ROUTE #1: Getting Started
ROUTE #1: Process
ROUTE #1: Chapter-by-Chapter
S
T
A
R
T

STAGE 1

Getting to the main article

STAGE 2

Choosing your route

STAGE 3

Setting research questions/
hypotheses

STAGE 4

Assessment point

STAGE 5

Building the theoretical case

STAGE 6

Setting your research strategy

STAGE 7

Assessment point

STAGE 8

Data collection

STAGE 9

Data analysis

STAGE 10

Write up

E
N
D

CONSIDERATION TWO

What you can expect from your supervisor at this stage

Be realistic when it comes to what you can expect from your supervisor. Amongst all their other responsibilities, supervisors will only have a small amount of time to provide support, especially if you're an undergraduate or master's level student. At the same time, although it's not great to have to say it, not all supervisors are willing to give up their time, or provide much help, even when they do have time. Therefore, you really need to get the most from your supervisor when you do meet them. Expect to have no more than 20 minutes to get feedback (any more is a bonus). If your supervisor is only prepared to give you a very short amount of time, it's best to first make sure that your research strategy passes any ethical requirements.

CONSIDERATION THREE

Deciding when to start the write up process

In addition to speaking with your supervisor, this is a good time to decide whether to start writing up, and if so, which chapters to write up. As a general rule, we would suggest that if (a) you need to complete an Ethics Proposal or Ethics Consent Form, or require consent from an Ethics Committee, and/or (b) you anticipate that arranging access will takes a while (e.g., perhaps because you are waiting for decision-makers to grant access, subjects to volunteer, or something outside your control), it's a good idea to write-up Chapter One: Introduction, Chapter Two: Literature Review, and/or Chapter Three: Research Strategy now. Alternately, if you do not anticipate access or ethical approval to take a long time, we would recommend that you focus on collecting data sooner than later because there can always be the risk of delays. However, where possible, we would recommend starting the write-up process as soon as you can, even just Chapter One: Introduction or part of Chapter Two: Literature Review. You can learn more about writing up in STAGE 10: Write Up.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Just remember that the main goal of STAGE SEVEN: Assessment point is to make sure that you're on the right track and that your supervisor does not completely object to some component of your research strategy. Once you have the go-ahead from your supervisor, proceed to STAGE EIGHT: Data collection.

1 2 3