Updates from September, 2016 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Unknown's avatar

    alexoliphaant 7:25 am on September 26, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Bad PhD Supervision. Need Help!! 

    I am in the 2nd year of PhD in Chemistry (full time). The reason I am writing this is because I am really disheartened and on verge of giving up. I don’t even know from where to begin, it’s a cluster f*** of problems. I moved into Ohio from Florida to pursue PhD chemistry from Ohio State University, and needless to say, I have no friends here.

    But the root of my depression is my supervision. I have two sups and my first sup is retired but the university has allowed his supervision. The only problem is that he is not concerned with what I do (big news) and is mostly not available. I am walking blind here as when I complete my work and send him the draft, he takes weeks to respond and even then give me vague responses. The second sup says that she can guide me to an extent but as my first sup is the expert in my field and fully aware of my research, she can’t support me through it all. I understand that a research takes time and you can’t complete it in a go, but what am I supposed to do when I have no support? How can I finish in time? To top it all, the chemistry lab assistant is an old bloke with a cranky personality who just yells at me at every move I make wrong. I am trying really very hard but I am unable to find a way to get out of this situation. I am so worried all the time that I have lost my appetite, I hardly sleep or talk to my parents, and to top it all I have no friends here to share my concerns with.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    louise0924 6:48 am on September 26, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Failed Synopsis!! 

    I wrote my synopsis for PhD of 5 thousand words, which unfortunately got rejected. The major concern is that my synopsis is not focused and unappealing enough to make through. The topic is also not ‘structured’ (whatever that means). I’ll get one more chance to make it right, so it is very critical for me. I just want to know that how should I proceed with this. Thanks.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    adamflindeers 10:39 am on August 31, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    How to enhance your editing traits? 

    I am on the writing phase of my thesis, where I am just done with the literature review chapter. As per my university rules (Northwestern University), I have to send my chapters for review as and when I am done with it. The thing is that my first chapter was way below the bar set by my supervisor and therefore, it came back with a lot of editing and remarks. But well I got through the corrections, while I was working on chapter 2. But now, I don’t want to make the same mistake and send it without editing. So, I am on second page and I haven’t got a single thing to change, except some typo and grammar errors. And I also know that that’s not it. There has to be something which I am missing as no way can I be so neat.

    This is why I am writing, searching for ways to increase my editing skills. I would like to know about the ways you can go about editing and what should you be looking for while doing so. Thanks for any inputs to that.

     
    • brunoperryblog's avatar

      brunoperryblog 4:36 am on September 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      For academic writing, the proper flow between the sentences and paragraphs the most important thing. So you should focus on the transition and structure of your chapter. And to increase your editing skills, maybe you can use a tool. Stylewriter and grammarly are two such tools which can help you out.

    • tedg8's avatar

      tedg8 6:41 am on September 26, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I don’t think you can teach someone to edit, moreover edit a thesis chapter. My only suggestion is to know how you want your writing to look and what you want to do for that. So prepare a structure and then check your chapter, does it look okay? Then you move forward to changing it.

    • jackthomas01's avatar

      jackthomas01 6:45 am on September 26, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I have no idea how people can edit their own papers. For me, it’s impossible because I wouldn’t wanna change what I wrote. So the best method I find is to give your paper or thesis to your girlfriend/boyfriend and take them out to movies. Simple as that.

    • robertmaxeey's avatar

      robertmaxeey 11:53 am on September 27, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Take some time out in-between the writing and editing. Don’t just finish writing and get on with editing immediately, that ways you won’t find anything wrong. Take your time, do something else in between, and only start editing when your mind is fresh enough.

  • Unknown's avatar

    leatriceamar 7:59 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Advice for meeting PhD deadlines 

    Never knew that time management can be an issue, until now when I am most definitely unable to meet my deadlines. My poor capabilities have led to:

    1. A pissed supervisor. He is so pissed at me right now, where he is sure I can never complete my thesis in time.

    2. A room of tensions. I cannot organise my work and there is too much to do, which is simply piling up.

    3. Sleepless nights. Not that I try, but all those research-related-tensions have left me with insomnia. It’s so bad now that I can’t concentrate on my work.

    I am in serious need of some help and advice with which I can complete my work on time and meet deadlines.

     
    • sharonbaneey1's avatar

      sharonbaneey1 11:42 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      What you lack here is planning, majorly so. I suggest that you maintain a schedule for that, like a time table, where you allot a minimum of 2 hours to your research. The following blog will give you some great tips regarding that. Hope you’ll find it useful.

      http://www.fivevidya.com/blog/work-to-rule-advice-for-meeting-a-deadline/

    • alexoliphaant's avatar

      alexoliphaant 4:33 am on September 3, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Procrastination is the only reason for not meeting the deadlines and the best way to stop stalling is ‘motivation’ and ‘determination’. In my case, I was too lazy to do anything and only started doing something when I was on verge of meeting a deadline. You can imagine how it must have meant. I joined the ‘art of living course’ just for the sake of going out and I must say that it did wonders for me. I actually feel motivated and active to do my job now, you know. So be a little active, go for exercises, or start some creative course. That’ll keep you at your best. It’s important to do other activities as well.

  • Unknown's avatar

    morry1 4:44 am on August 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    When and where to use references? 

    What exactly is the importance of referencing? And in what portions of the thesis should you use references/in-text citations??

    I am new to this whole concept of writing thesis and these points were just bugging me a bit, because I can’t really find much references. Everyone seem to emphasise on including references but actually, I am not that aware with its significance. Any inputs for the same?

     
    • davidbergeviin's avatar

      davidbergeviin 7:47 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Technically, you need to reference every time you write a point/idea which is not yours, but of another writer’s. Let’s say, you read something of worth in an article and you decide to write it in your paper in your words, then you need to cite that article, because those may be your words but not your ideas. So, wherever in your thesis, when you make such points, you mention the source of that information.

    • adamflindeers's avatar

      adamflindeers 7:54 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      References in a thesis are counted as highly valuable as it shows the amount of extensive research you have done. It means that you have thoroughly conducted your research. That is why it is so important.

    • terrywellch's avatar

      terrywellch 11:33 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      The major use of referencing is in the literature review section of the thesis. You can find references using the computer and electronic databases on web such as EBSCO, Google Scholar, IEEE, Google Search Engine, online newsletters, existing thesis on this subject, peer reviewed journals, SANS report, NIST standard and other databases. Apart from these, you can refer books from your college library and also look into your supervisor’s work. I am sure you can find something there.

    • jackthomas01's avatar

      jackthomas01 12:34 pm on August 30, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      In a thesis, referencing is mostly done in the initial chapters: Introduction, literature review and research methodology. Analysis, results and conclusion are refereeing to your own findings, therefore, they don’t need references. However, discussion chapter is something where you put in a lot of references, which are again taken from the LR chapter. So yeah, that is all.

    • tappedward's avatar

      tappedward 10:35 am on August 31, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Well, my supervisor asked me to put in at least 20 references in my literature review chapter. That is the most important chapter, which involves a lot of referencing. Now there are also various methods of structuring and referencing an LR such as the annotated form, the matric form etc. I think you should first consult your supervisor about it.

    • morry1's avatar

      morry1 5:19 am on September 12, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hey thanks a lot guys for the response. What I am understanding is that I need to cite the source from where I take the facts. Is there a rule about what all references should be used and what all must not be taken?

  • Unknown's avatar

    louise0924 9:58 am on August 12, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Research Ideas for Topic Selection 

    Hey all, I was wondering if anybody could guide me in selecting a dissertation topic in Human Resource department. My concern is that, this domain is very common, yet, making it extremely difficult for me to choose a trendy and fresh research topic. I was interested in something around interviews and screening process, or how to improve that. I would really appreciate some help regarding this. Thanks all.

     
    • robertmaxeey's avatar

      robertmaxeey 4:20 am on August 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I think for interview and selection department in HR domain, you can study the methods of recruitment, or something along the similar lines. Social and e-recruitment are really in.

      I came across some more trendy topics, follow the link for the same.

      http://www.mbathesis.eu/blog/know-what-are-the-trending-research-areas-in-human-resource-management/

    • dolliejgandy's avatar

      dolliejgandy 7:44 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hey I think you can definitely work something around interviews and screening process and how you can improve them. Maybe you can investigate the existing techniques in this department and the new means that have now emerged. Even the suggestions given by Robertmaxeey are quite good. Now to come up with a topic, you first need to research a lot in this domain and find out existing studies. Read them, confirm the stream you want to get into and them formulate a topic. You can even merge the topics of 2-3 research papers to make yours.

    • louise0924's avatar

      louise0924 12:43 pm on August 30, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hi, thanks for the replies. There are a lot of studies in e-recruitment and traditional approaches of recruiting, so I am unable to find anything new.

      @robert: After reading the blog, I think training and development in HR could be a potential stream. So can I somehow merge it with e-recruitment?

    • robertmaxeey's avatar

      robertmaxeey 4:29 am on September 3, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Yes you can. There are e-recruitment training courses, where individuals are imparted with skills and practical knowledge for landing a job. But, this is different from the selection and recruitment process. I think that you can merge the two of them, show some kind of comparison between the skills imparted to the individuals via recruitment training and the skills needed in the selection process. Rest, you can search for the same, look out for similar research papers, and then see the scope of this area/topic.

  • Unknown's avatar

    jackthomas01 9:35 am on August 10, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    What is the worth of PhD? 

    I am in the second year of my PhD program in sports management and just weighing my career options. Before PhD, I was sure that I’d do teaching in business schools, but lately, I am having second thoughts.

    See, PhD is highly valuable in the academic and research world, but will it benefit me if I choose a different direction, such as something in marketing, sales or merchandising? If it won’t benefit me then should I just drop out and save all the money and the tensions with it? I mean what will be the worth of PhD in those fields?

     
    • tedg8's avatar

      tedg8 4:41 am on August 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      PhD is one of the most reputable degrees in the ambit of educational courses. Of course it is worth full, irrespective of the field you choose. It may not seem to be beneficial at the beginning of your career but in the long term, it raises your pay scale. More so, your status will certainly climb a ladder. So I am gonna vote completely against you dropping out.

    • sophiaw740's avatar

      sophiaw740 7:56 am on August 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I would like to advice you one thing, that if you do not find PhD interesting enough to pursue, then you shouldn’t.

      Yes we all know how important PhD is, and its value in the society is impeccable, and it raises the bar of that status we all crave for. But honestly, if you don’t think that you need it to boost your career, then you should drop it. I mean, you put in all your time and money in PhD, which by the way, if used in your career alone can do wonders. Also, I haven’t heard much of PhD holders in the field you are talking about.

      Do consult with your peers and supervisor before coming to the conclusion though.

    • minttyt's avatar

      minttyt 5:21 am on September 12, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I don’t think there is a need for doing PhD as you would definitely be OVER QUALIFIED. It’s not that people don’t go for PhD in Sports Management, they do, but you can land your dream job with the master’s degree too. So if you’re thinking about saving your resources, then dropping out can be good.

    • brunoperryblog's avatar

      brunoperryblog 4:35 am on September 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      PhD is not just meant for career boost, it’s for your own personal growth too. And as you are looking at your career graph, with PhD, you will be able to run for the top-level positions. I’d say that DO NOT dropout.

  • Unknown's avatar

    terrywellch 11:35 am on April 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    APA Formatting Help 

    I need to format my dissertation as per APA 6th edition. My university has given no guidelines. The problem is that there are so many sources online, which are not similar. Where can I find the accurate APA formatting guidelines? And is there a formatting tool?

     
    • alexoliphaant's avatar

      alexoliphaant 9:54 am on May 6, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Ever checked out the guidelines of Purdue University? It has got everything you need to know about APA formatting. From tables to headings to references, everything is explained in a comprehensive manner. I use the guidelines of this university. Check it out:

      https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

    • davidm34's avatar

      davidm34 9:12 am on May 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      First of all, use Microsoft Word for doing your formatting. Don’t go for any complex tool like Latex as it will be really difficult to work on it. You can use any version of MS Word, like 2007, 2010 and 2013, any would do. See the major task in formatting is creating sections, page numbering, Table of contents, list of tables and figures. And the major tasks of APA formatting is doing more apart from these like introducing running head, formatting tables and figures and references, page layout, indentations and headings. Editing tables and figures is a tedious task. So, I’d like to refer you this blog for the same:

      http://www.statisticsconsultation.com/blog/best-practices-for-a-data-analysis-chapter-as-per-apa-formatting/

      For the others, you can get information from Google and YouTube. There are a lot of resources available.

    • terrywellch's avatar

      terrywellch 11:53 am on May 23, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      God, I can’t even do section breaks correctly! The page numbers seems to move all the time! And the more I ‘do something’, the document looks even more pathetic. It’s giving me a headache now!

    • robertmaxeey's avatar

      robertmaxeey 11:57 am on June 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hey, it’s not really that difficult, a little confusing but you can do it. First, clear all the formatting of your document, sometimes it auto-formats, so you need to get rid of that. Do it by selecting all the contents and click on the Normal style on the Home tool bar. From there you can follow the steps of making section breaks by searching on Google.

    • davidm34's avatar

      davidm34 12:58 pm on June 14, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      There are a lot of APA style guides available online, have you had a look at them? Usually universities prefer their own format with a mix of APA style. When I was looking for formatting, I came across the guidelines of SMC University, which is actually quite close to APA format. If you search online, its not that easily available, so I am sharing the link, just download it from here:

      http://www.resourcesvalley.com/apa-formatting-guidelines-for-research-students/

      You may refer the template, but for title page and all, ask for your university-specific format.

    • sophiaw740's avatar

      sophiaw740 10:40 am on June 28, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      The main features to be considered for formatting are margins, pagination, running head, spacing, in-text citations and references, table of contents, tables and figures and the overall structure. You can get the details from Google or YouTube. As far as doing it is concerned? It’ll take time, watch videos or get our friends template. Doing it in a template is like doing half the work. So, yeah, that’ll be all.

    • minttyt's avatar

      minttyt 11:56 am on June 30, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I find section breaks really painful among the other things. But hey, its not all about formatting. Keep the language at check too. Proofread your complete document as per the specifications provided in the APA guidelines. And I don’t know why people say that it’s not a big deal. I mean I formatted my sister’s thesis and it literally took a lot of time. It has soo many things and I had to do it twice before getting it right.

  • Unknown's avatar

    morry1 9:06 am on April 23, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Conceptual framework, theoretical framework, research gap and concept matrix: My Literature Review 

    It’s been a long time since I posted anything. With PhD, Supervisor, Husband and simply Life! I am totally packed. So, I have to conduct a literature review and I guess the heading says it all. How should I go about it? What’s the difference between conceptual and theoretical framework? How to find ‘the’ research gap? What is a concept matrix and how do you make one?

     
    • robertmaxeey's avatar

      robertmaxeey 9:33 am on April 29, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      You must have read articles on your topic, now you just have to review them. Your question is too broad. I think you first need to read about literature review. Try this book:

    • morry1's avatar

      morry1 9:23 am on May 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      My question is broad as I have just stepped on the first stair of conducting a literature review. Thanks for the book but I am looking for your experiences on how to do this research.

    • sharonbaneey1's avatar

      sharonbaneey1 4:11 am on May 18, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      A true literature review is text that Synthesizes & Analyses all the available current research from Peer-reviewed Sources and shows how it relates to your investigation. You can basically categorize your LR as per your topic. For example, let’s say that I have to write an LR about the impact of customer satisfaction and service quality on the airline industry. So for that, I can divide my LR into subheads like, introduction to aviation industry, definition of customer satisfaction, definition of service quality, impact of customer satisfaction on aviation industry and impact of service quality on aviation industry. In each of this headings, I will explore the related studies, what methods are used by them and their findings. On this basis, I will now develop a research gap, something that the others have missed out. Then I can develop a conceptual framework pertaining to the variables I intend on examining like, reliability and tangibility (they define the service quality). That’s just a way to go about writing an LR. Can you relate your research to that?

    • leatriceamar's avatar

      leatriceamar 11:47 am on May 23, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hi! I can help you out with differentiating between conceptual and theoretical framework. I am a student of California Institute of Technology and was stuck in the similar dilemma as you are right now. My professor gave me some crucial ideas to distinguish between both of them. The difference is minute but substantial, in simple term a conceptual framework should show your idea on how research problem should be explored and this idea is established on the grounds of theoretical framework which includes theories and findings of numerous investigations to substantiate your research. Follow this link to learn more:

      http://www.thesisclinic.co.uk/blog/a-guide-to-understand-the-conceptual-framework-in-a-better-way/

    • adamflindeers's avatar

      adamflindeers 6:10 am on May 26, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I checked out the above blog and I started going through the site. I found another one, where the writer has explained it real good, about how to make your Literature Review useful. You can refer to it.

      http://www.thesisclinic.co.uk/blog/how-to-make-your-literature-review-more-valuable/

      And how about you simply alter a framework that has already been developed by someone else, instead of creating your own intellectual framework from scratch?

    • morry1's avatar

      morry1 11:55 am on June 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Adam, you are suggesting that I should just incorporate a variable (add-on) in a theoretical framework and call it as a conceptual framework? And which theoretical framework should be used, from old literature or recent ones?
      I am just reading academic papers related to my area, lots of it, so I haven’t started writing it down. I am planning to first gather all the literature, go through it and first develop the gap, then Ill segregate the LR.

    • adamflindeers's avatar

      adamflindeers 12:56 pm on June 14, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      New framework is usually preferable, however, if relevant, you can use the old ones (which are less explored). The additions you make should be thoroughly researched and justified. So the variables you take should be backed with literature. The proper way of writing an LR is to first present the studies on the matter segregated with headings, then the gap is evaluated. After that the conceptual framework is created where you may/may not develop the hypothesis. Here you need to explore the literature about all your variables. I think that summarises everything. If unclear, you can certainly ask for any more doubts.

    • leatriceamar's avatar

      leatriceamar 10:42 am on June 28, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      It’s not necessary to have a conceptual framework, really. The literature should be relevant, that is what matters. With a tinge of systematic organisation, you’ll be good to go.

  • Unknown's avatar

    minttyt 6:11 am on April 22, 2016 Permalink | Reply  

    Fake Survey! 

    I had to distribute 200 questionnaires to collect the data but I am lagging far behind. Can I fill the excel sheet of data myself? That would be like too easy and make my life simple. But I am afraid of the risks associated with this unethical way. Has anyone done something like this before and didn’t get caught?

     
    • sophiaw740's avatar

      sophiaw740 7:41 am on April 28, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I am no one to judge, but that is so not ethical. Anyway, people do that all the time, though I don’t know if they got caught or not.

    • dolliejgandy's avatar

      dolliejgandy 11:20 am on May 9, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Yes you can do that, my friend faked it too. In fact he didn’t even fill out the questionnaires, just developed a fake excel sheet. There were 200 quantitative questionnaires to be distributed. He just filled out the excel sheet with the fake responses (in 1s and 2s…etc.). Then he gave the sheet to the statistician and got the analysis done. As simple as that. And the shocking thing is that nobody asked for his filled questionnaire. So, the thing about fake survey is that if someone runs a background check, you are gonna be in deep trouble and if no one gives a damn, then that’s freaking awesome!

    • minttyt's avatar

      minttyt 9:14 am on May 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      I think I can go with this idea but what if I am asked for the filled questionnaires?

    • dolliejgandy's avatar

      dolliejgandy 11:58 am on May 23, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Then you’re gonna have to show them the dummy questionnaire, which is next to impossible as you’ll have to match your results to what you have to fill. But you can do that, or just fill your questionnaire before, and then run the analysis. That will be easy.

    • tappedward's avatar

      tappedward 11:48 am on June 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Tell your friends to fill up your questionnaire according to the results you want and just lay-back. Easy-peasy!

    • alexoliphaant's avatar

      alexoliphaant 11:59 am on June 3, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Minty! I‘ll suggest you not to fake all the 200 questionnaire. Instead you can develop an online questionnaire and post it on Survey Monkey https://www.surveymonkey.com/

      Through this website you will be able to create a genuine questionnaire and you will not require to fake your data.

    • tedg8's avatar

      tedg8 10:44 am on June 28, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Pass on your questionnaires to your relatives, friends or friends’ friends. Ask them to fill it with different pens with different handwriting styles. That way it won’t look that fake. And yeah, the questionnaires may be fake but do run a real analysis!

    • sharonbaneey1's avatar

      sharonbaneey1 5:34 am on July 1, 2016 Permalink | Reply

      Faking surveys is not uncommon now, reason being the-lack-of-time or financial constraints. If you type on Google, you’d find several options for faking a survey. I haven’t tried an online tool for that matter, but I have used “Fake Name Generator” (fakenamegenerator.com). See, this online tool generates fake names with fake addresses of people. So, you can take its help for filling the demographic profiles for your survey.

← Older posts

Newer posts →

c
Compose new post
j
Next post/Next comment
k
Previous post/Previous comment
r
Reply
e
Edit
o
Show/Hide comments
t
Go to top
l
Go to login
h
Show/Hide help
shift + esc
Cancel