======= Date Modified 09 Feb 2011 11:43:53 =======
======= Date Modified 09 Feb 2011 11:42:44 =======
Hi,

As I am new to all this I thought I'd ask for some advice :$ . My PhD project is part of a larger group project, which includes a couple of PhD students and post doctorates. Currently I am doing some background research which i suspect every PhD student in the group will probably have to do, to set the scene as such. I have pulled together loads of information from different sources and placed it all into a logical understandable structure, which probably pulls the whole document to about 80 pages. I was just wondering whether you would advise me to share this with my supervisor (as it is say one weeks of work), to show her that I am doing something (bear in mind I am a new PhD student working away from the office). My concern is:

a) There is no way she is going to read all of this, in fact I don't expect her to at all. I just want her to see I have been working.
b) Say she shares this with another PhD student?
c) What should I do instead for her to see I have been working but not to overwhelm her or give it all away?

I was thinking maybe I should write a brief summary (say two pages) of all the research I have collected and send that to her before hand. On the day of the supervision, maybe I should print out the long document of research collected and just fling it pass her saying this is what I have collected and it will come into use later when I am writing up?

i) Do you think that is wise? Or would you advise another approach?
ii) How much do you share with your supervisor?
iii) How do you share with your supervisor what you have read/understood?

Thank you so much for your help in advance :)

======= Date Modified 09 Feb 2011 12:18:20 =======
I don't know if my experience is similar to other people's (I'm not part of a group project so that may make things different) but I don't share too much of that sort of stuff with my supervisors, mainly because they're so busy that I know they won't read it. I'd rather only give them things to read when I really want their comments on it.

The 2 page summary sounds like a good idea to me - it will give you something to talk through when you meet your supervisors and will probably be useful for clarifying your own thoughts and identifying what's important out of the information you've found (it's very unlikely that in one week you've found 80 pages that are all completely relevant or useful, I'd have thought - useful for you to frame your thoughts, of course, but that's not the same as being useful for your supervisors to see, if you see what I mean). If they're interested in the longer version I'm sure they'll ask you to email it to them.

At my meetings, I tend to have two or three points that I want to mention to them, but this tends to be quite superficial discussion - detailed stuff is left for written work submitted at various points, eg early on I produced a background chapter of about 3000 words, and after about four months gave them a draft literature review of about 3000 words, followed a month later by a redrafted, expanded version of about 5000 words.

Whatever you do give them, make sure it's got your name in the header - it's easy for them to lose track of who's given them a document otherwise. Mine always ask me before sharing anything I've given them with someone else.

Hope that helps!

======= Date Modified 09 Feb 2011 13:25:17 =======
======= Date Modified 09 Feb 2011 13:24:53 =======
Thank you so much Batlink for the advice and suggestions, that was great! I especially like the idea of placing name in the header/footer of a document, incase it is misplaced. Thanks!

With regards to the discussion within the supervision, do you just re-iterate your understanding, or are you usually asking questions that you are struggling with, or struggling to understand?

Hi Chococake (your name makes me hungry!!)

That's a good idea about putting your name in the header. It can take time for supv-student meetings to develop a format that everybody is happy with and finds comfortable. If I have a specific question I have taken to write them down, otherwise I find I'm back in the car going "d***, forgot to ask him that". The two page summary idea of yours is a good one. Being honest she may not even read that but at least it shows her what you have been doing. You can always let her know that it is a summary and that you can give her the extended version if she wants - my guess is she won't take you up on that.

I don't know your supv of course but I certainly should imagine she would check with you before sharing your ideas with others. However, all the more reason for putting your name in the header! Re: not give it all away - unless you don't trust your supv I wouldn't keep stuff from her. She is supposed to guide you, be your sounding board etc.

My meetings have evolved over time. I used to worry that I didn't share that much but as Batfink says I found we had more to discuss as I started getting drafts down on paper. Try not to stress it too much. There is no right or wrong way and hopefully over time, 'your' way will evolve.

Re: sharing other stuff with supv, I always keep it light and never went into the nitty gritty of my life unless necessary. Even then I would only do so if I thought it was impacting negatively on my work. You want your supv to think "Chococake, I can rely on her!"

A

======= Date Modified 09 Feb 2011 13:57:18 =======
It's usually things I've come across that I realise will have an impact on the direction of the research - maybe an area I've just realised will be particularly important to include, or an area I think I need to cover but can't find literature on in case they have suggestions of where to start. Sometimes it's things I'm not sure about, but then I try to frame it as a direct question - forming the question sometimes helps me answer the question myself! They don't need to know everything I've been thinking about. You'll very quickly find you're more of an expert on your own area than they are - at least, that's what I've found!

On edit - I agree with Ady about keeping it light too. They don't need to know when I'm really anxious about something or feeling stressed, unless it really is affecting my work. I've only once talked about personal stuff, and that was when my brother was hospitalised twice in the space of three weeks and I realised I needed to explain his circumstances in case I had to drop everything and be with him (he's a lot better now, thankfully).