Im on my first week of PhD study in the UK. Ive just met my DoS and she told me to start. I'm working on
my initial research idea from my proposal. ive heard a number of not so good stories and experiences about a phd and want to start right.

Can anyone reflect on what they actually did the first two weeks....

Hi J_T
I'm trying to recall - my first 2 weeks are a while ago now! After floating about on a cloud for a bit, thrilled to have been accepted, I read. I bought a highly recommended tome on research methods to familiarise myself with terminology I'd not heard in some time; I started hunting for journal articles on my main topic, & I read. I can't recommend reading enough & it made me feel like I was achieving something right from the start.
Congratulations on getting started & welcome to the fun!
Mog

Thanx Mog,

I guess i will slowly but surely get there. I think this is a really useful platform.

Firstly, congratulations on being accepted onto a PhD programme!

I agree with everything Mog said - I can't really remember my first two weeks either, but they consisted mainly of reading, reading and reading! And then some more reading thrown in just for fun! I'd also use this time to familiarise yourself with the university, library, fellow students etc as time soon passes by.

======= Date Modified 16 Feb 2012 15:07:43 =======
When I started, I was returning to school after being in the work force, and my uni had all the latest technology. I was already sort of tech savvy, but there was suddenly a lot more available to me. I spent a lot of time in the computer lab learning new software (SPSS, etc.), and later, this proved invaluable.

Congrats and good luck!