1. Managing my PhD,MD or MPhil research degree
Alison Tyson-Capper
Faculty Postgraduate Tutor, Associate Dean
The Graduate School
Faculty of Medical Sciences

2. Welcome! Settling in Learning agreements
Project approvals (within 3 months)

3. What am I doing here? Preparing a thesis!
Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy are expected to conduct original investigations, to test ideas, whether their own or others, and to understand the relationship of their work and its themes to a wider field of knowledge. A doctoral thesis should be a piece of work which a capable, well qualified and diligent student who is properly supported and supervised can produce in 3-years of full-time study. It should exhibit substantial evidence of original scholarship and contain material worthy of publication.

4. What do you think is important in managing your PhD/MD/MPhil?

5. Managing my PhD, MD or MPhil research degree
Managing my supervisor(s)!
Alison Tyson-Capper
Graduate School
Faculty of Medical Sciences

6. You and your supervisor?
You now
…..You later on
You and your supervisor?

7. Managing your supervisor
Be organised
He honest if you have made some errors/experiments fail!
Discuss any difficulties
If you don’t know ask!
Don’t be surprised when you start to know more than your supervisor
Meet deadlines
Listen to advice

8. Planning your work Long-term plans Medium-term Short-term
To complete my higher degree and earn some money!
Medium-term
By the end of the year I will have done …
Short-term
Before the next formal meeting I will …..
Immediate plan
By the end of the week I will …
Today I will ...

9. What shall I do first? First meeting with your supervisor(s)
Discuss the completion of an on-line process for project approval. This details:
Your proposed project with a timeline and objectives
Any requirements for ethics committee approval
The name of all supervisors
The 2 members of your progress review panel
The learning agreement

10. How many supervisors do I need?
You have a supervisory team
1 lead supervisor
1 or more co-supervisors

11. It is now mandatory to record supervisory meetings
Meeting records in ePortfolio, and any associated notes and documents, are shared and easily accessible to you and your supervisor(s).
Adding notes and/or uploading minutes provide the team with a useful record of progress, a record of agreed actions for both students and supervisors
Can act as an aide-mémoire to guide future action
Helps prepare for future professional practice (recording meetings, and reviewing written reports are normal practice in most professions and organisations).

12. Formal meetings What is a ‘formal’ meeting?
You pass your supervisor in the corridor and (s)he says ‘is everything OK?’
You politely answer ‘Yes’
Nice, but NOT a formal meeting

13. Formal meetings What is a ‘formal’ meeting?
You are working in the lab/office/field next to one of your supervisors
He or she asks how the work you are doing today is progressing and offers advice
Should happen, but NOT a formal meeting

14. Formal meetings - 1 Formal meetings are vital
You are required to maintain regular contact with your supervisors
Frequency
Often more common at the start than at the end of your project
In this Faculty should not be more than six weeks apart (or less than 10 per year)

15. Formal meetings - 2 What happens at the meeting?
You take all your results and interesting papers and discuss these in detail
Set the Agenda: Make plans
Discuss problems
Ensure the project is more than a series of small experiments
Your thesis will ultimately tell a story

16. Formal meetings - 3 During the meeting After the meeting
You take notes
Arrange a date for the next meeting
After the meeting
You write notes of the meeting with what was agreed – add this to e-portfolio

17. Your data recording/lab books
Hard back with numbered pages
Always enter the date
Complete as you are working
Do not need to be spotless or neat
Enter raw data, observations and calculations
Detail all problems and errors (be honest – we’re all human!)
Your review panel may ask to see these
Your examiner might also ask to see them!

18. Use of computers Backup regularly
Loss of results due to theft, disk failure, virus infection etc is not considered a viable excuse for delayed completion of your project

19. Literature references
Read around your subject (don’t simply print copies of papers)
Not all journals are equal (impact factor)
Your examiners will test your knowledge of current “related science”
Use a reliable reference database
Training will be given (Endnote)
Useful to have an ideas book
Make notes of good ideas as you have them

20. Write up as you go Not always possible, but:
Always prepare high quality graphics output when you derive the data
this takes time when you are writing your thesis – good if you can simply cut and paste figures into your thesis
If a figure isn’t good enough for presentation have another go – don’t assume you will return to the problem later
Write up methods as you develop them
Make notes when you read good papers
don’t assume you will remember everything

21. Progress review You will be examined by 2 reviewers
Not part of your supervisory team
Complementary and independent
You will submit appropriate written work before the review (electronically)
You and your supervisor(s) will receive formal feedback after the review
It’s good to gain experience of oral examination before the ‘big one’!

22. Cross institute – supervision
Panel member
Talks (internal & external)
Collaboration

23. Time plan summary for PhD students
Start Finish 6
months 12 18 24 30 36 1
Learning agreement 3
Project Approval
at 8 months
1st annual assessment
at 20 months
2nd annual assessment
at 30 months
3rd annual assessment
So much more than just these few milestones

24. Annual Progress Reviews: E-portfolio2 3 4
School progress panel (assessors)
Student
report
Supervisors report
Supervisors
Lab members
Mentors
Guidelines (online) 1
DPGT’s/PGRC
(Institute nominee)
Evidence of student progress;
interview
Presentation
Research training portfolio- courses attended
conferences
Publications 5
Progression decision by PG Dean/PgR Tutor

25. “ A most venomous thing in the making of sciences: for whoever has fixed on his Cause, before he has experimented, can hardly avoid fitting his Experiment to his own Cause….rather than the Cause to the truth of the Experiment itself”
Thomas Sprat (1667) Historian Founder of the Royal Society
Don’t fall in love with your hypothesis

26. If you have a(any) problem
Seek help as soon as you can
Supervisors want your project to succeed as much as you do!
Postgraduate co-ordinators
Reviewers (progress panel)
Me through the Graduate School or directly telephone x87156)
The Dean, Prof John Kirby (through the Graduate School)

27. Personal Safety - Smart Cards:
Wear it at all times on premises
Out of hours – login and logout
Communication from the Graduate School
Computer/ s: campus log-in, use your university address

28. Lots of support available within the Faculty and University
Our Support Wheel
Graduate School/me/Dean
Secretary/
administrators
Supervisory team
You
Student groups/
reps
Fellow students/buddy
Progress panel
PgR Tutors/Coordinators

29. You Safety and Security Personal/family problems Accommodation
Financial
problems
Illness
Stress
Disability issues

30. Student advice service
Within the Union building

31. The bottom line Don’t keep a problem to yourself!
The university has dealt with thousands of students – it is unlikely your problem is unique!
Don’t be afraid to talk to someone
You can talk to male and/or female staff
We respect discretion and confidentiality
If the Graduate School can’t help you directly, it will almost certainly be able to direct you to someone who can

32. What we want to achieve:
To encourage you to see your PhD/MD/MPhil studies as a series of training steps rather than as a single final culminating project.
This approach puts more emphasis on the process of training (transferable skills) and on potential personal and career development along the way.

33. Enhancing your experience and CV
Collaborate if appropriate/if it adds value
Research Seminars
External speakers (opportunity to meet/interact)
Present at seminars
Research Days, NEPG Conference
Conferences - promote yourself in the scientific community
Teaching/Supervision Opportunities
Demonstrating
Seminars
Supporting BSc/MSci and MRes students

34. YOU want everything to go well
WE want everything to go well
….and hopefully it will!
We want to enhance your experience
We want to help you get the most out of your time here

35. Good luck…….and I look forward to hearing about your research