I decided to evade the office today in favour of a full shift in the library, and, after spending much of my day buried under every kind of 'Doing Your Research' publication imaginable, I must say I do feel slightly better about refining my research questions. I'm going to summarize some key points on research questions in tomorrow's post, in the first of what I hope will form something of a weekly 'research round up'. This post, I have since realized, clearly foregrounds my own paranoia about falling behind, exposing myself as falling behind and my now obvious fear of being thought of by others as falling behind. Please, learn from my mania, don't take my advice at face-value, read between the lines, laugh, learn, feel better.
I was starting to think that I was the only one trapped in this cycle of refinement, amendment and, well, resentment...but, as it turns out, there are others! At this point it is important to stress that I have not, repeat not, committed the cardinal sin of comparing 'where I'm at' with my fellow first year colleagues. Aside from a minor academic over-share on Instagram, I have largely followed suit, adopting tactics of vagueness and deflection to avoid, at all costs, questions relating to the specific details of my progress (or lack thereof). No. Instead, I took to Google with my woes and fell upon The Thesis Whisperer and this post in particular.
To liken the PhD student's quest for the perfect research question to that of a flailing maniac scrambling about the deck, groping at the air for a party piñata, that is too good. Literally, lets just eyeball the tequila and have done with it.
On a serious note though, no one wants to feel that they've been left behind in first year. Everyone starts out at different points, some people really nail the proposal in the admissions stage, some research is complicated by a more in depth literature search...I could go on, but the point is we're all different. NB. This knowledge does not make anyone feel any better and that is all any first year wants- to be made to feel better. This is why you should only divulge 'where you're at' with individuals who have gained trusted status. It's a useful self-preservation tactic that's all I'm saying.
Kath
I was starting to think that I was the only one trapped in this cycle of refinement, amendment and, well, resentment...but, as it turns out, there are others! At this point it is important to stress that I have not, repeat not, committed the cardinal sin of comparing 'where I'm at' with my fellow first year colleagues. Aside from a minor academic over-share on Instagram, I have largely followed suit, adopting tactics of vagueness and deflection to avoid, at all costs, questions relating to the specific details of my progress (or lack thereof). No. Instead, I took to Google with my woes and fell upon The Thesis Whisperer and this post in particular.
To liken the PhD student's quest for the perfect research question to that of a flailing maniac scrambling about the deck, groping at the air for a party piñata, that is too good. Literally, lets just eyeball the tequila and have done with it.
On a serious note though, no one wants to feel that they've been left behind in first year. Everyone starts out at different points, some people really nail the proposal in the admissions stage, some research is complicated by a more in depth literature search...I could go on, but the point is we're all different. NB. This knowledge does not make anyone feel any better and that is all any first year wants- to be made to feel better. This is why you should only divulge 'where you're at' with individuals who have gained trusted status. It's a useful self-preservation tactic that's all I'm saying.
Kath
x
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