April, 2016 - PhD Thesis Bangalore

What are the key differences between primary and secondary sources?

Research is compilation of both primary as well as secondary sources. If researchers lack the knowledge of these two sources and their distinction, they would surely get stuck in knowing how to use them properly. There are some basic and some intricate differences between the two which should be clear in the mind of the … Continue reading “What are the key differences between primary and secondary sources?”

Primary Sources:

As the name itself indicates, primary research is that research which is conducted at the time when the concerned study is being undertaken and the person who does the primary research is witness to the situation directly. Some of the key sources for primary research can be:

Personal documents of the researcher, such as diaries, novels, email etc.
Various types of documents that come from research studies such as thesis, experiments, data, reports and so on
Original manuscripts or any kind of original documents, maps photographs or newspapers
Movies, work of art or music pieces etc.

They are mostly in use when the researcher is studying a subject related to the past such as history. They bring up the opinion of the people who have a direct link from the past. Though, they come from first hand sources and hence can be called as genuine sources, they have one major concern of biased review as they aren’t anything more than the personal opinion of the author. Researchers who target to use primary sources, must ensure that they first analyse the information thoroughly, to identify and remove any biases if there in the study.

Secondary Sources:

It is the other end of the primary source and has information that can be generalised because it is an evaluation and synthesis of information already existing. Usually the sources for secondary research that we see as getting used are:

Books, textbooks, magazines, encyclopaedias etc.
Documents /pictorials and videos based on history
Bok reviews or peer reviews

Secondary sources have the privilege of making the document easier to understand for the reader as it is usually the generalisation of the content based on the analysis of some primary sources. But, similar how there is a major drawback that is associated with primary sources, in secondary sources as well, the flip side is that the creator of these secondary sources is not an expert in the field of study and consequently because of narrow exposure to the topic may not be able to create a generalisation that can be trusted completely.

Whenever scholars use secondary sources, they must try to validate the information from other reliable sources before actually taking it as a generalisation

What has life to offer you after PhD research?

As you are in your research journey, the stage determines your anxiety about what happens next. There of course is life after research but this question does become a crucial question for the life of all researchers. Usually, after a gruelling research journey, at a stage when you have submitted your thesis or waiting for … Continue reading “What has life to offer you after PhD research?”

As you are in your research journey, the stage determines your anxiety about what happens next. There of course is life after research but this question does become a crucial question for the life of all researchers. Usually, after a gruelling research journey, at a stage when you have submitted your thesis or waiting for your VIVA to happen you have may have varied feelings. One cannot really standardize the feelings that a researcher may go through at this stage but perhaps you may feel one of these:

Absolutely elated about your great accomplishment, all geared up and excited to go back to your normal routine or may be wanting to pursue all that you have been delaying or procrastinating for the sake of your demanding PhD or maybe even bereaved.

You have lived your thesis in and out for a long time and the way it becomes an integral part of your life, some people may find it very difficult to leave it, hand it over or give it up.

If you are somewhere in the middle of your research degree you must remember that it is a means to an end and a training ground for all future researchers. Prepare yourself to develop a foothold in the research battlefield and have a bright future based on your research degree.

Whatever future you choose for yourself, remember that before jumping into another battlefield you must reward yourself with a celebration. Take a holiday and move away from the world of analytics for a while so that you can establish your connect back with the world outside. During this interim period do remember to do the following:

Choose parts and content from your thesis that you could use for creating fresh and topical publications
Develop conference presentations from within your thesis
Upgrade your cv with your latest qualifications and keep yourself alert for openings of jobs around so that you can seize openings without any miss

Your break must not be so long that it makes your research obsolete or outdated. More so if you are looking for some funding on the basis of your thesis for further research, you must not delay at all. Your PhD would have in the undercurrent developed various other skills such as problem solving, time management , communication, writing , presenting, analysing that you will get a plethora of avenues opened for you to choose from right after you degree and there won’t be any looking back.

Here are few useful suggestions for writers who are struggling

If you find that you are struggling with your college term paper, trust my words that you aren’t the only one. Your preliminary education does not train you in writing term papers and hence it is common to find college students making common mistakes when attempting to write those papers for the first time or … Continue reading “Here are few useful suggestions for writers who are struggling”

If you find that you are struggling with your college term paper, trust my words that you aren’t the only one. Your preliminary education does not train you in writing term papers and hence it is common to find college students making common mistakes when attempting to write those papers for the first time or in the initial attempts. Some tips here may help you to make your struggle as a novice research writer slightly easier. At least we hope so!!

Know precisely what your supervisor wants from you: You must know your problem statement well enough and all your doubts must be clarified in the beginning only. It is always better to ask questions than to put your efforts in doing work that isn’t correct. Moreover your efforts should be aligned in the same direction that your supervisor so desires.
Try to have an innovative topic after enough brainstorming: a good topic can only lead to a good write up. You must spend ample time and effort into choosing the topic itself. Never do it as a hasty task else you would not be able to create a research that is unique and at the same time is interesting for you. Taking guidance from your supervisor is perfectly ok.
Draft an outline before you actually begin writing: The process of writing a detailed outline is applicable in all stages and levels of writing. You may to rework on it a couple of times but doing that will only eventually structure out a good paper. Taking help from sources is a good idea for the same.
Have sufficient evidence for your answer support: all the claims you put in your paper need the backing of sufficient evidence. Whatever you incorporate as content from other sources, have it as substantive evidence and include it in references to add authenticity.
Have a strong and clear thesis statement: if your thesis statement is strong and then it would eventually lead to a strong and meaningful conclusion. Of course you would need to support it with examples, quotes, statistics etc. to take you to the end.
Take essential steps for plagiarism: the complexities related to plagiarism should be understood well by the researchers before actually starting the work as at all costs it has to be avoided for quality research.

Do you want to get your essay checked for free?

Once having completed your writing task, it is important to make sure that your document is nothing less than perfect before you actually hand it over fir review. If you are not careful and specific about it then the results that come then and after in terms of feedback will be difficult to digest and may give you a setback. If you really want to do good work then getting your work checked from someone is very important and what better than having a source that would check your work for you for free. Today, let’s explore some options where you can get your work checked for free and ensure that you don’t have to face criticism or rejection because of careless mistakes:

Your peer: it is always good if students or fellow researchers follow a sense of extending a helping hand to each other as it not only is a good source of help for one another but also fosters the environment from stronger and healthier relationships with each other. Whenever you experience that a peer has checked your paper for you, you would feel that it has been a great learning experience for you too because to check someone else’s work, the only thing that is required is focus. Whenever, in reciprocation, you extend a similar helping hand to check a fellow mate’s paper, you could come across such useful and new idea in writing style that may not have occurred to you and learning from there you could incorporate it in your writing at a later stage or in the next attempt.

Tutor/supervisor: whenever you begin writing your document, it is suggested to work hand in hand with your tutor so to be able to ensure that the best outcome is taken out. With the kind of experience and expertise that your tutor may have, the kind of inputs that he may give you could be way beyond your thought process or consideration. Remember, that your supervisor is your best teacher and how much ever tricky it may be to convince them to involve in your work or to help you, it is worth the effort. This is because then only can you make the best use of your association with them.

Librarian: if you share a good and informal relationship with your librarian, then they could help to go through your work and find mistakes or give suggestions on how to improvise your document. Know that librarians are a treasure of information and this can become some very exclusive and handy support for your write up.