1. Planning Research Outputs from your PhD
“Keeping your supervisor(s) happy!”
23 June 2014

2. Dr Michael O’Sullivan
Senior Lecturer in the
Department of Engineering Science
University of Auckland alumni
BSc (1st Class Hons) in Maths & CS
MPhil (Dist) in Operations Research (OR)
Stanford University alumni
MS (Eng Eco Systems & OR)
PhD (Man Sci and Eng)
Research/consulting in Computational Analytics for Health, Cloud Computing, Water Resources Planning, Finance

3. PhD Timeline Approx. 3 years
Approx. 1 year = getting to grips with the literature, understanding the research “gaps”, preparing your proposal
Approx. 18 months = core research
Approx. 6 months = writing up

4. Publication* Timeline
Approx. 3 years = 3 journal articles
Approx. 15 months = survey paper
Approx. 1 year = initial model(s)/ experiment(s) and findings
Approx. 6 months = final model(s)/ experiment(s) and findings
Write-up only!
* Publication = research output = RO

5. Conference(s) & Travel
PhD
Field trip and present at international conference(s)
Present at regional conference
Present at international conference
Attend local/ regional conference
ROs

6. Research Outputs ROs 3 x journal, 3+ conference
Field trip and present at international conference(s)
Present at regional conference
Present at international conference
ROs
3 x journal, 3+ conference

7. What are supervisors looking for? (1/5)
“High impact” research
Journal article
> Peer Reviewed
Conference Proceedings
Conference Publication
> Conference Publication
> Conference Presentation
> Conference Poster
> Technical Report

8. What are supervisors looking for? (2/5)
“High impact” research
Journal articles

9. What are supervisors looking for? (3/5)
“High impact” research
Journal articles

10. What are supervisors looking for? (4/5)
“High impact” research
Journal articles

11. What are supervisors looking for? (5/5)
“High impact” research
e.g., Computer Science
Journal vs Conference

12. Research Outputs ROs 3 x journal, 3+ conference
Field trip and present at international conference(s)
Present at regional conference
Present at international conference
ROs
3 x journal, 3+ conference

13. Research/Publication Plan
Literature review = survey paper (conference and/or journal)
Initial (promising) research + preliminary results = conference paper
Initial research + complete results = journal article
Extended research + preliminary results = conference paper
Extended research + complete results = journal article
Finalised case study/studies + research methods + analysis = high impact journal article

14. Research Outputs ROs 3 x journal, 3+ conference
“Pre-emptive strike” on potential reviewers
Identify valuable collaborators
Field trip and present at international conference(s)
Present at regional conference
Present at international conference
ROs
3 x journal, 3+ conference

15. Plan Ahead * JIF = Journal Impact Factor
Research plan should include publication targets
Which conferences/journals and when?
Fall-back plan (high to low JIF*)
Submission deadlines
What aspect/part of the research into which journal
Start phases of research with ROs in mind
Systematic literature review is easier to publish
Methodology, Experimental Design, Data/Statistical Analysis
The research questions are formulated based on PICO framework (Borrego et al., 2014)
* JIF = Journal Impact Factor

16. Take the Initiative Take ownership Manage your supervisor time
Manage your PhD
Document your work
Plan/timetable is tight, you must “drive” the project
Remember the big picture
Fundamental research questions
Fit within research programme
Manage your supervisor time
You get 1 hour every 1/2/4 weeks
Don’t ask “what should I do next?”
Come to meetings with a plan for the next week/month/6 months
Identify problems AND possible solutions

17. Best of Luck!