Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum, though a long time lurker. I just wanted to say what a useful thread this is, and I'm sure has been for many over the last few years! It will undoubtedly be a great help when I come to start my PhD in the coming months.

Oh, and any more advice would be very welcome.

I did another PGR Tips last month (but then went on holiday). This time on how to prepare an elevator pitch...
Do you ever get asked what you do and you’re not sure what to answer? Do you try and convey your enthusiasm for your research?... here are some practical tips to perfect what you say in different situations:
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/PGR%20Tips%20issue%2044%20honing%20your%20elevator%20pitch.pdf

best!
Tennie

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PGR Tips is our monthly email, which offers tips and advice to help you through your doctorate. Recent issues have covered tips on how to prepare for your viva, how to network at events, and where to publish your journal publications

I found a free tool for collecting information quickly from wikipedia. It may usefull for you guys as well. http://wikiread.fidenz.com

Hi

I'm trying to follow up Walminskipeas's link of the .pdf copy of  How to Get a PhD by Morris and Pugh

The link they give: http://www.2shared.com/file/3904435/ee23ecb5/How_to_Get_a_PhD_4th_Edition.html
isn't working.

Has anyone else any suggestions where we can find it (I've spent quite sometime trying to find an alternative link).

Any suggestions appreciated.

PM walminski, or do an 'FAO walminski' thread to get his attention, I'm sure he still has the file. :-)

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Never before has the word escapism meant more to me. It really is the key to keeping moral in the first year or so, or even the entirety of your Phd. Find something you really enjoy that you can pick up at any point without hesitation.

I write this blog, www.indoctorate.co.uk, basically for two reasons: It takes my mind off things, and as I blog on things to do with life as PhD student, I try and write about the funnier side of it all. Makes things seem less complicated ...

Hello,

I'm a second year PhD student in my fieldwork phase at the moment and I had been drifting through fairly irresponsibly for the past few weeks but after posting on here I re-found my inspiration!

So I have two tips for any newbies:
1. Use this forum! Even if it's to vent, ask questions, as a reward etc. It really is great to know you're not alone, which is definitely something I've struggled with, especially as I live a good 2 hour drive from my University.
2. A new one from me today - someone on here suggested "Writing your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day" - by Joan Bolker (about £7 on a well known e-retailer!). This book is gold dust and it's got me going on writing up my fieldnotes and starting my analysis. But it covers the period from generating ideas right through to graduation.

That's all from me!

Lindalou:-)

Hi all,
this month's PGR Tips is on professional development. It introduces the researcher development framework as a useful tool for you, researchers.... Hope it helps! As always, let me know.

http://www.vitae.ac.uk/pgrtips
for more information on the RDF: www.vitae.ac.uk/rdf

have a great extra long weekend,
Tennie

Tip of the month.......Dont Trust your supervisor even after signing off your documentation. They tend to have a volatile mind and next morning they send email to revoke especially when they are on holiday.

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Hi. I am new to the forum. International student about to start my PhD in the social sciences October in the UK!!

Maybe we can add to the tips list specific advice to internationals i.e dealing with cultural issues that you may not even be aware of. For example, when i did my masters abroad, i used to wonder why i felt so uncomfortable consulting with my supervisor/other faculty. Later on, is when it hit me that the direct eye contact that is such a feature of western communication unnerved me. So much so that even when i had a problem i would avoid speaking to my lecturers about it because i felt that they were staring at me when i spoke.

So my tip would be, be self reflective in order to discover what some of your problems may be. They may be difficult to identify directly.

great stuff, thanks!

Hello,
I am just about to start a second MSc in Developmental psychology, after a degree in psychology and an MSc in Neuroscience.
I would like to pursue my academic career with a PhD in the future. Do you have any suggestion about how to write a good research proposal?

Thanks,

L.