Contact us to offer the workshop 'Philosophy of science and research design with Idea Puzzle' at your university. To date, Ricardo Morais has lectured 420 webinars, seminars, and workshops in 115 universities from 28 countries. On average, the knowledge imparted was evaluated 9,5 in 10 by 1680 participants (11% response rate).
Introduction
In this workshop, Ricardo Morais focuses on the ‘Ph’ of the PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) by making explicit the philosophical assumptions of a doctoral research design. In particular, the theoretical assumptions (epistemology) are: 1) two keywords in a non-tautological relationship; 2) two streams of thought for a critical synthesis; 3) a research gap from previous conclusions; 4) a research question or hypothesis from five levels of knowledge depth; and 5) the state of science as current answers or results. The methodological assumptions (methodology) are: 6) a meta philosophical stance from a matrix of four; 7) a research strategy from one of four toolboxes; 8) complementary data collection techniques; 9) data analysis techniques including research software; and 10) a set of incommensurable quality criteria from a matrix of four. The empirical assumptions (ontology) are: 11) a unit of analysis i.e. entity or process; 12) a level of analysis i.e. scale; 13) nature of data as qualitative or quantitative; 14) origin of data as primary or secondary; and 15) an analytical or statistical sample. The rhetoric assumptions (axiology) are: 16) pathos i.e. practical and ethical implications; 17) logos i.e. quasi-inductive, hypothetic-deductive, or abductive logic; and 18) ethos i.e. theoretical, methodological, and empirical limitations. And the authorial assumptions (axiology) are: 19) wisdom i.e. first-hand experience of the empirical phenomenon; 20) trust i.e. support network; and 21) time i.e. funding and working regime.
Audience
PhD candidates in any field of knowledge, preferably in the first or second year of their doctoral studies.
Transversal skills
After the workshop, 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 an empirical research project in any field of knowledge.
Contents
1) Theoretical decisions of your research: keywords, streams of thought, research gap, research question or hypothesis, and state of the science.
2) Methodological decisions of your research: philosophical stance, research strategy, data collection, data analysis, and quality criteria.
3) Empirical decisions of your research: unit of analysis, level of analysis, nature of data, origin of data, and sample.
4) Rhetorical decisions of your research: pathos, logos, and ethos.
5) Authorial decisions of your research: wisdom, trust, and time.
Methods
Theoretical presentation of the contents by Ricardo Morais and practical application to the research proposal, article, or thesis of each participant. The recommended number of participants is 15 to ensure that all will have the opportunity to present their research design created with the Idea Puzzle software.
Morais, R. (2023). Philosophy of science and doctoral research design: The case of the Idea Puzzle software. SAGE Research Methods Community, November 10.
Morais, R., & Brailsford, I. (2022). Knowledge visualisation for research design: The case of the Idea Puzzle software at the University of Auckland. In Information Resources Management Association USA (Ed.) Research anthology on innovative research methodologies and utilization across multiple disciplines (pp. 351 - 366). Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publishing.
Parente, C., & Ferro, L. (2016). Idea Puzzle (www.ideapuzzle.com), created by Ricardo Morais. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 15(3), 643-645.
Lecturer
Ricardo Morais, married and father of three daughters, is Assistant Professor of Management at Católica Porto Business School and Director of Idea Puzzle. Since 2013, he coordinates the seminar 'How to design your PhD' at the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM) in Brussels. 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. His research interests are interdisciplinary, including Philosophy of Science, Strategic Management, Design Thinking, and Spirituality in Management. Since 2002, he has published more than 30 academic articles, chapters, and papers about these topics and lectured in 115 universities from 28 countries. He is a member of the Philosophy of Science Association, Strategic Management Society, and Academy of Management.
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
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.
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.
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.
Riina Kerner, Idea Puzzle Prize Winner 2021, Management Science, Estonian Business School, Estonia
The Idea Puzzle software is an excellent tool that assisted me in considering all my ideas under the Philosophy of Science umbrella. It also helped me advance to the next steps of my PhD studies. After winning the Idea Puzzle Prize, I was nominated for the best PhD candidate at Estonian Business School.
Pablo Delgado, Idea Puzzle Prize Winner 2020, Electrical, Electronics, and Automation Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
The Idea Puzzle software is a powerful tool that helps clarify your research ideas. It has been very useful to me, since I have been able to organise all the research design of my doctoral thesis and find which are the weakest and the strongest points.
Jaume Gardela, Idea Puzzle Prize Co-Winner 2018, Animal Medicine and Health, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
The Idea Puzzle software lent me the opportunity to focus my research design making it more logical and coherent through 21 questions. As more questions I answered, I realized that my research design had gaps in research ambiguity that perhaps I had never stopped to think about.
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.