Hello all.

I'm interested to hear your views on presenting your findings at a conference, before you've finished your doctorate and before its been published.

I'm torn between.. oh for gods sake you're not Einstein who's going to want to steal your findings... and eek i just don't want to..

I've got a week or so to finish the paper.. I'd really appreciate your views

Regards, Chuff

Personally I think it's a great idea! It's really important to get experience presenting at conferences if you want to stay in academia, and looks good on a CV. I think so long as you already have your data, by the time you publish it it's unlikely that anyone will have copied your work and written it up before you. The only thing I might be wary about doing is presenting ideas about work that I was hoping to do in the future, just in case someone takes a shine to your ideas and beats you to it. I have written a paper about my fairly novel way of approaching the subject I am doing, but have deliberately left it until I am two thirds of the way through my PhD to submit it for publication because by the time it's published I will be ready to publish my data and no-one would have time to beat me to it (supposing for one minute that anyone would actually steal a little PhD-ers tiny ideas about a big subject!!). So I'd say go for it! Best, KB

Hi KB.

Thanks for your reply, that's very much my view but .. i must confess I've bee influenced by the tell no-one, say nothing, we're all doomed brigade. i thought i may have been just naive and trusting ( rather than stupid as a friend suggested :-)  )

I've only found this forum over the past few days ... and have "wasted" many a happy hour on here ..

Thanks again for your reply.  Chuff

We all waste many happy hours here :-) Its what we do lol! Welcome to the madhouse!

I've actually been told that its quite a good idea to present the work as then you officially 'own' that work and anyone trying to steal it will get caught out rather fast, particularly if the work is then published. Its possibly slightly different in my field, once I've published some data I have there is no way anyone can touch it without it standing out like a sore thumb - but I have been advised to adopt the tell nobody and if you tell them you have to kill them approach with work in progress, especially as my findings are rather worryingly radical and threaten to create holy hell when published *gulp* My sup is trying to get the worst of it published this autumn so that its out there and can't be replicated which would be handy in some respects and terrifying in others!

Thanks Stressed,

So that's two for yes then.. sold.

I am in the "lucky" position of my research being the merest incremental advance on a well worn road.. interesting though it is.. (for me)

I hope you'll let us know when you're published. I've been thoroughly enjoying reading about the mad supervisors ... i'm voting for the fab crowd. been very very lucky with mine.

Have a good evening.. Chuff

Gosh - I submitted an abstract to a conference when I had only just registered and presented 4 months in to a part-time PhD. The best part was the networking and the ideas I got from leaqding academics in the field which are shaping the way I approach my research. I guess a lot depends on your subject but I am aiming to present at at least one conference a year (over and above things like PhD student reseach day and reearch seminars in my (work univeristy) department during the 5 years. Am I being over ambitious - I'm presenting in September at a prestigious international conference (but only in a new researcher track) and the conference I presented at in April will hold its next conference end of 2011 so I am already pencilled in for that.