Recent Viz seminars at City

 2017, How To, Misc, Month-by-month  No Responses »
Jul 272017
 

One nicety of being a research student is learning interesting stuff, stuff that other researchers have done, in particular in data visualisation (one of my many interests!).

Most recently I attended two seminars at City, both interesting in many ways. Their websites:

Microsoft researchers on data driven storytelling

Fanny CHEVALIER – Research Scientist at Inria

If I have spare time, I’ll blog about my own challenges (& less notable achievement but still an achievement in my own terms!) with data visualisation tools. Finding and getting a grip with ONE storytelling tool to do a nice, neat & brain-cracking (or mind-blowing) visualisation of what I THINK my intended users want to see from my research output is beyond my research domains.

 Posted by on July 27, 2017 at 3:00 pm

Systematic Literature Review

 How To, Misc, Month-by-month  No Responses »
Nov 202015
 

I only seriously took an interest in the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method this summer – yup! only this summer. I was too busy reading and exploring interesting Chinese wuxing stuff with the view to do research on this subject matter.

As highlighted in my October post, I had to change my topic.

Now, I’m following the suggested steps outlined in the SLR to get to the TRUTH of whatever I’m conducting for my research, and off course to define/describe that ever elusive research question.

I’m following the normal route of conducting a piece of ‘academic’ PhD research, instead of following my heart to embark on digging deep into something as ancient and profound as in the Chinese wuxing. Perhaps one day I will get to do this topic.

I realised after my presentation (yesterday) to my supervisors on my new topic and motivation, that I’ve lost my motivation in coming up with a new topic to continue with my research.

I’m in deep trouble – as posted under reflection day – not on my research question, really…the trouble is my motivation behind doing a PhD. I just need to motivate myself, and come up with something the general public, researchers and my supervisors will also be motivated or interested in the chosen topic. This is what I now realised is what constitutes ‘academic’ ( unlike ‘professional’) PhD research, i.e. a research path not following one’s dream or one’s own madness into the deep unknown, just do what researchers have done but add a bit more or extend it somehow, and most importantly it is a ‘safe’ topic.

I was approached yesterday by my University Library staff to join a case study project, and one question is around advice for other researchers. My answer : ‘Have good supervisors and have perseverance’.

Perhaps I should also add – have luck in finding and working with supervisors who are kind, supportive and open minded to stretch boundaries with you on your dream PhD journey.

Making sense of the *ogies

 Extracts, How To  No Responses »
Sep 092014
 

How many *ogies related terms do I really know and understand?

Being a software analyst (plus other ‘beings’), I tend to start looking for ways or more formally, a methodology to ‘identify or classify’ objects that I’m interested in exploring.

There’s a saying in management speak that ‘you can’t manage (it) if you can’t measure (it)’
To measure it, one has to also know what is ‘it’ I want measuring, so the first step appears to be ‘identify it’.
Well, this is assuming I have also set up my context for ‘identifying it’.

In the world of research, ‘identification or classification’ is considered as ‘the most central and generic conceptual exercises’. Conceptually this takes two forms of classification namely typologies and taxonomies.

Further clues are in this article;
G. Par´e, M.-C. Trudel, M. Jaana, S. Kitsiou, Synthesizing Information Systems Knowledge: A Typology of Literature Reviews, Information and Management (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2014.08.008

In essence, typology is derived deductively and taxonomy is usually derived empirically or inductively using cluster analysis or other statistical methods.

Which term to use depends on what I want to do with it.

 Posted by on September 9, 2014 at 4:38 pm

social science research

 How To  No Responses »
Dec 172013
 

I was looking for ‘whacky’ research perspectives for a diversion (or distraction) from the ‘hard-core’ computer scientists review or write-up on research methodologies and came across Nick Hopwood’s blog.

Heh! He introduced ‘beauty’ in education research in ‘Quality, parsimony and beauty in educational research’

Also, he did a podcast which is worth listening to, even if you’re not a social science researcher.
I’ve extracted his podcast – why-i-like-the-hammersley-framework-as-a-basis-for-critical-appraisal-of-social – and included it below;

Research Question

 How To  No Responses »
Dec 102013
 

I wonder whether nobel prize winners or nobel laureates got to the podium (or the awards) by asking or framing research questions for their proposals/submissions/ideas/inventions etc.
Perhaps they do in their own unique unconscious ways, and not in any research-based fashion or following conventional thoughts or methods. The million $/£ question can’t possibly start with research question(s). Could it?

It seems to me the more I read (journals/literature off course!) the more I get into a state of oblivion.

So, what questions constitute (excellent) research questions?

I will have to learn to dream that million $/£ research question :-)

Not sure how I will use the ‘tons’ of information packed into this 65 pages of slides on Research Models and Methodologies. Posting it here just in case I need it.

How (and How Not) to Write a Good Design Paper

 How To  No Responses »
Nov 082013
 

Back in the days before the internet/www (yup! in the early 80s) became hip or cool (and now an indispensable tool), my colleagues and friends will have face-2-face debates/chats/arguments on why such a language/tool is better than this and that. It was usually about one’s favorite programming language but it was fun time. This may sound pretty mundane and boring nowadays in this world of tweeting and blogging.

Nostalgia is healthy but time rolls on…

Somehow my rolling back the years serve to remind me that writing a paper is like having a healthy (i.e. productive/useful/meaningful/novel etc and FUN!) verbal exchanges of ideas/thoughts/views except in written form.

So what else is there to consider when it comes to writing a paper especially a research paper for specific audience?

I am sure there are many ways to skin a cat – not nice to a cat – as some would let you believe!
So how not to skin a cat but still able to write my ideas (or stuff!) that I see fit or worthy of others attention. This is assuming one write a research paper because you want others to read about your ideas or stuff.

This paper – How (and How Not) to Write a Good Design Paper – makes sense to me so must be ‘good’ paper to me. Now, do I consider form and/or structure first or just follow my own inner voices?

A freemind map listing the key points extracted from the paper.

How to Read a Paper

 How To  No Responses »
Nov 052013
 

I rarely have the luxury (or time/space) to read stuff that are outside my professional spheres.
Since I’m embarking on a journey of PhD exploration (and hopefully discovery of some personal enlightenment!), I have time to read what others have to say about ‘How To’ do this and that – especially stuff that I take for granted or simply not worth making an effort to find out ‘How To’.

Today, I found this pdf article – How to Read a Paper

A freemind map listing the three pass approach for literature review.