Abstract Thinking in Action: Research Examples (Researcher’s Superpower – Part 3)

Abstract thinking can sometimes feel intangible, i.e., something we know is important but struggle to see in practice. This video brings it to life by showing how abstract thinking is used across real research tasks.

The key message is simple: abstract thinking is everywhere in research. Whether you are analysing literature, interpreting data, defining concepts, or building a conceptual framework, you are constantly moving from concrete details to higher-level meaning.

For example, even a simple literature review task can involve identifying relationships between pieces of information. In data analysis, abstract thinking allows researchers to move from interview quotes to themes, and then to broader categories, building layers of meaning that ultimately support theorisation.

The video also shows how abstract thinkingm also helps researchers:

• Reframe specific contexts into broader concepts

• Develop profiles (of people, practices, or behaviours)

• Build conceptual frameworks and explain relationships

• Capture processes through stages and dynamics

Across all these examples, the same pattern emerges: research is about stepping back, identifying patterns and making the underlying principles explicit.

Videos will be available in this playlist as they are released. To go to this week's video, press skip forward twice, once the first video starts.

Subscribers of the Virtual Tutor resource access all videos as they are finalised, and they can now access the first four videos in the series. Besides these videos which address abstract thinking head on, the Virtual Tutor resource features many tips and tools aimed at helping you develop your abstract thinking skills across key stages of the research process: from literature review and writing the introduction, to data analysis and building conceptual frameworks.

If you want more personalised support, I also work with students and researchers to help them move beyond simply describing data toward conceptualising and synthesising. Whether you are refining your research focus, building your conceptual framework, desigining your data collection instrument or strengthening the theoretical contribution of your work, the focus of my support is always the same: helping you step back from the details to identify the patterns, relationships, and principles that define strong research. You can find more details about my personalised support here.