How to- the gap

Hello, everyone and welcome to our MOOC on academic publishing by and for PhD students.

My name is Alexandre and we are going to talk about research design, and internal coherence.

We have come to the last sequence of the section. It is entitled before writing the paper.

We are now looking at bringing together all the elements previously talked about to see how they fit.

Each part of your research process has to be coherent in two regards. First, each part has to be coherent with one another.

Second, they all have to be coherent with the research question you raised and the problematic you built through your literature review and empirical context. In other words, you have to make sure that the type of results you provide i in which the comprehension of the research question you raised in the beginning of the paper.

This research question is a unifying thread of the paper and it justifies the research process. As you progress in your paper, you may have to go back and forth between the research question, the theoretical background and particle context and the methodology to adjust for coherence.

Although we are studying more form than content here, the research design has to be transparent and coherent in your final paper. When the paper is done, all the composing blocks from the abstract to the conclusion have to be organized in such a way that the reader can seamlessly go from one to the other.

There must be no logical mistake between each block. So, this design has to be clear and coherent before writing. In another section, we will spend more time on the different blocks composing an article.

What we’ll call a skeleton. To come back to our main subject and clarify the importance of the research design in your paper, let’s quickly do composite structure.

The structure is supposed to mirror the research process. It allow us to go from the last literary gap and the research question to the results, and contributions. Your research design embodies the linkage between the research question, the methodology and data as well as the results and theoretical contributions.

Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself to ensure your research design is coherent. First, is my problematic coherent with the literature strand I chose for theoretical anchorage? Second, is my methodology compatible with the problematic I established?

For instance, a case study may be adapted to create testable hypotheses and theories, but in no case to test them. Also, do I bring elements of answers only to the research question I raised?

If not, you have to get rid of them or rethink your research question. Finally, do I enrich the comprehension of the literature with the discussion of my results? The research design is also here to help you understand what may be superfluous in your paper.

If one item doesn’t serve or even hinder the global coherence of the paper, you have to change it or get rid of it. It is a way to ensure that you are focusing on what is at the core of your paper as the saying goes, one idea, one paper. To sum up, clearly describing your research design helps you ensure.

First, the relevance of the case and that can be field chosen for your problematic and research question. Second, the relevance and rigor of the methodology chosen.

Third, the quality and relevance of the data collected relative to the metallurgy. And finally, the internal and external coherence of all the blocks forming your article.

This is the last video of this section. Now is the time to go write the article itself. We will start next time by taking you through each of the arch composing of the article to understand how the plot coming together and how to structure your academic paper.

Thank you for watching.