Managing your research project. Objectives Opportunity to think about what it means to do a PhD project Provide space to recognise factors affecting your.

Managing your research project

Objectives

• Opportunity to think about what it means to do a PhD project

• Provide space to recognise factors affecting your research project

• Help identify key project milestones and strategies of reaching those milestones

• Opportunity to discuss these issues with other Postgraduates

• Provide list of helpful resources

What is a PhD?

Why are you doing it?

Factors involved?

3 key questions

What is a PhD?

Official definition

• The degree shall be awarded on the examination of a thesis embodying the results of a candidate’s research, and an oral examination.

• A successful candidate for the degree of Ph.D. must show convincing evidence of the capacity to pursue scholarly research or scholarship in his or her field of study on a scale which can be completed during three years of full-time research.

• The results of this research must then be embodied in a thesis which makes an original contribution to knowledge and the completed thesis must contain material of a standard appropriate for scholarly publication. The thesis must comply with the requirements for the form, submission and deposit of theses.

What is a PhD?

PhD = product + process

• Period of training – apprenticeship

• Research project

• 3 years full time

Why are you doing a PhD?

Constraints & Determinants

• Factors affecting your PhD

You

PhDLife

Work Life balance

Milestones (what are the hoops I need to jump through!)

Send whole thesis to Supervisors for final

Meet Supervisor Organise email, office/lab space.

Consult Supervisor - set up plan of work and meeting schedule. Carry out DNA and book relevant training. Set up database for referencing.

Reading, developing ideas, formulating hypotheses, designing pilot studies/experiments. Writing up notes, methods, ideas and results

Attend departmental seminars, perhaps present progress to other students at pg seminar/workshop.

Review progress, develop ideas further, continue reading, writing and experimental work. Prepare for annual appraisal.

Annual appraisal process Review panel Procedure department specific May have to submit a proposal/ literature review/ draft paper/poster/ give presentation. Check with your Department

Review progress. Prepare for annual

Attend a conference – give an oral presentation or a poster. Network with others in the field. Attend a UKGradschool

Continue reading, writing and evidencing. Think about thesis structure and chapter headings if not done already.

Review appraisal, set up plan of work for year. Timetable for completion Carry out DNA and book relevant training.

Continue reading, networking, analysing data, writing up results and writing chapters Finish off any labwork/fieldwork and write up. Keep sending draft chapters to Supervisor and seeking feedback.

Refining and editing of chapters.

Graduation

Amendments Binding and final submission

Viva

Submission of soft bound copies and electronic copy

Annual appraisal process Review panel Procedure department specific May have to submit a thesis chapter outline/ literature review/ draft paper/poster/ give presentation. Check with your Department

Review appraisal, set up plan of work for year. Carry out DNA and book relevant training.

Registration & Induction

Annual appraisal process Review panel Procedure department specific Move onto ‘extension’ status This means writing up and almost ready to submit. Check with your Department

Start a research journal

Read thesis, think about research Read recent literature Mock viva

Proof reading Minor changes

Attend a conference or workshop and network. Send papers to journal.

appraisal.

comments.

PhD Transfer

• Hypothesis formulation + proposal DNA

• Planning, data collection and analysis

• Writing up ideas• Annual appraisal +

DNA• Producing chapters

• Conferences and presentations

• Completed thesis• Submission• viva• Amendments• Final submission• Graduation

• How do you organise yourself?

• How do you like to work?

• Plan to ensure you work that way

• Responsibility – your project

• You need to be aware

Identify

Review

Plan

Implement

Project Management

How do you identify?

• Mind mapping

• Create task list– Break down into smaller lists

• Tables

• Dictation– Transcribe into list format

How do you identify?

Mind MapTony Buzandiagram representing ideas and tasks linked around a central theme

• No censoring

• All issues/facts/ thoughts and feelings

• Join up with lines

Literature review on method

Metalib search Print

out

access

Available computer

Reading time

Quiet placenotes

Summary form

Endnote library

Access to up to date version

Previous papers

Supervisors

Other students

PhD theses password

format

How do you plan?

Task list

Gantt charts / Calendaring / Tables

• Projected timescales

• Deadlines

• Big tasks broken down into smaller tasks

• What are you trying to achieve?

Gantt Chart

Things you need to bear in mind

• Clear idea of the milestones/goals/objectives

• REALISTIC• + 50% extra time (slippage)• Flexibility• Avoid overloading• Overlapping and

multitasking• Time for problem solving• Scoring tasks off!

– Sense of achievement

• Family and life commitments

• Hobbies, recreation and relaxation

• Downtime• Holidays!

PhD

You

Life

How do you implement?

• Action– Carry out specific tasks– Sticking to deadlines and reaching milestones

• Make notes (Important!)– What you successfully achieved– What you did not achieve– Why did you not achieve – time/money/resources

– Problems arose, strategies and solutions found– Unexpected or other points

– Avoidance mechanisms• Put time into plan for downtime!

How do you review?

• Read notes from implementation stage– Positives and negatives

• Check milestones/goals/objectives– were they realistic?

• Rewrite task lists, – alter calendar/Gantt charts/tables/mind maps

• Begin cycle again – – Identify/re-plan/implement/review

• Identify more/new tasks• Plan using recent knowledge

• What milestones do you have to meet each year?• Looking at it as a 3 year project – what should you

be doing in your final year? Fieldwork/fieldseason• Thesis write up – traditional or alternative format.

Discrete packages of work publication times. Affect project plan

• Resources• Sharing of resources e.g. research group• Planning ahead – fieldwork abroad/collecting data

in other countries • Requesting books/papers from other libraries, even

other countries• Access to resources – legal requirements,

inoculations

Implications for your research project

Project Planning strategies

• Research friendly• One methods/series of methods• What works for you?

– Know yourself• When do you work best?• When are you efficient and effective?• What other activities do you enjoy – plan these in!

• Are you willing to try an new method?

Key Points

• PhD is a project that needs planning

• Find a strategy that works for you

• Use some planning ideas– Mind map / Gantt chart / task list / calendaring

• Set yourself deadlines– Be realistic– Meet them

• Set your Supervisor deadlines