Smarty Stems

Knowing SPSS does not automatically mean your research should be quantitative. 😭

I see many students choose quantitative research first… simply because they already know how to run SPSS.

But your software skills should never decide your research methodology.

Start with the research problem.

Then check your research questions and objectives.

Only after that should you decide whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods is the best fit.

The tool follows the methodology.

The methodology follows the research question.

💬 Comment METHOD and I’ll share my methodology decision prompt.

📌 Save this before choosing your research method.

Most researchers misunderstand the purpose of a pilot study. 😭

A pilot study is not something you do just to write “a pilot test was conducted” in your methodology chapter.

Its real purpose is to identify problems before your final data collection starts.

Confusing questionnaire items?
Survey taking too long?
Participants misunderstanding questions?
Recruitment problems?
Issues with your data collection process?

Find them in the pilot study—not after collecting your final research data.

A good pilot study gives you time to test, identify, revise, and improve your research process.

📌 Save this before starting data collection for your thesis or dissertation.

💬 Comment PILOT and I’ll share my AI prompt for reviewing a pilot study.

Not to be dramatic, but your methodology may be wrong before you even start data collection. 😭

I often see research objectives using words like “explore” and “understand”… then the study suddenly uses a quantitative survey because “everyone uses SPSS.”

That is a research alignment problem.

Your:

Research Problem → Research Questions → Objectives → Methodology → Data Collection → Analysis

should logically connect.

The method should help you answer the research question—not simply be the easiest method to use.

Before writing your methodology chapter, check the alignment first.

💬 Comment ALIGN and I’ll share my AI prompt for checking research alignment.

📌 Save this before finalizing your research methodology.

The mistake you’re making without realizing it

The methodology mistake you probably doing without knowing 😳🥺

Reminder for thesis students and researchers:

Your Google storage may be full because of old research papers, thesis drafts, supervisor feedback files, Zoom recordings, presentation slides, and Gmail attachments you forgot existed.

Because of that, you may think you need to pay for more Google storage.

But before paying, try these simple Gmail / Drive cleaning hacks first 👇

1. Search large emails in Gmail
Use: larger:10M or larger:25M
1. Find emails with attachments
Use: has:attachment
1. Find old thesis files
Use: filename:pdf, filename:zip, filename:ppt, filename:mp4
1. Clean unread journal/newsletter emails
Search old newsletters and unsubscribe from what you never read.
1. Check Google Drive large files
Go to: drive.google.com/drive/quota
1. Empty trash folders
Check Gmail Trash, Google Drive Trash, and Google Photos Trash.
1. Use Google Storage Manager
Go to: one.google.com/storage/management

This is not just about storage.

A clean Gmail and Drive makes your research workflow easier, faster, and less stressful.

Save this if your thesis files are everywhere 🤍