The DoctorateHub kicked off the webinar series in 2017 with a webinar dedicated to the Research Problem Statement. Since then, nearly every webinar picks an aspect of the research problem and solution bias in one way or another. While many of the regulars at the DoctorateHub webinars have expressed a rise in their awareness for the need to continually re-align their thesis to be problem focused, they have equally expressed with some frequency on how quickly and easy it is to fall back to the habit of being solution framed. Given that this is recurring issue, the DoctorateHub are running […]

From experience, there seems to be a common development path on how doctoral practitioners engage with literature. At the early stage we tend to mainly summarise, focusing on the author as the messenger rather than the message they are portraying, picking up conclusions rather than the process of reaching that conclusion. Our capabilities gradually develop into a critical and focused engagement with the literature. The question then becomes, where are we at in our capability journey? Then, what training could we engage in to harness and learn greater critical analysis? The DoctorateHub advised that this is quite easy to spot […]

On Saturday, 1st June 2019, we ran another in our webinar series. This one being on ‘Issues Identification, Problematization and Research Question Framing’. The webinar topic was purposefully selected to coincide with the first week of our Advanced Training Course on the same subject. Problematizing and articulating your underlying research problem, how to subsequently derive the corresponding research questions and ensure these are actionable, are all crucial skills that need to be trained thoroughly. Unfortunately, however, we often see students hastily jump into ‘doing research’, or at least ‘doing something’ that they consider ‘being research’. They are quick to randomly select a […]

The DoctorateHub are delivering the next interactive webinar on Saturday, 1st  June 2019, at 12noon GMT (UK) time. This webinar will focus on problematizing and articulating your underlying research problems, and on how to subsequently derive the corresponding research questions and ensure that these are actionable. The webinar will also look at such areas as understanding the difference between a problem as such, and a problem to you; and how to frame research questions in a way that they explore a problem instead of working towards random solutions. These skills are essential across a broad number of stages; including crafting a […]

On Saturday, 11th May 2019, the DoctorateHub provided an introduction to the principles and application of quantitative research to a receptive group of doctoral students and post-doctoral participants. We were taken through the quantitative research method, where the research aims to determine the relationship between an independent variable/s and dependent or an outcome variable in a population. Quantitative research is often used for a descriptive or explanatory or a combination of in the research design and seeks to test theories or hypothesis, although it could also generate theories, addressing the basic principle of realworld = model + error Practical examples […]

The DoctorateHub are delivering the next interactive webinar on Saturday, 11th May 2019, at 12noon GMT (UK) time, to introduce the principles and application of quantitative research doctoral student could use in their thesis. Data analysis could range from being very simple, such undertaking descriptive statistical analysis or could extend to more complex analysis such as using structural equation modelling (SEM). As most students look to undertake analysis as part of their mixed methods research, the webinar will start with the use of descriptive statistical analysis and how to use the three averages and dispersion; how to undertake correlational analysis; […]

On Saturday, 13th April 2019 we ran a hands-on webinar on Mirroring as a means to build up your thesis. As it turned out this seemed to be a quite popular topic with lively discussion. To all those that didn’t make it let me flag one of the key out takes: Mirroring can be a key to REDUCING THE TIME: ‘time to problem understanding’, ‘time to results’, ‘time to key literature’, ‘time to methodology crafting’, ‘time to write the thesis up’, and ultimately ‘time wasted’. Take a look at the image below to see for yourself how mirroring can guide you. The […]

Mirroring is a technique used to guide the thesis crafting and to assure your thesis has just the right coverage. In a nutshell, mirroring is the technique of looking for consistency across the thesis chapters. If your Chapter 4 on the Findings suggests that high fluctuation is in large parts a result of bullying, then your Chapter 2 Literature Review should similarly cover this, and your Chapter 1 Introduction should be setting the scene on the matter. Likewise, your Chapter 5 Analysis should pick-up on this, and Chapter 6 Conclusion should also. It ties the threads together, weaving key messages […]

The doctorate journey and the phenomenon of the ‘silent death’ The doctoral journey is an open-ended journey and there are infinite ways doctoral students could follow. Those on a more structured professional doctorate, like the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), may have formal coursework that provides guidance in the initial phase. But ultimately, this is your research and you need to craft your pathway. There is an endless amount of literature to read, a myriad of methodologies, methods and frameworks to explore, skills and mind sets to trial and adopt; and all against little and vague feedback, and guidance that supervisors or peers […]

On Saturday, 16th March 2019, the DoctorateHub provided a solid understanding of the viva process and what to expect, what the outcomes could be and areas where a doctoral candidate may fail the viva. This generates some discussion around the linking and engagement with literature relative to our research and how we generate our contribution to knowledge and practice. Noting that this is a key area of concern in a number of mock viva’s the DoctorateHub have undertaken as one of their services. There are various things to do while you wait for your viva date to arrive. Consider keeping […]