Introduction
You are a Ph.D. student and about to start working on your dissertation, am I right? Ohh, it is great to hear that I am right. You must know that before starting a dissertation, you need to make a plan. This plan will explain how you will move forward with your research and what methods and procedures you will use. Making this plan is called a research strategy.
Every Ph.D. student needs to have a strategy before he begins working on a dissertation. It is necessary because it sets a direction for your research. Still, many students undermine the importance of research strategy and start working. This costs them dearly in their final assessment. Anyways, the important point is that students must know its importance. Keeping this in view, today’s article is all about making research strategies. So, let’s begin our discussion with the following question:
What is the research strategy in the dissertation?
A dissertation is lengthy and hectic work. Jumping onto this work without making a strategy can cost you heavily. Therefore, you must have a research strategy in hand. Now, you must be thinking about what a strategy is. A research strategy is a step-by-step plan that gives directions to the researcher. This strategy enables the researcher to conduct the research systemically and on schedule. In order to set your strategy, you will need to;
- Consider the route you are going to follow
- Research relevant methods of research in that route
- Address practical requirements of the research
If you are unable to cover the above points, you can hire dissertation writing services UK from a well reputed company.
What should a research strategy include?
After reading the information above, you know what a research strategy is. Now, it is time to know what this strategy includes. The research paradigm, research design, research method, and sampling strategy are the primary components of a research strategy. Every strategy made to research a topic must include an explanation of these components. A brief description of these components is as follows;
- Research paradigm. It is a set of beliefs that guides the researcher on how to perform the research.
- Research design. It involves selecting the approach of research. It could be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method based on your research type.
- Research method. This component explains the potential methods needed to carry out the research. The methods depend on the research paradigm and type.
- Sampling strategy. In this component of the research strategy, the researcher specifies the population, sample size, and other sampling-related issues.
What do I need to know before starting a dissertation?
Writing a dissertation is a very difficult task. You have to take care of many things. A brief description of the things that you need to know before starting a dissertation is as follows;
Topic of dissertation
Knowing the topic of the dissertation is of utmost importance. Knowing the topic does not mean that you know what your topic is. It means what your topic is about and what you will have to do to research on it. Also, make sure that the topic is relevant and specific to your field of study.
Research methods
You need to understand the common methods used in your field to conduct research. It is a very healthy practice, and it will help you craft a good research strategy as well. You must remember that you can only apply the methods effectively in your research if you know about them. Therefore, you must have an idea of the most used research methods in your field.
Past knowledge of your field
Having an idea of past knowledge is very important for research. It lets you identify the research gaps and sets a direction for you. When you know those gaps, you will work directly to fill those gaps. Therefore, you must read dozens of past articles published in your research area.
Dissertation guidelines of the university
It is the most important thing that you must know before starting a dissertation. Your research strategy should also revolve around the university guidelines. The university guidelines tell you about the deadline, referencing, and dissertation formatting.
Your skills
Knowing about your skills is the most important thing. It is necessary because a dissertation can only be completed on time if the researcher has strong skills. The skills that a dissertation requires are writing and research skills. Therefore, you must know about your skills before starting a dissertation.
What are the 4 research strategies?
Knowing about the research strategies when making a research strategy is very important. It is necessary because you cannot complete your dissertation on time without knowing those strategies. Hence, a brief description of four strategies is as follows;
Case study
The researcher focuses mainly on an in-depth investigation of a single case in this strategy. The researchers seek information from different sources. They also use techniques like observations, surveys, and interviews to collect the information.
Qualitative interviews
The second strategy is qualitative interviews. The researcher collects the information by conducting the interviews. The interviews can be structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. This research strategy requires extensive planning to develop the questions relevant to your research.
Quantitative survey
A survey is the most widely used strategy to collect information for research. The researchers use this method when they need to collect data from a large number of participants. They formulate the questions based on the research questions and send them to the participants. The respondents, upon receiving, respond to the questions based on their thinking.
Action-oriented research
Action-oriented research brings together theory and practice. This research is done by collaborating with community partners. This research strategy is very challenging to approach. It is because there could be some change that is not achievable in practice.
Conclusion
To summarise, a dissertation is a lengthy piece of writing. It is not easy to work on this document without having prior knowledge about it. Also, you need to have a proper research strategy at hand to complete it on time. Therefore, the research strategies mentioned above can help you a lot in writing a dissertation.
