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  • Unknown's avatar

    Anil. S 9:14 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to formulate a research topic out of a broad research interest? 

    Hi mates
    I am in the course of pursuing my Masters degree in Anthropology, and now in the second year I am required to submit a proposal, even though my university has briefed us about the particulars regarding the proposal, but I have not been able to chisel out my research topic, my research interest lies in exploring the Gond shrines of Maharashtra located in three different locations (in Maharashtra), the increasing mobilization of Gondi tribe around these areas. Since there are different motives that inform the establishment and reification of these three shrines, it has left me confused as to which strand of it should I go ahead to pursue. I welcome any sort of suggestions.

     
    • Anil. S's avatar

      Ella Davies 9:31 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Name:Ella Davies Email: D.Ella231994@gmail.com

      Hi buddy!! for a proposal, you are required to narrow down your research interest to a concise as well as a precise topic. You would be required to formulate a topic that would answer three questions of ‘Why’, ‘What’, and ‘How’. Following is a helpful resource to help you decide on a research topic: http://pages.ucsd.edu/~jmoore/courses/Parish.html. After you think you have reached that stage then you can go ahead to read around and about the topic or in other words review literature of that topic. This would further provide solidity to your research topic. Attaching here a link to a page that elaborates on literature review formulation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3715443/.

    • Anil. S's avatar

      Rupert Wilson 9:33 am on December 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Name: Rupert Wilson Email: Wilson.rupert44@gmail.com

      Hey!! Your research interest seems to be a very promising one, I happen to belong to the same area i.e. Maharashtra. If the different locations of the shrine are the main concern then you could look at the very idea of the shrine within the belief system of the Gondi tribe, aligning it with the recent mobilization of the people of the Gondi tribe and what are the underlining motives that inform the establishment of such new shrines.

  • Unknown's avatar

    wilson349 9:23 am on December 20, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to select secondary resources to include in Literature Review? 

    Hi All!
    I’m currently pursuing a research project on Diet and Nutrition, particularly on how different food types increase or decrease the likelihood of heart disease. The purpose of the study is to further existing research in the field and eventually help nutritionists in designing diet charts for patients of heart disease. I have begun writing a literature review for my proposal but can’t seem to narrow down the secondary resources I should include in the review, the large number of resources available on the internet is confusing me. I have gone through a lot of journals on the subject but am having a tough time selecting research articles. How does one figure out which resources are reliable and will go well with my topic? Can anyone provide some tips to help me with the selection process?

     
    • joseph664's avatar

      joseph664 6:48 am on December 21, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hi Wilson349!
      I went through a similar crises while writing the literature review for my research proposal, the process can seem overwhelming at times. I suggest that you narrow down your search for resources to only credible ones i.e. that which are available in peer-reviewed online journals. Do not include papers from websites of unaccredited journals, there are a large number of such papers available online, avoiding them will help you limit the number of websites you need to look at.

    • Laura Betcher's avatar

      Laura Betcher 2:50 pm on December 21, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hi
      Even though I do not share your academic background a general suggestion to go about the selection process would be to pick articles from databases centered to your subject and not from miscellaneous all-subject databases. You should also make your literature review as comprehensive as possible, search for relevant research works on government/private health websites and in existing dissertations written by scholars in your field. Only when you have exhausted all possible research sources from your field can you write a thorough literature review. It is very important that the selected articles should be from recent studies in the field, not from older researches. And apart from writing about existing research developments in the field, a literature Review should present a critical understanding about present research, including a research gap which your research seeks to fulfill.

    • jamie16917's avatar

      jamie16917 9:00 pm on December 21, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hello!
      I’ve completed my PhD in the field of nutrition, my research work was based on recommendations to limit the amount of vitamin dosages in food supplements.According to me,you should only access resources from highly ranked and reputed journals such as the Annual Review of nutrition, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, International Journal of Obesity and others. And if you know of renowned researchers or scientists working in your area of interest, search for papers published by them.

  • Unknown's avatar

    wilson349 3:45 am on October 15, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    Sources for doctoral funding in UK 

    Hi. Can you please refer me a few organizations in UK from where i can seek funding for my PhD? I belong to Dubai and recently moved here in London for pursuing PhD in English literature. So, please share the links or any other resource through I can visit organizations to obtain PhD funding. Thank you so much.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    Laura Betcher 7:00 am on October 9, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    What to do when my research findings do not match up with the literature review? 

    My thesis is due next month, and I have been stuck here with my thesis! The findings of my research are totally different what I expected them to be. My literature review and the objectives of the study were aimed to study something else, but now I realize that it wasn’t what I expected. My research has gone awry! If I promised to study ABC, my data analysis gave me the answer xyz of another question which I didn’t even think about. How can it be completely opposite! I guess the questionnaire is to be blamed for this for I didn’t check its reliability before-hand. What shall I do now? If I change the objectives and literature review of my thesis, won’t my proposal would be questioned which submitted to the committee? I have no idea what to do. In such a short time, I could not re-analyze my data!! No idea guys, please advise!

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    shellynand 6:21 am on October 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to avoid penalty fee and submit Dissertation on time? 

    Hi all! I am a postgraduate student pursuing my PhD in Financial Forensics and topic of my research is, the financial analysis of audit report obtained from the crime related security research analysis. I am done with my research and data collection, but i am still left with the major part i.e structuring my dissertation into contents, review of literature, discussion, references etc. I have this feeling that i will not be able to complete my dissertation on time. My guide tells me if I don’t submit it on time, i will have to submit a penalty/ late submission fee. I don’t have that much amount of budget. Can anyone please suggest me a way out by which i can surpass this stage? Thank you in advance.

     
    • Jason Madgridz's avatar

      Jason Madgridz 6:41 am on September 24, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      For avoiding the late submissions, you need to begin with the writing part as early as you can. You can chart out a writing plan like what time suits you best for writing. If you are a morning person, writing one chapter is no big deal for you. Or if writing at home on a desk bores you or gives you stress, you can go outside- may be a park or coffee house wherever you feel comfortable to write. See, your advisor would scare you so because he wants you to complete your dissertation on time. But don’t be stressed for completing it due to deadlines because then you obviously cannot write your dissertation as you should be.

    • Deepshika Hazari's avatar

      Deepshika Hazari 6:47 am on September 29, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Here is a good blog post written. These tips are practical and can work for you because you are about to get started with writing http://equip.sbts.edu/article/20-tips-to-help-you-finish-your-dissertation/ . If you can work out these tips, completing dissertation won’t bog you down.

  • Unknown's avatar

    kelly451 6:37 am on September 28, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to write PhD motivational letter for PhD admission? 

    Can you please guide me for writing a commendable phd motivational letter for UK universities? I’m good at writing but barely know what information about my academic background is required. I did a lot of Google search, but there is no to-the-point information available attested by the university. Please advise.

     
    • Dr. Stuart's avatar

      Dr. Stuart 4:36 am on September 29, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Speak about your research goals. Mention why you are fit for this PhD candidature. You should mention how your study can make a difference to your area of research or the society on a large basis.

    • Marie's avatar

      Marie 11:36 am on October 2, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      You letter should not be longer than one page. One thing what the admissions committee is not at all looking forward to is things like “it has been my childhood dream”. Instead of sounding pompous, give them an insight as to why this area of research interests you. Also, don’t give any false information about any of your achievements.

    • Kristina's avatar

      Kristina 12:33 pm on October 4, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Well, the purpose of a motivational letter is to help the admission committee to distinguish between outstanding students and excellent students. It is important that you should stress on your intellectual interests for the PhD course and the area of field you plan to study and about your previous research experience. Also, focus on keeping a serious and professional tone but at the same time, be positive and energetic.

    • Joseph's avatar

      Joseph 5:34 am on October 7, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I will focus on the points that you should avoid while preparing a motivational letter. Do not state false facts about your achievements and you should not try to make exaggeration or make use of imperious metaphors. The staff from the admission committee will find out whether a motivation letter is genuine or fake. Do not praise the university too much and also avoid to mention statement like “I have always been fascinated by scientific research”, It was my childhood dream” etc.

  • Unknown's avatar

    sierra4328 9:19 am on September 20, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to Cite an Unpublished Manuscript in APA? 

    Can you please tell me if there is any specific APA format for referencing unpublished manuscript? I want to cite a research paper of my senior which is not formally published in any journal till now. He has submitted it in ELK Asia Pacific Journal for a month now but the publication is still under process. So, is there any way by which I can cite it? Because it is unpublished, what would I fill out in the Year section?

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    Anil. S 6:15 am on September 16, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to find research conferences to attend? 

    Hi. I’m a PhD student of Stanford university having epidemiological and behavioral studies as my research area. I need to present my research paper in any conference within the two months. But I don’t know where and how would I find the information about the upcoming conferences and proceedings at various institutes? I keep on searching for it online but only get the handful of those and that too turns out to be fake. Tell me please what should I do?

     
    • Mitchel's avatar

      Mitchel 2:18 am on September 17, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Well, check out http://www.phdevents.org. On this website, you’ll find all the recent events happening/occurring nearby and updates about different universities. This will save time and you will get to know different events under one roof.

    • Hannah's avatar

      Hannah 6:17 am on September 18, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Okay, so that sounds like a serious problem. You can subscribe to the newsletter of various universities. They will keep you updated with the upcoming events/conferences occurring in a year or in a particular month. This will definitely solve your problem.

    • Caroline's avatar

      Caroline 5:09 am on October 7, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hey there! I can feel for you. To be frank, I cannot suggest you anything regarding epidemiological and behavioral studies, but you can check out this link – https://www.findaphd.com/events/ . They usually come up with interesting events. Hope it helps!

  • Unknown's avatar

    Samayra 1:07 am on September 14, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    How to mentor research students? 

    Hi. I am neither a PhD nor Masters student but a PhD graduate so I don’t know if I should really be posting my query here or not. I’m a newbie to the research supervision at Cornell university where I’m given the responsibility of guiding two Masters’ students from my research area only. Because I do not have any prior experience of handling research students, I’m not confident if I would be able to answer their queries, helping out with the research process, and evaluating theses. I’ve fixed the meeting with them next week but I don’t know what shall I do, how to begin, nothing at all. University has given me a handbook of supervision of graduate students, but there is a lot of difference in reading and implementing those advices in real life. I’m anxious how to get started. Any suggestions please?

     
    • Caroline's avatar

      Caroline 10:20 am on September 15, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      As a PhD student, I am writing this answer. I hope it would help you out. I have observed my supervisor guiding me. Usually, supervisors tend to become lax and indifferent. But, mine is super passionate about research in Biomedical Sciences. All thanks to him, my research is going on successfully. So, primarily, keep tabs on your student’s’ progress. Initially, you can give them few small projects to be finished within a given time period. You need to encourage them that they should treat their Phd like any other 9 to 5 job. They should carry on with utmost diligence and commitment if they wish to make significant progress. Secondly, you can ask them to attend various national and international conferences or group seminars so that their presentation skills get honed.

    • Anna Hughes's avatar

      Anna Hughes 5:18 am on September 16, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hey! first of all, I’d wish you luck. You are right in assuming that this forum is slightly unsuitable for this question. But, fortunately you will get a first hand advice from a fellow supervisor. I currently teach at the Indiana Wesleyan University and very often supervise PhD students researching on Nursing and Public Health. I usually visit this forum 3-4 times a week so that I can get an insight into PhD students’ problems. What I have learned from my experience is that constant communication is what a PhD student craves for the most. Make sure, you provide constant support to your students. During the first year, they would be dependent upon you largely. You should not discourage that. However, after a year you should let them become independent researchers. Apart from that, for channelising their research in the right direction you can have a lot of activities like regular reading sessions where you could read published PhD dissertations. In this way, your students will get acquainted to various academic writing styles at an early stage. Also, during the third year you can make these students train the newcomers. It will enhance their knowledge and inculcate professionalism into them.

    • Lauren's avatar

      Lauren 9:12 am on September 20, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Give a little introductory task in the initial year with a particular deadline. This will help you in detecting issues and coming up with solutions to help the students understand their area of weakness. Ensure supervisee know about the professional guidelines of published work by suggesting them to read good PhD dissertation and frequently perform review literature and organising reading groups. Hope you do well in the orientation program.

    • Ryan's avatar

      Ryan 10:11 am on September 23, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      You can guide them by citing examples of your own experiences you faced during your PhD graduation phase. For example, make them aware about the common mistakes committed by a masters or a PhD candidate. Make your students comfortable, so that they do not hesitate in asking questions. Best of luck

  • Unknown's avatar

    wilson349 1:41 am on September 10, 2017 Permalink | Reply  

    Inadequate Supervision! Need Help! 

    Hi guys! I am pursuing my PhD in management and my research is based on novice entrepreneurs.
    Initially, I was highly passionate about my research, but now I am loosing interest in it. The reason being
    that I’m experiencing inadequate support from my supervisors. During the past one year, my supervisor
    has been changed for the third time. The first one got retired, the second one has migrated to some
    European university and the third one is unfortunately hard – to – catch. He was assigned to me two
    months back and I have hardly seen him once, that too at the time of introduction. It was a short
    introduction of merely 5 – 10 mins. I am constantly trying to reach him through emails, phone calls and
    even Whatsapp. But, he never reverts back. I am getting demotivated day by day. I have started to think of
    dropping my PhD. What do I do? Please help! I am unable to decide.

     
    • Samayra's avatar

      Tony 6:08 am on September 11, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Hi. In my opinion, you should not drop your PhD due to the negligence from the university’s part. In fact, if your advisor doesn’t turn up, you can always report it to the authorities. The board of graduate studies of every university has the power to look into the matter like why he is not responding to you.Unless there are some issues which cannot be resolved by you and your advisor yourself, then they have to help you out. I mean, they have changed your supervisors because it’s the university’s responsibility to make the assistance available to you. Go through your university’s website or your head of faculty. I’m sure you will figure out how to deal with your supervisor rather giving up on your PhD.

    • Laura Betcher's avatar

      Laura Betcher 5:11 am on September 14, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      I do not deny the fact that you are in dire need of research supervision but when things just don’t go the way it should be, you should get your own ways. One of the students like you shared his/her instance of bad supervision in this blog post. https://thesiswhisperer.com/2014/08/27/when-good-supervisors-go-bad/ .Go through it as well as the comments along. There are plenty of advice; perhaps a single one can work in your case.

    • Caroline's avatar

      Caroline 6:10 am on September 16, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      Don’t lose hope, because this is not the end. You may face even more difficulties in your life in future. Infact, this is just a beginning. In my opinion, try out help from online tutor. http://www.dissertationtutors.co.uk, you can take consultation from them. They provide the best PhD assistance right from research proposal to the conclusion. Go through their website, I’m confident that you’ll figure out a way to deal with your research instead of giving up on your PhD.

    • Ryan's avatar

      Ryan 11:10 am on September 23, 2017 Permalink | Reply

      This behaviour towards your research at this stage is natural. Since you are not getting the right guidance from your university and especially from your guide. I would support your idea of discontinuing your research. And focus on something else, or change your topic selection and opt for different guide. I know it may sound negative, but i guess this is the only option left with you. Anyway, I wish you all the luck and best wishes.

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