New Feature: change the order of the columns

From now on you are able to change the order of the columns in Tom's Planner. Just right-click on the text of the columns and choose the option 'move column to right or left'.

We are upgrading the column functionality and you can expect new features in the upcoming weeks.

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Planning your Dissertation Part 5: 'Dissertation Methods' by Roy Horn

Choosing a method to investigate your dissertation area is exciting, engaging and fun. It seems like, finally, you are making progress. In this euphoria of motivation the necessary critical elements can be forgotten.

The Methodology Section
It is important to write a section in your dissertation that deals with methodology. Methodology can be usefully thought of as an organised critical discussion of the principles and methods of a subject area. Principles can be regarded as the underlying philosophy of the research. Methods and practices of a discipline must be discussed, critiqued and evaluated. All dissertations should have a section that sets out these underlying philosophical principles and should develop a critical discussion of appropriate methods.

Quantitative or Qualitative
As soon as your start this discussion you will have to address the most fundamental of decisions: will your research be quantitative or qualitative? In broad terms, that often soon become a smudged distinction, if you are collecting data of how many things or how often things occur in a participant group you are doing a quantitative dissertation. If you are collecting less structured opinions, thoughts or behaviours in order to understand the meaning you are conducting a qualitative dissertation.

Many, many dissertations are conducted each year using quantitative survey methods. If you search Twitter with the word dissertation you will soon find many examples of on-line surveys. If is worth participating in some of these to understand the approach and how they can be structured.

SNAP and Survey Monkey provide free software and host your survey. There are many others! Don’t forget you can target the audience that takes your survey more effectively in a paper administered survey. However, on-line surveys have a distinct advantage in that the data entry is done by the participant and the analysis is done by the software. If you need more extensive analysis you can export the data into SPSS (survey analysis software) or a spreadsheet.

Interviews are normally classified as a qualitative method for gathering data. An interview tends to display the following attributes:

• It is exploratory in nature.
• It uses natural, existing, settings and contexts.
• It is interested in meanings, perceptions, understandings.
• The research focus is often on processes, not outputs.
• It uses induction for the analysis of data.
• It produces specific rather than generalised data.
• Research findings are specific to the context.

There are many variations and combinations of methods available that can create unique approaches to dissertation research. For more detail on methods and methodology check out my book Researching and Writing Dissertations (2009), Roy Horn, CIPD: London, pages 107:140.

Ethics
All dissertations must address the issue of ethics. It is important to consult your university regulations relating to the ethical standards of conducting research. These will be unique to the institution, but there are some general areas that must be considered.

The main aim of ethical standards and the issues highlighted here are that your research should DO NO HARM! It is preferable for your research to do some good. The methodology section must set out the detail and argument of an ethical case for your research. It must weigh up the potential good against the possible harm. There are special rules for carrying out research with children or those who are unable to give informed consent – if your research involves either of these groups, you must discuss it fully with your supervisor.

You must get the informed consent of each participant in the study. This need not be too arduous but you must provide clear information and give each participant the right to walk away! Potential participants have the right to a clear understanding of the research.

Research Information Sheets are often used that set out:

• the title of the study
• the purpose of the study
• why the participant was selected for the study
• a description of procedures, the purpose, the length of time required and how participants will be involved
• a statement of any likely inconveniences expected
• the possible risks to the participants and details of any support mechanisms
• the possible benefits to the participants and society
• details of any payments, prize draws, feedback from the study
• how confidentiality, anonymity and privacy will be maintained
• the right of participants to refuse to participate or to withdraw at any time for any reason
• contact details of the university ethics group, and the researcher
• details of the care, use and storage of the data collected from the study
• the signature of the researcher and the participant.

As you can see ethics is not to be taken lightly but these aspects are easily covered by a clear Research Information Sheet and by obtaining a signature of consent for each person.

Finally, use Tom’s Planner to develop the timescale of the dissertation. Tom’s planner is quick and easy to learn and use and will be crucial to the success of your dissertation. Conducting the data collection often spreads over a long period of time so it will be worth planning the various steps using Tom’s Planner.  See the link for an example of Tom’s Planner set up with the methodology actions highlighted.

In the last blog I will look at how to analyse the data you have collected.

Get a head start on your dissertation by using this template and start planning now! This schedule will save you lots of time and energy.

***

Roy Horn is an academic at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK and tutors dissertation students. He has written two books one on dissertations and one on skills.

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Project Planning & Web Design and Development

Every industry faces its own challenges when it comes to project planning. When you work in the web design and development trade a lot of people prefer agile project management, but we think that sooner or later you’ll need a list of aspects that need to be addressed. 

Are you working in the web design and development business, check out this very useful template we have created in collaboration with Woobzine.com to help you get started and organized. It is an extensive schedule that covers all aspects concerning the development of websites. From quote submission to content integration and marketing and SEO. It will help you keep projects on time (and hopefully on budget)! 

Because Tom's Planner lets you share schedules online and collaborate on them with a team, you have one project schedule that is always up to date, without it being a time consuming business. The ease of use of the tool will take you less time project planning and more time getting things done.

Do you have templates that help you be more productive and organized and you want to share them with others? Let us know and we will add them to our database and of course give you credit for them!

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Change your own login email address

Until recently you had to send us an email to change your login email address. Although we were happy to help you with this, it is much more convenient when you can do this yourself! Click the 'settings' link in top right corner of the tool to make the adjustments.

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New Features in the My Schedules Window

While we are working on the next large feature on the list, we've also added some new functions to the My Schedules window. You can now:

• Easily copy schedules with the new 'copy' button.
• 'Unsubscribe' when finished collaborating on a schedule.
• Bookmark individual schedules.
• Change the owner of a schedule.
• Change your email address

(click to enlarge)

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'Be More Productive' (part 3) Project Management Blog by Jason Womack

Before you plan, know what you don’t have to plan.

In my coaching work, I find a common denominator to low productivity, inefficiencies in the workplace and meetings being run ineffectively:



There’s too much to do, think about and manage at once. 

When you have that much on your mind at once, it is challenging to focus on the one thing that needs your attention at a time.

The Myth of Mulittasking
The myth of multitasking continues to get spread as an alternative to the issue many knowledge workers complain about: They don’t have enough time. So when others see us processing email while on a conference call, reading a book while watching the news, researching through a document while eating lunch are all acceptable behaviors at work, they figure we’re just that busy.

Your mind will re-mind you of things to work on, think about and remember throughout the day. Our mind seems to be on overdrive, more than just an Inbox collecting potentially new ideas, but also some kind of  'list manager' keeping track of as much as it can throughout the day, as we go to our meetings and as we try to focus on one 'high priority thing'.

For a couple of days, try an experiment. Before you’re about to focus on one thing (attend a meeting, read a document, work on a project), make a list of all that you don’t need to think about for the next ### minutes. If I could advise you, I'd say to take anywhere from 7-10 minutes, and make a list of at least 75 things that you would “prefer to think about later”. If you write (I recommend doing this by hand) fast, don’t censor, and commit to capturing anything, you’ll find that piece of paper fill up rather quickly.

The purpose of doing this activity is to let your mind know what you’re thinking about, that you won’t have to think about for a little while. It’s a great way to “Clear the Mechanism” (a great quote by Kevin Costner in one of his films a while back) and give you permission and the ability to focus on your most important thing.

A main reason we get pulled out of productivity is that there is just too darned much to focus on, remember and do at any given time.

Give yourself a gift, think about what you don’t have to think about… so you can think about that one you do need to focus on!



***
Human performance psychologist Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA provides an overview of highly effective workplace performance practices. As an author and executive coach, Jason works throughout the Americas and EMEA to improve workflow and efficiency, coaching senior management and providing sustainable workplace methodologies to front, mid, and back-office support staff.

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'Be More Productive' (part 2) Project Management Blog by Jason Womack

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far ... go together!

Once, while meeting clients at the Jack Welch Learning Center (Crotonville NY) I remember my colleague saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far go together.” It impacted me deeply and made me think about:

• Who I spend time with
• Who I need to spend time with and
• Who I should spend a little less time with.

Of course there is so much that we do during a typical day and often times it is faster if we 'just do it'. However, over time there may be some things that we need to practice delegating so that we can effectively train the people around us how to help us.

1. “Who’d like to help me on this?” 
Yes, it sounds simple, but it’s not simplistic! Do the people around you know what you're working on? I'm not just talking about work! I remember the first time in my professional life (14 years ago) that I wrote down every single significant aspect of work that I was managing during that year. I was a high school teacher at a time and I had a fairly objective set of work projects to oversee but on that list there were 137 items!

I showed that list to my wife; her first response was, “Jason, I had no idea you were managing that much!” Her second response floored me. She said: “How can I help you find ways to manage more of this in less time?” Since then I've made it a habit to show my list of 'Things I'm working On' to people I work with, trust and look up to. Sometimes they see things I've missed or even offer to help!

2. Send someone a request that is SMART. 
When it comes time to hand something off, it’s got to be SMART:  Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely. Start by delegating small and very specific actions/parts of projects.

Over the next week, practice on some small things. Pick a piece of the project, research, development or organization that you can ask someone to do for you.

3. Reinforcement is key.
Remember reinforcement is a key to teamwork and upleveling the support you can ask for and expect moving forward. Positive reinforcement, or as Ken Blanchard taught me: Catch them doing something right, goes a long way in going further, by going together. It’s important to keep track, especially if you have a multi-member team, or you’re the manager of the group, so that on occasion (weekly or monthly?) you can acknowledge the wins, in private or publicly.

Find ways to incorporate a 'Team Mentality' into the work you do, the projects you manage and the teams you work with. Go further…by going together.

***
Human performance psychologist Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA provides an overview of highly effective workplace performance practices. As an author and executive coach, Jason works throughout the Americas and EMEA to improve workflow and efficiency, coaching senior management and providing sustainable workplace methodologies to front, mid, and back-office support staff.

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Planning your Dissertation Part 4: 'Tackling the Literature' by Roy Horn

Most people writing a dissertation dread the Literature section. But, let me assure you there is no need to be frightened about the literature if you tackle it in a systematic and organised fashion. It is important to understand the vital importance of the literature to the successful completion of your dissertation. Your research can only exist in the context of what is already known – that means creating connections to what you want to do from the existing literature. It is not enough to list a lot of books and journals that have things similar to what you want to do. Along this route lies failure.

Successful literature reviews need to do several things:

• address the right literature
• describe it
• be critical of it
• apply it to your own situation
• evaluate how effective it will be in your research

What is significant about the actions set out above is that you must engage with the literature and do something with it – you need to synthesise a range of sources to create a ‘Driving’ theory for your research.

This diagram summarises what you are trying to achieve in creating something I call synthesised theory.

The attributes of synthesised theory are:

• It is relevant to the aims and objectives of the dissertation.
• It has been critically considered and regarded as good research, theory or data.
• It is selective – it only includes work directly related to the research.
• It is concise, from evaluation, using the best theory for the research study.
• It identifies and addresses gaps in the literature.
• It is comprehensive – it covers the important literature, while also being concise.
• It is well written and well argued.
• Is up to date in that it reviews the latest literature.


According to Rowley and Slack (2004) there are five steps in the creation of a literature review:

1 scanning the document sources
2 making notes
3 structuring the literature review
4 writing the literature review
5 building the bibliography.

These steps are a sound way to proceed. Diagrammatically I would present the process and the extent of the work in the following way:

                                      (Click the image to enlarge)

For more detail on Literature Reviews check out my book Researching and Writing Dissertations (2009), Roy Horn, CIPD: London, pages 88:106.

Finally, use Tom’s Planner to develop the timescale of the dissertation. Tom’s planner is quick and easy to learn and use and will be crucial to the success of your dissertation. The literature review often spreads over the whole period of your dissertation research so it will be worth planning the various steps using Tom’s Planner. Click here for an example of a Tom’s Planner set up with the literature review actions highlighted.

In the next blog I will look at what methods are available to carry out your research.

Get a head start on your dissertation by using this template and start planning now! This schedule will save you lots of time and energy.

***

Roy Horn is an academic at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK and tutors dissertation students. He has written two books one on dissertations and one on skills.

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