Tara Brabazon podcast

Research is difficult. It can be a pleasure, but the point of research is to challenge ourselves and challenge the limits of knowledge to discover something new. Tara concludes her 10 microlectures by discussing how to succeed in research and value the experience.

A rather depressing title to this podcast, but it is important to acknowledge the characteristics of poor research projects that may fail. Tara discusses the signs of research flaws, problems and issues and how students can correct these before submission.

When the research, writing and editing cycles are complete, students - quite rightly - feel that it is time to relax. However the key moment is still in front of them. Preparing the document for submission is crucial to a successful examination. Tara provides a checklist for students to deploy, to ensure that the examiner receives a high quality submission, rather than a document that does not present a student's work at its best.

The relief is real when the first draft of a research project is completed. However the marks - and the high grades - are given to the best edited and drafted documents. Polish creates excellence. Tara explores this difficult, time consuming and stressful stage of a research project, showing what examiners are looking for and how - and where - the marks are carried on a dissertatation.

Too often the phrase 'writing up' is used as a self evident and self explanatory phrase in research projects. Yet writing, researching and thinking are tethered in complex and intricate ways. Tara explores the writing 'stage' in research and shows that it is not a 'stage' at all, but a continual cycle of reflection through scholarship.

The online environment has opened incredible opportunities to research students. Yet how is this plurality of information and platform managed in current research projects? Tara explains - from the perspective of a supervisor and examiner - what is expected from a research bibliography in the 2010s.

Practice-led and creative-led theses and research projects have grown in popularity over the last twenty years. Often formed from an artefact and exegesis, they are not without controversy or challenge, particularly when passing through a process of examination. Tara evaluates the risk and potential of this special mode of research.

Along with research methods, the literature review is a constant - if dull - attendant to any programme of research. Yet literature reviews are not only done poorly, but are often pointless and obliquely connected to the research question or thesis statement. Tara ensures that the focus of the literature review is clear and frames the research effectively and carefully.

Teaching (and learning about) research methods is often the dullest of topics and courses. Yet methods are important, but perhaps not in the way in which they are conventionally taught. Tara talks about why methods matter, but why they must be at the service of theory.

The phrase "doing research" does not capture the complex stages and milestones between finding an idea and submitting a thesis or major assignment. Tara talks through the stages of a research project, understanding how and why examiners give high marks to some students and remove marks from others.