Dr Layla Cassim gives tips for postgraduate success, in the second in a series of three articles published in the Mail & Guardian:
- The first article appeared 30 July 2010, in which she emphasised funding and project manage research.
- The second focus on the importance of a well thought out research proposal — Download Secrets of postgrad success - Dr Layla Cassim - MG 27Aug-2Sept2010 — as well as research design and ethodology dcisions.
- The third published 24 September 2010 focussed on academic publication.
In the Getting Ahead insert of the Mail & Guardian of 27 August to 2 September 2010 she also express concern about the quality of supervision.
In an earlier post, I used a butterfly as metaphor of a research design. Dr Cassim emphasise that a research proposal focusses action and comprise:
- Some background to the problem/hypothesis
- A concise literature synthesis (of existing knowledge)
- Indication of the gap in existing knowledge and how this research will fill such
- A clear problem statement
- The research strategy
- Practical procedures and detailed methodology
- Schedule and budget
- Roles and responsibilities of collaborators
- Quality control framework (and ethics)
- A risk analysis and contingency plans
Dr Layla further elaborates on research designs, another aspect I posted about.
She further aswered some questions in the Getting Ahead (p. 7) supplement of the Mail & Guardian of 24-30 September 2010: Download Dr Layla Cassim Answers some Questions
- Doing a PhD part-time
- Juggling a part-time PhD with family and work commitments
- Will a PhD facilitate a career change?
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