Academic

At a recent business networking event, I met no fewer than three people who’d quit their PhD. Although they believed it was the right decision, they still felt a sense of failure or defeat. Estimates vary, but it’s likely that around 40% of PhD students leave. The figures are much higher for part-time students and stratospheric for those pursuing professional doctorates. Because universities are squeamish about sharing the true figures, people who struggle think they’re in a tiny minority. The reasons for quitting will come as no surprise: mental health problems, job insecurity, financial worries, and supervisory conflict are just a few. For valuable insights and discussion on these reasons, hop over to The Thesis Whisperer. ...

In 1861, Charles Darwin wrote in a letter: “But I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything.” Ever had a Darwin Day? Yep, me too. It’s frustrating when we’ve put aside some time for deep work, then our brain refuses to cooperate. There are a few options to consider, though: Do you need a rest? If our bodies and brains go completely floppy, perhaps they’re trying to tell us something. Taking a day off allows us to recover and then attack our thesis with renewed vigour. Obviously, it becomes problematic if we designate every day a Darwin Day. We need to stay in tune with ourselves and learn to recognise whether this is exhaustion or just procrastination. You can only tune in once you’ve slowed down. Could you work through some easier tasks? Although they’re not desperately exciting, these jobs get you closer to the finish line without requiring too much brainpower. This is precisely the stuff you don’t want to be bothered with when you’re in flow, so they’re best saved for low-powered sessions. If you’re lacking in motivation, is there a trigger that would get you back in the mood? Amitoze, a PhD student in AI, told me that he watches videos on machine learning to rekindle his enthusiasm. This gives him some context for his writing and inspires him to get going. Other students teach themselves a new skill, do some exploratory reading, or try writing more creatively. ACTIVITY Create a list of activities for Darwin Days. What could you still achieve, even when everything feels rubbish?Ideas include: ...

Proofreading is perhaps the one activity I dislike even more than housework. This stage is unbelievably tedious, but absolutely crucial. Typos creep in all the time, especially when you’re stressed and frantically editing the text. The only way to approach proofreading is calmly and systematically. And you need to do this right at the end, once you’ve finished writing and tinkering. Otherwise, you’ll have to go back and recheck all those additions and deletions. It’s tempting to outsource the pain by hiring a professional proofreader. ...

Does this sound familiar? The long-awaited email lands in your inbox — it’s the feedback on that piece of writing. Your stomach ends up in your slippers and you feel slightly clammy. You open the document and start reading. Disaster! Your supervisor clearly hates this piece of work. It’s a sea of red comments and they’re all negative. There’s no choice but to start all over again. This is complete rubbish. You spend the next couple of hours fuming and wondering why on earth you ever started a PhD. You complain to anyone who has the misfortune to ask you how it’s going today. ...

If you’ve been rummaging in the archives, you probably have a lot of digital images. They can be quite tricky to manage, especially when you’ve got more than a few dozen. Although tools like Zotero are great for bibliographic data, they’re not really suited to archival material. Fortunately, the Zotero developers have also created Tropy. Launched in 2017, Tropy is a free tool to help you organise and annotate your research photos. It’s rather like a database with a friendly interface. You can import most image formats, including PDFs, simply by dragging them into the application. ...

One of the biggest challenges with academic writing isn’t necessarily the writing itself, it’s actually keeping ourselves in the chair. As soon as we hit a tricky part, there’s an overwhelming urge to wander off and tackle an easier task. We tell ourselves, “This is far too difficult today. I’ll come back tomorrow and it’ll definitely be easier.” Unless we push through those tricky parts, though, it’s impossible to make significant progress. The solution is to either get some velcro pants or to use Focusmate. ...

If you’ve recently submitted your thesis, there’s a good chance your viva will happen online. Vivas can be stressful anyway, but technology adds an extra layer of excitement. Although it might feel daunting, the solution is to spend time preparing. Computers can sense when something’s important and conspire to thwart us. In this post, I’ll give you step-by-step guidance on making sure your online viva goes smoothly. Preparation Check whether your institution has provided any guidance for online vivas. ...

Just when you thought you’d almost finished your thesis, there’s yet another hurdle: the abstract. Although it’s only around 300 words, this chunk of text can be surprisingly challenging. And you don’t want any more challenges at this stage. In this post, I’ll explain the purpose of the thesis abstract and also provide a step-by-step guide on how to distil that monster thesis into a perfect summary. What’s the purpose of the thesis abstract? Other than giving you an unwelcome task on your todo list, the thesis abstract serves two main purposes: ...

Once you’ve dealt with the small matter of finishing your thesis, there are a few other tasks to complete, too. Although the Acknowledgements page isn’t assessed during the examination process, it still performs a vital role. This is where you get to thank all the people who’ve helped you along the way. The research itself is, of course, a solo effort, but it would be impossible to reach the finish line without a few cheerleaders. ...