Research proposal defence preparation
How can one prepare exceptionally good for passing proposal defence? Does it follow the same procedure as thesis defence? If a candidate fails the defence, can he redo it with a different proposal?
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perry578
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sarah2784
Should I go for a part-time PhD?
Is it a good idea to pursue part-time PhD? I have gone through websites of many universities in UK promising that there is not much difference between full-time and part-time doctoral programme they offer. But it’s just that I do not understand this distinction made by the universities between the both. Can anyone advise if part-time PhD is a good way to go for? Do these courses follow the same coursework and other thesis submission and defence procedure?
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partridge74
For me, it doesn’t matter whether you do PhD through full-time or part-time mode. It’s all about how dedicated you are with your PhD research and thesis. Yes…almost all PhD proceedings go rightly the same with both part-time and full-time PhD. But some universities in the UK provide two PhD supervisors to you in part-time PhD when only one is given to you in full-time PhD. Also, full-time PhD may get a little expensive for you when compared to part-time PhD, but then you have the option to obtain research fundings from the universities.
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joseph664
There is, of course, a considerable difference in both full-time PhD or campus-based PhD study would mean that you are focused only on your research; attending conferences, scheduling up meetings with your advisor and working on it rigorously. Whereas this might not be possible with a part-time PhD if I say! If you are employed, then the struggle with job and research is inevitable. Plus, time-frame must also be kept under consideration. A full-time PhD is completed in three years only whereas a full-time PhD is usually stretched up to six years.
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tom2331
Go for a full-time PhD if possible. Because in part time PhD, you might not get the learning and knowledge which you will gain when you reach out your peers, seniors, juniors and advisors in university campus during full time PhD.
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alexie18
Creating an effective interview protocol
For my qualitative research, the supervisor advised collecting the relevant research data through an interview. He guided me only a little about how interview protocol is developed and how transcripts are refined. This brief introduction did me no significant help as I have never prepared any interview protocol. But now in PhD, I must do it and that too alone!! Is someone here who can guide me on creating an interview protocol for qualitative research?
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matilda774
Your interview protocol must be in alignment of your research question and literature review. For developing interview questions, first get the clarity of the extent to which you need to explore the issue and probe the questions for the respondent. Also, since you are preparing it for a qualitative research, stay concerned while writing open-ended questions. The most common mistake that often researchers do is that they formulate the open-ended questions too expansive which at times is good but not always. The vast the questions is, much complicated and tough to transcribe the answer will be.
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joseph664
Internet protocol is not much strenuous! It can be developed in the same way as you develop the qualitative questionnaire. The only difference is that you get only limited information from respondents through questionnaire, whereas interview protocol enables the interviewer to get more specific and additional information. But yes, there is one major challenge with interview protocol. Not every researcher can make the full use of it due to rapport. Establishing that comfort and friendly connection with interviewee is the toughest part. Keep this in mind while preparing questions and introductory script.
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Rosaline
No objection certificate PhD guide
Is it necessary to obtain no objection certificate from the previous supervisor? Suppose if I had some terrible issues with my previous supervisor and would like to submit an application in university for the change of supervisor, but he doesn’t agree to sign the certificate, will my supervisor be changed?
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Christina
Changing PhD guide is a big deal for University faculty. It depends upon the reason for demanding such a change and how adverse the impact is upon your research. Let us say, you want to change your PhD advisor and want to begin working with a new supervisor on a fresh research problem or topic discarding the research work you have done before, your supervisor can be changed even if the previous advisor doesn’t sign the certificate. However, if you like to continue with the existing research work with a new supervisor, obtaining no objection certificate from the previous supervisor and a PhD consent letter from the new supervisor becomes mandatory.
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Patrick
If you are submitting the application at a later stage of your PhD, it is nearly impossible that university will transfer you to a new supervisor as then the established work flow is interrupted, and supervisors do not accept the PhD projects that have already been started by another supervisor. So, whether your previous advisor signs No objection certificate or not remains of no use.
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joshua533
Qualitative Data Analysis
Hi all! I’m doing a research on inter-racial marriages and mixed-race children. I am thinking of going for a qualitative analysis. Highly confused what will work the best? I am currently working with three supervisors. All of them have a different say – grounded theory, IPA, discourse analysis etc. I personally want to go for Thematic Analysis. Any suggestions? Please help!
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Weston
Supervisors usually feel that somehow Thematic Analysis(TA) is unsophisticated for doctoral levels. My supervisors were adamant too. But, I was able to defend my methodology & used TA successfully with convincing results. You research topic has a lot of nuancing . You must be having two sets of data extracted from two sources– couples & their children. Even I feel TA would be effective. You’ll be able to explore more, more themes, more patterns.Try & convince them that you prefer having a simple, easy to understand version of your interpretation report. Other methods can be complex. You can color code the themes emanating from thematic analysis.
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Shelley
If you decide on a method, you should always be able to defend it too. Ask yourself why is it that you want to go for TA. If you can’t come up with any strong reason to support your preference, then listen to your supervisors. May be your supervisors are right in suggesting you otherwise. You’re a first time researcher and they know more than you.
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george
It’s normal getting confused. Afterall it is your PhD. Just remember, all these methods would work for qualitative analysis(QA). You just need to decide what will work the best. Grounded, IPA, Discourse are slightly advanced. If you feel unsure of getting effective results using advanced methods, then go for TA. Persuade your supervisors that you are more at ease with TA than other methods.
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Aaron
I feel IPA would be more effective. Your data must be consisting of people’s personal experiences.
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Christina is discussing. 
Aaron, 
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Shelley, and 1 other are discussing. 
Discuss your Dissertation 
sarah2784 3:51 am on June 24, 2017 Permalink |
Success of your proposal defence largely depends upon the potential of your research project and the presentation of your proposal. The problem that you are willing to explore through your research project must be of crucial importance, and you must convince the committee during defence that if you are encouraged to work on this problem and project, a new set of knowledge will be brought into the limelight. Now answering your second question, it can be said that the proposal defence is somewhat like thesis defence. Some of the basic differences could be the time frame, the official proceedings, and of course the main element which you discuss. As to say, in proposal defence you field the questions regarding the things you will be researching upon, need and significance of the study and why you should be allowed to go for it. And in thesis defence, you will be fielding the questions regarding the research study you conducted, what and how you achieved your research objectives and goals. I’m not well informed if one can redo his defence or not.
alexie18 6:57 am on June 26, 2017 Permalink |
There are mainly three decisions that your committee chair can make: accept without corrections, accept with correction or completely reject. You can redo your proposal defence if your committee is ready to accept your proposal with some major or minor revisions. Universities give three to six months for revising the proposal based upon the changes required. But if your proposal defence gets completely rejected, you cannot redo it. Then your PhD application is discarded, and you must come up with a new proposal. The choice of research topic or problem is yours, so it hardly matters if you are developing a proposal on a new topic or the one previously proposed.