My PhD Journey Journal

Blog List

2011-01-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

If you are blogger who studying for Masters or PhD. Please leave your blog link here. So we can share our knowledge, experience and give support to each other.

Thank You.
Liyana Shuib

Phrases to use in academic writing

2010-08-03T02:26:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy these past few weeks, as I have had to settle my SLAB contract, writing conference papers and writing literature review to complete developing my framework. There are a lot to share but too little time to do it.

Today I would like to share one great website that provides a list of phrases that can be used in academic writing. It is really helpful especially when you want to write the literature review or reporting your results.

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/sources.htm

Scholarship

2010-05-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

There are one website that provide information about scholarship to Malaysian. It offers variety of scholarship to degrees and postgraduates. Subscribe to them and you will be aware of the scholarship opening. Good Luck!!

Check it out: http://malaysia-scholarship.net/

Chapter 1: Structure

2010-05-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

Your proposal is actually your first draft of Chapter 1. You will write the final draft of Chapter 1 after you finish writing other chapters. The structure for Chapter 1 is:

1.1 Background

1.2 Research objectives

1.3 Research questions

1.4 Significance of the study

1.5 Scopes and limitations

1.6 Research methodology

1.7 Thesis outline

1.8 Summary

Click here on how to write the proposal.

Planning Your Work

2010-05-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

In doing a research, time is very important. You must know how to manage your time and how to plan it so you can finish your research on time. I will explain to you how I plan my time:

Step 1: List out your task

First, list out your task. You can list it out based on chapters or activities. Examples:

1. Chapter 1 (Based on Chapters)

Problem Statement
Research Objectives

2. Literature Review (Based on Activities)

Find Journals
Summarize Journals

Step 2: Plan when you target to finish the task

Refer to a calendar and state how long are you planning to spend on one task and put a milestone (the date) when do you target to finish the task. Examples:

Find Journals (3 days - 5/5/2010 - 7/5/2010)
Summarize Journals (30 days - 8/5/2010 - 8/6/2010)

Step 3: Use software to draw the chart

The chart is called Gantt Chart. You can draw the Gantt Chart by using Microsoft Project or Microsoft Visio. You can easily do step 1 and step 2. You can also add extra activities such as milestone (the day you will submit the task) or put link between task (it mean the task is related to each other). You can plan your work for a month, a year or for the whole research.

Step 4: Print it
Print the chart and put it on your board/table so you know what your target is. You may not achieve some of your target on time but by looking at it everyday it will remind you that you have a lot to do. I show you my planning or my Gantt Chart for this year.

Gantt Chart

This is how I planning my work. I hope I can achieve at least 70% of my target. So, how are you planning your work?

@ Skim Biasiswa Universiti Malaya

2010-04-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Kepada Semua Calon Pascasiswazah (Pelajar UM dan Warganegara Malaysia),

Sukacita dimaklumkan bahawa Universiti Malaya (UM) dengan ini mempelawa permohonan daripada calon warganegara Malaysia yang sedang/akan menjalani rancangan Ijazah Tinggi di Universiti Malaya untuk memohon Skim Biasiswa Universiti Malaya (SBUM)bagi Sesi 2010/2011.

Permohonan hendaklah dibuat dengan melayari laman web IPS di http://www.ips.um.edu.my di bahagian current student dan membuat permohonan secara atas talian (ONLINE) sahaja dengan mengisikan maklumat yang diperlukan.

Tarikh tutup permohonan ialah pada 13 Mei 2010.

Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila klik : http://www.ips.um.edu.my/images/ips/doc/biasiswa/Iklan_SBUM_2010.pdf

@ Things To Do

2010-04-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

I always have things to do list. Usually I just use the sticky note. It does works for me. The problem is the sticky note sometimes misplaced and sometimes my list is longer. I then turn to usual paper note. Last week, I found an online 'things to do' web. It is so cool. The link is http://www.rememberthemilk.com/.

We can list out our task based on project (work, personal, blog, study, publication). We can set the due date (they will send email to us to remind us) and after completed the task we can just click it. they also provides a lot of services to go together with the application.

For me, the best thing is it can integrate with gmail. So now I can see my things to do every time I open my gmail. I love it.

So, start your own http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ now and manage your task. Planning is the most important things if you want to finish your research on time. :)

How to write journal and conference paper?

2010-04-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

I learned this when I went to Amanda Spink workshop. I make a summary from her slide to share it with you. The difference between journal and articles (beside the length) is journal focus more on literature review while conference focus more on results section.

Framework of Journal and Conference

1. Title

Less than 8-9 words
Reflect the entire contents of the paper

2. Author Info
3. Abstract

Introduction/research problem (1-2)
Objective/Research goal (1)
Reserach design (3-4) – where/when/how/what data
Results (3-4)
Conclusion (1)

4. Introduction

300-500 words (3-5 paragraph)
Subheading/Paragraph
Big picture: Motivation - why important/crucial?
Broad information – previous research
Narrower background (need for study)
Summary of problem (selling point)
Research problem - Clear problem statement
Last paragraph: the structure of paper

5. Literature Review/Related Studies

Have topics/subtopics
Begin: Introduction and end with summary
Begin with available literature/analyze each article/organize the review
Strength and weakness of previous study

6. Research Questions/Hypothesis

Big goals – research Goals
2-5 major Research Questions
Research hypothesis – intro is a basis , after state problem, must state hypothesis
Follow from lit rev, leads to your finding and answer to experiments

7. Research Design

Data collection/procedure/methodology
Define all your term
Instruction all task

8. Results

Report what data collected
Tables/figures
Summary of data

9. Discussion

What do results mean
What you learned from developing and analyzing your topic
Research contribution (what was new/unique/interesting)
Topic boundaries/limitation/assumptions
Significance of study hypothesis support
Key finding
How this finding relate to previous research finding

10. Conclusion and Further Research

Contribution
Summary
Further interesting discussion

11. References
12. Appendices (Table/Figure)

Hope this help. Happy writing!!!

@ How to write your research questions

2010-04-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

First of all, make sure your research questions is mapped from your research objectives. Research questions should be write from the research objectives.

How many research questions should I have?

Masters: 3-4 research questions
PhD: 6-10 research questions

Where can I get the idea?

Brainstorming
Literature Review
Discussion with supervisor

Alternative -> Null Hypothesis

@ 10 questions

2010-04-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Guideline for Proposal Presentation Slide

2010-04-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

This is guideline from my lecturer from research seminar class:

Title slide -- title of project, your name, matric no. and your Supervisor's name
Outline of Presentation
Introduction (Background to study)
Statement of Problem
Objectives
(Research Questions (if relevant)
Scope of study (if relevant)
Significance
Review of Literature (key works only)
Proposed Methodology
Expected Outcome
References

Guide in Writing Research Proposal

2010-04-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

A very detail explanation on how to write your proposal.

1. Overview

This part covers a general idea of topic that you are interested to investigate, which include the research motivation, why the research is important and significant, to whom it is important.

2. Research Questions and hypothesis

Research questions are:
a. an area or topic in which you have an interest
b. ideas or issues which you wish to explore in detail
c. problems detected and needing a solution in practical or theoretical terms

It should be as specific as possible. In some cases, you may make two or more research questions to cover a complex topic.

Research hypothesis:
A hypothesis is a statement that can be proved or disproved. A research question can be made into a hypothesis by changing it into a statement.

3. Research objectives are:
a. Statements (not question) of what you intend to do to find the answer to your research question
b. Your objectives are structured using action-words like: assess or reassess, develop, provide (an understanding of …), examine, analyse, interpret, elucidate, articulate, establish, construct, evaluate or re-evaluate
c. Objectives are numbered in a list
d. Successive steps you need to take in order to answer your research question
e. There should be a logical sequence to your objectives. Therefore it should include a list of stages or the order in which you’ll be finding things out—for example:

To identify a problem
To develop a solution
To design and implement the solution
To assess its impact

4. Literature Review

Literature review should include three main issues in the research context
a. Historical issues – what past work has been done in this area?
b. Theoretical issues – what past and present frameworks of explanation have been used?
c. Methodological issues- how have others have tackled similar (or even very different) problems?

However literature review ISN’T: a descriptive list, a series of paragraphs beginning with yet another author's name and a series of summaries. Literature review helps you to:
a. Ask what is the significance of your research? What is known and not known? What has and has not been done? What questions need further research/creative exploration?
b. Shape your research question and objectives by thinking laterally and creatively about other potential search areas
c. Choose appropriate approaches and methodologies by identifying areas of theoretical or methodological debate or disagreement, controversy or inconsistency
d. Practice and develop research techniques and skills

to read in a targeted way
to develop skills of critical appraisal and capacity to identify the objectives and arguments of those you are reading
and to articulate their strengths and weaknesses

Literature review need not be lengthy, however it should be comprehensive. It should trace the central themes in the literature, highlight major areas of disagreement, and reflect a critical stance toward the materials reviewed.

5. Methodology

This section describes several methods that are used during the research in order to meet its main objective. This section consists of a description of plans for collecting and analyzing the data. What instruments will be used? Why are they appropriate for this study? Is there evidence of the instruments' reliability and validity? How and to whom will they be administered? What procedures will be followed in the data analysis?

Survey on architectures, algorithms, approaches or development models and research prototypes are also part of the research methodology activities. For research projects with a development component, an appropriate development methodology must be reflected.

6. Research Contribution

An explanation of how the research findings will contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

7. Research Scope and Limitation

Define your research scope and its limitation.

8. Work Plan

This section indicates exactly what will be done, the sequence of the various activities, and the products of deliverables that will be prepared. Specify the tasks, deliverables, and schedule in some detail. It is important that the proposed task structure includes all of the activities necessary for completing the project. Work plan can be presented in a Gantt chart.

Sources: Dr. Noorhidawati Abdullah, FCSIT, UM, 30 Jan 2009