate. Your research topic is undoubtedly a vast topic to cover but your thesis doesn’t need to include every bit of your research. Your PhD thesis should be precise providing the required information to a reader for a comprehensive understanding of your research. Is a PhD thesis structure universal or confined to your University? Well, a PhD thesis structure is universal in accordance of the introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis, result & conclusion, and bibliography. However, if your University asks you to write it in a different order you must abide by it. The organization of the chapters is as follows : The introduction provides a glimpse and the objective of your thesis. The literature review is a chronological and relatable background of the study on your topic. The methodology defines your approach towards the research and the method (qualitative or quantitative) you chose for your research process. The data analysis chapter includes the analysis of the collected data either in a pictorial or tabular form. Result & conclusion is the findings you have attained from the research with the limitations of the method. Bibliography of your PhD thesis is the reference section where you mention every used source which helped you with the research. What should a PhD thesis cover...

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