wwwlinkedin.com Developing Oneself into a Scholarly Researche: Novitiates : Some Tips for the Edit article 9-11 minutes Research is taxing, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, and in numerous other ways. To complete a research project in time, every now and then one needs to make trade-offs in some area or another. The reflections I scribble below come largely from my own experiences. I do not claim myself to be anywhere close to being an accomplished researcher; yet, I happen to do a significant amount of self-talk on how I conduct research. In fact, I find the artistic pleasure of a unique kind in thinking about it. [ have learned several things the hard way, routinely by trial and error method. I wish if I had spent more time listening to other more seasoned researchers, than learning from my own failures. Visualize Success, Positively! Research is a voyage through uncharted waters and reassuring yourself that you could reach the shores at the other side while charting the navigation routes and also inventorying the key objects on the way is very important. Negative thoughts can make you not begin the or turn back after a few strokes; worse, negative feelings that surface after you have sufficiently left the shores could sink you to a deep emotional abyss. Think like a loser and you're guaranteed to end up becoming one! That said, visualizing success should not mean imagining premeditated outcomes. That would result in biases of various sorts and be the antithesis of valid research. The idea is to reassure yourself that research is worthy on its own merit and no matter whether or not you arrive at a useful finding, just being part of the process itself is rewarding, Constantly talk this to yourself and live by it. Chart the Course before Undertaking the Journey! These days, we depend a lot on Google maps for navigation. The turn by turn directions the software provides have made our journeys so much more comfortable. O yes, and also those warnings about acciclents and cops hiding ahead! We can’t be wandering vagabonds in our roles as researchers. In many situations, established methodological processes and tools could be re-used without any adaptation. Just set the destination on the map! The challenges come when re-tooling is needed, due to the novelty of our research problem or context, Anticipate this need and invest in mastering the use of methodologies and analytical tools. This has an added advantage: it could help you choose the most optimal methodology before the start of the study, rather than making several detours later.While there are several paths to reach a destination, it may be better to choose one that has less toll roads, less traffic, highest speed limits, shortest duration, etc, Of course, you could manage just the big picture of doing research and outsource the rest to specialists — if you could financially afford it (it may be unethical for a research student to do this)! The Network Advantage! Start reading widely on the research topical area, not just scholarly manuscripts but also related news that appear in the popular press. Try to join conversations with others working on similar topics. Find e-groups and other virtual forums to engage in conversations. Then, slowly funnel down the readings and interactions to narrower yet better-defined areas. Be in the network of happenings in your research area, of significant people and ideas. May be someone has already done the work and you would not need to repeat it! Maybe someone in the network could mentor you while you are faced with a roadblock during your investigation! Maybe there is a new software tool that could make your data collection automated or your analysis easier! Maybe you could find there a wonderful collaborator and co-author for your research! Draw a Timeline and Aim to Follow it Make a timeline with significant anticipated milestones. Read some introductory articles on project management, particularly on sequencing activities. My previous education as an engineering student gave me hands-on experience in using techniques such as PERT/CPM and I have found a way to use these in my project planning as a business researcher. Some of the activities could be carried out concurrently (e.g. literature review and preliminary open-ended interviews) while some need to wait until certain prerequisite activities are completed (e.g. data analysis in survey research should typically wait until data is gathered). In exploratory research situations, it is hard to pinpoint milestones or set them on a rigid timeline. It is still helpful to make an “f-then” sort of diagram, based on anticipated activities and intermediate outcomes. The ready availability of Plan Bs and Plan Cs in contingency situations will ease your mind if something does not work as planned originally. In all these, prioritize things! Buy in Consent from Significant Others in your Life Xanthippe, Socrates's wife, appears in a lot of stories around him. Her behavior has created a lot of struggles for him, although he succeeded quite a bit in ‘philosophizing away’ all those influences. Socrates was evidently reluctant to criticize his wife, despite when her behavior was abusive. He found opportunities to develop new ideas from those interactions More importantly, it meant this master philosopher chose not to join every battle on the way but set his focus on his greater goals.Now, this tip is useful not just in dealing with family members but also with your coworkers and those with whom you have competing time-resource commitments. Ensure significant others understand the importance for you (and them!) to do your research and co-create a plan with them to ensure that pre-existing commitments will not be neglected. The Often Talked about ‘Small Win Strategy'! Celebrate small successes, but at the same time not lose focus on the greater goals. Pat yourself in the back, even when alittle progress is achieved. This should not be overdone because progress in research does not happen in small linear increments. It takes a lot of simmering and occasional de-focusing for ideas to brew behind the scenes of your conscious mind before they become the results of your study. Don't defer your gratification until everything becomes perfect! ‘And, finally, when the end comes, you may not have found the holy grail of that flawless truth. Let it not disappoint you - ask yourself if you made progress. Maybe you have figured out a ‘workable model’, albeit imperfect, that is a step closer to the perfect answer to your research problem Make it Available Widely to Avoid Theft! I know this is counter-intuitive, Roughly ten years ago, I found a great deal of content from one of my ongoing research projects published as an article in a journal by someone else. When I complained to the journal editor, Iwas asked to show some time-stamped and independently verifiable evidence that I did this work before it was submitted by the other person to the journal. Since then, I made it a point to publish my work-in-progress on sites such as ResearchGate, Academia, SSRN, or on my university's official repository. A smart method I recommend is to create a ‘project’ on ResearchGate, to begin with. This will also potentially attract other like-minded researchers to follow your progress. It is questionable how many people read even those research papers that get finally published in top tier journals; based on my personal experience, T would say that a lot more people read your works in progress hosted on these social media sites. The Neglected Aspect of Physical Comfort Ahealthy mind resides in a healthy body. A healthy body together with a pleasant, clean, uncluttered, work environment makes a lot of difference in organizing our minds to pursue our research objectives. It worked for me wonderfully when I occasionally left my table and electronic gadgets for a nature walk and then came back to resume the research projects at hand. However, I must admit that creativity works differently in different individuals. Some researchers get more inspiration in cluttered and non-standard environments. Some love to go to the mountains, meditate alone, and work. Some would want the intoxication that a glass of wine offers, In any case, it is good to understand that we (should) have a life even after the lengthy research project at hand is complete.Keep your body and mind intact, at least for that scenario! Final Thoughts Researchers should not aspire to glory from the harvest. An uncountable number of scientists disappeared into the coldness of nothingness after doing those 99 failed experiments, without getting any praise - just because they were not lucky enough to complete that 100th ‘turning point’ experiment which would have brought in some radical new light into our understanding of the world. True joy for researchers should be in doing, in the journey; the outcome, the destination, is not always within our control.