For any prospective research student, the idea of doing a PhD is daunting. This is due to the enormous amount of time required for a student to dedicate to their subject, along with the high level of skills needed to succeed in their research. This is why it is a good reason to seek the advice of those who have gone through the process to see whether or not you are a good fit for undertaking PhD research. In this article, I will give some advice in regards to conducting PhD level research.
Perhaps the most important skill needed to succeed in conducting your research are time management skills. 2-3 years may sound like a lot of time to complete your research, however, take it from me; this is a very insufficient amount of time to fully fledge out your research.
Due to the time constraints, you need to be very smart with how you use your time. Treat your research thesis as a full time job because that is what it is. Make good informed decisions on avenues of research to pursue. You do not want to spend hours on a particular topic only to find out that it is not the right topic for you to be researching.
A large part of conducting your PhD research is to be up-to-date with the latest research in your subject area. As such, you need to make use of all the resources that you can get your hands on. This will require a substantial amount of reading time for you to immerse yourself in your subject; simply relying on the knowledge you attained during your masters and undergraduate is not sufficient.
To achieve this, you will need to read up on a variety of different sources. Firstly, it is highly recommended that you subscribe to an academic journal related to your subject. Journals will have all the latest publications submitted in regards to your PhD research topic. This is the best way to get you up to scratch in your topic area.
Another good idea is to make use of your university’s library. Odds are that you likely have visited the library many times during your undergraduate and masters degree, but if you have not, then you will realize the amount of knowledge that is contained there. You will be able to find many different books on your subject that will be very helpful in aiding you in your research.
I believe that if my advice to make full use of resources, both online and offline, and to have good time management is followed upon, then most students will experience tremendous success with their PhD research.