Q&A: Can you do my research for me?

Dear readers,

Here's an overdue Q&A post. More and more, I'm receiving requests (in different forms and manners) asking if I could do your research for you. Let me explain my point of view by illustrating this topic with a question I received recently (edited for the anonymity of the reader):

"Hi, I'm in the first year of my PhD in University of XXXX and following your blog regularly since past 1 month. My research area is Something in Social Sciences (technically falls under XXXX research). I'm in the process of drafting my research proposal as provision year goal. I'm writing this to ask for your help to locate existing research done under the broad spectrum of 'Field XXX'. Its almost impossible to read every book and journal to have a list of the research topics done under my area. So, could you please help me find any dedicated weblink or source from where I can have a list of the existing research? It would be really helpful!
Looking forward to your response."

While I felt like grabbing this person from the shoulders and yelling at him/her that he/she needs to do her own work, I replied as follows:

A few things:
1. “Its almost impossible to read every book and journal to have a list of the research topics done under my area.” => Not true: get the information you need and start reading. Once you start finding that information occurs again and again, it means that you have grasped the basis of your field. You cannot outsource this task, it is crucial to building your understanding of your research problem.
2. If you have been visiting my blog, you should have noticed my field is structural engineering. I cannot give advice on social sciences research.

More than anything. I get annoyed when people state that there is too much information in their field to read.

What you need to do is the following:

- Learn to read fast and scan for the crucial information in a paper. If the paper turns out not to be that interesting, don't spend hours trying to derive the math in it yourself (unless you love doing this for a hobby, then go ahead and do it on a night or weekend).
- Recognize the key authors/ schools of thought
- Read, read, read: it's got for you. It sparks creativity.

By the same token, I think of essay writing services as unnecessary and for lazy students. If you need your essay for research, you need to go through the process which ends in writing the essay, to learn about your field.

I once went to one of these websites where you can have somebody write your PhD thesis. I selected from a drop-down menu a thesis of 100k words, to be written in 2 days, and I got a price offer. Anybody in his right mind should know you can't do a PhD in 2 days - but apparently this company thought that if somebody is willing to pay for it, they can get it done.

To summarize: do your own work. It's of your own benefit.

Q&A: Further exploring self-care in academia

After hosting Jenna's guest post on self-care in academia, I was contacted by John Elmes from the Times Higher Education who got interested in this topic. He asked me and Jenna a few additional questions, and used this material for a piece he published recently on THE.

As part of the Q&A series, I'm reproducing the short questions that John sent me, and their answers:

1.) Are Jenna’s experiences and recommendations (so far) similar to your own or friends’?

Yes. Even though I haven’t had any serious health problems during my PhD, I used to push myself a little extra before going on a holiday, and very often I’d be sick from exhaustion the first 2 – 3 days of my holiday, having to stay in bed with fever.
During the years of my PhD, I’ve experimented a lot trying to find out what works best for me, and what makes me productive for a long stretch of time. Jenna’s recommendations are similar to what turns out to work very well for me. While I have no fixed hours (I could for example work 6am – 8am from home, hit the gym, and then be in my office around 10:45am to prepare class and have office hours for my students), I do limit the total number of hours I work on a given week. Essentially, I plan and move blocks of time around so that I can fit work, exercise, sufficient sleep, running my blog, playing music, household chores, family time … all into my schedule.

2.) You have several in this series on self-care in academia, do you hope that these pieces of advice will help current PhD students from all over the global HE world, but also can be taken on into one’s further academic career?

I do really hope these pieces will help current PhD students and ECR who might be struggling with their workload, the pressure of academia, and juggling a number of tasks. I myself am also learning from these pieces and others’ perspectives on self-care, and adopting some of the advice and lessons of the guest writers into my weeks and months. Certainly, I think developing good practices for workflow and self-care during the PhD are beneficial for one’s further academic career, but every new step in an academic career brings new challenges. As organized as I was towards the end of my PhD, my first semester as an assistant professor was really really tough (teaching 3 new courses + research + service + admin + whatnot) and it took me time to adjust and make changes to my schedule and set new limits for myself to find a way to keep everything moving forward without depleting myself.

Q & A: The PhD and The Job Market

I was recently interviewed on the job market after obtaining a PhD. You can find the interview here:

1. When you began your PhD, what were your initial career plans?

I didn’t really have plans – my original plan was to pursue a PhD at the university where I was enrolled for my Master’s, but then the economic crisis of 2008 hit and funding was impossible to find. At the beginning of my PhD I was open for both working in the industry after my PhD (seeing bridges being built) as well as staying in academia. More than anything, I went into my PhD out of curiosity and out of my love for learning – two factors that have been driving the course of my life.

2. Were you always interested in going into academia?

Not really – I just always wanted to do something that I find interesting and challenging. The regular school system had me bored out of my mind, and once I got out of there, I just wanted to go and study something difficult, something that would actually be fun and intriguing – and, as I mentioned before, this curiosity and need for getting my brain to work, has been a constant drive for me.

3. If you weren’t in academia, what career path would you have taken?

I have a broad range of interests. I could have gone full-time into bridge engineering in the industry (I am working on some projects in the industry besides my academic work at the moment). Other career paths that draw my attention (in no particular order) are: teaching yoga, writing (poetry mostly) and music.

4. How did your PhD research get picked up by the Dutch Ministry of Transport?

I actually joined a project as one of 5 PhD students that was funded based on a need of the Dutch Ministry of Transportation to further analyse the shear capacity of the existing bridges. Since I applied to the open position for a PhD student, their need for this research came before any of my results.

5. How did you secure your research position at TU Delft after receiving your PhD?

It followed naturally from the experiences that I had during my PhD – more than anything, I think the excellent work relationship I built up with my direct colleagues made it a logical step to keep working together. It was decided before my graduation that at least I would be able to stay as a guest, without a salary, but keeping the research tie, keeping my library access and similar benefits. When funding was found to hire me as a part-time researcher, I was very happy. Practically it means that during the summer semester of Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where I am a professor, I return to The Netherlands to focus on research, work on short research projects, or chip in where my colleagues need an extra bit of help.

6. What do you think of the jobs market for PhD graduates outside of academia?

At least in the field of engineering, I think there will always be a need for people with a deep understanding of the problems that the industry faces. Sometimes it might be a little more difficult to explain the value of the PhD degree to some companies, but none of my fellow PhD students from the same research group seemed to have any difficulties securing a job position – in academia or in industry.

7. Do you feel your PhD gave you an ample skillset to pursue roles outside of academia?

Absolutely. I work on some smaller projects in the field of design of structures outside of my academic work, and the speed with which I can develop a design is very high, because I have a deep understanding of the structural behaviour of concrete. Moreover, when I’m faced with the need to design a structural element I haven’t designed before, or I need to familiarize myself with a code that I haven’t used before, I only need a few hours to soak up the new material before I can put it into practice – again, thanks to a thorough understanding of the behaviour of structural concrete.

8. You mention the need to learn ‘non-scientific skills’ during a PhD, what are these?

Communication more than anything: giving presentations and writing reports and papers. Planning and time management skills are another important set of skills: you can’t manage 4 years’ worth of research without a basic time management system.

9. What advice would you give someone undertaking a PhD who is worried about finding a job after graduation?

If your graduation date is more than a year into the future: relax – you never know what curveball the economy is going to throw you (good or bad). If you graduation date is coming up: go to events and network with companies and other universities, talk to your senior colleagues about your job search and ask about their recommendations and experiences, visit the career center of your university for some guidance on finding a position upon graduating. If you want to stay in academia, familiarize yourself with the institutions that award research grants, and their requirements.

Q&A: When your sensitivity undermines your work

Another long since overdue post in the category of Questions and Answers!

Some time ago, a PhD student sent me the following question:

Good afternoon. I'm PhD student. Thanks for the nice articles in this blog. Would like to share with you Eva. I'm very sensitive person. Whenever people use harsh words to me, It makes me feel very sad and upset most of the time. During this time, i'm not able to focus in my studies which affects my studies so much. What i should do?

Here are a few tips I can give you:

1. Understand your sensitivity

First and foremost: there is nothing wrong with being sensitive. You can gain a lot of benefit from knowing yourself though. Figure out if you are very sensitive for words, or if you would classify as a highly sensitive person (I am, and understanding that I am has been tremendously beneficial). Here's a test you can take to see if you are a highly sensitive person. Here's a book that I recommend you read:



By all means, try to deeply understand the nature of your sensitivity, and understand all the benefits and beauty of it. Don't ever let anybody tell you that you are "weak" because you are sensitive.

2. Meditate and let go

If you feel particularly shaken by an event, if somebody has mistreated you, then don't force yourself to delve back into your work. Look for a quiet place, try a short relaxation exercise, and try to let the dark cloud float out of the sky. If you need to lock yourself down in the bathroom for 15 minutes to recover - do it. It's not because society thinks that is wrong, that it really is wrong. Regroup your soldiers and prepare for your next step.

3. Get out for a walk

Another option would be to go out and enjoy some fresh air, sun and nature. If you are close to a forest or park, spending 15 minutes in a quiet place while walking might be just what you need - even more so if you are a sensitive person.

4. Do something you enjoy

Another trick to lift the dark mood that has settled upon you, is to go and do something you enjoy. As a sensitive person, you might like to listen to some beautiful music, go visit a museum, talk to a friend, or anything that makes you feel good. Realize that as bad as you feel when you experience something negative, you also feel deeply touched and happy when you have a positive experience. Try to swing the pendulum back into the positive spectrum.

5. Let others know your limits

People should not mistreat you and use harsh words on you - whether you are sensitive to their behavior or not. If people mistreat you a number of times, you should tell them that they have crossed the line. No swearing, no aggressive biting back at them - but just be clear and concise that you do not appreciate their behavior and would them rather not to repeat treating you like that in the future.

Q & A: What should you already know when you start a PhD

Time to answer some more of your questions, folks!

Here's a recent submission from a reader (I obviously took out the personal details of the writer, and replaced these by Someone, Somewhere, My Field, and in Countries X and Y).

Dear Eva

This is Someone I am a new PhD student at Somewhere.

Actually I have experience in My Field because I was in Country X for 2 years before my PhD fellowship in Country Y but I am afraid of new techniques I will find in the new lab in Country Y I do not know much more about it before so do you think I am right with my fears or not ???

Should I know everything at my new lab. what they are expecting from me.

Thanks

Yours

Someone

As always, let me break this question down into a few different elements.

I have experience in My Field

That's already great - not all new PhD students have had the chance to learn in different countries and build up some experience. Some might come into their program with a few years of work or lab experience. Others might be completely new to the lab work they will be doing (I, for one, was completely new to lab work when I started my PhD).

I am afraid of new techniques I will find in the new lab in Country Y

A PhD is a learning process, and learning new skills is part of that. Besides the new lab skills that you will learn, there is so much more that you will learn along the way in your program - academic writing is a big one for most of us, for example.

Do you think I am right with my fears or not

You are right to have your doubts, fears and more about starting a PhD - because it's a big project and it will take you some years to finish. However, the reasons why you are doubting and fearing shouldn't really be causes for fear.

Should I know everything at my new lab

They know that a new PhD student is an apprentice. The older PhD students might take you under their wing and teach you how to use the equipment in the lab, or the lab technicians might help you with that. As long as you keep an open mind and attitude, they will all be happy to help you out. Just don't take on an arrogant attitude, saying you know things and all that - just patiently listen and learn how things in the new lab work. And of course, bringing coffee and cookies to the other folks in the lab at some point is always a good way to win some sympathy, make friends, find a time to discuss and have a great break together.

What they are expecting from me?

That's a question I can't really answer - it depends on your project, your lab and your professor. If you have any doubts, if it isn't clear to you on which actions you should be devoting more time, then please speak up and ask them.

PhD Talk Q & A: Research depression

Mostly unrelated - but, hey, here's a tucan :)

Dear readers,

I know I'm totally behind on replying questions in the Q&A series, but finally I'm back with a question I personally replied to a reader quite some time ago already.

Some time ago, I received the following message in my inbox:

Hey
I have read some of your blogs and they are really really good. They have helped me a lot in getting motivated for my research in masters. Actually i am doing my thesis in masters and now a days i am feeling very very down due to loneliness (i live in a hostel) and pressure of work. When some one gives me a motivational speech or i read some motivational stuff ( like i read yours) i am greatly motivated and promise myself to work hard on my thesis but after some time, the effect wears off and again I am back in that no motivation mood. Mostly I am locked up in my cubicle and doing nothing, and it wastes lots of my time. Most of the time I am depressed and I feel like I wont b able to complete my thesis. I am scared to do research. I only feel better when i go out of the room and meet people or socialize. But I can't do it all the time because it also wastes lots of time. I am suffering from very very low motivation and want to complete my thesis on time and submit it but I don't know i can't bring in the motivation to even open a research article and study. Sometimes i feel like i should seriously consult a psychiatrist. Sometimes negative thoughts like suicide also cross my mind. Mostly I can't even bring myself to get up and brush my teeth. I plan to go to library but even can't push myself to do that. I get up early in the morning to get ready and go to library but then i keep it pending and pending.I have wasted months i this process. Please help me. Please I seriously need help.

The first thing that came to my mind after reading this message, was that this student needs help. I'm not a professional mental health care taker, but we all know when somebody needs help, and this message spoke right to my heart. Even though it's hard to judge at a distance and I can only give a little bit of encouragement and a nudge to get help when you need it, there's always the tiny little support we can give. So I replied as follows:

Thanks for sending me your message through my blog.
Reading your message, I would like to suggest you to talk to a counselor of your university. All of us go through difficult times during our PhD, but for some people those difficulties at times appear to be impossible to overcome. From what you wrote me, I had the impression you’ve hit a really rough patch. Most universities have psychologists working for them, especially to help people in your case.

There’s no shame in asking for help when you need it. You’ll do much more damage to yourself and your studies if you try to keep up appearances, but crash in a few months from now.
I’ll write a longer post dealing with your cry for help, but in the meantime I already wanted to reach out to you and encourage you to seek support in your institution.

So remember, there's absolutely no shame in asking for help when you need it - even though in academia it might be considered as a failure. It's not - you'll only do more damage to yourself and your work if you stay in the same place where you are - a dark place where you'd rather not be hanging out for too long.

Q&A: Career and gender advice

It's time for a (long overdue) Q&A again! Some time ago (I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this post!), I received the following email (I left out some details that could point to the identity of the writer):

I have just found your blog and I am starting to read. I don't know exactly why, by I want to directly write to you a message.
I am from XXX and from this academical year I am PhD student on my University . But the true is I have always dreamed to do the PhD but abroad. But after this one year hear I am really worry about the future, the work possibility or since career. I haven't got any foreign trainee or something like that, so I don't know how it looks there, maybe in Country X the possibility after the PhD especially for the woman aren't good? I want to go abroad because I think it is batter for my language and experience, I don't have a husband or kids:P so I can travel, during this year my family have needed me closer, that the reason I have stayed here, but know I want to go ahead.
Do you have any advices? What do you think about PhD for woman, after finished it? Its possible to combine it in the future with child, family so on?? (On my University I know the women=the mums = the good sciences, but I see that for men a lot of things are easily and they can achieve more in the shortest time.... but on the other hand I am used to say, impossible is nothing;))
How is your feelings?

Let me break down this message into a number of sub-questions:

1. Should I go abroad for my PhD?

I'm quite a fan of going around to different places, as I've studied in 3 different countries. Quite some time ago, I've written a post about why you should consider to study abroad.

But does that necessarily mean you have to spend you entire PhD in another country? Since you have indicated that your family needed your closer this year, you've made -I think- a good decision in staying close to them. Imagine if you'd be abroad, spending most of your time trying to Skype home, and freaking out every time they don't pick up the phone because you're fearing the worst?

There's many other ways in which you can have an experience abroad, outside of your home university during your PhD. You can visit a lab or research group you work with abroad, for a few months. You can try to attend a good number of conferences to build you international network. You can try to learn as much as possible from international members in your thesis committee. You can attend a specialized course at another university. You can go for a summer school abroad.

2. I'm afraid the possibilities for a career with a PhD in my home country are not good.

It can be difficult everywhere, if you think along the traditional lines of PhD - postdoc - tenure track - professorship. It gets even more difficult if you are tied to a certain geographic region, and if you'd have a partner who is also trying to follow this path.

Nonetheless, when I wrote my post about finding a job after the PhD, I got quite a number of reactions from people who went into different career paths outside of academia, enthusiastically sharing how they are enjoying their new career, and how they benefit from their PhD training even though they did not stay in academia.

More important than anything else with regard to the career prospects after your PhD: make sure you enjoy the journey of your PhD. Make sure you revel in the fun of science, and enjoy the learning process. What comes next, well, in the end, who knows? I don't think you should do a PhD because you want to become a professor. I think a better reason is because you simply love what you are doing. If you ride on that wave, who knows on which shore you'll wash upon...

3. How can you combine a career in science with a family?

I didn't take time in between my degrees to go to industry, but studied one degree after another, and graduated relatively young. At the moment my "family" consists of a husband and a cat, and both are pretty easy to look after ;-)

However, I don't think a career in science and/or academia is harder to combine with a family than any other career, provided that you work full-time. Some universities in some countries may be more forward-thinking in helping out parents (for example, having affordable day-care at the university), but for most young parents, it's quite a puzzle to solve.

Even though it might sound challenging, there are plenty of great academics out there who are showing that it is possible to combine their career and family. One of my favorite blogs is ran by Dr. Golash-Boza, who successfully combines her academic career and family (and so much more). Blogs like hers make me wonder if those professors who (claim to) work up to 120 hours a week are any more productive than somebody who works 40 (or a bit more)... From my own experience, I've learned that I need to mix things up and divide my attention to non-work-related topics (such as blogging) to keep a clear mind and avoid having my thoughts running in circles.

Digging for gold in the literature review

Another great question from a reader - and one that will certainly sound very familiar to all of you starting your research journey. Here's the question:

i want to start over research work on child labour, but i do not how i gather infomation and what is important and what is not, and to manage this information in proper way

So let's split up this question into its 3 part:

I do not know how I gather information

If you are starting with research, most likely your supervisor will give you at least something to get you started with reading. You can start your search for literature based on the references in the document(s) that you get from your supervisor, and then again look at the references in these references, and so on and so forth.
At the same time, I suggest you start to look for articles by searching based on key words (yours would be "child labor" and some additional search terms to help you refine your search) in search engines such as Scopus or Google Scholar. You might also want to make a trip to the library and see which books could be useful for you (and then check the references of these books).

What is important and what is not?

The answer to this questions depends on the following: Have you defined your research question already? If your research question is defined, then the important information is that which is relevant to your research question (although I'm a big fan of peripheral reading to broaden your knowledge in the field - you just read differently depending on how close the paper is related to your research question).
If your research question is not defined yet, and you need to explore the literature to look for an open end to find your topic in there, then you need to follow a different strategy. For this case, you will need to read much more broadly, and most likely interdisciplinary for starters. Then, you will need to be able to compare different analyses, and see where the authors seem to disagree. If there's disagreement amongst authors, you are getting into the pond of the research question fish. Carefully read to figure out why the authors are disagreeing, and which piece of information they are missing that causes them to disagree.

How to manage this information in a proper way

Don't start to make overview tables in Excel - that's unnecessary these days. There's a whole array of software tools that you can use to archive your literature sources in an easily accessible way. Moreover, once you start to use these tools, you will see that you can also use plug-ins to your word processor software, so that you can easily insert citations in the right style.

As a last tip that I can give you: don't sit and read for months on end. Read something, and then summarize this, and start writing. Writing helps you to sort out your ideas, and will produce a piece of work that you can take to your supervisor to discuss.

The GRE as preparation for graduate school

Time for more Q&A again today (and don't be shy to drop me a question, I'll answer it in a Q&A - it sometimes takes a bit more time, but I always answer!).

Here's today's question:

Hi there,

Do you think that taking the chemistry subject GRE will make a big difference for my application process into Graduate school?

I would like to do a PhD in biochemistry. I thought it would be good if I had the subject GRE, but the time when I plan to take it I will NOT have taken physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry yet...

Thanks!!


Let's break this question down to the 2 main parts here:

1. Should you take a subject GRE?

Since you already know that you want to do a PhD in Biochemistry, I assume you have as well already outlined a number of institutions where you would like to work, and supervisors with whom you would like to collaborate. If not, I would recommend you to start from there.
Then, once you know where you would like to apply, check the requirements. If they request that you take the chemistry subject GRE, then you need to make sure you fulfill this requirement.
However, if they don't mention it, I personally don't think an extra standardized test result will really make the difference in your application. I think showing your personal style and strengths through your autobiographical essay is something that will make a deeper impression on the selection committee. By all means, if you can go for a campus visit, I'd recommend you personally meet possible supervisors and see if you would be able to align yourself with his/her lines of thought.

2. Missing knowledge for taking the subject GRE

If you are planning on taking the subject GRE, you need to make sure your are well-prepared for the test. If you are lacking the knowledge of certain topics, I would recommend you to study these topics on your own, or to take these classes earlier than you planned. I don't think going to a test, knowing that you are missing some parts of the knowledge, is a good approach. Especially if you want to use the test for a graduate school application, you want to have a score that is equal to, or as close as possible to, the full grade. Most likely that means you'll need to pick up a book and work your way through the topic (and that might even be something you can use in your grad school applications: the ability to successfully study these topics in your own is something that will come in very useful in grad school). I really don't believe in going for the half-assed option of studying for the exam, only based on the topics you know. Go big or go home :)

And since some of these parts might sound a little harsh, I'd like to give you the following 3 pieces of advice:
- follow your instinct
- trust yourself
- don't panic

All the best, and I hope you can start your PhD in biochemistry very soon!

What do you think, dear readers? Do you agree, or do you have a complete different experience?

What should you do after your PhD?

More Q&A today!

I recently received the following question from a reader:

Hello, i just want to know what i should do after completion of Ph.D?

Excellent question, but not one that I can answer right away. I don't have my crystal ball lying around to tell you what the Flying Spaghettimonster has in store for you after the PhD.

Now with that disappointment out of the way, let me give you the no-nonsense answer:

It all depends on you!

To guide you in your thinking, consider the following questions:
- What would you like to do after your PhD?
- What are your strengths and for which competences can you leverage your skills?
- Are you willing to move away from your current location?
- What type of lifestyle do you want to have?

As I transitioned from being a PhD student to a young professor, I've written extensively about the topic, and I also had the opportunity to invite others over to share their experiences. Here is an overview of posts that might be of your interest:
- Getting a job, after the PhD: my own cautious tale on how to navigate the job market after the PhD. Do read the comments - some people found the post to be rather negative and have more uplifting stories to share.
- Finding employment outside of academia: My interview with Samuel Oduneye in which we touch upon the many possibilities you have outside of academia, and how you can show the value of your skills.
- Preparing for life after the PhD: re-train your brain: an excellent guest post by Dr. Chris Humphrey about leaving academia when the time is right.
- Life after graduate school: What happens next: a guest post by Gemma Gaten, on the fact that your diplomas sometimes might not be valued as much as you'd wish.
- PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Leveraging your Job Seeking Position by Highlighting your Academic Skills : What are you, as a recently graduated or soon-graduated-PhD bringing to the table that other candidates (without a research degree) don't have?
- Four Tips That Will Get You Noticed During a Job Interview : Once you are at the point of going for an interview, read this guest post by Ross Jilling before you walk into the interview room.
- An Expat Scholar’s View from the Gulf: There are academic jobs out there, but sometimes you might need to move far away. I opted for South America, John Laprise, author of this guest post, moved to the Gulf - read his positive story about moving countries to build your academic career.
- PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Academic Culture and the PhD Experience : I wrote this post for prospective PhD candidates, but the idea holds true for every academic: consider the culture of the country and university you will moving to when you are thinking about making the leap.
- PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: The Curious Case of the Academic Nomads: More about moving countries - this post deals with the fact that we often move around for our studies and academic careers, and give some advice.

On dealing with an absent supervisor

My lovely readers! I'm so pleased by all the questions I'm receiving - feels like I'm writing something really useful (at least for 1 person) instead of just ranting on about myself.

I received this question lately (and I've taken out some information with XXXX because I'm not sure if the reader would like us to know all the details of this case).

Hello Eva ,
I am first year phd since XXXX months, before applying for phd i was very motivated before I was a hard working student I like research and I want to do a successful phd, I started doing my literature review and I was writing in parallel a ACM survey the idea it was to make a systematic literature review, it was very hard for me however i kept motivated for some months and than as I didn't receive feedback and help for my supervisor
I stopped writing since the last two months because I was stuck and I couldn't find an idea for my phd just some shapes... and i was thinking I should learn another skills for my phd what make me very busy and I forgot to finish the paper I stopped on the last part i.e the analysis. I was reading your blog and it is very interesting , right now i m just learning the new skills and I am afraid if I will lost time as I read too much but as you know sometimes I don't understand , I am asking you for an advice about time management I have a pile of tasks to do and learning some languages ;;;and I couldn't finish my article :( Unfortunately I am alone in the lab no body help me I have another advisor but I see her just sometimes by skype I think she is the only one that understand what I am doing however in the lab my second advisor he is an XXXXX and he doesn't know a lot of about research I am really feeling bad so stressed as They asked me to implement (lab);;;and nothing is fix right now , please what should I do? during my master i published three conference papers now i don't have any confidence on myself and now I feel like I don't know anything and like I am lost should I continue reading and learning the skills that I need or I stop
any tips or advice are welcome

Sorry for the mistakes ( I am from XXXX) :) and im learning english as well

Cheers
XXXX

Alright, there are quite a number of elements in here, so let's break this down into different parts and problems.

1. Not receiving help from your supervisor

If your advisor is a superstar in his field, chances are rather high that he might be away very often to attend meetings, conferences, visit other universities and teach courses abroad. If this is the case, I suggest you try to work out a schedule with your supervisor. For example, if you are working on a certain paper, try and schedule a meeting well in advance with your supervisor to discuss your work. You might even want to schedule a second meeting ahead because chances are small he will have read your work(at least, that's what I did). Just keep showing up, just keep sending bugging emails and just keep working - and hope you'll eventually capture your supervisor's attention.

That brings me to my next point: don't wait for your supervisor to continue working. Being independent in research is important during your PhD. Yes, it might feel very frustrating not to get feedback on your work, or to get a random comment about work you did a year ago that seems to criticize what you did back then. Have your arguments ready to defend your work and show the validity to your supervisor. It's your research, and no one else's, so you shouldn't wait until you have the OK of your supervisor. Doing research is not like submitting homework, it really is your own project.

2. Not having access to your supervisors

It can be frustrating not to have access to your supervisors, but again, you might like to plan your meetings well ahead to capture some coveted space in your supervisor's planning. If your supervisors are busy, chances are they will let their emails slide away, and you'll need face-to-face or Skype meetings (anything that can give you your supervisor's undivided attention). If you really can't get much access or support from your supervisors, look out for a mentor to help you with your career, and befriend a post-doc or older PhD student to help you out in the lab.

3. Being stuck

You're feeling stuck on your literature review. To help you with this feeling of hitting a wall, you might like to reframe your thoughts. Have you considered that how you feel about the help (or lack thereof) from your supervisors might affect your motivation and performance?

Another element in being stuck is that it is a normal step in the process. You always need to build up some friction before you move forwards. It's when you are at that point where you think you're out of options and that you feel like giving up that you are about to find the key to make a step forward.

With that said, I think that in your case we are more talking about a lack of motivation and generally feeling pretty bad. Let me explain you in the next steps how you can get your work back on the rails.

4. Defining your priorities

What is really important right now? Finishing that paper, no? The skills are important long-term as well, but they are not as urgent. Note the two key words here: important and urgent (check out this older post of mine on the topic). Make a list of all the activities that you are involved with at the moment: the literature review and analysis, your new skills, getting started in the lab, and all your subtasks. Identify which tasks are (1) important and urgent, (2) important but not urgent, (3) urgent but not important or (4) not important and not urgent. This exercise will help you identify your priorities.

5. Time management

Once you know you priorities, you can start planning. Here are some tips for planning and making lists. If your planning does not work, just be kind with yourself and make course corrections. I also wrote about my time management system here.

What I suggest you for your specific case is to try the following:
- make a schedule of 6 hours per day (the other extra 2 hours you keep as buffer time for anything that spills over, admin and email, and other disturbances)
- devote 2,5 hours a day on your literature review and analysis
- devote 2,5 hours a day on your lab work
- devote 1 hour a day on learning your new skills
- try breaking down the larger chunks of time into pomodoros, and define very well what you want to achieve per pomodoro.
- plan at least one fun activity per night to keep you happy and relaxed and forget about your PhD worries :).

If a daily schedule does not work, try a weekly schedule, and divide 30 hours into chunks devotes to your different priorities (I prefer planning on a weekly basis to see how with a few hours a day I can move my journal papers forward).

6. Getting started in the lab

Check out this post about getting started with lab research, and this post about what I learned from doing experiments. Make friends with the tech guys and the post-docs and older phd students. Be patient, experiments never work from the first trial - but that's one of the beauties of experimental research - it's all very playful, so keep it light.

7. Long-term thinking

Getting publications in a PhD might take a little more time. You are in your first year, so don't worry about not having anything published yet. Think long-term: consider the planning of your dissertation on the scale of the 3 or 4 years of time that you have, and mark milestones in your progress, such as finishing dissertation chapters and/or getting parts of your research into journal papers. You might also like to identify conferences where you would like to go, and plan for your conference papers around that.

I hope these ideas help you!
If anybody would like to chip in with thoughts and comments, you are more than welcome.

Writing an abstract before finishing the research

It's Q&A time!

Recently, I received this mail from a reader:

I'm an early-stage PhD student in humanities, and my question is whether or not it is advisable to write an abstract for a conference before doing much of the research or any of the writing. I did this quite successfully for a graduate student conference, but I'm a bit more apprehensive about doing the same for my first professional conference.

Here's what Auntie Eva has to say on this topic:

I'd say - as goes with so many questions - "It depends".

IMO it depends on a few things:

1. Time schedule

There's a good number of conferences that require you to submit an abstract 2 years before the actual conference. For that situation, you have plenty of time between submitting the abstract and the due date of the paper - so you can plan to do your research in those months.

2. Contents of the abstract

How much of a grasp of the research do you have to make a conclusion to your abstract? Your concluding sentence does not need to be something like "it was found that property Y depends for X% on parameter Z", but you need to tell them if you are going to come up with recommendations, parallels - you need to point in the direction of what will be the result of the research already. So, if you have a schedule and know what you'll be digging into, you can have an idea of what TYPE of results you can promise in the abstract (the precise quantity can come later). Note that I write this from an engineering point of view - it might slightly differ in the humanities, although the general setup of abstracts and papers is the same along disciplines.

3. Tools

Do you have everything in your hands to get started on the research, or do you still need to sharpen your pencil and collect materials to make up your mind about where you will be going with this research? This question ties back to the time schedule part again as well.

With that said, I wrote my first abstract (for a conference for PhD students only, though) when I was less than 2 months in Delft, and the paper within 4 months of starting. It was all very preliminary, but it was a good lesson. By all means, conferences are one of the best places to learn, so if you have the chance, go to as many places as you can!