Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- PART I The first couple of years
- 1 Choosing and handling your Ph.D. adviser
- 2 Motivation, time management, and multitasking
- 3 Handling the literature
- 4 Report writing
- 5 Powerful presentations
- PART II The end of the beginning
- PART III The transition to post-doctoral research
- PART IV Making it in science
- Epilogue
- Web-links
- Index
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface
- PART I The first couple of years
- 1 Choosing and handling your Ph.D. adviser
- 2 Motivation, time management, and multitasking
- 3 Handling the literature
- 4 Report writing
- 5 Powerful presentations
- PART II The end of the beginning
- PART III The transition to post-doctoral research
- PART IV Making it in science
- Epilogue
- Web-links
- Index
Summary
If you have to write a progress report at a relatively early stage in your research, for example during the first year of a UK Ph.D., you may believe that you haven't got much to say. How wrong you are! You have plenty to write about, even if your results are a little thin on the ground. The first year of your Ph.D. isn't about amassing results; it's about making all your mistakes in one big batch before you start your research proper. Unless, that is, you made all your mistakes during your M.Sc. and extensive pre-Ph.D. industrial experience!
But, ignoring your many weeks fouling-up in the lab, what have you got to show for your first year? Are you still not sure? Well, neither was I until I started writing my first-year report. This humble report was possibly the turning point in my Ph.D. What's more it made me realise just how much I enjoy writing. You may be asked to produce a brief or extensive report, written in either thesis-speak or in the style and format of a scientific paper. Whatever the challenge, this is probably the first time you'll need to get your act together and think about what you've done so far and why you've done it.
It's a good idea to start writing your materials and methods section first. This is unlikely to amount to much yet, but this stuff is relatively easy to get down on paper.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Building a Successful Career in Scientific ResearchA Guide for PhD Students and Postdocs, pp. 23 - 25Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006