Hi all :)

This is my first time posting here, but I just want to find out what the general views are from PhD students regarding their first year.

I'm 10 months into my Psychology PhD and I feel like I've not got much to show for it. I've not started data collection yet, and I've really just been reading and planning for the past 10 months. My supervisor was off on sick leave for a while, and my second supervisor (who was acting as my first) isn't as interested/invested in my research, so I do feel like I was a bit off-course for a while. It doesn't help that I didn't really begin with a strong proposal/plan either.

Is anyone else in the same boat? I can't decide if I'm behind or if this is normal for first year. I know that no two PhDs are the same, but I'd still like to hear about other people's experiences in first year :)

Thanks!!

Don't worry too much, this seems to be the norm. I spent 18 months in the lab earning practical experience but nothing from that will form part of my thesis. Even the reading I did moved on. I'm sure your on track.

I'm doing a Psychology PhD too, and my first year was mainly reading/writing/planning too. I also did some pilot testing of my materials, but recruitment/data collection didn't start properly until the latter stages of first year.

Shouldn't you have that practical experience before you started? I don't really see how you finish a PhD in 3 to 4 years if you spent 1.5 years without making any progress with the thesis.

I am not a psychologist, but I would expect that you had a broad education in psychology and that you now have to get the knowledge for your special research field in psychology. Do you really need a year to read the essential stuff? Sounds a bit boring too ;)

Have you started a PhD yet, Dunham?

:X

Are you drunk TreeofLife?

You've made a few very strange posts this evening. :-)

Ian

Dunham - well its a different area of science than my BSc or MSc and skill were learned without touching my sample of which there was a limited amount. Techniques aren't gained by osmosis

I am also doing a psychology PhD and felt exactly the same as you for the first year, I felt constantly behind because I didn't know anyone doing a similar thing who had started at the same time and it is hard to judge your progress. However as long as you are reading, getting to know the literature in your area and are keeping up to your university deadlines, such as, project proposals, progress reports etc then you are doing fine.