Jeepers, I have been away a while! But, rather than dwelling on all the Things I let get in the way of my writing and creativity last year, I will look to a new year, and new ideas for the blog instead. In a conference workshop in November, I had a really interesting discussion with … Continue reading Having theory and ‘theorising’: reclaiming the verb
Category: theoretical frameworks
Why is theory such a big deal in postgraduate research?
I am working with a new student. Long story short, I am not his first supervisor, and this his not his first attempt at his PG research project. He's had a tough time thus far: significantly with theory as his first supervisor did not seem to feel he needed any. Quite understandably, then, one of … Continue reading Why is theory such a big deal in postgraduate research?
Putting your theory to work in analysis
You now have generated data - in some form, whether primary or secondary - and now you need to code and make sense of it; you need to put it to the task of answering your research question(s). In other words: analysis. This was the toughest part of my own PhD: I had a mountain … Continue reading Putting your theory to work in analysis
Concepts and theory: constructing a ‘gaze’ for your study
I have been thinking a great deal lately about theory, and the role it has to play in research. There are a couple of contexts in which this thinking has been taking place: I reviewed a paper recently that didn't quite hang together, and after a second reading I worked out that I was missing the … Continue reading Concepts and theory: constructing a ‘gaze’ for your study
Spinning the ‘golden thread’ that can sew your PhD together
When I was doing my PhD, someone at some stage asked me (probably in response to my ramblings about what my PhD was about): 'what is your "golden thread"?' This stumped me. My what? I hadn't really heard that term before, although my supervisor has talked about it since, as have other colleagues who all … Continue reading Spinning the ‘golden thread’ that can sew your PhD together
