Big but small....

Now, I'm at the data collection stage of my study. It can be a "killer" stage because this is a time when we're not only depending on ourself but also other people. In my case, it's about collecting data at the field - I've to send questionnaire to respondents located in separate locations, whom at the same time are busy with their daily schedules. Although PhD itself is something big, as some people say, to me, it makes me feel smaller. The data is deadly important to me. Without them, I can't do the analysis. I can't conclude and complete my research. I'm small because no matter how hard I go for it, I'm not the one who'll decide that I can get the required data. The situation reminds me about how important to be helpful to the needy because we may be the needy ourself, one day. We're not always be at the top of the wheel because by nature, wheel rolls. Perhaps, accepting the fact that we're "small" is not a problem to many of us. However, consistently acknowledging it from the bottom of our hearts is not easy.

PhD: Slide preparation and giving presentation

PhD: Slide preparation and giving presentation.

Giving presentation in PhD study could be an "earthquake"! Imaging that all eyes are focusing on you and on what you're going to say. Those eyes belong to Professors and the so called experts in the related field. The problem is that they're not simply watching and listening. There are "bullets" waiting for you at the end of your presentation and you must have a good shield to protect yourself. Taking it positively, whether it's painful or not, those bullets are good for you to move on. In this case, effective slide presentation and delivering approach are crucial. I'll share with you some of the tips given to me by my respected supervisor. Depending on places of study, universities have different ways of monitoring their students' progress. In my case, I've to go through two colloquiums before defending my proposal. Tips given by my supervisor for the first presentation:

1. slide for first presentation should cover what has been done (in the area concerned), what has been found, and what need to be done (research problem, research objectives, research framework/model), context of study and significant of study.
2. less number of slide but more on talking - ability to talk more from less slide shows that the presenter is well-verse in his/her study.
3. there shouldn't be slide/s for LR - LR should be "embedded" in slide/s of other sections such as problem statement, contribution of study, research model, etc.

Tips of what to do just before the presentation time for a nervous person like me:

1. arrives early at the "war zone"
2. make sure you transfer data from your thumbdrive to the PC and try the slide show first
3. chat with the panels and audience

PhD: How to review literatures effectively?

PhD: How to review literatures effectively?

My friend asked me to write about this topic. He claims that verbatimly read academic articles gives him headache. I agreed as I've gone through, in fact still going through the same experience. I've read, read and read the same article so many times but still do not know what it's all about! I was told by many friends that it is normal to be in that situation. The funny thing is that, they say, "if you understand, it's not PhD, if you don't understand, it's PhD". No wonder, people say that PhD is "Permanent head Damage"!ha!ha!ha!

Reading academic article is not like reading novels or magazines. I don't think fast reading really help here. To me, smart reading helps a lot. I'm not sure about the literal definition of smart reading but I define smart reading as reading by knowing what we're looking for. Academic articles published in journal normally have standard contents - e.g., abstract, intoruction, LR, purpose of study, methodology, contribution of study, framework, underlying theory, findings and conclusion. In short, it just like full PhD report but in a compressed form. We may have to read thoroughly first few articles, especially the main articles (i.e. articles that closely related to our study). Reading the abstract and conclusion first might help in understanding the whole article. Moreover, understanding of one article can comes from explanation given in other related articles. My areas of study are ERP and Management Accounting. I was lucky (in this sense) because there are articles written about the "integrative review" on each of the two areas.

Reading literatures is the longest process coz' it has to be done up to preparing our final report. This is to ensure that our reports include the latest literatures in the area.

To read other articles in this category, please click "PhD" in the Category section on your right (you may have to scroll down):

1. PhD - How to manage your articles?
2. PhD_Conference alerts
3. PhD- What is the hardest part?
4. PhD-Supervisor!

PhD: How to manage your articles?

PhD : How to manage your articles?

PhD study involves downloading large number of academic articles from online databases such as EBSCOHOST, Proquest Umi, Emerald and Science Direct. When comes to hundreds of articles, effective management of them becomes crucial, Surely, it's frustrating if we have to spend half a day looking for the required article out of many many loose printed articles. Managing softcopy articles is not difficult now because we have Endnote software to help us. What about the printed or the hardcopy articles? I want to share the method that I used and found effective for the purpose. First, I separate the printed articles according to several common themes such as "Management Accounting", "Fit concepts" and "Enterprise Resource Planning". Then, I tape binding articles in each theme together - different "book" has different coloured cover and is labelled accordingly. Of course, each book has its own table of content and dividers for easy reference. Using this method, I no longer have the problem of my kids mistakenly thought that they are recycle papers and use them to make aeroplanes!.

To read other articles in this category, please click "PhD" in the Category section on your right (you may have to scroll down):

1. PhD_Conference alerts
2. PhD- What is the hardest part?
3. PhD-Supervisor!

PhD : Conference alerts

One of the things that PhD students should do is presenting their papers in conferences/seminars and publishing papers in referric journals. The purposes of this activities are to get comments for their papers, let the public benefits from their works and indirectly "patenting" their works. One shouldn't hide "weaknesses" in their papers during presentation as this will hinder gaining constructive comments. To get the updated information about worldwide conferences/seminars, we can visit http://www.conferencealerts.com/ or just type "conference alerts" in Google .

PhD: What is the hardest part?

Pursuing PhD study requires us to go through several processes such as :

1. deciding on the area and topic to study
2. choosing the right supervisor and place to study
3. conducting literature review (i.e reading academic articles)
4. presenting the study proposal (problem statement, research objectives, research framework, methodology, significant of study, etc.)
5. collecting data and analysing data (including for pilot study)
6. writing a thesis and final presentation (defending our study).

If someone asked me, "What is the hardest part in doing PhD?", I would say looking for what actually we want to do and the right thing to study, as the answer. Analogically, someone embarks in a journey and is equipped with all sorts of things required such as money, map, torch light, first-aid kit, vehicle and food. However, this person actually does not know where to go or the exact destination. Surely, the person will end up arriving no where!

One more thing, a place to go does not mean a right place to go. In PhD study, these two must be aligned. That's why to me it is the most difficult part. To ensure what we want to study is the right thing to study, is not easy. It requires a long process and will only be achieved through reading. Lots of readings! We may find this "dot" after one year of "sleeping, showering, talking, eating and exercising" with academic articles. Thus, my 2 cents advice (not affected by an increase in fuel lately. ha!ha!ha!) to those who plan to do PhD - read as much as you can in your area before you officially registered.

PhD - supervisor!

PhD - Supervisor!

Someone asked me the important of supervisor in PhD study. To me, PhD student and his/her supervisor is like a blind person with his/her stick. Stick is important for a blind person to walk but still, the steps need to be done by one own's feet. Stick is no use if the person has no initiative to walk. Stick serves as a guide to walk and no doubt, choosing the right stick is extremely important. Choosing fragile or unsuitably length stick makes walking more difficult than otherwise.