Are your motivations working well to counter your lacking of determination, perseverance, commitment?

I feel so sorry for you. Could you tell your story a bit more for us? Perhaps there is something we [the wisdom of crowds] can cooperate to find the way forward. With our cognitive diversity, we will encourage a greater exchange of ideas. Just keep your past supervisor's name anonymous!

no need..dont waste your time and money..unless you are interested to become academician...the values between research and coursewrok are significantly different

the key of getting success in postgraduate is your supervisor,,therefore, chose supervisor wisely..make sure there is not conflict of interest..

another thing is money and do not necessary the equipment..most supervisor has research grant to support..if no equipment in uni..u may use the money to rent equip from industry or other uni

Hi TS, I've been reading lots of response from fellow forummers and would like to contribute relevant insights:

You're offered by doing Masters by research
my question -
1) how many years will you bond to uni?
2)you're in science or social science field?

It would be great fund by uni as you do not have to worry about financial. As a student masters by research (me), I've seen and learnt from my friends that you have to:
1)follow the time frame -
each semester has standard or indicator to achieve, make yourself follow the timeline.

2)independence study -
you do what you wanna do, total freedom.

3)sleepless night? -
I think degree life used to made my day turned upside down and turned me into living owl lol.

4) extend your study issue -
if you don't follow the timeline or your own schedule, well, you'll know where you'll end up at. Make a gant chart of your own study and always stick to it.

5) make your supervisor as your bestfriend-
you'll be treated as a friend or a guest-alike when you have a good manner towards uni staff and lecturer. Always be thoughtful, like wish your supervisor's on special days like CNY, holiday or birthday.

It's actually not that hard to do a proposal or to complete a theses, you'll be learning a lot stuff and have great in-depth of your research problem. You'll not learning if you never commit mistakes. Mistakes make you mature over time. You'll spend your time reading more facts and reliable sources of figures and so forth.
The beauty of research is, you only do one thing at one time.

You know that by conducting research, you actually will contribute a great insight to improve societies' lives. To measure your research or keep on track with research, always try to publish the progress of your work. It could be from your LR (publish as content analysis paper), from pilot study etc.

As long as you're on track of time doing your research, it's OK.
If you ask me why I vote for research mode, my answer : suka hati saya mau tulis apa dalam research saya la! itu saya punya hasil!!!!!!! leulz

As for coursework - you'll have to pay the fees from your pocket. hm.
You'll able to grad on time, just follow the syllabus. And, complete a dissertation.
Like degree, but higher passing marks and strict marking scheme lol.

What I meant was is it possible to continue my study to PhD (research) if I'm a postgraduate master by thought course..

If you read my replies carefully, I already said you can: "A masters' degree is a master's degree, though the learning curve will be even bigger for you".

One more things to note: most universities/groups will favour students who have some research background. Most applications for graduate studies require students to fill in a "research skills/experience section". This could be something to consider depending on your uni of choice.

Yes. It is possible.

In Malaysia, are large corporations expected to give something back to their communities in the form of charitable projects?

Since CSR is your area of study and research, has CSR become an important consideration for managers at all levels in Malaysia?

long story short..."blackmail"

Hi, to answer your questions:

I will be bonded to my uni for 3 years maximum. And I'm in the social sciences field. It's good to know that your relationship with your supervisor is good. My main supervisor is chasing his own KPI and dun care about my research well-being. Luckily, my co-supervisor is really understanding

Yups, CSR has become one of the significant factor for investors to make an investment decision. If a company did not care about the impact of its operations on the society and environment, this will affect the corporate reputation. Also, CSR now is more like a PR tool used by companies to show that they care for us, the society (giving scholarships, treating employees nicely, produce good quality products, keep the environment clean and plenty more).

but if you say for managers of all levels...then I'm not too sure. According to some research, government-linked companies will do more CSR than private companies. So, these managers still will have different priorities.

to answer your first question:
not only large corporations are expected to give something back to the communities, even small corporations are also encouraged to do so. Recently, Bursa Malaysia stated that it is mandatory for all listed companies to report their CSR activities. Charitable projects or not, it is up to the company. CSR has alot of branches (community, environment, human resource, etc) so some company might be good at one, and the other company might be good at another.

This post has been edited by mycolumn: Sep 2 2013, 10:17 PM

haha...hmmm

1) determination to do my research everyday, to keep on reading and reading, collecting data. Can't afford to take time so loosely anymore.

2) persevere like for e.g. wrote a paper, send in for review, it came back with alot of comments and corrections. Especially from supervisor, then have to keep on rewriting, re-researching,

or another is, when my working/teaching hours is really over the roof, like this semester, i still also have to find time to do my readings though I'm tired as zzzz. I've been standing all day long in classes for lectures and tutorials, and when I got back home, I still have to look at my laptop and start reading and typing

3) commitment....I can't afford to quit it halfway right? So, I have to be committed till the end.

Well, TS, based on your replies, I think you've made up your mind.

You prefer to do Masters by coursework.

So, does your financial is an issue?


BTW, bond with uni for 3 years is quite a short period.

Oh no la. I've made up my mind to do Masters by research. I've actually done my proposal and submitted it. And I've also already enrolled. I will be starting everything this December.

But one thing though, I really want to ask this to many people, but I'm afraid of asking the wrong person in my uni. How do you handle your supervisor? This is the very real reason behind why I'm afraid to take Masters by research.

Based on your reply, you said "If you ask me why I vote for research mode, my answer : suka hati saya mau tulis apa dalam research saya la! itu saya punya hasil!!!!!!! leulz "

I used to think like this bah Leah. Suka hati I wanna collect my data la. All my data are available in annual reports, bagi I use secondary data collection la. Tak perlu susah susah apply ethics, interview, survey...(buang masa). And my supervisor 2 agreed with me.


But now I got 2 different supervisors.

Supervisor 1 (not from my area): told me to do things that are out of my hand. And very possibly, my research will be dragged and delayed due to this method.

Supervisor 2 (the one who provided me with the ideas for my topic, has PhD in the area I'm researching on):- told me that it is not needed to do things that my Supervisor 1 said. And has told me to stick with secondary data collection.


And for myself, for my data collection, I really would prefer what my supervisor 2 told me to do.

I memang tak pandai wanna handle my supervisor 1. So any advise?

Between the two, who is your main supervisor?

I know one of my colleague who has problems with his main supervisor. His research plans were well accepted by co-supervisors and other lecturers but not his main supervisor. His main supervisor wants the research to be in his(sv) direction.. While he defended his work, the relationship seemed somewhat strained. It is really a dilemma.

This post has been edited by alanchong88: Sep 3 2013, 10:41 PM

(1) Know your Supervisor’s work ethic
--------------------------------------------
Are they good at getting things accomplished, or are they procrastinators? Check out their offices too. Are they messy with cluttered desks, or are they organized? If any of your supervisors have papers scattered all over the desk and floor, your dissertation proposal will soon be one of the scattered papers mixed in with the rest. Waiting months for your supervisor to read your manuscripts and provide feedback just so you can revise and submit them for publication is another example of how not to get your PhD.

(2) Find out what your Supervisor’s philosophy is
--------------------------------------------
This may be the most important thing you find out about your supervisor, as it can make or break your working relationship. Here are some questions you should ask:

• How do you see your role as an supervisor?
• How much control do you keep, and how much do you give to your students?
• Do you micromanage your students or do you leave them alone to do their own work?
• Where do you stand on authorship for publications?
• How do you measure your students’ success?
• How much time do you devote to giving feedback?
• Do you set deadlines for your students and for yourself?

Ask your supervisor to go to lunch and get as many answers to the above questions as you can. This meeting will also give you the opportunity to catch a glimpse of his or her personality.

Last word: It's wise not to become attached to your supervisor. If your supervisor does not cooperate and this lack of cooperation delays your progress or retards your professional development, you have the right to move forward by seeking help from other faculty members and even choosing a different supervisor. One of the the best way to learn about your supervisor is to talk to some of the said supervisor’s current doctoral students.

Supervisor 1 is my main supervisor. My co-supervisor (supervisor 2) agrees to my research method, my colleagues too. Only my main sv has different opinion as my main sv wants my research method to be according to his/her direction. Thats why kinda difficult.

As leah says above, "this is my research, i do whatever i can". In my case, it is not that easy as there are 2 differing views from my supervisory team. And also, im afraid the relationship will turn sour...so i just kept quiet about it.

I used to have diff/contradict ideas between 2 supervisors.
How I handle it:
1) If possible, set meeting with both supervisors at same time and same place.
2) If not, ask supervisor 1 to give his/her feedback and opinion to supervisor 2.
3) Supervisor 2 seems flexible, maybe he/she can persuade or talk to supervisor 1.
4) Usually, supervisor 2 provides good materials / readings/ideas. Use these strength to build your LR and write ups.
5)So, regarding method, you may refer to supervisor 1. HOWEVER, if supervisor 1 wants it to be his/her way, seek assistance/opinion from postgrad lecturers regarding your research (but this one must keep to your own only. If report to supervisor 1, confirm kena marah lol)
6) If you think your method is better, provide the significance and gantt chart to your supervisor 1 for consideration (if you insist to keep with your time frame)
7) If your supervisor 1 memang keras kepala kaw-kaw, then, just follow her way................ but, make use of your own method too if it seems possible.

8) Don't argue with supervisor 1, always sounds persuasive. If she/he talks, just follow and jot it down. Jadi lah anak murid yang baik.

9) Do your homework. Regarding your research, lets say you found 10 LR/journal - write down their
a) authors
b) empirical setting
c) method/sample size
d)research focus
e) results
Please refer to this link regarding LR comparison I've mention just now. (the picture's too big)



10) good luck in "negotiation" with super saiyan 1. lol

This post has been edited by leah235: Sep 4 2013, 10:41 AM

leah235's approach might work well in your case. Apart from this, be a happy student just like Him and apply Richard Koch's 80/20 Principle in your research. By the way, you have been saying about the issue has something to do with your main supervisor's direction. What kind of direction is that direction? The reason I ask that is that in order to survive the unthinkable in doctorate, I will need to understand your situation whether it is People Problem or Problem People.

Supervisor 1 has no background in whatsoever that I am doing. Susah la
Every night I cannot sleep thinking of this?
Should I terminate Supervisor 1 from my thesis?