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This title, from Gordon Rugg and Marian Petre, discusses the unwritten rules of the academic world, the things people forget to tell you about doing a doctorate.
How to get your Ph.D is an original study guide aimed at prospective and current postgraduate students, covering the process of accessing, undertaking and completing doctoral research in the social sciences and the humanities. The content is unique in incorporating discussion of the less recognised personal, emotional and organisational demands of independent study. Drawing on a variety of student experiences, the authors apply a case study approach to examine the dilemmas and complexities of postgraduate study. The book is organised into four parts covering the research process; writing, publishing and networking; shifting identities and institutions and relationships of support. Each chapter includes an easy to use format including real-life accounts, tips and strategies for problem solving and guidance for additional resources. The guide includes accessible advice and guidance across a spectrum of methodological, personal, emotional, practical and institutional issues. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!
Returning in its 3rd edition, this bestselling book on the process of PhD research provides friendly, engaging, and realistic advice on how to complete your doctorate. Updated throughout, the book will guide you through the basics as well as covering aspects that other books don't usually mention, including: • What a PhD is really about and how to do one well • How to decipher what your supervisor actually means by terms like 'good referencing' and 'clean research question' • How to design, report and defend your research The authors offer an accessible, down-to-earth, and insightful account of the whole PhD process. Their advice addresses how to avoid some of the pitfalls en route to a successful submission. Key features: • Thinking about your career from the outset of your PhD (rather than at the end) • Tips for “sniffing” a paper to make your reading quicker and more efficient • Understanding cultural differences in research • Networking for research success • Sensible guidelines for using social media in your research • Guidance on project management – especially important for part-time students The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research is essential reading for anyone considering a PhD, embarking on one, or stuck in the middle and unsure where to turn. It will tell you things many students wish someone had told them before they started. “The course of a PhD never did ‘run smooth’. This new edition of unwritten rules covers everything the doctoral student needs to know for a smoother passage with informal yet scholarly advice, ranging from improving the writing process, creating networks, completing the thesis, and even what to wear for the viva – a complete guide to the tacit guidelines sometimes left unsaid.” Professor Jerry Wellington, University of Sheffield, UK
Presents advice and guidance for postgraduate students in Great Britain, covering such topics as the application process, research proposals, academic writing, networking, and teaching opportunities.
This handbook provides an in-depth exploration of the entire journey of postgraduate research in the social and behavioural sciences, from enrolment to its culmination in the form of a thesis, dissertation or portfolio, and beyond. It is written in an accessible and example-rich style, offering practical and concrete advice in virtually all areas. It also includes references to additional resources and websites, and each chapter features key recommendations for improving the postgraduate research experience. The book addresses not only research-related aspects (e.g. supervisors; selecting your guiding assumptions; contextualising, framing and configuring research; reviewing literature; sampling; writing proposals; ethics and academic integrity; selecting a data gathering strategy; surviving your thesis/dissertation/portfolio examination; and publishing), but also questions concerning how to integrate, manage, and balance the research journey in the context of the postgraduate student’s broader life-world (e.g. skill development and supervisor relations; effective time and project management; a healthy work–life balance; maintaining motivation; and dealing with criticism). The book adopts an explicitly pluralist perspective on postgraduate research, moving beyond mixed methods thinking, and offers concrete examples from postgraduate students’ real-world experiences.
This book offers important insights into the challenging yet rewarding journey of undertaking a PhD. Written by students, for students, the book explores a range of case studies from creative arts and humanities doctoral students, embracing a cognitive, emotional and transformational metaphor of the journey. The volume is organised around themes and concerns identified as important by PhD students, such as building resilience and working with supervisors, and includes personal stories, case studies, scholarly signposts and key take-away points relevant to all doctoral settings. With perspectives from all stages of the doctoral journey, this book is sure to become a valuable support to students and supervisors alike, as well as those working in research education and training.
This book uses belonging as a lens through which to understand women students’ experiences of studying for a doctorate, exploring the impact of academic cultures on career aspirations. Drawing on discourses of neoliberalism and academic identities, it makes a valuable contribution to ongoing discussions of gender inequality in the academy. Based on data gathered from women doctoral students in the UK, this book offers a contemporary, research-informed understanding of the doctorate as an inherently gendered experience, which has implications for individuals, academic institutions, and for the future of the academic sector. The book will be of interest to academics working in the area of doctoral education, doctoral supervisors and those involved in doctoral student support, including researcher developers and individuals working in graduate schools, as well as doctoral students themselves.
Responding to the growing popularity of the thesis by publication within doctoral education, this book offers practical advice and critical discussion of some of the central choices and challenges that PhD students considering dissertation options face. Drawing on current research and informed by extensive experience of working with and running workshops for PhD candidates who write article-based dissertations, this book gives readers an idea of what writing a thesis by publication entails – what its purpose is, what the various expectations might be for this emerging genre, and what the challenges might be in writing one. Particular emphasis is put on how to put the individual articles together to create a coherent thesis that clarifies the student’s individual original contribution. Written primarily for students, Strategies for Writing a Thesis by Publication in the Social Sciences and Humanities covers key topics such as: how the genre has developed, with an emphasis on the role of the narrative (introductory text) that accompanies the articles typical rhetorical challenges that writers of such dissertations face strategies for handling the writing process specific challenges of demonstrating doctorateness in the thesis by publication and strategies for addressing them institutional variations that the thesis writer should seek clarification on as early as possible structural elements of the narrative and their main functions the range of choices that can be made throughout the doctoral journey and thesis writing. This book is a must-read for PhD candidates and supervisors new to the genre, as well as those involved in directing PhD programmes who are interested in the pedagogical implications of the move towards article-based dissertations. The 'Insider Guides to Success in Academia' offers support and practical advice to doctoral students and early-career researchers. Covering the topics that really matter, but which often get overlooked, this indispensable series provides practical and realistic guidance to address many of the needs and challenges of trying to operate, and remain, in academia. These neat pocket guides fill specific and significant gaps in current literature. Each book offers insider perspectives on the often implicit rules of the game -- the things you need to know but usually aren't told by institutional postgraduate support, researcher development units, or supervisors -- and will address a practical topic that is key to career progression. They are essential reading for doctoral students, early-career researchers, supervisors, mentors, or anyone looking to launch or maintain their career in academia.
Following the rapid expansion of translation studies as an emergent (inter-)discipline over recent decades, demand for doctoral research opportunities is now growing fast in many countries. At the same time, doctoral training packages of a generic nature have been elaborated and refined at many universities, drawing on long traditions of doctoral research in established disciplines. A degree of consensus no doubt exists on such matters as the need for rigor, method and the generation of new knowledge. Beyond that, however, there are a host of issues specific to translation and interpreting studies that remain under-researched and under-discussed. Contributors to this special issue encourage reflection on a range of issues in ways that foster further debate and collaboration on the development of doctoral studies within the field. A number of concrete proposals are offered that could be adapted to local situations in different countries and academic settings. While some of the contributions adopt a mainly empirical stance, others adopt a broad perspective on training, citing examples of widely differing projects. Two contributors offer insights from personal experience of doctoral study while another describes the organization of doctoral work within the conceptual framework of a research group. All consider training from the angle of student needs and offer concrete suggestions for ensuring that doctoral candidates are equipped with the guidance, concepts, methods and tools required for success.
The Postgraduate′s Companion is the most comprehensive, practical and accessible source of support and guidance for anyone contemplating starting, or already undertaking, their research degree. Hall and Longman′s invaluable book is an essential reference resource for anyone doing postgraduate research or thinking of doing it. Leading experts in their fields address the fundamental questions of what a research degree involves; how to choose the best institution; secure an offer; and fund your research degree. For students who are currently working towards a research degree the book deals with the process thoroughly, including coverage of: getting the most from the supervisory relationship planning and writing the thesis navigating and succeeding in research training learning to teach in HE and balancing teaching and research beating the blues and learning how to complete in good time succeeding in the viva voce examination. The final section of the book covers what to do with a research degree once you have one. This includes identifying your skills; staying in academia; research outside academia; leaving research and academia; and starting your own business. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!
