2-minute tip #2: Relationship to texts

Undergraduate students often are simply expected to show they have understood what they have read. But at postgraduate level, you have to make your readings work for you.

2 minute tip #3: Direct and Indirect Quotes

This two-minute tip looks at how we can draw from the literature as a direct quote or change it into our own words. But which is better?

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Between Supervisor and Postgraduate

This resource consists of a short video in which postgraduates and supervisors answer five questions about the use of an MoU, and a template document of an MoU that can be adapted to suit individual contexts.

A Research Degree Toolkit

This interactive map provides extensive information on every stage of the research journey. Click your way around and find answers to common questions.

Clickable PowerPoint map

Advice for prospective postgraduate students

Postgraduate scholars discuss issues you should consider before you register.
Video: 9 minutes

Bringing the Humans into Humanities

Ethical considerations around the need for mutually respectful and beneficial engagement are discussed by reflecting on a case study by History PG scholars working with a variety of community members.
Video: 8 minutes

Career Development Resources

Planning for a career after postgraduate studies cannot wait until graduation. This short video discusses some of the ways in which PG scholars can plan for their future.
Video: 4 minutes

Challenges in Postgraduate Education

This series of videos emerges from the Enhancing Quality Postgraduate Education project, which brings together Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Research
Video: 4 minutes

Choosing the right journal

This video takes you through some of the considerations you need to bear in mind when choosing a journal for your academic publication.
Video: 5 minutes

Cohort Supervision: a creative approach to dealing with supervision challenges

This video looks at alternatives to the one-on-one supervision model. Three supervisors discuss the benefits of PG programmes.
Video: 6 minutes

Crafting an argument

This video looks at what ‘argument’ means in academic writing and how you can develop one.
Video: 4 minutes

Deciding to do a Doctoral Degree?

Advancement of research and innovations capacity is a basis upon which, sustainable socio-technological developments can be built. Increasing the number of doctoral graduates can improve this potential.

Deciding to do a Master’s Degree?

New information suggests that many students delay pursuing post graduate studies, due to lack of related insight on what is possible. This video captures plight of affected students, and offers illustrative guidance on key considerations.

Early Career Academics: Balancing work and thesis

Balancing work, families and studies is difficult. This short video helps young academics with this juggling act.
Video: 4 minutes

Ethical Research Supervision

Most discussions about ethics focus on the research design, but this short video by a very experienced supervisor looks at ethical matters within the supervisory relationship itself.
Video: 6 minutes

Finding the right programme & supervisor

Starting postgraduate studies can be daunting. This video looks at issues to take into account when selecting where and with whom to register.
Video: 6 minutes

Formative feedback (for supervisors)

Giving feedback on student writing is crucial in assisting them to develop academic writing practices, to find an authorial voice and to ensure a coherent argument. But many supervisors battle with how to do this.
Video: 6 minutes

Formatting your Thesis Part 1 – Headings

This screencast explains the role of headings in a postgraduate thesis, or extended length text, and shows viewers setp-by-step how to assign headings levels, and use these to create an automatic table of contents.

Formatting your Thesis Part 2 – Layouts and Breaks

This screencast explains the role of setting up a page layout template, and creating page and section breaks, in a postgraduate thesis, or extended length text. It then shows viewers step-by-step how to set up a template for a page layout, and how to assign page and section breaks.

Getting the feedback you need (for students)

Getting feedback from your supervisor that can help you to progress can be a challenge. This video offers some advice on how to get the feedback you need and how to use it constructively.
Video: 5 minutes

Guidelines for writing funding proposals: Advice from funding managers

Students and supervisors often have to develop the practice of writing grant proposals. This video provides a few ‘do and don’t’ tips
Video: 5 minutes

Higher Degrees, Examining & Vivas

Besides supporting and guiding the postgraduate student to completion, a supervisor has additional roles that they need to fulfil within the institution. This video elaborates on serving on Higher Degrees Committees as well as acting as an examiner.

How is good scientific writing like good cooking?

This short video looks at how we draw on different texts to make an argument, much as we might follow a recipe and then add a special twist of our own when cooking.
Video: 5 minutes

How to approach a potential supervisor?

Prospective postgraduate students often send emails to supervisors along the lines of “Hey Prof, I wanna do a PhD”. This video suggests a more professional approach
Video: 3 minutes

How to avoid plagiarism (and why we reference in academic writing)

Students are often told that we reference to avoid plagiarism. They are also told that if they plagiarise, they can be excluded from the university.
Video: 6 minutes

How to design a questionnaire

Written questionnaires can be useful ways of collecting information from a large group of people but they are often poorly designed.

How-to-guide on Writing Tools

This narrated PowerPoint presentation discusses 3 different, widely used tools or strategies to help busy postgraduate students make and keep regular commitments to writing and reading.

In-depth Qualitative Interview

This video draws on supervisors and PhD scholars to reflect on how one should undertake interviews to collect data.
Video: 5 minutes

Information literacy: How supervisors can help students develop their information literacy skills

In order to complete a quality research study, you need to know how to find and use relevant literature, and ethically incorporate these into your study.

Just Write

Most PG scholars do not know the extent of pre-writing needed before one can draft a coherent text for a reader. This video includes tips and suggestions from experienced supervisors and PG scholars.
Video: 9 minutes

Keeping a Reading Journal

PG scholars often battle to draw on other people’s texts in ways that demonstrate mastery of the field along with a strong authorial voice. A reading journal is a useful translation device to move from the texts of others to crafting a text of your own.
Video: 5 minutes

Keeping a Research Journal

This video looks at keeping a diary during your research journey in which you note thoughts as they pop up, reflect on progress and set personal goals.
Video: 4 minutes

Linking research questions and research methods

Two experienced supervisors look at the relationship between the research question and all subsequent methodological decisions.
Video: 9 minutes

Off-campus Access to Library Databases

Students are often unaware of the resources made available to them by the expensive databases that their libraries subscribe to. This short video stresses the importance of sorting out off-campus access to such databases. It also shows the difference between Google Scholar for ordinary people and the many resources offered by Google Scholar if you access it via your library.
Video: 4 minutes

Overview of Honours Degree

What is an Honours Degree? What is expected of me? How long should it take? These questions are all answered in various national policies, which are illustrated here in one beautiful poster.
Wall Poster: Can be printed in any size.

Overview of Master’s Degree

What is a Master’s Degree? What is expected of me? How long should it take? These questions are all answered in various national policies, which are illustrated here in one beautiful poster.
Wall Poster: Can be printed in any size.

Overview of PhD

What is a Doctorate? What is expected of me? How long should it take? These questions are all answered in various national policies, which are illustrated here in one beautiful poster.
Wall Poster: Can be printed in any size.

Overview of Postgraduate Diploma

What is a PG Dip? What is expected of me? How long should it take? These questions are all answered in various national policies, which are illustrated here in one beautiful poster.
Wall Poster: Can be printed in any size.

PG Studies in Project Teams

South African Higher Education still relies on the one-on-one model of supervision as the dominant approach. In this video, PG scholars who are part of project teams and doctoral programmes reflect on what this offers them.
Video: 9 minutes

Plotting a paper from your thesis

Disseminating your research in the form of journal articles is very desirable but it isn’t a simple task of summarizing the work. This video shows how to move from a lengthy thesis to a stand-alone argument for a journal article or book chapter.
Video: 5 minutes

Postgraduate Curriculum

This series of videos emerges from the Enhancing Quality Postgraduate Education project, which brings together Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Research
Video: 6 minutes

Predatory Journals: How to identify and avoid them

This brief tutorial defines “predatory journals” and their major characteristics. It provides information to help novice academics to avoid this trap.

Project management and time planning

The postgraduate journey is a project – and projects need to be managed effectively in order for them to be completed on time. This video outlines project management principles that apply to managing postgraduate studies.

Purpose of Postgraduate Education

In this video, the focus is on how the purpose of postgraduate education. There are a number of private and public goods associated with postgraduate study

Reading a journal article: techniques and skills

This brief PowerPoint presentation with voice over describes how to read journal articles and collating information using the rhetorical moves approach.

Reading for a PHD

This audio and transcript offer a means of assessing how much reading is enough for postgraduate studies. It looks at the hours that should be spent reading and the purpose of reading. The transcript also offers links to a number of other resources.

Research design and methods

The relationship between methodology, methods and theory is often confusing. This short video explains what each is and how they relate to each other.
Video: 4 minutes

Research Frameworks

What is a research framework? This short video discusses conceptual, theoretical and analytical frameworks and how these can coherently form a structure for your study.
Video: 4 minutes

Research Identity and Conceptualization

This brief power point presentation with voice over explains Research Identity and Conceptualization. The presentation is segmented into three (3) lecture series.

Responding to reviewers

Getting reviews on academic journal articles can be hard. This video looks at how to manage getting both good and bad feedback and how to engage with the editor around required revisions.
Video: 5 minutes

Scientific Method and Ethical Considerations

What are the ethical issues that underpin our research decisions? This video looks back at the emergence of scientific method to raise a few considerations in this regard.
Video: 9 minutes

Selecting a Journal for your publication

This three-part series of videos looks at all the issues you need to take into account when selecting a journal.
Part 1: Pressure to publish
This 6-minute video looks at some of the consequences of the pressure to publish.
Part 2: Accredited and open access journals
This 10-minute video looks at all the issues an academic author should take into account when selecting a journal – including what journals are accredited for funding in the SA system and information about open access.
Part 3: Predatory publications
This 5-minute video looks at the rise of predatory publication and cautions us to join a vibrant intellectual conversation rather than waste our research on publications that won’t be read.

Setting up your digital workspace

We spend hours and hours at our computers when we’re busy with research. But we rarely consider how best to set up our physical and digital workspaces. This video suggests a few issues to take into account.
Video: 9 minutes

Social Justice in Research

This video looks at the impetus to consider social justice issues in our research design. The video takes the form of a workshop with a number of questions with time for you to respond. Can be done individually or in a group.
Video: 20 minutes

STEM students: Strategies to deal with research related challenges

The transition from UG to PG can be challenging. Here students in STEM fields reflect on project management and planning.
Video: 10 minutes

Supporting Academic Writing Practices in Postgraduate Studies

This booklet includes practical advice and guidance on developing postgraduate writing. A very useful resource with lots of tasks.
Booklet with activities.

The ‘Being’ Of The Postgraduate Student

This series of videos emerges from the Enhancing Quality Postgraduate Education project, which brings together Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Research
Video: 4 minutes

The Ethics of Research using Human Participants

This video provides an introductory overview of ethical considerations when working with human participants.
Video: 4 minutes

The Examination Process: assessment of written theses or dissertations

This material leads you in an interactive way through the examination process. A varied range of interactive exercises, resource texts, videos and real life examples stimulates supervisors and graduate students to think about their tasks and roles.

The examination process: auditing your work before submitting it for examination

This video by an experienced supervisor looks at what needs to be done before your final thesis is submitted.
Video: 9 minutes

The importance of transferable skills

There is increasing emphasis on the ways in which PG education can provide skills beyond the specific study. This short video looks at what skills PG scholars have developed.
Video: 5 minutes

The misuses of Turnitin and other text-matching software

Turnitin is a popular tool amongst PG scholars and supervisors – but it is often misunderstood and this can have disastrous results!
Video: 10 minutes

The Thesis as Argument

PG scholars are told that they need to have a coherent argument across their thesis – but what does this really mean and how is it developed?
Video: 10 minutes

The Viva (Oral Defence)

This series of videos emerges from the Enhancing Quality Postgraduate Education project, which brings together Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Directors of Research
Video: 3 minutes

Theory and concepts in PG research

Postgraduate scholars are expected to work with theory and complex concepts in multiple ways – and these all need to align in a coherent manner. This video considers the role of theory in the contextual framing, the conceptual framing and the methodological framing of the study.
Video: 7 minutes

Thesis Statement

Every thesis has to make a contribution at the boundaries of the field. Can you state in just a sentence what the contribution of your study is?

Training and Resources in Research Ethics Evaluation

This interactive, on-line training resource provides free research ethics training with a specific focus on the capacity building needs of African countries. The seven training modules cover various ethical dilemmas. Materials developed by the Training and Resources in Research Ethics Evaluation consortium.

Understanding the PG journey & process

Many students delay or end up avoiding post graduate studies, often due to misperceptions on what the process entails. This video captures students in this predicament.

Using technology to your advantage: Mendeley (Part 1-6)

This 6 part video series provides an in-depth explanation of how to use the free Mendeley reference manager effectively during your research process. With this application you can integrate all your literature into one platform that can be accessed on any device, anywhere and anytime, allowing you to stay organised.

What is a research question and how do I write one?

Research Questions guide many aspects of our work. They can help us to decide what literature to read, what data to collect and what kinds of theories to draw on to inform our understandings.
Video: 8 minutes

What is intentional plagiarism and why do people do it?

Plagiarism happens along a continuum from intentional to unintentional. Learning how referencing is used to build claims can help to prevent unintentional plagiarism.
Video: 6.5 minutes

What is researcher positionality?

Increasingly researchers are expected to state their considerations on positionality in their research design and ethical clearance processes.
Video: 23 minutes

What is Theory? Using a Theoretical Framework

Students are often told that their studies have to be underpinned by theory but we very rarely point out what theory is. This short video provides an accessible understanding.
Video: 4 minutes

Working towards social inclusion: A humanising pedagogy

Supervisors often make assumptions about what their students are able to do – that undergraduate learning should have prepared them for postgraduate studies. This presentation challenges that view and calls supervisors to reflect on their assumptions.

Working with Literature

This narrated Prezi deals with a stumbling block for many postgraduate students: the dreaded literature review section. The presenter discusses what a postgraduate literature review should be, and how to read and write strategically to create a literature review section that provides a strong argument for the relevant context of your study.