There are certain good practices that will help you progress well in your research. Key amongst them is consistent consultation, dedication to extensive reading and deep work, early identification of research tools including but not limited to software, creation of adequate personal time weekly to carry your the research and timely publication of research findings.
1. Consistent consultation. Your progress towards proposal development and successful research is almost proportional to your rate of consultation with your academic supervisors. It is a mirage to work for months without consulting your supervisors and expect to propose a research title or even defend your thesis. Thesis research is a joint venture that entails the candidate (actual worker) and supervisors (who monitor and evaluate progress through each stage). These two must work hand in hand through each stage, commencing from the initial broad idea, the concept note preparation and presentation, seminar presentations, research proposal preparation and defense, corrections emanating from the proposal defense, research stages including problem formulation up to validation of research findings, thesis writing chapter by chapter (not bringing a whole thesis for signing), thesis defense, thesis correction up to binding, celebrating together during graduation and future engagements post graduation. It is a long term relationship, it takes two to tangle! Start in the right footing and your success is guaranteed. Aim to consult at least once a month, but more frequently during critical stages such as getting the initial idea and where you are in doubt of a particular direction.
2. Dedication to extensive reading and deep work. Post graduate studies are about mastery of skills. To attain master level, one must devote great time and read deep extensively. Shallow reading and skimming through publications will not lead to good research outputs. Time must be devoted, especially when the mind is least distracted for deep reading to grasp the underlying concepts and principles as well as taking cognizance of the current trends in particular research areas. Part time commitment leads to part time results. Going deep will enable the candidate to clearly demarcate the limits other researchers encountered and this become the entry points (novelty aspects) of the ongoing research. The ability to reproduce existing well researched work is one measure of accessing that you have done extensive reading that is deep rooted. In some cases, deep work may entail listening to videos online (and at times purchasing or enrolling to lessons) discussing key aspects of your research interests.
3. Early identification of research tools. Research entails using tools to help generate data as well as analyze the same. The tools could be a physical lab setup where the experiments will be carried out or a simulation set-up using real or generic data. Whichever the case may be, the potential candidate must decide as early as will be possible how the research will be conducted and whether he / she has access to the tools that will aid the research. If the research experiments will be done physically, the candidate must decide very early at the proposal writing stage, where the experiments will be carried out, the permissions necessary to carry out the research and the financial implications (e.g. funds to buy the materials or run the experiments). If the research is through simulations, similar considerations must be done: which tool will be used and what are the computer requirements to host the tool effectively, is the tool available for free or at a cost (e.g. does the tool have a student license or is it a purely commercial tool), and are there add on tool boxes specific for the research to be conducted (e.g. MATLAB has block sets for specific disciplines and specializations). Candidates who have visualized the tools to be used early enough end up having a smooth ride through the research stage.
4. Creation of adequate time. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln. Research requires a mind that is devoted towards reading and excavating of vast amounts of information and analysing complex concepts. This in turn requires one to devote enough time to be able to handle this kind of exercise. Many post grads happen to be working and also have families looking up to them. It is upon you, as a post grad, to navigate the complexities of life and spare adequate amounts of time towards your research. The research journey towards a successful thesis defense can be divided into three major stages: the steep climb (vast amounts of reading and trying to get and understand the research gaps, proposal writing and defending, understanding how to address the research questions, discovering the tools and lab setups for addressing your specific objectives); the plateau stage (the pathway towards solving the research questions is relatively known, thus most of the work is to generate data, analyze it, and publish findings); the descent stage (results have been achieved, papers published, thesis report being written and corrected simultaneously by the supervisors). Looking at the stages critically, it is clear that the steep climb requires the most time devoted and vast resources (internet, recent publications, books, training/ special lessons on key areas, familiarization with the lab setup, sourcing and learning of the simulation tools etc.). While this resources are required in all stages, the steep climb stage being foundational demands them more to a greater extent.
Remember, battles are won in the early light of intense training, when no one’s watching. Victories happen before warriors walk onto the field. Triumph belongs to the one who prepares the most.
5. Timely publication of research findings. The best thing you can do with research results is to publish them for peer evaluation. Academic research is published in peer reviewed journals and through peer reviewed conferences. Most universities have set the number of publications required to graduate with a particular degree level. In general, PhD students are required to publish at least 2 refereed journal publications while Master level students are required to publish 1 refereed journal paper. Experience shows that publishing in a conference first, for new candidates in the research arena, gives the newbies the courage and the skills to write good technical papers. Like any other skill, writing technical papers requires devotion of time to learn, an eye keen on capturing how others have made their presentations in technical papers, making mistakes and learning from them. It is important to know that paper rejection is a normal process (and one of the best ways ) of learning how to write a technical paper. Higher impact journals require deeper novelty in the research outputs and many times takes longer to publish, as the papers are subjected to expert reviewers in the field of research. It is thus advisable to start small and aim for good journals that are not predatory but of lower impact, and then progress to higher impact journals as your technical paper writing skills as well as the novelty of your research outputs improves. Keep a schedule of the conferences happening in the near vicinity so as to have your conference papers published as you progress with your research.
Short article is written by Prof (Eng.) Christopher Maina, a professor of electrical engineering at Murang’a University of Technology and a compassionate scholar. He is reachable on cmainamuriithi@gmail.com as well as info@dochsustainablesolutions.co.ke