Shows you an example of how to write at a higher conceptual level.
Google Scholar Labs: A New Era of Academic Search? Iāve always had a soft spot for Google Scholar. Some academics dismiss it for its messy metadata or occasional ghost citations, but when used properly ā especially with Advanced Search and Scholar Metrics ā it remains one of the most powerful free tools available. And […]
šāTo researchers. From: G.ā Read More Ā»
Absence of Evidence Is Not Evidence of Absence Carl Sagan popularised this phrase, and it applies beautifully to dissertation statistics. A common issue I see in studentsā dissertations is this: They run a statistical test, get a non-significant resultā¦ and then bend over backwards to explain their unexpected, disappointing finding. What they often donāt
A Lesson in Critical Thinking Skills for Researchers, Students, and Other Curious Minds Have you ever been the party pooper who interrupts a casual conversation with a skeptical, “But what’s the sample size?” or “Did they actually measure happiness, though?” If so, welcome to the club! Youāre officially one of those wonderfully annoying critical thinkers
The World Happiness Report Read More Ā»
The Scenario A student recently told me they felt āstuckā on their dissertation proposal, even skipping their end-of-year holiday to make progress. A stuck proposal or dissertation often happens because the problem isnāt clear or the research process feels overwhelming. The Issue A stuck or unsuccessful proposal or dissertation typically signals a lack of clarity
Lessons from My Students: Getting Unstuck ā Four Essential Questions to Move Forward Read More Ā»
The Scenario A masterās student recently sent me their survey questionnaire for review. As Iāve seen in many such cases, there were several substantial issues that, if uncorrected, would compromise the quality of the data collectedāand, in turn, the analysis, results, and conclusions. Fortunately, the survey had just begun, so there was still time
Lessons from My Students: Crafting a Flawless Questionnaire Read More Ā»
In preparation for our upcoming webinar on Avoiding the Traps of Questionnaire Design and Analysis in Your Dissertation at 6 pm (GMT+2:00) on 19th September, Iām writing about an issue of reliability that is often problematic for students. An old bathroom scale explains the concept of reliability of the measurement instrument in your dissertation. Here
Avoiding the Traps of Questionnaire Design and Analysis in Your Dissertation Read More Ā»
A few months ago, I discovered Elicit AI. Elicitās superpowers of organisation and summary complement Google Scholarās advanced searches as well as Research Rabbitās networks and timelines. With these tools, my literature search toolkit is now complete. Join me on Thursday evening 6th June @6:00 (GMT+2:00) when I take you through some of the
Use ELICIT To Find, Summarise, And Organise Papers For Your Literature Review Read More Ā»
In a previous post, I spoke about what a statistically significant result means and doesnāt mean. A significant result may mean very little, not necessarily anything to inspire you to throw a party or make a supportive parent proud. A significant result does not tell you how strong ā or meaningful ā your result is.
How Strong are Your Statistical Results? The Concept of Effect Size Read More Ā»
Many students approach their literature reviews by emphasising who (i.e., the authors of each reference) is saying what. Each paragraph begins with the authorsā names. This approach is not advisable as it shifts the focus to the authors rather than the content of their statements. Consider the following paragraph as an example of this unfortunate
Raise the Conceptual Level of Your Writing Read More Ā»
Sometimes, despite all your efforts, the sample size of your quantitative study turns out to be smaller than you planned. Maybe you received a low response rate to your online survey, your database search for patient records returned many unusable or missing records, or you found yourself in another scenario with a similar outcome. And