Introduction
The Idea Puzzle software is a decision-making tool that helps PhD candidates improve the coherence of a research proposal, article, or thesis in the light of Philosophy of Science (Morais & Brailsford, 2019). It also helps review the strengths and weaknesses of a research project in any field of knowledge (Parente & Ferro, 2016). To date, it has helped design more than 7000 research projects worldwide.
The Idea Puzzle software poses 21 questions, helps answer them, and allows the self-evaluation of each answer in terms of decision-making status. The help of the Idea Puzzle software includes instructions, tips, definitions, introductions, bibliography, and examples of research designs that won the Idea Puzzle Prize. The output of the Idea Puzzle software is a research design with 21 answers, an overall score, and a coloured jigsaw puzzle of progress that can be shared in PDF or in Word.
In 2023, the Idea Puzzle software was a finalist of the Sage 15K GBP Concept Grant from a total of 89 research software tools. The jury considered the theoretical framework of 21 decisions unique and praised the way the Idea Puzzle software helps PhD candidates design their research. In the same year, Sage Research Methods Community published an article on research design with the Idea Puzzle software (Morais, 2023).
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.
Methodology
Each session of two hours will include one hour of theoretical presentation of the contents and one hour of practical application to the research design of each participant. The participants in the workshop will receive one-year free access to the Idea Puzzle software.
Study plan
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Session 1 - April 15th, 2025 |
Theoretical decisions of your research: keywords, streams of thought, research gap, research question or hypothesis, and state of the science. |
| Session 2 - April 15th, 2025 | Methodological decisions of your research: philosophical stance, research strategy, data collection, data analysis, and quality criteria. |
| Session 3 - April 16th, 2025 | Empirical decisions of your research: unit of analysis, level of analysis, nature of data, origin of data, and sample. |
| Session 4 - April 16th, 2025 | Rhetorical decisions of your research: pathos, logos, and ethos. Authorial decisions of your research: wisdom, trust, and time. |
Assessment
- Deliverable 1: Five working days before the workshop, participants will deliver the initial version of their individual research design created with the Idea Puzzle software in PDF format.
- Attendance and participation: Participants are required to attend three of the four sessions and actively engage with the lecturer and peers during teamwork and individual presentations.
- Deliverable 2: Five working days after the workshop, participants will deliver the final version of their individual research design created with the Idea Puzzle software in Word format.
- Ricardo Morais will insert 21 comments of personalised feedback on the same document (one per each of the 21 decisions of the Idea Puzzle software).
Audience
PhD candidates in any field of knowledge, preferably in the first or second year of their doctoral studies.
Publications
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.
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: 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 my university.
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 it.
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 the Outstanding Thesis Award at my university.