Hi to all,

I have a general question for all those who are currently undertaking a PhD in biological sciences.
I will be commencing my PhD project next week, and i was wondering if anyone can reccomend any good books that i could possibly buy that would give me a rough indication as to what to expect when i start. Its just that i am going straight from Bsc to PhD nad feel abit lost because, i really dont know what to expect.

I would greatly appreciate any advice.

I'm in biological sciences, I started mine last October and didn't need a book or anything. Basically my first week or so involved being introduced around the research group, having tonnes of inductions talks and safety talks (don't drink bleach etc.). Then I had a meeting with my supervisor and advisor to discuss my project and talk about what techniques I knew, what I needed to brush up on and what I didn't have a clue about. Lab work wise I just got to grips with the basics again as I hadn't been in a lab for a couple of years. Don't be afraid to say that you don't know something, better that than trying to make it up as you go along.. Erm.. thats all I can think of.. What you doing to be looking at?

I read a couple of books that were good,

The unwritten rules of PhD research by Gordon Rugg and Marian Petre

How to get a PhD: a handbook for students and their supervisors by Estelle Phillips

Hope that helps, good luck

Try and talk to some of the students who are already there - that was more more useful to me than the books

Hiya again,

Thanks for all ur replies.
I will be looking at impairment of immunity in diabetes, but i am slightly unclear on methods i will use as my potential supervisor said he would fill me in on everything once i start!

Did you complete an honours year after your BSc? Or were you working as an RA for a number of years after the BSc?

Sorry, that comment was slightly incorrect. what i wanted to say was, im going on to do a PhD straight from completing my Bsc(HONS). I have quite abit of lab experience because, i've been working as a locum biomedical scientist for the past year, so that is an advantage.

Hi - I'm about to embark on my second attempt at gaining a PhD (long story but dept lost funding)..in Molecular Biol, but will involve some cell culture too. I think the most important thing to get to grips with as soon as you can is perfect lab technique to save time wasted because of experiments not working as a result of human error/contamination etc. I don't know how you are fixed for technical support but in my experience, fostering an excellent relationship with your research technician is vital! In terms of reading about how to get a PhD, hm, these generally seem to be a bit broad- if you are a scientist doing predominantly quantitative research you'd be better off getting a good book on statistical analyses and learning it! Good luck.

Thankyou for the advice Manda. I believe i will be doing some cell culturing. Are there any good statistical analysis books that could possible reccomend? it's just that, when i walk into a bookshop the spectrum of books in that area is so large i really dont know what to go for.

Hi Pink Fluff- know what you mean about feeling a bit over faced by Stats books in bookshops! I'd recommend you start with Practical Statistics for Environmental and Biological Sciences by John Townsend. I think the paper back version is about £20. Obviously you'll be doing a lot of reading to start with (I have a large pile I'm plodding through) but to be able to read it critically, you absolutely have to understand the analyses applied to the data- dipping into this book is a great way to gain an understanding of this- and therefore the quality of the research. Hope this helps.

Aaaaw thankyou for that manda! i really appreciate it.
I was actualy getting quite nervous because i know stats form a major part of the project but thankyou again. Where are you doing ur PhD? ill be doing mine at warwick.

I have that book.. it is quite an easy to follow guide to basic stats

Hi Pink Fluff- I'm going to be based in the Biological Chemistry group at the University of Sheffield- my project is to examine the possible influence of 2 magnesium ions in the active site of RNAse HII on substrate binding/overall rate of catalysis, so involves lots of reaction kinetics. The data manipulation is quite complex and I have really needed this book firstly to understand what the heck I was going to be doing but also to be able to understand other peoples work. There are more advanced texts but I think it's good to stick to this one at first. Warwick has such a great reputation for biological sciences research reputation, I hope you'll really enjoy it. Best wishes!

Hey Manda, Yes i know, warwick has a brill reputation for biological science research and to be honest with you i really cant wait!
The research that you'll be doing sounds really interesting too, bet you cant wait hey.
Im looking at proteins that influence impairment of immunity in diabetic patients, so closely analysing complement proteins and determining how they cause the impaired immunity. I know i will have to do quite a bit of stats, and thats why i thought id post something on this forum so that i can get some advice from people.My supervisor is really nice too, he's very encouraging so that is an advantage.
Best wishes for ur project too.

Aw, thanks! I'm really keen to get the lab work started and think it's cool to feel excited at the prospect of doing a PhD- there's a long hard slog ahead so enthusiasm is vital! Disillusionment and cynicism will undoubtably kick in at some point- but keeping those at bay is key to success I feel