Thoughts and Ideas
This section is a space for me to consider issues within society and contemporary culture.
Here, I’ll introduce and further develop ideas I like to work with, explain and expand on issues that stem from previous projects, as well as consider immersive research and developing practices.
Study a PhD with Dr. Christopher R. Matthews
I specialise in conducting and supervising immersive research, but I’m keen to discuss various projects and research methods with prospective students as well.
Join my team: Fully-funded PhD
Join my team! You could be working alongside me and two other PhD students studying interesting issues connected to health, wellbeing and sport.
Work–life balance and finding what matters
In this video, I talk about work–life balance and make the argument that most people are thinking about it in the wrong way. I want us to shift our focus away from details to tackling bigger issues. I propose a couple of ways of doing this and provide a few examples from my experience of gaining a great work–life balance.
My experience of self-publishing
I outline the situation which led me to publish my latest book. I talk through the specific context that I found myself in. I frame the discussion around good and bad outcomes from the process, but you might find that some of the stuff I think is good is bad and vice versa.
Academic reading: Part three
Here I discuss some of the key ways you can tell if you’ve gone deep enough with your academic reading. The main goal here is to develop a confidence in your knowledge which I described as ‘unshakable’. This means knowing what you know and also knowing what you don’t yet know.
Academic reading: Part two
In this video I discuss the need for planning and strategy when you approach academic reading. While you might enjoy reading, academic reading is not reading for pleasure. You’re reading with a job in mind – you’re trying to get shit done.
Academic reading: Part one
In this video I discuss the type of deep or ‘proper’ reading which is necessary to develop academic thinking. I discuss how such reading is the basis for good academic writing and outline how challenging and draining it can be when done properly.
Academic writing: Part six
How much reading is enough? When’s best to start writing? Getting the practice in is important. Good writing requires practice and repetition.
Immersion in action research with Dr. Cathy van Ingen
I’ve relied on Cathy’s work in my teaching and publications so, I wanted to explore two main issues with her. Firstly, how Cathy maintains the scientific basis of her work while acknowledging that it has an ideological basis. And secondly, to discuss some of the challenging stories that come from doing 13+ years of conducting research with people who have suffered some form of trauma.
Getting inside the steroid industry with Dr. Luke Turnock
In building an immersive research strategy, based on his existing personal contacts within a powerlifting community, Luke was able to gain access to information about the underground production of steroids.
Academic writing: Part five
I’ve spent many years developing my own academic writing. This series of videos aims to help students better convey their ideas in a written format.
I’ve talked about ‘meaningful coherence’ a few times in this series. In this video, I outline some practical ways you can start developing it in your own work.
Academic writing: Part four
I’ve spent many years developing my own academic writing. This series of videos aims to help students better convey their ideas in a written format.
In part four of this series, we look at how a good way of approaching academic writing is to stop thinking that it's actually about writing.
Academic writing: Part three
I’ve spent many years developing my own academic writing. This series of videos aims to help students better convey their ideas in a written format.
In this third video I discuss the notion of ‘proper’ editing, which is something I’ve taken years to develop myself – and is something I still have to work on.
Academic writing: Part two
I’ve spent many years developing my own academic writing. This series of videos aims to help students better convey their ideas in a written format.
In this second video, I discuss the way in which simplicity often follows complexity. This sort of simple but clear analysis is usually found when a piece of work has a ‘meaningful coherence’.
Academic writing: Part one
I’ve spent many years developing my own academic writing. This series of videos aims to help students better convey their ideas in a written format.
This first video involves a discussion of structure, which can be applied to loads of different forms of writing, the building blocks that create that structure and what I call ‘post-planning’.
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