Courses / Module

Most post graduate students embark on their PhD research with an interest in some general topic, issue, or problem. The task of writing a PhD, however, requires an ability to identify a specific research project that integrates theory, evidence, and methods into a coherent analytical framework. The objective of this module is to give beginning doctoral students a basic grounding in the nature of doctoral research, the selection and development of a research topic and preparation of a research strategy. We will discuss methods of accessing and reviewing literature/information sources, designing research questions, ethical dimensions of research and through supported peer review help you to consider more deeply the connections between theory, evidence, and methods, in your PhD research.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Explain the relationship between theory, methods and data within their own PhD thesis

• Map the argument of their PhD thesis

• Analyze the arguments of other PhD theses and critique them

• Develop a ‘plan of action’ for their own PhD thesis

• Present this plan via a poster at the end of the semester


Course Requirements

The module runs on five days and each day is organised around a different theme.

The course is assessed on a ‘satisfactory/did not complete’ basis. There are 3 components to the assessment:


1) You are expected to attend all class meetings, do the readings before the class and come prepared to discuss them, and to make presentations and provide comments when that is part of the structure of the class.

2) You are expected to work on the structure of your research for the duration of the module.

3) You will be expected to prepare a professional poster mapping the structure of your PhD research