Hello all,



I had a first meeting Phd with my supervisor, but I feel like I cannot do this. I was given lots of useful advice on what areas to look at, but I now realise I have way too much to read across several fields that I honestly want to give up already.

My work will require me to look at many different theories (group consciousness/collective action/self-categorisation and more) and apply them to a region of the world. This means that I will be looking at several countries. I wanted to only focus on one, but my supervisor suggested that comparisons are more useful at testing theories. I agree with that, but I feel like it would be too much (I would have to look at how one particular form of social identity got politicised in about 6 countries, by looking at instances of political protests based on this particular identity within a given time period). So not only will I have to look at the structural factors, but also at the psychological ones. I feel like I would have too much to read and won't have enough time to cover them all.

I am lost! :(

Hi!

Sounds like you have a case of PhD blues. To be honest, whilst I feel for you, many of us have gone through the same thing. I'm a second year PhD student and I felt completely helpless when I first started, and ended up changing my topic completely (from chinese-japanese multinational comparison research to expatriate-host country national relationships). Just remember you are at the beginning of a long journey. Someone once described it to me like a marathon - there are times when you are full of energy and you feel like you can crack really quickly, and other times when you get a stitch, nerves kick in, and you have to grit your teeth and power through. Sometimes I sit at my desk for two days solid and cant even bring myself to readon one article, other days I feel like i'm unstoppable.

Unfortunately whilst I don't have any solid advice to offer, all I can say is that we have all been there, and its not meant to be easy. If it was, everyone would have a PhD. There are some good books you can read that I am sure are in your university library. I'm new to the forum but it seems like a pretty friendly place!

Keep your chin up!

I agree with the above comment. We have all felt like you do right now. It seems it's a prerequisite for a PhD.

As others have said, it's common to feel overwhelmed at the start of the PhD. It's a challenging thing to do, and it makes you realise how little you know about anything!

In general, supervisors have a reasonable idea of what is achievable in the time available. That said, sometimes they can be a little unrealistic/overambitious. Do you have a second supervisor and does s/he agree with the proposal? If you're unsure whether it's achievable, perhaps you and your supervisor could put together a timetable of how the work should be completed, at least for the first year? It might help you see what the workload would be like.

Finally, would it be possible to have a contingency plan in case this proposal is over-ambitious. For example, would a comparison of 3 countries give you enough work for a PhD? If so, then aim for comparison of 5-6 countries, but identify 3 to focus on first that provide sufficient contrast for your comparative analysis.

Good luck

Could you consider using the case-study methodology to narrow your research focus down? As a dear friend reminded me recently, "scoping is everything!" If you don't clearly demarcate your research boundaries, you will feel overwhelmed very quickly. The case-study approach gives you a reason to just focus on one research site, as opposed to many.

A PhD doesn't have to be pretty, just done. It doesn't have to answer all questions and cover all bases. Don't be too ambitious. Do the bare minimum to pass, but do that well. That's my philosophy now.

I too recognise this feeling! I'm now in my second year, starting to do - and feel - better, but throughout my first year I felt I wanted to quit several times.

I'd say talk to people. Talk to other students in your field, then if you feel confident enough, talk to your supervisor. I really wish I had the guts to have done that so much earlier.

If you feel really really down, then consider seeing a counsellor to talk through your confidence issues.

Good luck, and hang in there. Things will seem daunting right now, but it will get better with the right effort. :)

I was recently told a good PhD is a finished PhD. You say your supervisor 'suggests' and you think your work 'requires' you to look at all these things. Suggestions are just that, you don't have to do it and you aren't 'required' look at all these things. You need to narrow your focus to something achievable in the timeframe. Why don't you re-word the question back to you supervisor asking what they think is reasonably achievable in 3 years. It might be that you can compare lots of countries by choosing something around social identity that has already had a systematic literature review on it and review that systematic review, then look at one country of your choice and see how that compares to the review findings?. That way you are only really gathering data in one country but you are comparing it to data about other countries that has been investigate by others? That's how I have read what is being asked of you. Does that sound like it's more do-able? Of coures that depends on you being able to find a systematic review in that area, or tailoring your focus slightly to fit an existing review. Sorry rambling now. :)