Research Matters(Thesis in Social Sciences and Humanities)

Sajjad HaiderFieldwork SupervisorDepartment of AnthropologyQuaid-i-Azam UniversityIslamabad0092-51-9064-3190

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Sequence

• Phases in Research

Before FieldworkFieldworkAfter Fieldwork

Before Fieldwork

• Selection of Topic• Selection of Supervisor• Selection of Locale ( Anthropologist, Sociologists, Social Work,

Development Studies, Economics etc)

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

• Confusion is Blessing: Congratulations if you are confused; it means that you have a curious mind. Avail this frustration and rewarding mental-stress for Brain-storming.

• Look for the relevant friends with whom you can talk on this subject.

(Class fellows, Seniors, Professionals, Organizations, Teachers/ Supervisors )

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

SOCIAL NETWORKING for Academic Purposes with Like-minded people

• Make a contact list of friends and find them on internet.

(Facebook Friends and Pages/ Groups, Academia, Researchgate, Linkedin, twitter, wordpress, Google Plus, yahoo groups, blogspot, skype, can also help you if you can manage time and interaction with your virtual friends . You may find a novel idea of research from a friend. Also someone’s research interests aspire you to )

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

• SOCIAL NETWORKING for Academic Purposes• Learn the Art of Correspondence;• (write a good Email, SMS and Formal Telephone Call, Skype,

Web Chat ) • 7Cs of effective Communication (1)Clear (2) Concise (3) Correct (4) Concrete (5)Complete (6)

Coherent (7)Courteous• Also follow the formal procedure of appointment before

meeting a senior and inform him/her about the purpose of the meeting. Always go with a note book and pen to take notes. It is advisable to meet a mentor with some preliminary work and request for comments. Seek advice on literature on the topic.

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

• BRAIN STORMING • Sources of Inspirations• Course work, Class Lectures and Discussions,

Books, Readings, Blogs, Journal Articles, Library, e-books, Thesis Catalogue/ Abstracts, Research Institutions / Organizations News Letters, Reports, International University Programs, Research Clusters, Faculty and Professional’s Academic Profiles, Electronic and Print Media

• SOCIETY

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

• Note down all Raw Ideas, Random Thoughts, Suggestions in a note book that you may call IDEAS-BANK. (Keep on depositing new thoughts :)

• Articulate your Ideas • Narrow Down and Trim Additional Information• Remember that your topic is on the top of a pyramid

and rest all ideas are there to reach there. Variety of ideas are helpful but you need to be focused and avoid distraction.

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

• Articulation of Ideas• Identify your Aptitude• Broader Areas of Specialization within the core

discipline (For example, Anthropology of Globalization)

• Identify Themes / Your interests in the broader thematic areas ( Media and Globalization)

• What, Why , When, Why, How? Can help you in narrowing down your focus.

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Topic

• Tentative Titles• Most of the researchers waste their time in

phrasing the title at the beginning. At this stage you need only a functional title ( Area of investigation) that you will refine gradually after your discussions with your potential supervisor (s).

• Discuss the topic (s) with your supervisor and start developing research proposal for your thesis.

Before Fieldwork: Research Proposal

• Research Proposal is critical important for your thesis. Invest time in it and be thankful if your supervisor warns you and mark it red. Learn from your mistakes and develop as many drafts as you can as it’s the foundation of your thesis.

• A good PhD research proposal takes up to one year. M. Phil and Master’s research proposals take up to six months.

• Start working on different elements of your research proposal during your course work and during vocations especially review of relevant literature.

Before Fieldwork: Research Proposal

• A quality research proposal should cover the following;• Introduction / Background Information• Objectives of the Study/ Research Question (s)/

Hypothesis• Review of Literature/ Theoretical Framework• Research Methodology and Tools of Data Collection• Locale (s) and Sampling• Significance of the Study• * Different programs and institutions may require

additional information like timeline, budgeting etc. Please follow the guideline of your institution or department.

Before Fieldwork: Review of Literature

• Review of Literature • Libraries ( Please come out of your comfort zone

and be willing to travel to at least a few public libraries within your city. Enjoy this traveling and interaction with different people there. )

• Online friends/ Research Groups are very helpful in finding articles, e-books and other resources. Avail your social networking skills for finding academic resources.

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Supervisor

• Try to know the research interests of the your proposed supervisor (s)

• You can find it from his/her CV, Online Public profile on university website, etc

• See his/her Publications , Projects, Courses•

Before Fieldwork: Selection of Locale

• For anthropological and sociological studies locale is very important.

• Some topics are locale-specific and the data is dependent upon the geographical position so give it due considerations.

• It is mostly exciting to do fieldwork in a new culture but not always.

(2)FIELDWORK

• Fieldwork is often a requirement to most of the discipline. For anthropology it is a primary requisite. The information in coming slides will be primarily addressing the needs of anthropologists, others may also find them helpful.

Fieldwork Preparation

• Fieldwork Preparation• Physical and Mental Preparation• Get basic information about the weather, culture and

people of your proposed locale. It will help you prepare your luggage and to manage your budget for traveling and stay there. Also take information on health and other basic facilities that you will require for your short or long term stay in the field. Since the anthropologists have to stay for long time so they should be more careful on it. They should learn the language of natives or to manage some interpreter/ translator.

• Be excited for the fieldwork instead taking it as a burden.

Fieldwork Preparation

• Travel Luggage / Bags / Dress and Shoes according to weather

• Stationary• Camera and other technical gadget/

batteries/chargers/ mobile phones• Transportation/ Routes / Timings / Important

places/ Bus Stops/ Some Contacts • Food and Water

Fieldwork: Landing in Locale of Research

• I suggest that if the students of other disciplines may also follow the field adaptation techniques from anthropology then it will help them too in collecting in-depth data.

• Adaptation and Going-native for participant observation to acquire an emic or indigenous perspective.

• Personal Interpersonal and Communication Skills • Friendly Behavior / Rapport Building• Research Ethics/ Respect local culture and traditions • Respect the schedules and routines of the people and

adjust your appointments according to their comfort. Do not impose your presence or interest upon them.

Fieldwork: Data Collection

• Use different tools of data collection according to the situation you are in. These can be different than those you have mentioned in your research proposal.

• Validate the information• FGDs, In-depth interview, Questionnaire, Census

form• Audio-visual documentation follow the research

ethics and take the permissions

(3) After Fieldwork: Saving Data

• Save your field data at different places to avoid any loss.

• Digital data is more prone to damage. So save it at different disks and inboxes , online data storage like dropbox, google drive, mail inbox, clouds etc.

• Keep photocopy or scanned images of the data on papers

• Immediately feed the quantitative entries in the software you will be using for data analysis.

(3) After Fieldwork: Data Analysis and Writing

• Analyze the data with frequent discussions with your supervisor. It is the time where you will need his/her mentoring.

• Always meet your supervisor with an appointment and with something to comment on in written form.

• Note down the guidance and incorporate it into your research.

• Use the data analysis software with great care and get command on its usage before analyzing the data.

• Don’t repeat the mistakes

(3) After Fieldwork: Data Analysis and Writing

• Outline your thesis and its chapters according to your objectives of the research

• Outline the headings and sub-headings with chapters

• Insert tables, graphs, Pictures wit captions• DEVELOP MASTER LIST OF CITATION IN MS.

WORDS (2007 VERSION & ONWARD)

(3) After Fieldwork: Data Analysis and Writing

• Develop first draft of the thesis / chapters• Correct and re-write it after supervisor’s

suggestions and develop the second draft and the third draft

• You may get help of competent editor for correction of grammatical mistakes. (Learn “Writing Process” to improve your writing skills.

For Queries Sajjad HaiderFieldwork SupervisorDepartment of AnthropologyQuaid-i-Azam UniversityIslamabad0092-51-9064-3190

sajjadhaider786@gmail.comFacebook.com/sajjadhaider786Slideshare.net/sajjadhaider786

Plus.google.com/SajjadHaider786(Search Tags)

“Urging People To Excel”#upte, #UrgingPeopleToExcel, #Anthropologyqau