Hi all,

I was previously consulted this forum and I am very grateful about both the quantity and quality of help I have received. Thanks again for this. In my previous thread I was concerned whether a PhD is the right for me. I'm now convinced to have found the main issue: the missing research question.

I think this is important for the context: I'm self-funded and every time I have to pay tuition and invest my time, which I could spend earning money and consequently afford a potentially decent standard of living, I feel like doing an investment deemed to fail.

I'm looking now for over a year for a feasible research question. My supervisors realised the struggle I'm in and have increased their support which I'm grateful for. I have gone through a lot of literature and related areas. However, I still have no more than the area of research. The more I work/read the more I feel away from an actual research question. I have told this my supervisors, but obviously the can't give me a topic. I don't really know what I'm doing and this kills my focus, efficiency, and worst: motivation.

Are you aware of anyone who has quit because they failed to identify a topic?

I'm grateful for any type of help/reply.

All the best,

nordsee

Hi Nordsee

Sorry to hear you're in a bit of a tough time. It sounds like a bit of a rut to me. You're probably stressing yourself so much that it's affecting your ability to identify a research question.

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but have you identified GAPS in the research? Your questions can address these.

Your supervisors might be able to help more. Don't they have any suggestions for questions? It's not unacceptable to ask for direct help if you're struggling. Lots of people do PhDs that are addressing questions that have already been raised by others - and then they refine them somewhat - you know, when you apply for an existing project that aims to address a certain gap / question.

You can't write a thesis unless you have something you're addressing. So it would seem that if you can't come up with a question of interest soon then you should cut your losses with this PhD. I reckon that's what I'd do. That is after maybe setting a short period of time to identify a gap, make questions, and make a clear plan of research. Maybe a month. Otherwise, you're missing out on life and things probably aren't going to get better. You don't have much to lose since you are self funding. You might decide to come back later and do a PhD - already having a gap and/or vague questions in mind before embarking on it. You might even apply for an existing project with funding. Or you might think it isn't for you after all. There's so many possibilities.

That's my take on it anyway.

Tudor

Ps. I feel your pain. I had a bunch of ideas before starting my PhD, but then went for a project someone else had thought up. It didn't work out because of problems recruiting participants from a high risk group. So I ended up having to sort of come up with questions as I went along. Not ones arising from genuine interest so much as, crap, this is the data I do have, what can I do with it? It wasn't fun. That's why I feel quite strongly about having a clear gap you're addressing - one that came to your mind and one that you're interested in. Then your questions will come out of it. Rather than poring through the literature hoping that questions will emerge. Does that make sense?

What do you want to know?

While reading do you find yourself asking questions about the work? Just follow them up and see if you can answer them through literature. If you can't find an answer, try and solve it yourself. think what can you do to solve that question and can you do it? If necessary break it down into smaller question or if it is too small, ask what can it lead to.

It is not about just reading literature but reading it and going what else?

rewt, this is very good advice but the problem is that very very few people starting a PhD will have this ability. Even those with a 1st in their subject are going to really struggle to come up with their own research question. This is especially true in science for example where the level of maths required to be able to understand leading edge papers is well beyond that taught at undergraduate level.
Good supervision is needed at this early stage with supervisors helping students to craft the first problem they will solve. If I'd had to come up with my own problem on day one I would still be on my PhD today. Maybe I was just lucky but when I hear starting students being expected to craft their own research proposals I get sweaty palms. Kudos to those of you who can do that.

I agree with both replies. Most students would benefit from support from more experienced supervisors in developing good research questions.

Could you have a chat with your supervisors to voice out your concern about not having a PhD reserch question? You could bounce ideas off them since they are more experienced. While it is expected that a PhD student should read a lot in their first year, it is not expected that they could formulate a solid PhD research question from the start. How can someone in the first year of their research career be expected to come up with a better research topic than someone who has been in the field for 10-20 years? Maybe in your third year of PhD you start to have that strength, but for now, you need your supervisors' guidance.

When you said that your supervisors increased their support yet did not give you a topic, what do you mean? I am concerned that you are self funding your PhD and so it is more important that you finish in a timely manner. Could you discuss a deadline with your supervisors to identify a suitable PhD topic, maybe say in the next 2 months? A PhD topic could change over the period of candidature but you need to identify a suitable topic as soon as possible to work with. It is the responsibility of your PhD supervisor to guide you on what is a suitable PhD topic. Otherwise you can go down many wrong rabbit holes and waste a lot of time. That is not ideal since you are self-funded. Have you also thought that maybe these supervisors are not good for you?

Hi Tudor_Queen,

Thank you for your quick and valuable reply. I really appreciate it. Please excuse me my delayed response.

I may have identified a gap area, but I can't really come up with a research question or a specific gap. What I have not mentioned so far is that I initially applied with my own research proposal, which has quickly proven to be both not academic enough and not being a gap. This contributes to my struggles.

My supervisors recommended me to look into several things in the past months, which I did. However, after reading and writing on these things I was just like "Ok, all clear, so what now?" I never really had any questions on it, which couldn't be answered by existing literature or by one of my supervisors.

I was thinking of leaving for a while now, but then and also now I am not clear what else to do. So I stayed with the studies, although my interest, motivation, and efficiency are probably close to zero. In contrast, when looking at my research assistant job, I perform quite well...

Thank you so much for your empathy! It does sound like a pretty awful and frustrating situation. But great to know you managed.

Concerning my initial topic, I though I am interested in it, but the deeper I go in this topic area, I am either not sure anymore or I "have just read enough" for now.

Exactly. I feel like if I would be given a clear topic with clear structure I could just start working properly. However, at least so far I don't have the ability to come up with own research questions particularly in view of a topic area I've picked myself. There wasn't a predefined projects...

This also reminds me of a fellow PhD student who was struggling at the beginning and didn't know what to do, but since his supervisor noticed this, he is being more treated like his supervisor's personal assistant. He is working well now and going to many conferences. That sort of supervision would certainly help me...

I have actually also a "third" supervisor, a researcher who is in supervisorial training. I told him my concerns, and he tried to push me in a certain direction. I am reading / collecting information on this now...

Concerning the increased support, my lead supervisor started organising regular meetings where I have to show some output which then will be discussed. This was a great idea at the beginning, but I had to cancel the last two meetings, since I don't really have anything to show... yes, you are right, I need to finish within these three years, but I also see this possibility getting smaller every day.

It is hard for me to judge whether my supervisors are good or semi-good. I don't really know to be honest.

Hi there. Sounds like your PI wants you to be independent. I was exactly in your shoes when i started. I was told to read up in the literature and to come up with a topic of my own. Any topic under the sun in cancer biology. I felt lost initially as i wasnt used to this sort of supervision - my undergrad FYP supervisor on the other hand was more "hands on" so i had to adapt. My first meeting with PI was three weeks into my literature reading but my research gaps were said to be not practically feasible to research on given limitations of the expertise in the lab-on hindsight o just felt that she wasnt comfortable with topics outside her comfort zone but whatever. I evenyually came up with a solid topic 3 months into it but made a rookie mistake of being excited and designing a device which was found to be flawed.

It doesnt matter of your current progress is slow. What matters is you occupy a niche that can be researched on and within interest of you and your supervisor's. Dont ever make my mistake of rushing through things.! At the same time, do you perhaps have a thesis comitee that you can consult woth for expert advise? That will be something you can tap on.

Hi Iwan,
Yes, this is exactly the case. At least I have the impression that I am supervised in an "independent" way. However, this is not helping me. I need a kick to start running. Not really doing a lot of useful things in the past months, but instead I am working on assistant jobs.... And yes, as part of my annual review there was supposed to be a third/ external person, but there wasn't. I guess I should ask about this, since I'm also paying for this "service"...

I think I'd set a time period and then if no success go for the RA job. Cos that'd quite possibly lead to opportunities where you can develop your own interests in the area of the post, and possibly end up getting funding to pursue them!