Today I find this one particularly relevant:

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1047

Wookie that was a fantastic tip ! I did manage to catch one student and talk to them, that was very valuable !

I have already met my supervisor a couple of times, for preliminary talks. But now I'll have to hand him my research proposal (ulp !) and talk about the rest of my PhD. I have no idea what to talk about, but I do want to make things clear with him from the start so that I know what I'm expected to do !

My problem is that in the country where I studied earlier there wasn't any Masters dissertation, so I have no idea about how research works. Also, due to cultural issues students were treated like school kids, not like adults. So, now I never know how to talk to professors and find the balance between being an assertive adult and yet being respectful.

I have no idea how independent I am supposed to be in my work, how to go about writing my thesis, how often the Sup expects to see me, what he expects of me...
And the point is that I would like guidance and control in the beginning, but I don't want him to think I'm so completely lost. On the other hand I'm scared that I'll act all pulled-together and competent, and that will prevent him from giving me the help and advice that I need !
So, what do I need to talk about with the Sup ?
What are the questions that I need to ask ?
Any other tips ?
I would also like to make with him something like a time-table for me...

PS I'm in Germany now, BTW

Thanks in advance to those who took the time to read through this and answer !

======= Date Modified 07 Oct 2008 19:37:02 =======
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=138

:-)

Star-shaped I feel like a fraud too, but I heard it's normal for us beginners... there was even a thread about it recently.

A little something for the newbies:
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=82

Do click on 'next' to read part 2 and 3 of the little story :-)

I can't sing it yet, though I do like the music !!! I'm not a big fan of German, since it's not the most musical of languages... but well I don't have much of a choice right now...

No, but close ! In Germany actually. The spelling of voyageur was a bit of a mistake, I wasn't sure how it was spelled corectly, but I started using it in many places and it stuck... and now I think that anyway voyageur looks more travel-ish than voyager, lol.
I like bugs ! I always try to make friends with any I find.
Is any of these a picture of you working on your thesis by any chance ?

http://www.speedysigns.com/images/decals/jpg/H/344/935.jpg
http://www.celticbug.com/Contents/CelticPuterBug.gif
http://www.speedysigns.com/images/decals/140c/H/345/17.gif
http://www.celticbug.com/Contents/CyberBug.gif

And with your degree:
http://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/Images/Bugs0224.jpg
http://www.celticbug.com/Contents/BookBug.jpg

PhDbug it's a bit of a different system here. We don't have to give a proposal with our application, but by the time we get accepted we need to have a proposal ready. It doesn't have a fixed word limit either, a few pages is fine. So I'm doing mine without being sure that I'll get to do my PhD...
BTW I love your nick. What kind of a bug are you ?

I still doing my research proposal... it's taking me way way longer than I ever imagined. Not because it's so hard, but because I'm so unfocused and a huge procrastinator.

======= Date Modified 07 Oct 2008 19:41:49 =======
* Learn touch typing. That will save you lots of time, and it will also save you a lot of neck and shoulder stress.
BTW tense shoulders are one of the things that make us tired very soon. Learn to relax your shoulders at the computer !

* Keep track of everything you read, you will never know when you will desperately want to find sonmething you read months ago ! Record even the stuff that was irrevelant or useless (you can label it "trash" if you want to). That will keep you from picking up the same books again. Believe me, after a couple hundred books you lose track!
Use zotero, it's a great way to keep a reading log and a bibliography !

* Keep a PhD journal. Note what you have done each day, you to-do list, and any ideas, questions or doubts. It really helps with the focus.

* And this: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=148 ;-)

======= Date Modified 09 30 2008 19:30:57 =======
Ok, Dads that balance home + studies are welcome too ,-)

I going to start my PhD soon, and I have a small one-and-a-half year old kid. I still not sure how I going to manage it all, and my supervisor was also asking me if I'm sure that I can manage...

So, is anyone here in a similar situation ? How do you do it ?
Any advice would be welcome !

Hello ! Here is another panicking newbie !
I am soon starting an Indology PhD.
My panic causes and obstacles are doing the PhD in a foreign country (Germany), and having a small kid !

I've tried Zotero and I'm impressed !

It is quite easy and quick to use, and I can organise offline references, links to files and PDFs on my hard disk, and links to web pages in one place.
Plus it has a cozuple of neat features:
It lets me annotate the web pages that I add to the Zotero library. I can highlight text, and add sticky notes. That's quite important for me, because I believe in marking and noting everything I go.
I can add little independent notes. They can be on a book, journal etc, or can be free-standing (I can also connect them to related zotero entries, or add tags). Perfect for the random scraps of information that I need to store !
Zotero can find books or articles for you in your local library. Although it had access to only one of the libraries that I use, I was still impressed !

I use Lyx, and I didn't have to learn any codes. It's practically "select and click".