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.

Next to watch the Article 29 Working Party guidelines.

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.

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.

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;

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.

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.

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

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