The importance of learning Epistemology or Theory of Knowledge

I was confused at the beginning of my doctoral journey--mainly due to the fact that I did not study "Theory of Knowledge" during my pre-university time. 

In Western countries, this course is compulsory and it expects students who had completed this course successfully to justify the following:

• How they know what they have known. 
• Which domain of knowledge they gain what they know
• What kind of proposition they use to form a statement

After reading "Theory of Knowledge" and taking a series of courses on philosophical studies alongside my PhD journey, all my confusion disappeared by themselves. 

Source: http://www.acs.edu.lb/uploaded/High_School/Images/IB/knower[1].JPG 

It's a pity that I do not see any courses alike in Malaysia, but I have been sharing this with my students since my return from UK in 2011. 

Research should start by determining the research issue rather than the choice of research method

A lot of the postgraduate students that I met were focusing on the choice of research method rather that one research issue (unsolved problem) that is worth solving within a preset time frame. 

Postgraduate students should have determined the research issue in the domain of study first, formulating the hypotheses (quantitative approach) or hypothetical propositions (qualitative approach) based on initial literature review, before choosing a research method or a combination of several methods that they believe can answer the research question. 

For doctoral research student, this process may take 3 to 9 months, in which the students would establish an epistemological paradigm that affords the creation of new knowledge--an essential element that qualifies the award of PhD or DPhil. 

Dilemma faced by Western educational researchers

Western educational researchers generally regard experimental studies as "unethical" now. 

I see this as a result of the debate between Chomsky and Skinner: conducting experiments on human beings is like treating human beings as animals. However, probably due to this ethical consideration in the Western academia, I hardly see ground breaking educational research outputs conducted in Western countries nowadays, as compared to early and middle of the 20th century. 

Having said so, I participated in several experimental studies conducted under the Psychological Department when I was studying in University of Warwick. In other words, Experimental studies are allowable under the domain of psychological studies, but not educational studies in certain universities. 

In UPSI, my colleagues in Sports Science also conduct experimental studies that involve blood test--as long as they follow ethical protocol set by the university and the Sports Council. So whether you can conduct experiment studies or not depends on which department or domain of study you are studying your PhD.  

Choosing a PhD supervisor

It is indeed a difficult matter to determine who should be your supervisor in the doctoral journey. Once you are awarded the doctorate degree, academics would normally ask "who is your supervisor" instead of "which university you receive your PhD". Although the actual supervision would be around three years, but the implication of the relationship is lifelong.

Herewith a good guide for those who are pursuing or intend to pursue a PhD:

https://www.vitae.ac.uk/doing-research/doing-a-doctorate/starting-a-doctorate