1. Experiences of a PhD candidate and author of journal articles Stephen Wilkins

2. The topic and research question(s) Your interests Need for the research Gap in the literature Accessibility to data Likely outcomes

3. Read for inspiration and information Academic journals Practitioner journals and newspapers Books Web resources Research publications Institutional publications

4. Failure to plan is planning to fail Suitable research question(s)? Inductive or deductive? Type of data to be used Use of theory Analysis of data Possible findings

5. Common problems with literature search Knowing the appropriate journals for your topic Access to journals The “grey” literature Knowing about other resources International searches and language issues

6. Primary research Own organisation, or not? Gaining access to data and respondents Planning the data collection The Pre-Study – a trial run

7. Obtaining data Contingency planning is useful Time planning and management Careful storage and manipulation of data

8. Data analysis Approach to data analysis (suitability for audience) Appropriate methods – SPSS/PASW (Predictive Analytics SoftWare), NVivo Is your research question(s) answered? Recognise your limitations and weaknesses

9. Resources I have used Journal of Studies in International Education Research in International Education Globalisation, Societies, Education Compare / Comparative Review Education, Business, Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues Learning & Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives (Zayed U) International Higher Education (Boston College CIHE) Comparative & International Higher Education (newsletter of HE SIG, Comparative and International Education Society) Sage Handbook of Research on International Education Insidehighered.com / globalhighered.org The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education OECD publications International and comparative: education websites (IoE library guide)