Hi everyone,

Iv just starting my PhD in the humanities and am finding it a bit difficult to get going. Iv had my first supervisor meeting and have been advised to start reading and exploring my area but find myself doing the same literature searches over and over whilst procrstinating the rest of the time! Just wondering how people stayed disciplined in the first year and whether you found enough work to stick to a 9-5 work routine whilst at this stage?

Thanks :)

Hi Phoebe

Are you doing a wide enough lit search? Using lots of different databases and different terms? Are you finding articles? Then you need to start reading them and taking notes and getting an idea of the gaps etc in your field. You need to start writing, so you're doing something productive, not just doing searches and then goofing off.

I was really disciplined in my first year, as I was so excited to finally be starting the PhD! I couldn't wait to get into it! I also wanted to complete within 3 years (that dream' s creeping out the door), and so that motivated me to do a lot initially. You need to get into a routine, one that works for you, and doesn't necessarily have to be 9-5. Experiment a bit. Also, do you have discrete goals to work towards? A date when your lit review should be done? You need to have concrete goals to motivate you to, so you can make a work plan and work towards things. I had lots to do in my first year - ethics (which you may not have to do), the lit review, a detailed proposal and workplan, and getting field work lined up.

Good luck. Find a rhythm and enjoy!

======= Date Modified 14 Oct 2009 09:32:55 =======
Hi Phoebe - I'm so glad I came across your post, as I'm feeling exactly the same! I've just started a psychology PhD and although I have a supervisor meeting every week, I don't feel as though I'm too clear on specifically what I should be doing and never have much to show for my week's worth of work. I have the task of "do an experiment by November" which isn't providing much direction, just panic!  My issue is that I've come straight from doing an MSc, which I did straight after my undergrad, so I've got very used to an imposed structure, small definite deadlines, and a pretty solid social support base - for this, I have a huge amount of work, a seemingly indefinite time to do it in and no-one to really talk about it to as I haven't had a chance to meet anyone.



But I'm sure complaining about my problems won't exactly help you with yours...! I think the person before me is right though, it's a self imposed structure we need and to break larger tasks up. I'm still trying to figure out where I work best, as my office is horrible, the library is loud and home has too many distractions. Maybe once I've got this sorted everything else will fall into place..? I guess I can hope!



Good luck!

I'm in my second year of a humanities PhD and I can remember the feeling of not knowing where to start. My advice would be to find a focus point and work out from it. It depends on your subject but for me, working in Latin poetry, it involved choosing one of the poems and starting to look at it in detail then read around what I was finding in my primary material. Doing very broad lit searches is helpful for building up a picture of what's been done but it can be very overwhelming! Choose one area to look at in detail, even if you end up not using the work, as it will give you a clear point of contact with your material. I would also advise seeing your supervisor every couple of weeks to start with just to discuss what you've been up to and your ideas as that will give you something to aim for and some support for what you're doing. Good luck - it will start to work out soon.

======= Date Modified 14 Oct 2009 11:03:06 =======
Hi there, I'm also in the second year of a humanities based PhD and I can't agree more with Megara. I too remember feeling totally at sea this time last year - I had suddenly lost the social support network and the structure of the BA and MA. I'd submitted my complete MA dissertation on the 15th Sept and started the PhD at the beginning of October and felt completely lost. Prior to that I'd had definate deadlines, a fully formed piece of work, I basically knew exactly what I had to do and when and now I was sitting there with this impossibly vast area to 'look at'.

I actually started on my supervisor's recommendation with a single article, it was recent and was basically an overview of the arguments to date in my subject area (incredibly useful if you can find something like this). I worked out from there, I read it and read it (I know sections of it by heart now), checked all the references he'd given, read them, checked their references out, read them and on and on - its like a ripple spreading. Obviously a large proportion weren't applicable and were discarded, but some were total gems and led on to new areas to such an extent that although the main thrust of the inital proposal still stands, the current one is a totally different animal and far more complex (and exciting).

What you're looking to do now is to familiarise yourself with the literature surrounding your topic, you need to get to a point where you know what's been written, the debates surrounding it, who has written it (very important) and most importantly the gaps that your research will aim to fill - basically what questions have been asked by not answered, or better still, what has nobody thought to ask yet! You need to develop a critical eye - is this person talking sense....??? How does what he/she has said compare with what professor x suggested - where are the problems? I found some incredible assumptions, some basic mistakes, some were incredible, but its only when you read critically and in depth that you spot them and question everything that is written. I was terrified of saying 'you're wrong' but my supervisor told me that that is what I had to do - but make damned sure I backed it up! I found the easiest starting point was, as I said, to check out the references given, it is like a huge knot you have to untangle and it is that that forms the core of your lit review.

I'm not sure how your uni does things but at ours we have 6 monthly review panels for which we have to write a paper which will go on to form the bones of a chapter - so far I've done the lit review and a review of the available sources and once you get on to writing something solid with a deadline you'll feel much better (or worse lol). These first few weeks are about finding your feet and beginning the process - I most certainly didn't work 9-5, some days I didn't work at all, and felt totally out of it, but once I got going and got into the literature it all began to fall into place and it will for you too. Don't look at the big picture, the finished thesis, for now just find a starting point, work methodically through it, and get yourself going :-)

Hi guys! I think most people experience these sorts of issues to start with. Like emcollins I did Psychology BSc, MSc and now PhD and was used to fairly short-term deadlines. When I started my PhD I found it quite helpful to fill in a form with my supervisor at the end of each supervision session, which included progress from last meeting, things discussed in the present meeting, and targets for the next meeting. This way you can get a sense of direction and tick things off as you go. Sometimes I had specific practical things to do but other times I was just aiming to read around a particular area of literature and understand it by the next session and we would discuss what I had read etc. And then of course your supervisor knows where you are up to and can give you a shove in the right direction if you get off course, which would inevitably happen with me every few weeks! Good luck, it'll all become clearer as you carry on! KB

Massive thanks to everyone for their replies. I had a bit more of a productive few days i think. Managed to find some core literature as suggested which has helped a lot as a starting point!

Also nice to know others are in the same boat. I think the first bit must be the hardest for everyone no matter what discipline!

I have got my second supervisor meeting on Friday where i get feedback on a short report they asked me to write this week so hopefully give me a boost (or the total opposite but trying not to think about that :) ) So just aiming for a productive week of reading and getting more into the rhythm of PhD life!

Thanks again! :)