![]() ![]() ![]() If you care deeply about the project, then it is more likely that most days will less like work, that cracking new books open on correlations will not bother you much, as you feel driven forward. On the other hand, passion goes a long way. If you need to read a ton, if you need to take more courses, or if you feel somewhat insecure, then perhaps you are selecting the wrong project. It is worthwhile thus to take one skill set in consideration in selecting a research project and, more precisely, research questions. This is somewhat puzzling, as taking courses does not ensure mastery, and it also suggests that the interest in statistics might be fairly recent. I hear fellow students sometimes mention how they would like to pursue a mixed method research design, in part because they’ve taken statistics courses. Simply put, do you care about your project and do you have the skills to pull it off successfully. Personal Coherence: Passion and Skill Set ![]() By considering carefully these four dimensions of your research project, you are less likely to find yourself in a difficult position once the project is half done. I think that’s to be expected and a good thing. As one dimension proves lacking, it will send you back to the other dimensions and force you to revise your project. For example, you might have a great project about which you care greatly, yet proves difficult to pull out, let alone in three years. In reflecting on your research project and hammering it on your keyboard, you will likely move in circles through those four dimensions. A good enough project should balance those four dimensions. The first two are personal dimensions of your project’s coherence, while the last two are external dimensions. In thinking of your PhD research project, or any project bounded in time, you should consider four dimensions: passion, skill set, feasibility, and zeitgeist. You are still pursuing your Big Question, but over your career, and at this moment, you are advancing through a specific, bounded, feasible research project. Marking the difference between big and smaller questions helps, because it allows you to let go of the big research questions, as you relocate them within your research trajectory or agenda. Yet, small questions are the baby steps necessary to answer big questions. Ok, I might be exaggerating, but the point remains, big questions are interesting, more interesting than small questions. You have seven research questions that would each require seven professors to devote seven lifetimes towards scratching their surfaces. It helps to distinguish between the two because we often wish to answer big questions in our thesis, but then the PhD is no longer feasible. Your PhD is a research project, albeit a big one. In other words, trajectories and agendas are about answering Big Questions that take a lifetime or more to tackle, while research projects tackle precise research questions and have a short duration. A research trajectory is the path traced by complementary research projects. Together, multiple research projects trace a research trajectory. Projects are bounded research efforts, clearly defined as having a start and an end. ![]() Projects and trajectories, or agendas, are different beasts, and distinguishing between the two, explicitly, and early on in the definition of your research project can help you moving forward more quickly. (A previous discussion of of the pieces of a research trajectory can be found here.) Research Projects and Research Trajectories (or Research Agendas) Today, I would like to discuss the notion of personal and external coherence of a research project and a research trajectory. I find myself thinking more and more about research trajectories, in particular in the specific context of PhD studies. ![]()
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