Managing your research and writing

Apart from monitoring institutional expectations and your working relationships, you also need to plan and execute your research and writing tasks in the long, medium and short term. This requires a high level of organisation and self-management.

Monitor your tasks

It’s important to maintain a long-term vision for your research project as a whole, as well as focusing on smaller tasks that shape your work in the present. Start by thinking about what the main stages of your graduate research course will be and how much time you will have for each stage. These will vary depending on your research context, but a full-time doctoral study typically takes three to four years and may be comprised of the following main tasks and milestones.

    • Reviewing the literature
    • Conducting a pilot/preliminary study
    • Clarifying your research question and aim
    • Establishing a research methodology
    • Preparing a confirmation report and presentation
    • Obtaining ethics approval
    • Completing required coursework.

    • Conducting your primary research, including fieldwork
    • Collecting and analysing data
    • Preparing a progress report and presentation.

    • Conducting supplementary research and/or fieldwork
    • Drawing main findings and conclusions
    • Preparing a completion report and presentation
    • Completing and refining your thesis draft
    • Submitting your thesis and responding to examiners’ reports.

Break tasks down

In the following activities, you will explore how you can break complex tasks down into a series of steps.

For each example task below:

1) Read the suggested steps for breaking down the task and consider how you would approach it. What would you do first? second? last?

2) Drag and drop the steps into the order that seems most logical to you.

3) Click 'submit' to check your answer.

Example 1: Break down the task of "forming a research question"

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Example 2: Break down the task of "Reviewing the literature"

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As part of this process, you may also feel the need to take supporting steps, such as taking a short course on reference management tools or consulting a librarian about your research.

Set SMART goals

When attaching a task to a specific timeframe, consider setting the task as a SMART goal. Make sure that it is:

S
Specific

Containing enough detail so you know what you’ll be working on

M
Measurable

Including the amount of work you aim to complete

A
Achievable

Reflecting a realistic expectation of what you can do

R
Relevant

Belonging to the current stage and scope of your research

T
Time-bound

Having a start and end time

Analyse an example SMART goal

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Identify ongoing tasks

If you plan to include publications in your thesis, these will also be included in your main tasks.

To support the completion of these tasks and enhance your career development, also plan how you can:

  • Organise technology to assist your work, for example:
    • a reference management program for your citations
    • a data analysis program for your primary data
  • Determine how to store and name your files to easily retrieve material
  • Participate in the research community, for example by:
    • attending faculty seminars and networking events
    • presenting at conferences
  • Ensure intellectual property protection for your work where applicable.

Use the side menu to go the next section: Managing your time, where we look at using time management tools to build a balanced routine.