June, 2015 - PhD Thesis Bangalore

Is Your Dissertation a Pit That Doesn’t Let You Come Out?

There is pin drop silence around me. It is justified and accountable, for I am in the process of writing my dissertation. Before I found myself in this situation, I was harsh enough to mock at those people who told me it was the most painful part of their academic journey. I often wondered, how painful could it be? My perspective was that all that a dissertation calls for is to pen down all you have learnt over the years. Writing always gives you guaranteed results vis a vis experiments as by the end of the effort, positively there is something constructive to produce. This was a third person’s view and with this perspective I always looked forward to taking up a smooth ride towards writing my dissertation.

Is this giving you a good laugh? I will let you have one. I have done that n been there too!

By now you must have estimated and understood how awfully wrong I was. I was just not wrong but horribly, terribly and awfully wrong. After I ventured into writing my dissertation, there was not any end to writing. I had spent hours writing and I could further continue to write for days and weeks and still have lots to write about. To add to my misery, my supervisor sends me back my drafts with red ink dripping from them. How demotivating could that be? I am surely progressing, at a turtle’s pace, slowly and gradually! A few of my chapters are written and up for approval with the supervisor. I keep waiting for more and more changes to be done and don’t know for how long this vicious circle would move along.

I feel as if I am not different from anyone who has fallen into a pit and is finding it difficult to climb out. The only change or difference here is that I chose to jump into the pit rather than by accident. I assumed a pit to be a pond from where I could successfully swim out like a fish.

I do suggest to all those who feel similar, do not lose hope and trust your potential and capabilities. It is a slow journey but a sure success if you bring in consistency and discipline in your effort. Do not shy away to seek help from reliable and experienced sources. It surely simplifies the hurdles and keeps the spirits high. Good Luck!!

All That You Can Learn from Your PhD Supervisor

Your supervisor has a very important role to play in the progression of your work, but at the same time they are much occupied in their own work and not find time often to transfer knowledge to their scholars on regular basis. As a research scholar you need to have the tact to extract the … Continue reading “All That You Can Learn from Your PhD Supervisor”

Your supervisor has a very important role to play in the progression of your work, but at the same time they are much occupied in their own work and not find time often to transfer knowledge to their scholars on regular basis. As a research scholar you need to have the tact to extract the best knowledge from the limited time that your supervisor gives to u.

I can suggest you some selective ways to be able to learn the best from the supervisor:

Exploit the tea/coffee break: Make the best use of the tea coffee breaks. I personally have found the best lessons have been learnt in the most casual of conversations with my guide. A lot of practical tips related to academic life that are not available in any book can be absorbed here.

Field trips: Field trips are the practical learning of the classroom theoretical concepts. Never leave an opportunity to accompany your supervisor on site as you will be able to learn all that is not being taught in the courses.

Writing Papers: Supervisors are happiest when you are writing to the best of your capacity. My supervisor quickly sees the draft of my paper when I send it to him. Practical ideas related to better clarity in the concept, use of figures and explanation of data. An analysis by my supervisor with a critical eye is a great help in improvising my writing skills and knowing my flaws.

I always look for opportunities where I can benefit from the experience of my advisor but hey are always scarce. Do you know of any other idea that could help to learn better from the supervisor?

Does Social Media Help Researchers?

Social media in the present times is undoubtedly a very significant research tool. Let us look at some ways in which it can help us to better collaborate, publicise and carry out our research in a more effective manner. Most of the people use Facebook as a medium for socialising, getting connected to friends, picture sharing and at times for gaming. But this isn’t its only use, it has also become a very popular medium to assist in research and other academic initiatives. How can you use Social media, specifically Facebook to facilitate your research? Here are some tips:

Developing a research page of Facebook: It is a very good idea for researchers to create a Facebook page that would help them in their research. Try to keep your professional and personal presence on the social networking site distinct.

Voting/polling: you can use Facebook for polling simple questions that do not need much explanations or detailing. Facebook gives you a good option to do that. The Facebook Poll app also gives you the alternative here.

Events: We usually see the Event feature getting used for informal events but these days a lot of formal events are also getting publicized through Facebook. A lot of researchers are using this tool for organising and publicizing events and conferences. You can create an open, closed or a secret event on Facebook. It can be determined by the type of event you are publicizing and what you seek from the effort.

Groups: There would be people who may not be your friends but you may want to be in touch with them because of some common interests. There are a lot of groups and pertaining to your interest, you may join one or many of the Facebook groups. You will be able to stay in touch with the members of the group through chatting or mails.

There are certain things that one needs to be cautious over and sometimes you need to put in a lot of extra effort. You will have to work around credibility issues and create the confidence that the purpose of your research is largely academic. You should initially acquaint yourself with the members before actually bringing out your research interests to them. Also v when you want to use your Facebook profile for academic purpose do not leave it open for public access. Try to have a more formal and professional image on the site so that you stay away from inappropriate comments and images which may become a hurdle in your future work.

The Wellness Process for a PhD Scholar

Week after week the struggle remains the same. By the end of every week you feel that you have spent a lot of time glued to your desk attempting to write and teach. It is exhausting or rather it is daunting. Every weekend you have committed to yourself for going to a gym or healthier food or more sleep. But when we talk of its application, these are unfulfilled promises. Is it news for you that a healthy lifestyle is imperative for a good research? Wellness is crucial for a healthy life but all the more crucial for a healthy PhD life.

Wellness comprises three areas:
Healthy food
Physical work out
Mental Relaxation

Healthy Food: Healthy food may mean including more and more of fruits and vegetables in your diet and bringing down the proportion of processed food and sweets. How to get healthy eating synchronized with your PhD schedule? Focus on eating clean. Have lots of fluids, say no to packed food. Remember if you give rubbish to your body, it will give rubbish to you. Do not strain yourself to bring in a drastic change in your schedule but just focus on three healthy meals in a day.

Physical Work out: As researchers, our schedule is largely sedentary and our body does not approve of it. To move around every few hours and make some physical activity a part of your routine is essential. Begin with setting a timer for every two hours where by you could take a stretching or walking break is always a good help. Attempt at finding exercises that work best for you.

Mental Relaxation: The thinking cap is always on for a PhD researcher. Networking with people, researching, referencing, assignments, teaching and son on are the list of tasks on people’s mind. There is no end to the pressure. Turn off all the chatter that is there in your mind, switch off from all the hassle and find ways to relax your mind. Making this as a habit is the best treat you can give to yourself.

A healthy life style is a means to reach the destination in a smoother way. Any step that is taken towards wellness in lifestyle is an indirect improvement in the quality of your work. The change that it will bring will surely reflect in your work and a healthier relationship with the people you meet enroute.