I started a PhD in November and I only recently found this site and some of the information has been surprisingly useful. Strange to find so many people in the same circumstances or with the same worries.

I guess then that it's a fairly autonomous process, compared with my MSc research or my undergrad project and in times of wondering what my supervisor expects, I'll just go ahead and do something anyway. That, or revert to this forum again.

I do have one query, I'm coming up to 3 months in the role and I am wondering, how many papers, how much writing and how much planning I should have done? I have been doing some analytical stuff on some previous data and basically trying to understand where I fit in to this whole process but I'm by no means well on my way to finishing my literature review. Is that a bad thing?

Steve

Why is it "surprisingly" useful?

I dont know what you meant by autonomous process...it is indeed a process which involves mutiple checks and balances, of time, resources, EGO issues, the sociology of intra-departmental equations, the wider sociology of academia, so forth...

I dont think you are to be producing papers this early in the process...planning well, that always helps, as far as I can comment...and writing, depends. For me, writing is my mode of thinking, so I write A LOT. some people make notes, others have stuff scribbled which hold pearls in them...

And you cant be well on your way to finishing a lit review 3 months into the process. It;s just impossible. So you are fine. Good luck.