Getting Your PhD : A Practical Insider's Guide

Acknowledgements x List of Contributors xi Introduction 1 About this book 1 A Gap in Support for PhD Students? 2 Enhancing Doctoral Success: the Changing Shape of the PhD in the UK Context 4 Personal Development Planning 7 What This Book Does and Does Not Do 7 Overview of Chapters 8 Part I Negotiating the Research Process 11 1 Motivations for Doing a PhD 13 So Why Bother? 13 Choosing the Topic (Or Does the Topic Choose You?) 17 Key Points to Remember 20 Suggested Reading and Resources 21 2 Formulating a Research Question 22 Moving from the Initial Research Proposal Towards a Formulated Research Question 22 Gaining an Overview of the Literature and Research 24 Common Issues in Research Question Formulation 27 The Fit between Your Research Questions and Overall Design 31 Key Points to Remember 32 Suggested Reading 32 3 Choosing and Changing Supervisor 33 Making the Right Choice 33 What Type of Relationship Can I Expect? 36 When Your Supervisor Gets Another Job 39 Reasons for Changing Supervisor 40 Finding a New Mentor 42 Key Points to Remember 43 Suggested Reading 44 4 Managing the Ethics of Academia 45 Why Bother with Ethics? 45 Doing Ethical Research 46 The Role of Research Ethics Committees 53 Personal Ethics in Research Practice 55 Key Points to Remember 56 Suggested Reading 57 5 What to Do with Your Data 58 From Data to Findings 58 Getting Started, Getting Stuck and Pushing Forward 60 Preparing Data for Analysis 62 Analytical Strategies 65 Key Points to Remember 69 Suggested Reading 69 Part II Writing, Publishing and Networking 71 6 Writing Up and Writer's Block 73 Writing as Activity, Process and Product 73 It Is Never Too Early to Start Writing 74 Managing the Writing Process 76 Writing as an Aid to Argument Development 76 Writing Up Your Thesis 78 Writer's Block and Strategies for Moving On 81 Key Points to Remember 82 Suggested Reading 82 7 Papers and Publishing 83 Why the Rush? 83 Getting Your Work Out There 86 The Publishing Process 89 They Said What? Be Prepared for Challenging Comments 90 Key Points to Remember 93 Suggested Reading and Resources 94 8 Networking 95 It's Good to Talk: The Value of Networking 95 Anxious about Networking? 96 Networking Is about Giving as Much as Receiving 98 Taking a Proactive Approach 99 What Constraints Do I Face? 102 Key Points to Remember 103 Suggested Reading 104 9 Missing the Deadline 105 The Broader Picture: Submission Rates and Missing the Deadline 105 A Lack of Guidance and Support 106 Mismanaging the Research Process 107 Personal Circumstances 109 Dealing with Disappointment 110 Enhancing the Chances of Meeting the Deadline 110 Key Points to Remember 113 Suggested Reading 113 10 The Viva and Beyond 115 You Have Submitted Now what? 115 How to Prepare for the Viva 117 Post Viva: Celebration, Commiseration and More Work! 120 Thinking about 'After' Before It Arrives 122 Key Points to Remember 126 Suggested Reading and Resources 126 Part III Shifting Identities and Institutions 127 11 Non-Traditional Routes into the PhD 129 Starting a PhD Later in the Lifecourse 129 Older Students Returning to Study 130 Applying Work Wisdom to the Challenge of Academia 132 It's Work, but Not as You Know It: Recognising the Differences 134 Professional Doctorates 137 Key Points to Remember 138 Suggested Reading 139 12 Undertaking a PhD Part-time 140 Why Part-time Study? 140 Taking the Plunge! 141 Obvious Hurdles 143 A Different Timeframe 145 Key Points to Remember 149 Suggested Reading 149 13 Combining Teaching and Doctoral Studies 150 The Unsaid Assumption 150 What Is Teaching? 152 So,What's In It for Me? 153 And the Catch Is? 157 Effective Corner-cutting Strategies 159 Key Points to Remember 162 Suggested Reading 162 14 Reconciling the Research Role with the Personal 163 Doctoral Research and the 'Personal' 163 Emotions and Doing Research 167 Managing Your Emotions 170 Key Points to Remember 171 Suggested Reading 171 Part IV Relationships of Support 173 15 What to Expect from Your Supervisor 175 The Basics 175 Types of Supervision 176 Styles of Supervision 178 Overall Expectations 179 Managing Your Supervision 182 Key Points to Remember 184 Suggested Reading 184 16 Enabling Research Environments 185 Challenging Exploitation and Enabling Student Development 185 Research Students and Institutional Responsibilities 186 Student Experiences and Institutional Practices 188 Knowing Your Rights as a Research Student 192 Key Points to Remember 193 Suggested Reading and Resources 193 17 Combining Family Commitments with Doctoral Studies 194 Balancing Multiple Roles and Responsibilities 194 Incompatible Identities, Roles and Responsibilities? 195 Complementary and Empowering Connections 199 Institutional Support for Postgraduate Students with Children 199 Strategies for Success 201 Key Points to Remember 202 Suggested Reading and Resources 202 18 Coping with Stress with Eve Parsons 203 The Stresses and Strains of the Birth of a Thesis 203 Sniffing Out Support 204 The Role of the Counsellor 205 The Wrath of the Supervisor 208 Stages of Stress 210 No Magic Wands but... 211 Key Points to Remember 211 Suggested Reading and Resources 212 Final Thoughts 213 References 216 Appendices 1 Example of an Informed Consent Form 219 2 Example of an Information Sheet 220 Index 221