Hi
I’m in my first year of PhD. My research is regarding culturing of Leishmania donovani parasites and testing the efficacy of plant extract for its anti leishmanial activities. I am facing a lot of problems in culturing the parasite. As I am the only research scholar under my guide, I am really frustrated as I have to manage everything. From ordering new chemicals to maintenance of the lab, propagation of cells and now the parasites. Apart from this, I have to take out time for study as well as study for my research. My guide also asks me to help him with presentations regarding the classes he needs to take. Amidst so much workload and stress, it is my practical work that is suffering. I am unable to devote sufficient time to my wet lab practices. I am finding it extremely difficult to maintain the cell lines and parasite cultures. My passages are not successful. Either there is some fungal infection or the cells die (due to some reason that I am unable to fathom). This is further irritating my guide, as he is losing faith in me. I am unable to manage the cell lines and it also a huge financial burden. (the cells are costly to procure. Further the instruments and equipments required for handling them are costly and need to be discarded after a single use. So my resources are getting wasted too). Kindly help me with some advice on successful culturing cell lines and parasites as would be help me a lot.
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kumarivarsha802
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sierra4328
How to collect research data online?
What are the reliable ways through which I can collect research data online? I thought creating online surveys and sending personalized emails to the respondents would do the job best, but then I really don’t know how to do it. Also, I wanted to get it clarified if online data collection is even ethical? Because the authenticity of data is seen vulnerable in online data collection in many cases, I’m doubtful. Please advise something. Thanks pals in advance!
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Robin
I am hoping that you intend to send personalized emails to those respondents with whom you are acquainted very well. Otherwise, there is a little hope that you will be successful. Nowadays, identity theft is on the rise and majority of the people (including me) prefer not to reveal much on a cyberspace. I guess a paper and pencil method would produce better results where you get to meet your respondents in person.
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Alexie
As far as I believe it would be considered unreliable than unethical. You cannot be sure about the authenticity of the data collected because sometimes the people can be insecure to divulge certain personal information on the internet solely for a research purpose. Moreover, I can give you a good tip. You should try to keep your questions extremely precise. Respondents usually don’t take online surveys seriously and there can be a high dropout rate when faced with tricky questions. So, make it convenient for them. Good luck!
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Mustafa Zunaid
The idea of collecting data online is actually good. This way you can get to connect with large number of audience and you can save time and money. Keep one thing in mind, do not connect with the wrong audience.Choose your target audience wisely and the one from where you can get 80%response. All the best with your research.
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Lauren
My advice would be, do not include personal questions. Because sometimes people refrain from providing personal information. Try to design your questionnaire in such a way that it doesn’t lack the core essence of your research. Also, there are many online services available which provides tools to conduct surveys via emails and other modes. You can consult them as well. As they have a vast network, so they can provide you with the correct audience from whom you can the positive results.This way, it will be easier for you to articulate your results.
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yenohsha
Should I disclose respondent’s company name?
Hi, my school wants me to attach the list of the respondent’s company name, but i am hesitating because i told them that it is againts the research ethics. Before i conduct survey, i wrote them that it will be confidential and anonymous and that i willl not gather company names and email. Please tell me what should i do?
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Tony
If your respondents are not comfortable in disclosing their organisations’ names, then you just cannot share either this or any sort of information with your committee. As per the ethical rules, I guess you must have sent a ‘consent to participate’ form to all of your respondents, which ensures that the information shared by each of them will be kept confidential. If the names are disclosed then that will raise an ethical issue, which is also not acceptable. Try to convince your school or the authority that it must be kept confidential, you may also show that consent form (if already signed by the respondents )to them in justification.
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tedg8
Methodologies and data collection help!
Good afternoon
I am in first year of my PhD in management studies and need to select an appropriate data collection and analysis method. My problem is that I can’t really understand the methodologies like grounded theory, phenomenology, thematic analysis etc.
What I have thought is to use a mixed method approach for data collection (qualitative + quantitative). For that, I am thinking about conducting semi-structured interviews with the key participants of my study. I settled for this as most of the researchers have used interviews and surveys as the means for data collection. I have also prepared the questionnaire but I am unable to get my head around the theoretical perspective. How will I analyse the qualitative data?
Any help regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
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sophiaw740
Hey tedg8, I can very well understand your difficulty as I have too struggled with methodologies. It’s too grey and complex and massive, I must add. There are so many methods that are can be used in management studies. Have you read all the methods? Ever considered observational and case study as data collection methods?
The best means to select the methods is to read the previous researches. Look what methods they opted for. And for the methods you don’t understand, read this amazing book by Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design Sage Publications. All the research methods are clearly defined, which methods to use, when to use, which one is best for which type of study and so on. He has explained with examples and is quite useful and maybe it’ll solve your doubts. -
tedg8
Hi, I am sorry for replying so late. Got a bit engrossed in the studies. I read a lot of literature and the book suggested by you. Thanks for that, it’s quite informational. But I am still facing some difficulties. What if the research method I choose is wrong and my findings turn unreliable due to that? Even after studying so much about it, I am still not sure. Can’t anyone just do it for me??
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sophiaw740
We aren’t professionals, so no I can’t tell you the correct method. Every research is unique and demands different approaches and it’s the perspective of the researcher that makes the complete difference. As you said, you have read a lot of literature and its still confusing you, then take help from a friend or discuss it with your supervisor. Later on, if you feel you chose the wrong approach, then you can always trace bake to where you started.
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kristinemorry
Choosing between qualitative and quantitative research design
A research design is basically how you conduct your research and find answers to the identified questions.
A research design should primarily suit your research objectives. Nothing but your research questions and the expected answers can determine your choice of research design.
The following explanation will give you a clarification on what each method implies :-
Quantitative research design: the research design aims to define variables or depict relationships between variables in quantifiable or numeric terms. Relationships may be expressed with statistics like correlation, mean, standard deviation, etc. depending upon the aim, quantitative research can assume three forms:
• Descriptive research: numerically describe a phenomenon
• Correlational research: numerically express the relationship among variables
• Experimental research: manipulate variables to test cause and effect.
• Qualitative research design: This is a systematic subjective approach to describe phenomena and give them meaning. It aims to analyse and convey how a phenomenon of interest is understood, interpreted, produced or constituted. It employs analytical methods that are sensitive to context, complexity and detail.
Qualitative method entails analysis of case studies, perceptions, narratives and the like.I hope this helps fellow researchers in understanding the basic difference between the two designs. you can alternatively use a combination of both.
I will be happy to entertain other confusions in this context!
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Nigel
can you please guide me as to how i can collect data for a quantitative research? my field of study is economics and i am studying multi-factor productivity.
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Lucy Watson
What should a RM look like?
Below are some main points on how to write an impressive RM. You can refer to them for writing one for yourself.
Research Overview- where you put your topic of your research.
Research design- It covers how you have done the whole research, what each part aims to accomplish, what were all the techniques you adopted in the whole process.
Data Collection- What was the method used – sampling, questionnaire, interviews, trials etc. The sample size taken is also mentioned in it.
Data Analysis – Finally, tell what does the data mean in context of your research? Were you able to conclude/ Include what method you opted for data collection – qualitative or quantitative.
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davidm34
Check out this link for more details on writing the methodology section. My supervisor advised i follow this one- http://cancer.dartmouth.edu/documents/pdf/methods_section.pdf
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Dr S Loretti
Tips to write a dissertation RM
1. Define and explain the problem you are working on.
2. Tell about your approach – how you collected the data and your understanding of the topic.
3. Review some samples of your dissertation before starting with RM.
4. Try to make an outline of the RM stating what all will be covered in it.
5. Define the research questions clearly including a detailed description of statistical instruments used to answer the questions.
6. Explain about why you choose the particular problem and the methods to research on it, with justification of their validity and reliability.
7. Make sure you keep it clear and concise. Doing so will give an impact that you have a specific purpose with clear – cut understanding. -
Dr S Loretti
Biasness in the Primary sources of data collection
The Primary sources of data collection mainly involve the self-reporting measures, i.e. the survey or interview form of gathering relevant data. Such techniques often exhibit several biases which the researcher must be cautious about. Some potential issues are:
- Understatement or Overstatement of the existing problem by the respondents- Such biasness is encountered usually in case of a research that involves respondents to describe their feelings or experiences, which are influenced by the social environment. In such a case, researcher must make his best effort to encourage honest answers by the participants.
- Response depending upon self-evaluation is another situation of biasness by the respondents wherein they bend their answers to reflect what should be rather than what the actual case is.
- Non-Remembrance of the past experiences by the participants may instill inaccuracy in research.
Primary sources such as interviews and surveys are important in research, but should be used cautiously.
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Dennis lillee
Skipping from such bias is not just difficult but nearly impossible.
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Dr S Loretti
Taking the help of other scholars
Selecting the right research methodology is very important. But many students stumble at this stage. So what can they do to find a good research methodology? They can take the help of other scholars who have worked before in this field. They can ask them as to what methodology they followed. It is a good idea to browse through old samples and prior works in this field and get an idea of the research pattern that was followed. Then with a few modifications, the student will be able to arrive at a methodology that is suitable for his project.
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David
Books or Academic Journals? Which one of the two would lead me to a suitable research topic?
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Dr S Loretti
A Twist to an Old Research
For many students, it is hard work to come up with a genuinely new topic for their research. So much investigation has been done in so many areas in so many fields that there are few topics in the world left untouched. That is why many students take a different point of view on an existing topic. They take a stand that is contrary to the one taken by the original scholar. Then they spend the rest of the project trying to justify the stand they have taken and the evidence in its favour.
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William Turner
Exactly! We guys are left with not much scope for study. It is so hard to search in depth to get a suitable topic for the research work.
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Nick
Yea William! You are absolutely right.
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Teresa J. Mann
Yes it is good to use old researches with some changes or for further research.
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