Statistics and feedback
To date, Ricardo Morais has lectured 447 webinars, seminars, and workshops 'Design your PhD with the Idea Puzzle software' in 117 universities from 29 countries. On average, the knowledge imparted was evaluated 9,5 in 10 by 1757 participants (11% response rate).
Goal
The goal of this webinar is to help doctoral researchers improve the coherence of a research proposal, article, or thesis in the light of Philosophy of Science (Morais & Brailsford, 2022). It also helps review the strengths and weaknesses of a research project in any field of knowledge (Parente & Ferro, 2016). The webinar adopts a hands-on approach to research design with the Idea Puzzle software.
Audience
Doctoral researchers in any field of knowledge, preferably in the first or second year of doctoral studies.
Software for research design
The participants in the webinar will receive one-month free access to the Idea Puzzle software.
Learning outcomes and competencies
After the webinar, the participants will be able to: a) acknowledge the relation between epistemology, methodology, ontology, and axiology; b) coherently align the theory, method, data, rhetoric, and authorship of a research proposal, article, or thesis with the Idea Puzzle software; and c) review the strengths and weaknesses of a research project in any field of knowledge. In the terminology of the European Competence Framework for Researchers, this webinar develops cognitive abilities.
Programme and contents
1) Assumptions of Philosophy of Science: theory ladenness, paradigmatic incommensurability, empirical underdetermination, relevance, and reflexivity.
2) Theoretical decisions: keywords, streams of thought, research gap, research question or hypothesis, and state of the science.
3) Methodological decisions: philosophical stance, research strategy, data collection, data analysis, and quality criteria.
4) Empirical decisions: unit of analysis, level of analysis, nature of data, origin of data, and sample.
5) Rhetorical decisions: pathos, logos, and ethos.
6) Authorial decisions: wisdom, trust, and time.
7) Cognitive abilities: abstract, critical, systemic, integrative, and subtractive thinking.
Lecturer
Ricardo Morais, married and father of three daughters, is Professor of Management at Católica Porto SBE, Director of Idea Puzzle, and Keynote Speaker on Philosophy of Science, Strategic Management, and Design Thinking. Since 2002, he has published more than 40 articles, chapters, and papers about these topics and lectured in 117 universities from 29 countries. From 2013 to 2025, he has coordinated the seminar 'How to design your PhD' at the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM) in Brussels, now offered at the University of Ljubljana. He holds a PhD in Strategic Management from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, having graduated in Management from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto. He is also an alumnus of HPI School of Design Thinking in Germany.
Parente, C., & Ferro, L. (2016). Idea Puzzle (www.ideapuzzle.com), created by Ricardo Morais. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 15(3), 643-645.
Morais, R. (2010). Scientific method. In A. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds.) Encyclopedia of case study research (Vol. 2, pp. 840-842), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Testimonials
ChatGPT prompt: what is the Idea Puzzle software? Retrieved on July 24, 2024
By using the Idea Puzzle software, researchers can improve the clarity, coherence, and rigor of their research projects, making it a valuable tool for academic research planning and execution.
Hasok Chang, Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom & President of the Philosophy of Science Association, United States of America
Your course certainly constitutes an innovation in the teaching of Philosophy of Science.
Daniela Duca, Head of Product Innovation, Sage Publishing, United Kingdom
We love your approach and how the Idea Puzzle software helps students and early career researchers go through the process of developing their research.
Cristina Parente & Lígia Ferro, Professors of Sociology, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
Our students repeatedly commented that using the Idea Puzzle software contributed significantly to their understanding of the meaning of the multiple and interrelated dimensions of the research project process. In addition, they applauded the functionality of having an automatic evaluation of their input into each section/piece of the triangle — allowing them to control the development of the project design, as well as to decide which points they should invest more time into to build the final “puzzle” (i.e., visual representation) of their research project.
Helena Moreira, Doctoral Supervisor of the Idea Puzzle Prize Winner 2015, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal
Maria João Gouveia won the 1st place in the 2014 national competition for a doctoral grant in Psychology by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation. Her research design was graded 4,975 in 5 (99%). I also supervised Maria João Gouveia during the process of using the Idea Puzzle software and could witness its relevance to clarify several aspects of her research design.
Irena White, PhD in Education, Flinders University, Australia
I feel that if I would have known the Idea Puzzle software early in my PhD, I could have saved myself a lot of wasted time and avoided several 'dead ends'. In 2021, I received the Flinders University Vice Chancellor’s Medal for PhD Thesis Excellence.
Leonardo La Rosa, Idea Puzzle Prize Co-Winner 2017, Media Research, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
The Idea Puzzle software helped me shorten the parts of my research project which were overdeveloped such as the literature review and focus my efforts on those which were underdeveloped such as the methodology and sample. After winning the Idea Puzzle Prize, I won an Outstanding Thesis Award at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Pedro Palma, Idea Puzzle Prize Winner 2022, Environment and Sustainability, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
When delivering the final version of my doctoral thesis, I remembered the Idea Puzzle software again. This tool helped me a lot to think through my research design and awoke my interest in Philosophy of Science. The awareness and knowledge of philosophical assumptions proved crucial to make my research more coherent and robust.
Eve Mägi, Education Policy Analyst, PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies, Estonia
Thank you for introducing us to your Idea Puzzle framework. It is valuable at various points of the project - I wish I would have come across it earlier in my research. Additionally, I found it very impressive how quickly you were able to grasp the frame and details of the participants’ doctoral dissertations while also providing live feedback on the spot.
Antonella Coradduzza, Doctoral Researcher, Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Thank you sincerely for the training. I found it extremely valuable and meaningful, both academically and personally. It brought me greater clarity regarding the concepts which I am studying, and I especially appreciated the way the training connected philosophy, personal experience, and research work.