I need some help as I don't know how to go about it at all. Any advice gratefully received.
I think I know roughly what I want to research but am not entirely certain what broad subject area it would come under. Possibly French, or history or social science, possibly a combination of all three. Something along the lines of "Aspects of economic migration to Northern France in the early 19th century". I have a personal interest in this because a branch of my family settled there in the 1810s.
How would I find out if it's already been done?
Do I have to be registered with a university (and pay fees)?
Do I have to have a supervisor?
Can I access any research funds? And how to go about it if so? My topic would probably involve travel to northern France to poke around in departmental archives.
How do I go about it?
How would I submit it?
Is it possible to do a Phd part-time to fit in with working patterns? I'm self-employed and freelance but I typically have large gaps between paid jobs.
Any other advice would be very gratefully received!