I think the other posters here have covered this well but I really wish to emphasis the point that Mark B makes about the importance of the results irrespective of our membership.

Even if the UK left tomorrow morning, the understanding of how European directives were implemented within divergent legal systems is relevant and very important. At most, you may have to include a time frame within your work. I.e. 1973 - 2018 or something. You can even include a section on why, even though the UK left, the research is still important.

I think Tudor Queen covered this perfectly well. As she (?) says, this is only a question you can answer. I think the best place for you to start is to really discover what you want. There is no right or wrong answer here, it is just about the path you wish to take. You can do exceptionally well via the PhD route, and you can do exceptionally well via the jobs route.

I think Tudor Queen raises all the important questions, my advice would be to sit down with someone you trust, someone who knows you well, and to run these questions passed them. I find it very helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

My first PhD application was exactly this process - I came second in the process, so hopefully my experience is not only relevant but useful to you.

I was applying to the University of Manchester and they had a predefined topic on the issue of representation and they outlined what the project is about. Your application (research proposal) needs to show that you understand the field, understand the literature, know the data, but that you can also bring your own twist to the research.

If you upload a copy of the advertised PhD (a link, say) then we could offer more specific advice.

Good idea. I have been reading up on some of this already, and certain things to encourage contributions, etc. I just wanted to get experiences and advice from other PhD candidates/students before I jump in.

Cheers for the fast response, as always, Chickpea :)

I know the content of the modules relatively well - not only did I do these two modules myself, but they overlap with my research interests quite strongly. I don't know how many students there will be, however, my understanding is that I'll be teaching first and second year students.

My University has teacher training as a compulsory requirement either in first or second year - I opted to do it in first year to get it over with. Don't need that interfering with my research in second year.

I have already been told that when I start my PhD in late September, I will be talking on teaching responsibilities in two modules (one in each semester). I have never had to teach (seminars) a class before so I was wondering what your experience of it was and if you had any advice?

(I have posted a number of posts on this forum and found your collective advice to be excellent).

Thank you all for your responses. While my academic English is fine - English being my native language - your phrasebank link is most welcome, so thank you. Pf329 - good idea. I didn't even consider this.

I was able to research (excluding some core research that I did at the beginning of the year) write, revise, and submit my MRes dissertation within about two-three weeks. I don't recall leaving my flat during that period as all I did was work, solidly. Thankfully it coincided with a few weeks off work, so I didn't have to worry about getting up at 3am for work.

So it is certainly possible.

It really depends on the nature of your research. As you have human participants, by the sounds of it, it might take you considerably longer to do the more mundane aspects such as recording it all, writing it up, annotating and categorising the results, before you even begin analysing your data.

Thankfully my research doesn't require ethical considerations, so I am relatively free in that respect. I have started to get to grips with the methodology before I collect the data. Would seem odd to do it the other way around.

Thanks for the advice though. I think it chimes with what others have been saying: be proactive, work hard, read widely, get on it early.

I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying the PhD was slower and less work than you expected?

That's a good idea chickpea, thank you.

Thank you for the advice chickpea. I do like the idea of creating summaries, I think they might be very useful. The literature review, drafted in the first year, might also be useful in piecing together the literature, even if you don't actually use that particular literature review.

Thank you all for the advice.

In terms of writing early, what forms do you guys suggest? I know of a few people who would write two page summaries of their work, including the important arguments, data, and evidence. Is this something you would recommend?

Firstly, I love that this was submitted by someone with a tea related username.

Secondly, thank you for your response. What is your file system, if you don't mind sharing? I have never used referencing software before (even for my MRes). How easy is it to pick up? I suspect it might be worth downloading some to practice with now?

Finally, I have heard a few people say 'start writing from the start'. I know some people who read journal articles and then write a two page summary, including relevant data and argumentation. Is that the sort of 'write early' you suggest?

So I am about to start my PhD in the social sciences in September. I have spoken to a few people about their PhD experiences, and have checked a few threads on this forum, among others, to get an idea.

I thought I would ask a bit more directly:

- What can I expect during my PhD, particularly in the first year?
- How is or how was your PhD experience?
- Anything newbies should know or do?