It´s true that this is a very individual question and depends on many things. But maybe some of u could share how much far u went within ur first year? Did u already have good data, went to conferences, published etc? I´m a bit worried I need to speed up :p

Hi Joanna,

One thing I would say, and this is advice I've been given countless times by people, is not to ever compare your progress to that of others. As you have rightly said, there are too many variables for this to be a useful exercise. More than that, we all have our own speeds and styles. Just like when we were undergrads, there were those of us who took 8 weeks to meticulously plan and write essays, and others who could do them the week before, and both end up with the same grade!

That having been said, I'd be happy to share my own progress if it will help at all.

I started my PhD at the end of September, and am doing it in history full-time, fully funded. I was lucky enough to have begun a topic which I have been researching for the better part of 3 years, since my second year dissertation. Though of course not the exact topic, when I began my PhD I would say I possessed a thorough grounding in the general and, in some cases, specific research area I had chosen to tackle. This meant I was familiar with the major questions, historiographical arguments, etc of this area, though inevitably I have gone through them again in light of my new topic, nonetheless it has given me a great advantage.

I meet my supervisors once a month and they have been unbelievably helpful, even urging me to see them more if necessary. Each meeting they have set me a goal for the next one. In our first meeting we laid out the general direction of my research and discussed what I wanted to do, and for what purpose. They then challenged me to read several important works and report back for a discussion the following meeting. At that meeting they then asked me to write them a short paper on my chosen methodological approach for the following meeting. Then before christmas they asked me to have prepared for our return meeting in the new year a sketch of my thesis, with chapter titles and a small summary of each chapter. This last goal was, and will continue to be, very helpful in directing my research, as it can feel like you're sometimes bobbing up and down in a vast ocean of literature and sources.

For my next goal in January, I challenged myself to convert my dissertation into an article and submit it for publication to a good/decent journal in my field. At the following meeting they provided intense and lengthy feedback, and thus I was able to submit it, and am currently awaiting a response from the journal, which can take up to 3 - 6 months.

Finally February's goal was to actually write and submit to my supervisors an actual chapter of my thesis! This I was particularly nervous about as so many people say it's always best to write everything up the last year, so to procuce a chapter 4 - 5 months in was a bit of a curve-ball, but writing as soon as possible does appear to be both my supervisors' preferred method and I must say I believe they are right. I have recently submitted this to them and await their feedback (it was about 7,000 words in the end). Next month is my 6 month probation review with the chair of research in our department sitting in and reviewing my progress. Therefore my goal for March has been to prepare a presentation for this.

In addition, I am presenting my first chapter at a conference on 18th century studies in mid-march, which will be the first time I've presented.

All in all I'm happy with my progress and feel I'm on the right track. As I said, it helped I knew what my topic would be, and had studied the general area for some years. Whether or not I can keep this momentum or progress up, we'll see! They might think my chapter is not up to scratch or my probation review may go bad! But right now, I'm satisfied and happy with the speed at which I'm doing my work. My goal at the end of this year is to produce another chapter, hopefully my introduction which tackles all the debates and arguments surrounding my field, ie the hardest chapter!

Best wishes,

Some data that I can use for my thesis but I've mostly been learning techniques for the rest of my PhD and optimising assay conditions. I've just submitted an abstract for a conference so fingers crossed for that to get accepted!

Hi Joanna - I share your anxiety, I'm a year in too and wondering what progress is "reasonable", but I'm really trying not to compare myself to other students as it can make you so anxious/even paranoid. I'm pretty envious of halochanter for instance but in contrast - I don't have any data yet, I don't know what my research questions are/the scope of the study/and I haven't written anything coherent yet. I'm reading a lot and I am doing research method courses etc. My supervisory relationship is definitely not helping - at this point have just been asked to write an introduction, which am majorly struggling with, as I don't know what I'm writing an introduction to! I like the idea of having goals to focus on, am going to have to suggest that as our meetings always end with me feeling positive, but not knowing what exactly I'm actually supposed to do. Looking forward to see what other people think is reasonable too - as if you think you're behind Joanna, bet I'm behind you!

HaloChanter, you are the reason I try not to read threads like this! ;-)
But thank you for pointing out that you are in a different situation to most first year PhDs, given that you have been researching in your area for some time. Well done on making such progress.

I started in September and already have changed directions slightly several times. I knew to be open-minded to the research progress, but it is a bit strange to suddenly find myself looking at a very different thesis. I'm determined to remain flexible, however; the last thing I want is to stubbornly stick with a topic simply because initially it seemed feasible. I'm presenting case studies at two conferences in the coming months. I think I will feel happier when I have gotten that hurdle out of the way.

Sorry everyone :$

Didn't mean to make anyone feel redundant, besides I have absolutely no idea if the quality of my work is any good yet! I have also done my fair share of slacking - I played Skyrim on the PC for about 2 weeks straight, watched the entire show of Tru Blood from season 1 to 4, all of The Wire, and am currently burning my way through Boardwalk Empire. Some days I do nothing but surf the net trying aimlessly to motivate myself!

I think my main advantage has simply been my previous grounding in this subject, and the fact that I knew my supervisors for a few years which has allowed us to create a pretty good and accessible relationship.

Best wishes,

Yeah, don't compare to others, it has no real bearing on your work. Some people publish shed loads early then have real difficulty later completing the thesis. Others build steadily through the 3 years and then have a splurge of publishing at the end or after.

Personally, I have a conference paper due at the end of the week (accepted for presentation) and I am writing a journal paper. I started in October 2010 so I'm a year and 5 months in. I'm also an RA doing the PhD in addition so I would expect to perhaps publish slightly more than the normal PhD.

There are many people I know at the same stage with no publications and some with 3 or 4, so really don't worry too much.