The Art and Science of PhD Research
A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving a Doctorate Degree and Conducting Academic Research
by Waffa Karkukly, PhD

---

This book aims to increase the success rate of academic research in general and PhD research specifically. It focuses on providing scholars, researchers, and students with the knowledge pertaining to planning and executing the art and the science of academic research and PhD research in order to successfully deliver the expected outcome. It provides insight into the motivations and the challenges associated with academic research and illustrates these motivations and challenges by sharing the results of a survey that expresses the views of PhD students. By leveraging project management techniques to help the researchers to break down and structure their dissertation work, the book provides a ready to use toolkit for the required research deliverables. In addition to having templates, it offers sample work of the author’s dissertation as practical guidance. The book offers tips on how to structure and write the dissertation and prepare for the defence as well as providing an insightful summary into the evaluation criteria used by the defence jury. It takes the reader, step by step, through all the stages and aspects of the PhD research journey. It will thus serve as a useful and insightful manual or guidebook.

---

“This book makes a significant contribution to the development of new insights the art and science of academic research. Indeed I am self a researcher and I teach regularly the methodologies of research to MSc and PhD students, and such a guide is valuable. The book is accurate and interesting notably, by showing that it is not enough to find the different concepts but to understand their interactions and combined effects for a better contribution to practitioner and academic researcher. “ — Professor Laurence Lecoeuvre Skema Business School

---

Dr. Waffa Karkukly is the President and Managing Director for Global PMO Solutions. During her career, she has been involved in managing technology and project management offices for fortune 100 as well as small size organizations. She is a strategist and change agent transform- ing organizations through alignment between strategy and operation and delivering through projects, programs and portfolios. Waffa is an author of two books on project management office (PMO), and contributor to a chapter in a third book. One of her books is used as a reference for the PMO course by the University of Toronto (U of T). She is a coach, a frequent speaker and panelist at the various conferences, and a guest lecturer at project events globally. Waffa launched a “self- tech” online courses pertaining to PMO, PPM, Agile, OCM, and many other courses; in addition, to being an academic supervisor to PhD and Masters’ students at Skema business schools, overseeing thesis pertain- ing to Project management, PMO, Agile and strategy implementation. Through the “Art and Science of PhD Research”, Waffa looks forward to provide her students, and other students with valuable insights to execute and deliver academic research successfully. Waffa has a BSC in Information Systems from DePaul University and an MIT from Northwestern University, and a PhD from SKEMA School of Business. She is a (PMP) and (ACP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), as well as a Change Management Practitioner (CMP). She is also a volunteer for PMI 2016 - 2018 sponsored research review committee member.

---

Contributors

Author

Waffa Karkukly, PhD

---

Other eBook Editions

This book is also available in eBook format from these sites.

• Amazon Kindle Store
• Apple Books
• Google Play