Hi y'all,

I've been thinking...what do you guys feel when you are asked questions like "So, whats your research topic?"...mind you, not by people in your niche or your sup but let's say, parents, friends, relatives, relatives' friends, old teachers in high school or your last uni in which area you no longer work!!

I am often flustered! My research sounds so great when I am talking abt it with people who know this work, or sup or even fellow PhDs in my area (social sciences and comunication studies)! but bang, the moment people from "cultural studies", or even anthro or worst comes to worst, my parents from the management sciences asks detailed explanations, I finish saying my stuff in one sentence and it sounds urrrrgh sooooo miserable!!!!!

What do you guys feel?:-s

Phdbug - get it down to one/two sentence explanation and stick to that ... otherwise most people will tune out. Basically, the main area in lay mans terms and then a sentence or two explaining your unique slant (but again in non-research terms). It used to annoy me but just got it down to a 4 line explanation and generally stick to that - sad, but you must remember that most people are asking out of courtsey and just want to make sure you are doing fine (in fairness, how many job descriptions would sound exciting?)

Failing all that, just say "You know that tunnel in Switzerland with the photons going about like a Scaletrix set?" ... then, wink casually as you hit your thumb on your chest and then take another drink from your pint as your audience picks up their collective jaws from the floor.

You should practice explaining what your research is about as a question often asked in the viva is explain your research in 20/50 words of less, or explain it to me as a layperson.

haha!!!

Good replies! I needed this well past minuit (oh dear now French is oozing out of my mouth!), because the brains are currently fried, so is the research proposal and I am ready to drop dead...god knows what I am writing actually..we PhDs cant switch off our computers I think...

I was told that by your second year you should be able to give a one sentence reply.

Ha!

I find that because my research isn't in another world (pretty much anyone can get their head around it, they're not tricky concepts and it's about the NHS which everyone in the UK has some kind of opinion on) BUT because it's also very controversal people actually want to hear a lot more about it now. So, I find myself justifying the research regularly in the pub to my friends and relatives (I generally don't tell other people I'm doing a PhD).

Which is great! I can justify the basics off the top of my head now. Bring on the Viva I say (In like 2 years...)

Yeah I hate doing this. I can't help it but when asked the question "what is your PhD on" I atart with a big sigh! Mtytopic can be easily explained, except I am studying people with a specific disease, and it's one most people havn't heard of, or if they have they don't really know what it is. Sometimes I wish I was studying Stroke patients or cancer or something I wouldn't need to define!

I try and get away with I'm doing a PhD in Psychology but most people aren't satisfied with that level of vague-ity!

It can be difficult, but it gets easier with practice. I have a very simple sentence for what I am doing which is 'Yakult for chickens' which satisfies most 'lay people' and then if they want to know more I can go into more detail... Although sometimes I can go off on one and start talking about the ins and outs of everything I am doing with which I can bore people half to dealth lol.

hehe, I know, I know, I am doing a PhD in Communication studies, and people back in my country think it means some form of film/tv/journo/cultural studies stuff, and oh dear, I have a very tough time.

But, the pattern that I have developed is this:


So, what is your PhD on?

Uhmm...uhhhhm...Okay. (and then I say something that makes polite people say "Thats really interesting" and other people stare and stare)