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What is a research degree?

A research degree is…

• About you:– Self discipline– Self learning– Self control– Self work

A research degree involves

• Uncertainty:– ‘disorientating jolt of

something new, different, truly other’ (Bogue, 2004, p341)

• Making decisions

Making decisions: Questions, questions…

• General focus?• Research questions?• Literature• Methodological stance?

– Theoretical perspectives?– Methods?– Sampling?– Analysis?

• Ethics?• Writing up?

Making decisions: scale and focus

• Is the focus too wide or too narrow?• Are the research questions sufficiently deep and focused?• How many research questions?• How large/wide should my sample be?• How long should I spend on each location (eg college) and with

each respondent?• Will I have enough data of sufficient depth?• Will I have too much data?• Should I transcribe?• How long have I got?

The thesis• ‘The degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall be

granted at the conclusion of a period of advanced study to a candidate who has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of Academic Council, the ability to conduct original investigations, to assess ideas critically, and to relate the investigations to a wider field of knowledge’

• 80,000 words (40,000 for MSc)• Reports research and demonstrates learning

A research degree involves becoming a researcher

1. ‘Who are you?’ They ask, expecting a reply that grounds ‘me’ as a researcher who casts a questioning eye around.

2. ‘What do you want of us?’ They look out from, or duck behind, their public masks unsure of the gaze from this ‘I’ who repeats, ‘I just want to observe your practice, don’t mind me, I’m harmless, I’m not spying on you, trust me.’

3. ‘Who do you think we are?’ They shift about uneasily, trying to glimpse a reflection of themselves in the way the researcher speaks to them, looks at them, acts towards them.

4. What do you know about us that you want to tell to others?’

Schostak, J (2002) Understanding, designing ‘and’ conducting qualitative research ‘in’ education: framing ‘the’ project. Buckingham/Philadelphia: Open University Press.

A research degree

Is a ‘real’ doctorateOpens doorsWill change your life