Gosling P., Noordam L.D. Mastering Your PhD: Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and Beyond
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Patricia Gosling
Bart Noordam
Mastering Your PhD
Patricia Gosling
Bart Noordam
Mastering Your PhD
Survival and Success
in the Doctoral Years and Beyond
With 8 Figures
123
Dr. Patricia Gosling
European Neuromuscular Centre
Baarn
The Netherlands
e-mail: epsilonscience@yahoo.com
Prof. Dr. Bart Noordam
University of Amsterdam
Van der Waals–Zeeman Institute
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
e-mail: bartnoordam@hotmail.com
Library of Congress Control Number: 2006926427
ISBN-10 3-540-33387-8 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York
ISBN-13 978-3-540-33387-6 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York
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Preface
Why read a book about getting a PhD?
As a general rule, PhD students and their supervisors tend to fo cus
primarily, or even exclusively , on the con tent of the research that will
go into the doctoral thesis. Other issues are often taken for granted:
how to organize your work, give a presentation, work in a team, cope
with your supervisor, and how to effectively manage your time. When
asked, former PhD students usually claim that the general experience
of being a graduate student, which includes learning how to solve
complex problems and work well with others, was of greater value to
their careers than the actual topic of their thesis.
The goal of this book is to help PhD students master some of the
skills that have b een proven effective in the world outside of academia,
and to help PhD students gain mastery over the non-scientific aspects
ofgettingaPhD. Hopefully, this book will help graduate students more
fully enjoy their doctoral years, as well as provide some much-needed
support as they prepare for their post-PhD careers.
Sink or swim
After hearing about this project, one professor had this to say: ‘This
book should not be published. Obtaining a PhD is like swimming
across a big lake. Some students can’t swim, so they will sink. That is
the way the academic system selects those who will win. By providing
studentswithabookonhowtoswim,theywillpassandruinthe
system.’
VI Mastering your PhD
Wecan’tthinkofabetterendorsementforthisbook.Andwe
believe, of course, that it is indeed possible to learn to swim, and
even to do it well. In fact, we think that mastering certain skills along
the way is just as important as swimming across the lake to get the
prize – your PhD – on the other side.
Saving an Old Master painting from the ravages of time
To help illustrate some of the principles and suggestions we’ve
outlined in this book, we’ve decided to follow a team of graduate
students as they work together on an important project: saving
a priceless Old Master painting from further deterioration.
The robe of the Virgin Mary in the middle panel of The Coro-
nation of the Virgin by Lorenzo Monaco (ca. 1414) is currently
white. Technical examination has shown, however, that the robe
was originally a deep pinkish mauve. A restorer can retouch the
painting with red paint, of course, but if the robe is still fading
a colour difference will occur. Elucidating the correct chemical
composition of the original paint, plus understanding the exact
nature of the fading process will be critical for a proper restora-
tion to be carried out.
Isabel, a chemistry PhD student, will be analyzing the chem-
ical composition of the paint. Her challenge will be to use the
analytical techniques currently available to study a sample from
the painting, typically a tiny sample that is barely visible to the
human eye.
Youse f is a PhD student in physics who will be focusing on
calculations of the rate of fading of certain paint compositions,
as well as the important issue of whether it will be possible to
reconstruct the original colour of the painting. Another aspect
of Yousef’s project will be to develop new analytical techniques
for gaining more information from the precious paint samples.
Peter is working on his PhD in art history. His project will
include the interpretation of the painting based on its use of
colour, particularly when the colour is thought to have a reli-
gious or symbolic significance. The use of colour may also be
characteristic for this particular artist. The Virgin’s white robe,
Preface VII
for example, is symbolic of her purity as the mother of Christ,
while purple is symbolic of her royal nature as the queen of
heaven.
In order to solvetheproblemof the painting’s degradation the
teamwillhave toworktogether and rely oneachother’s data. The
three graduate students attend the same university, albeit in sep-
arate research groups. Isabel has joined a well-established group
run by a senior professor. Yousef works for a world-renowned
professor in a large group with many PhD students and sev-
eral Post-docs. Peter works as one of two graduate students for
a young assistant professor.
To finish the project successfully, the team will have to draw
on many skills they hadn’t really counted on using when they
started out including good communication, proper planning,
and effective time management.
Baarn Patricia Gosling
Amsterdam Bart Noordam
May 2006
Contents
Preface V
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 Getting Started 7
Starting off on the right foot
Chapter 3 Setting Goals and Objectives 11
Who says you can’t plan science?
Chapter 4 How to Think Like a Scientist 21
Coming to grips with the scientific method
Chapter 5 Good Experimental Design 27
The key to scientific success
Chapter 6 Charting Your Progress Month by Month 37
Staying on track so you don’t get lost
in the research jungle
Chapter 7 Dealing with Setbacks 43
Copi ng with the frustrations of the research life
Chapter 8 The Art of Good Communication 51
How to communicate with others
to maximize your success
Chapter 9 The Art of Good Communication, Part 2 65
Presenta tion Skills and Gro up Meetings
Keep them hanging on the edge of their seats
X Mastering your PhD
Chapter 10 Searching the Scientific Literature 75
Getting comfortable in the library
Chapter 11 Your First International Conference 81
Getting out and about
in the world of scientific meetings
Chapter 12 From Data to Manuscript:
Writing Scientific Papers That Shine 91
Tips for writing up your resea rch into concise
and readable articles
Chapter 13 Celebrate Your Success 101
Isn’t it time to pat yourself on the back
forajobwelldone?
Chapter 14 How to Cope with Your Annual Evaluation 105
Putting yourself and your work
in the best possible light
Chapter 15 The Final Year:
Countdown to Your Thesis Defence 113
It’s all in the planning
Chapter 16 Putting It All Together: a PhD … so What’s Next? 123
Getting a jump start on career planning
Chapter 17 Writing Your Doctoral Thesis with Style 135
Breaking it down into manageable pieces
Chapter 18 The Final Act:
Defending Your Thesis with Panache 145
How to pull off a memorable thesis defence
Chapter 19 Lessons Learned 151
Final thoughts at the end of the journey
About the Authors 155
Acknowledgements 156
Chapter 1
Introduction
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Before you even get started on your PhD research, you have already
madeadecisionthatwillhaveamajorimpactonthesuccessofyour
project, and perhaps even on your future career. You have chosen to
work in a particular research group, under the guidance of a particular
thesis advisor or supervisor. While making this choice, you most likely
spent a great deal of time thinking about the type of research you
wanted to do. You addressed questions such as: do I want to continue
thetypeofresearchIdidformyseniorthesis/Mastersdegree,ordoI
want to explore a new field? Do I prefer doing experiments in the lab
or do I feel more comfortable with a theoretical approach? No doubt
you’ve had to think long and hard about all these personal preferences.
However, there is one more factor to consider for a productive and
pleasant graduate student experience: the group you’ll be working in.
In this chapter we describe four different types of research groups,
ranging from a small group with an assistant professor as a supervisor,
to ahuge group led by a seniorprofessor. We discuss typical advantages
and disadvantages of each of the different types of groups. If you
haven’t already decided on a research group, you might want to take
these considerations into account when making your final choice. If
you ’ve already made your decision, you’ll be ahead of the game by
being aware of some of the advantages and pitfalls of the type of
group you ’ve chosen to work in.
2 Mastering your PhD
The start-up group
One appealing option for many potential grad students is to join
a new group headed by a young assistant professor
1
.Inthisscenario
you will belong to the first generation of PhD students and your
supervisor will be full of energy and eager for data – data that you
will have to acquire. Often in a group that is just starting up, you
mayhavetobuildtheequipmentandapparatusthatyouneedso
that you can start acquiring data. Lacking the infrastructure of an
existing group, you will probably spend a lot of energy in building
equipment, designing new models or writing new compu ter codes.
If you love this entrepreneurial type of work, a start-up group is
a unique opportunity. Starting from scratch is definitely appealing
because there is so much exciting groundbreaking work to do, but it
has also some drawbacks. It might take a lot of hard work to get things
going, so you must really enjoy your research topic to ensure you can
see the taskthrough to the end. Youngsupervisorshavethetendency to
design overly ambitious research programmes, and plans sometimes
have to be simplified along the way when reality sets in. In such
a small group you will have frequent and intensive interactions with
your supervisor, particularly because his or her career will depend on
the success of the first generation of graduate students. The lack of
experience of assistant professors in supervising students is usually
compensated by the enormous amount of time they spend with their
small group. Moreover, your supervisor will have often fewer teaching
and administrative duties. More time, therefore, can be devoted to
working in the lab. It is a matter of personal preference whether you
enjoy this type of intensive interaction. In such a setting it is absolutely
crucial that you get along well with your supervisor. If there is no
1
In this chapter we use terminology from the US academic world to describe
academic ranks: assistant, associate and full professor. Each country has
its own academic system with its own nomenclature. However, the career
paths are similar . After completing a post-doctoral fellowship, one starts
with a small (sub) group, as an assistant professor (in the US). In about five
yearsthegroupgrowsinsize,andthesupervisorispromotedtoassociate
professor. When the group matures and reaches the status of a completely
independen t academic group, the supervisor is usually (but not always)
granted academic tenure and promoted to full professor.