Research Project Timeline
Students will complete a research project and accompanying research paper under the careful one-on-one supervision and guidance of their PhD research advisor over the course of 10 weeks. Students will meet one-on-one with their PhD research advisor once a week for one hour via Zoom or phone over the course of the 10-week engagement. During each one-on-one meeting, the PhD research advisor will provide the student with assignments to be completed before the following week’s meeting. Students are expected to devote at least 60 hours to the research and writing process over this 10-week period (roughly 6 hours per week over 10 weeks). Below is the timeline for one-on-one work with the PhD research advisor over this 10-week period.
10 One-on-One Sessions with a PhD Research Advisor:
WEEK 1
Initial one-on-one meeting with PhD research advisor to brainstorm and discuss possible research topics. PhD research advisor will provide feedback and help narrow the focus of the research topics based on the student’s strategic positioning and interests. The research advisor will assist the student in narrowing the research project down to 2-3 specific topics. PhD research advisor will also provide a brief orientation on how to use online academic journals and library databases to conduct research.
Assignment after Week 1: The student will explore the 2-3 specific research topics proposed using online academic journals and library databases. The student will find, read and analyze journal articles related to the 2-3 proposed research topics in preparation for discussion during the next meeting.
WEEK 2
The PhD research advisor discusses the 2-3 specific topics the student researched and answers questions that the student has about the readings. The research advisor will engage the student in a discussion about the topics and help to narrow the selection down for the final research topic.
Assignment after Week 2: The student will conduct additional research to narrow the topic selection down to one research topic. The student will find, read and analyze journal articles related to the final research topic the student wants to select for the research paper.
WEEK 3
The PhD research advisor will discuss the final topic selection with the student. Once agreement is achieved on the final research topic, the PhD research advisor will engage the student in discussion on the journal articles the student read on the topic and help brainstorm ideas for the research question that the student’s paper will address.
Assignment after Week 3: The student will find, read and analyze journal articles related to the selected research topic. The student will develop a research question that the paper will address and will work to refine the research question.
WEEK 4
The PhD research advisor will finalize the research question with the student after an in-depth discussion of the student’s readings and findings. The research advisor will then help the student craft an initial outline for the research paper.
Assignment after Week 4: The student will develop and refine an outline for the research paper to present at the next meeting. The student will find, read and analyze journal articles related to the selected research topic.
WEEK 5
The PhD research advisor will provide feedback on the student’s outline for the research paper. The outline will be finalized and the PhD research advisor will discuss the student’s readings and findings.
Assignment after Week 5: With the finalized outline in hand, the student will find, read and analyze additional journal articles related to the selected research topic. The student will draft the first third of the research paper based on the outline.
WEEK 6
The PhD research advisor will analyze the first third of the student’s research paper and will provide extensive feedback on changes to make during a one-on-one meeting.
Assignment after Week 6: The student will edit the first third of the research paper based on the PhD research advisor’s comments. The student will draft the second third of the research paper for the research advisor to review at the next meeting.
WEEK 7
The PhD research advisor will analyze the second third of the student’s research paper and will provide extensive feedback on changes to make during a one-on-one meeting.
Assignment after Week 7: The student will edit the second third of the research paper based on the PhD research advisor’s comments. The student will draft the last third of the research paper for the research advisor to review at the next meeting.
WEEK 8
The PhD research advisor will analyze the last third of the student’s research paper and will provide extensive feedback on changes to make during a one-on-one meeting. The research advisor will also suggest bullet points to include in the abstract.
Assignment after Week 8: The student will edit the last third of the research paper based on the PhD research advisor’s comments. The student will also draft the research abstract which will be submitted to universities during the college application process.
WEEK 9
The PhD research advisor will analyze the final draft of the student’s research paper and will provide extensive feedback on changes to make during a one-on-one meeting. The research advisor will also provide final changes to make to the research abstract for college applications.
Assignment after Week 9: The student will edit the final draft of the research paper based on the PhD research advisor’s comments. A technical writing editor will then edit the student’s final research paper and research abstract before presenting both to the student and the PhD research advisor for final review.
WEEK 10
The student will present the final findings of the research project to the PhD research advisor in a mock research symposium during the final one-on-one meeting. The PhD research advisor will provide student with verbal feedback on the research paper. The student will have a high-quality, college-level research paper to submit to colleges as a supplement along with a research abstract.