Alina Lojo

Hi,

I have done it! Today, I am a proud owner of a successfully completed research paper.  I submitted my research report to EHU last monday, 12/09/2011.  I went to LINC building around morning 10:30 on the belief that I will finish my printing and spiral binding by noon. To my great dismay, at noon I was still struggling with my bindings. Gosh! The tough part was formatting the document before printing.

We were asked to number the document pages in two different formats. The first few pages that includes front page, acknowledgement, Table of content and abstract must be of the type (i). (ii), (iii) …. and from the Introduction part onwards it should start with ordinary numbers 1, 2, 3…

Guys, you must be now thinking ‘big deal! That is easy’. Well, even I had the same thought until I started doing it. If you don’t believe me just try out yourselves. It can sound silly to those few who are really good users of Ms Word. As I dont fall in that catagory of experts, I did find it difficult initially.

It is not a difficult task really. Once you know the technique of doing it, it is easy Now I can do it within 2 minutes. But yesterday it took me more than half an hour to get it done. The technique is very simple. All you have to do is divide the document into 2 sections by clicking at the ‘next page’ option under the ‘break’ option of the ‘page layout’ menu on the menu bar of your word document. Before doing that remember to place the cursor on the page just before the page you want the next section to start. For example, if you want a second section to begin from page number 5 and start page numbering from 1, then place the cursor on page number 4 before dividing the document into two sections. Once you have divided the document in this way, you can format header, footer, or page
number differently in each section.  That is it…simple isn’t it. Try it out.

See you later.

Alina…

Last time we were talking about different types of Research designs seen in the existing literatures. Dissertation outcome depends on the choice of the design you make and the design choice depends on your research problem. And a research problem should be chosen  from a topic of your interest

When you think of a topic or an issue to research, then that issue or problem should be of your choice. A problem or phenomena which you are interested in. Else you will end up with a bad outcome.

You can Google search for various dissertation topic to get a general idea. Choose the one which you think you can do. Think of the target population which can be included for your study. Are they easily accessible?
Always take a note of the time limit. As an MBA student , we are given hardly 4
months duration for our research. I must say it is far too little to conduct a
really good and useful research. Therefore,  before choosing a topic do a little bit of
planning taking into consideration your interest, time and research population.
Don’t simply assume that you can make lots of reliable and valid data within a months’
time. It may not be possible depending on your research population. All I want
to say is   plan well before undertaking  a research. Talk to your mentor. Take his/her advice frequently.

Alina…

My last few days went in analysing the data collected in my study.  My research is using a Mixed Method Methods Research design. Didn’t understand what I am saying right? Ok. Let me tell you. I am sure it will help you in your dissertations.

In our dissertation, we are supposed to select a research design. Meaning, a design that tell you how to collect your data, what types of data can be included, how to analyse this data and how to present the findings. Data can be quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative means numerical data collected from questionnaire surveys and quantitative means text, images etc made from interviews, observations etc.

My study is using Mixed methods designs which means I can use both types of data in a single research. There are mono-method designs where only one method, either a quantitave method or a qualitative method, can be used in a single study.

The reason behind using a mixed method study is the benefits it derive from the combined strengths of both the methods and thereby reducing the limits of either methods when used alone in a research.  It gives the researcher the flexibility to focus on the research question and use as many methods as the study require in getting a complete picture of the research problem which is not possible in mono-method studies.

However, since it involves both types of data, data collection and analysis is time consuming as the researcher has to collect and analyse not one but both types of data.

Guys, I am now at the analysis stage and the clock is ticking fast. The deadline is September 12^th. Let me hurry up. See you later..

Alina….

Hi guys,

How are you? Last week kept me busy with my placement. As I have already mentioned in  one of my previous blog, I am supposed to develop a web interface to the employees of WLPL so that they can access their database by logging in to their site. I am doing my project using Dreamweaver. I haven’t used this software before. I used to do direct
coding using HTML and PHP.

Hey friend, if you have a flavour in programming then you may agree with me when I say that it is a boring and cumbersome task to write HTML codes. PHP coding is Ok but HTML is just not for me. Therefore, I downloaded a 30 days trial version of Dreamweaver CS5.5.  Dreamweaver is a software which helps you  create static as well as dynamic web pages using HTML and PHP. It is only one among the many facilities provided by dreamweaver.

Well, downloading went fine but how do I use it? I have to learn to use this software before I start my work.  When we don’t know something then where do we look for  guys? Yes.. the word is “Google it”

This excellent search engine gives you as many solutions as possible for your queries in no time. With little bit of research using Google, I soon learned how to use Dreamweaver for
coding. I started my project and could finish more than 50% of my work within a week. A great achievement which I couldn’t have achieved without Dreamweaver.

It is an excellent piece of software making your task so easy and simple. Very user friendly too..

I will continue my discussion in my next blog.  See you soon.

Alina ..

Hello everybody!!

My days here in the University are numbered now. I have to soon leave this beautiful place. September 17^th is the deadline. I sort of got attached to this place. It will be very hard on me. Anyways, that is life isn’t guys. So let me look at the positive side of it. I can always come back and visit this place and the good people here when ever my heart wants it

My next plan is to move to Manchester, a new place with new people.

Last couple of weeks I was busy with my data collection for my research and to my surprise I enjoyed the whole thing. It is exciting guys and it also helped me to learn a lot. Going around places and interviewing research participants, recording the whole conversation, later hearing it in my room and wondering is that me who is interviewing? Believe me, it is a lot fun guys.

I am now done with my literature review writings and have proceeded to next stage of writing my research methodology. Reading, reading and reading.. Oh! Am I being a little hard on myself?  I try to console myself saying come on girl, only few more days and then you can enjoy life eating, sleeping and going around..   That thought does wonders and it actually keeps me going…

I have to submit my dissertation by September 12. Just a couple of weeks left. So have to rush now. See you later guys.

Alina …

Hi!

I had a very busy week. I am just waiting for my dissertation to finish. One more month and I can be free. Last week I had been to Liverpool to interview two of my research participants. I had to go to places where I have never been before. Though I had taken a printout of the directions with me, I was little confused. Guys, you can be sure of one thing here. You will never get lost if you don’t know your way. If you are confused as to which way next, ask someone and you will be surprised to see the extent to which they go in helping you

My research is on the use of commercially available accounting packages among very small businesses. Research population includes accountants and small business owner/managers and I have chosen North West as my research area. As my research method includes interview, I had to interview few accountants and business owners. Initially, I was uncertain of the support I may get from my research population. To my surprise, I am getting a great deal of support and cooperation. They are all  willing to spent some time with me discussing my research topic. I must say that people over here are very nice and helpful. No exaggerations guys. I do mean it. Many of my international friends who are reading my blog now may have had similar experiences. Am I right?

Ok then friends. See you later.

Bye for now. TC

Alina..

Hi everybody,

 I am back again with lots of stuff to share with you. As I already mentioned in my last blog that I am heading towards my data collection stage of my research, I could do some good bit of research work  last week.  I interviewed few people related to my research topic. I must confess that I was a little nervous in the beginning but found myself enjoying every bit of it soon. I recorded my interviews with the permission of the interviewees and heard it twice or more at the leisure of my room trying to understand and analyse each and every statements said. This helped me to find out new research questions to be asked later to the next interviewees and also to correct my style of interviewing in many ways.

 So far, things are going smoothly but time is also running very fast guys and I have lots to do. I am now half way creating a survey which hopefully I will finish by tomorrow and can post it. Hope I get good responses for my survey and also SOON. I have to finish my data collection latest by the middle of next month. Good Lord, I do hope I can make it.

 Just one more month to go and September comes with the bell ringing loud alerting us to be ready with the final submission. Scary, isn’t it. In just one month’s time I have to finish my data collection, analyse this data and start writing the finding of my research, a full 10,000 words.

 Well, plan your dissertations well ahead guys if you want to prevent yourselves from a break down. I am expecting one any time. If  lucky, I will see you guys soon.

 Bye for now. Take Care.

 Alina…..

Hi everybody,

I am back again after a long gap. Was little busy with my research work. I finished my literature review and the research methodology section of my dissertation. Now I am breaking my head trying to collect data from my research population. Man, it’s not easy. My data collection includes face-to-face interviews and last week I was hunting for the right people. Finally I could manage to convince three of them and I will be taking their interviews tomorrow. Hope I don’t mess up the whole thing. Oh! Do wish me all the best.

It is essential to provide proofs of all our data collection activities involved in our research. Therefore, I have borrowed a recording device from the LINC building to record my interview tomorrow and am also ready with my questionnaires.

If everything goes well, you can expect me soon with the details of my data collection (interview) experience.

Hey, you all must me knowing that this is the graduation week for Edge Hill undergrads. If you are interested in watching it you can go to edgehill site and watch it live. Have fun..

Take care..

Alina….

Hello!

It’s a bright morning and I am sitting with my blog. Hmmm..  feeling home sick. Want to visit my family. It’s a long time now being away from them. I am planning to visit my dear ones as soon as I submit my dissertation this September. I come from India, Kerala to be precise. Have you guys ever been there? It’s a beautiful place with coconut trees, rivers, ponds, beautiful birds, flowers.. Wow!

If you happen to visit India, try to visit Kerala. You will love it. If you are interested in watching beautifully designed huge bungalows then do visit Kerala. You will get lots to see. The people in my place have a craze in building huge and beautiful houses. They don’t mind spending fortune on it. Well, though personally am not very supportive to this very idea, it do help in adding up to the beauty of the place.

Let me come back to UK. Guys, how do you find it here? I find the weather here very naughty. Agree? In my place, we have perfect timings for summer, winter and rain. We get very heavy rain falls. Sometimes it just rains for days and summers are very very hot. Winter is always a warm winter except at night when it becomes a bit cooler.

Here June, July, August is supposed to be summer. Have you ever heard of rain in summer? I experienced it here. Strange isn’t it? However, I started loving this place with its ‘flexible’ weather, especially during spring and summer. You guys will also love it.

See you guys next week … Hey, have you registered yourselves with a GP here? If not please do it. See you then..Take Care

Alina…

Hello Guys,

Today I would like to continue with the topic I had started in some of my previous blogs regarding different ways of collecting information sources for your assignments. I had already talked on how to search for books by logging in to your University ID and also on how to reference these books in your assignments. Let us now deal with journal referencing. I bet, most of you will be using journals more than books in your works. However, one should be careful of the credibility of journals. So access them from good databases.

A few tips on how to access on-line journal articles for all of my friends reading my blog now.

First of all as usual you must log on to your Edge hill web site using your user-id and password. Then click at the ‘Library’ option from the Menu displayed. This will lead you to the library catalogue screen where you enter ‘Business Source Premier’ in the text box seen below the title ‘Search the catalogue’. Then hit ‘Go’. This will lead you to a screen giving you a link saying ‘Business Source Premier’. On clicking this link you get another page.

Now here, click at the option ‘Choose Database’ and select all the related databases and click ‘OK’ which will bring you back to the previous screen shown above. In the text box, type the keywords that you would like to search and hit ‘Search’.

Alternatively if you already know the title of your journal article then type the title in the space. However, sometimes you may not be lucky enough to get a particular journal. In that case, instead of choosing Business source premier, choose another database base called ‘Emerald’ and continue your search. If still unlucky then go to www.sciencedirect.com and continue your search.

Again unlucky then think this grape is too sour for you.   I was only joking. You do have a choice.  If you want the article at any cost go straight to the library and give them the details of your journal article. They will get it for you. Of course they will charge for this service. I think it is 2 quid. Hope this helped.

See you soon

Alina …..