Video Lectures on Research

Yes, clearly I have to do some research into why I can’t get this shot of the corner of our office to straighten up!

Yes, I’ve tried ‘modify image + rotate 90°’ and I’ve saved the modificaiton but it still doesn »t work!

OK, so here I am placing a series of mini-lectures which are set to take you through the process of doing research with the intention of getting you to ‘buy-in’ to what I call a ‘Driven Process‘ whereby you can’t get ‘lost’ in the enormity of the undertaking.

Work your way through these – they are designed to de-mystify the process.

The assignment I am setting you is designed to see whether or not you have watched / read and understood this material and whether you can take it to heart and apply it in your assignment.  I am effectively rehearsing you ultimately for your ‘rapport de stage’ in M2… BUT… there is a sense in which  pretty much everything you are doing in M1 and S1 of M2 IS ‘research’!  With the questions we lecturers set you were are inviting you to go out into the unknown and mak sense of it.  What is that if it isn’t ‘research’ I ask you!

So… here are the videos to work your way through… Each is about 15 minutes’ long – so don’t try to do watch them all in one go!!  Pace yourselves!

1. The Driven Process.   https://youtu.be/CDRjvDnCHnw

Here I try to ‘sell’ you a simple concept that will ‘glue’ all the various elements of research together.  PLEASE watch this and watch it again until you get it.  I also have a written version of it for you to look at.

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2.  Choosing a title that will work.   https://youtu.be/SQHFEU6lehM

Some titles are damned from the start: they were never going to work.  This is usually because there is no end point / destination / outcome envisaged, but rather just ever-more detailed, well, detail!  So don’t choose an area of study, go for:

• a problem to solve
• a question to answer
• a hypothesis to test

Watch the video – all will be explained!

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3.  Aims and Objectives.    https://youtu.be/93L1pFnXgSo

This is all about how to break down the T-Bone steak sized subject in your title into bite-sized chunks that you and the reader can ‘digest’.

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4.  Literature Review & Research Gap.     https://youtu.be/bH7nfpziBJo

It’s a subtraction:

What you need to know (in your title and A&O)   MINUS

What we already know (because it is already written about) 

EQUALS: The Research Gap …or… what I need to find out by doing my own research

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 5. Methodology. https://youtu.be/MnKJ5FLbSr0

OK, so I have identified gaps in the knowledge … but what is the best way of going about filling them?

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6. Data Presentation, Explanation, Analysis & Evaluation.

Having conducted your survey: collected your questionnaires, done your interviews, you need to start asking the question: ‘OK, so what do I do now with all this stuff?’…  Here I offer you some answers.

7.  Conclusions & Recommendations.  https://youtu.be/VxumtL2s4q0

You’ve presented and analysed and evaluated your data.  Now you need to add it all up and say what it means (the conclusions) and what you/the company/organisation should do about it.

8.  Research Wrap.  https://youtu.be/C5s7pXFvVL8

So you have written the last word of your conclusion! Hurrayyy!   Finished?  Nay!  Don’t quit out on this too soon – there is still a lot to do!

 9 Dealing with Tutors et al.

Part 1.   https://youtu.be/dpDtl01Io08

Part 2.  https://youtu.be/vpktia_fGIg

OK, that was all about actually researching and writing the project / report.  But perhaps it would be helpful were I to give you some pointers about  things like how to get the best out of your tutors etc.

 Part 1 Video.

Part 2 Video.

So, with any luck you have held on through the assault of Tony Talks…. and I hope you will find it of some use both now and later.  Research is a BIG place…. it is easy to get well and truly lost in it, BUT if you follow my advice and buy-in to the ‘Driven Process’ you should always know where you are and stay on course!

TJ