PhD survival guide

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Don’t panic
Our PhD survival guide brings together
words of wisdom from our experts
Contents
04  ajor revisions to your
M
thesis and a career outside
academia post-PhD are not
failures, writes Fiona Whelan
05  ow to choose the right
H
PhD topic: our experts
offer their advice
06
No one forgets a good (or
bad) PhD supervisor: five
academics talk about their
formative experiences
FEATURES REVIEWS DIGITAL EDITIONS NEWSLETTER
14  e selective when choosing
B
your PhD supervisor, says
Tara Brabazon
& ARCHIVE
20  ow to avoid the common pit-
H
falls of a poorly written doc-
toral thesis: Tara Brabazon
offers some guidance
A
PhD is a major undertaking. So let the experts at Times Higher
Education help you navigate your way to your viva – and
through the other side. This guide collects the essential insights,
advice and guidance that you will need not just to survive but to
flourish as a doctoral student.
Understanding how your work will be assessed is vital. Within these
pages, PhD supervisors reveal how they approach their work and offer
advice on how to find the right adviser to oversee your doctoral thesis.
There are tips on how to avoid common mistakes, from 10 pitfalls
that are likely to result in PhD failure to how not to write your thesis.
Prime your work for assessment with our guidance on writing clear,
jargon-free prose.
Your well-being while you study is also important. Our experts
counsel you on how to overcome feelings of failure, balance your
academic commitments with other work and the career options that
lie beyond your doctorate.
There are also recommendations on how to hone the skills that every
PhD student needs. These include making informed decisions about
where and what to study, meeting deadlines and how to overcome
nerves about public speaking.
If you master these skills you can follow your passion and “set the
pattern for the rest of your career”, as one of our experts puts it.
24 P hD style tips: how to make
sure your writing is clear
and jargon-free
25 P ractical pointers for making
sure you turn in your thesis
06
05 on time
26 Inger Mewburn imparts some
words of wisdom about
speaking in public
25 27 T ry hard: former Scotland
sevens captain Colin Gregor
talks about how he balanced
his job with his PhD studies
28
28 Kevin Haggerty and Aaron
Doyle list their 10 steps to
PhD failure. Picking a “cool”
supervisor is among them
27
14
ALAMY
Times Higher Education 3
Here’s what you
need to know
about ‘failure’
before you start
your PhD
Taking an unconventional route after studying for a doctorate
should not be seen as a problem, says Fiona Whelan
I
am sure that there are many lists out there
along the lines of “10 Things I Wish I Knew
Before Starting a PhD”. But what I really
wish someone had told me about before I
embarked on my DPhil (PhD) in history was
the concept of failure.
I started a blog on the back of receiving
major corrections after my viva, and the sense
of failure that overwhelmed me. Now, each
institution is different, but at mine, minor
corrections should take one month to
complete, while major corrections should
take one to six months to complete. There
is also the more severe result of “revise
and resubmit”.
In my case, my result was “pass with major
corrections”. It took a long time, and persua-
sion from colleagues, for the sense of failure to
subside and to realise that a pass is a pass.
When I blogged about the taboo of major
corrections and failure, more and more people
came forward with similar feelings and experi-
ences. I wish that all PhD students were given
clear guidelines over the meanings of the
different viva outcomes, so that a “pass with
major corrections” can still be a cause for cele-
bration, not disappointment.
I wish I knew that a “pass” was not
a “fail”.
Beyond the viva, a greater sense of failure
can loom large over those who do not get an
academic job. If you do not get an academic
job, you are often made to feel like a failure.
In a sense, there are two types of “failures”
here: the first is the feeling of failure for those
actively trying to get an academic job, but who
are having to temporarily work elsewhere to
pay the bills; the second is the feeling of failure
for those who actively reject the academic
career path as they are seen to have failed to
follow the conventionally expected route.
So, on the one hand, the competitive state
of the academic job market, especially in the
4 Times Higher Education
humanities, and the dispiriting odds of getting
an academic position immediately post-PhD is
exacerbating the sense of failure for those
actively trying to pursue academia; while, on
the other hand, we punish those who have
valid reasons for following an alternative
career path. Undertaking a PhD does not
automatically mean that you will be a profes-
sor or researcher, nor that you want to be.
That traditional train of thought needs to
be broken.
What nobody tells you towards the end of
the PhD is that there are alternative career
paths, whether it be a temporary stopgap in
your continued academic job search, or a
conscious and informed decision to take your
career in a different direction. While this is
improving, many post-PhD workshops run by
departments focus on academic jobs, neglect-
ing the opportunity to promote the transfer-
able skills of PhD graduates that are highly
valued by non-academic employers.
I have made the conscious decision that a
full-time academic position is not for me.
Whether I could get one if I tried is another
question, but the key point is that it is not
right for me. Not now, at least.
People never tell you that your post-PhD
expectations and aspirations will fluctuate
over the years, and what you wanted at the
beginning may not be the same as what you
want at the end. I wanted to work in higher
education and make a positive impact on
teaching and research, but in a high-level stra-
tegic and impactful way through university
management rather than through pure teach-
ing and research. As such, I entered a higher
education graduate management scheme,
based at the University of Oxford with a
secondment to University College London.
From that experience, I knew that I wanted
to work in student services and am now pursu-
ing a career in that area.
However, nobody told me that this was a
viable career path. I and many others (as I
suspect from the number of PhD graduates
working in university management and admin-
istration) have fallen into these roles. It should
be promoted as a career path for PhD gradu-
ates as one that allows you to retain an
academic identity (should you so wish) while
working towards a rich, varied and rewarding
career. I retain access to institutional resources,
such as libraries, and still actively publish and
attend conferences. But the caveat here is that
not everyone in full-time academia will under-
stand you and your choice.
This summer, I was awarded a scholarship
to attend and present at an academic confer-
ence. The scholarship was available to PhD
students and those working outside academia
(more bursaries and scholarships should
include that latter category). Some attendees
approached me and their first question was
“where are you doing your postdoc?” This is
problematic: one, it assumes that it is easy to
get postdocs in the humanities; and two, that
everybody wants one.
I found it frustrating that I had to defend
Choosing a
ALAMY
PhD subject
A well-chosen doctoral thesis will have a focus that
can be explored and built on, writes Harriet Swain
C
hoosing a PhD topic is
never easy, but that
doesn’t mean you should
make things more difficult than
they need to be.
“Choose something man-
ageable,” advises Philip Cun-
liffe, a senior lecturer at the
University of Kent.
Gina Wisker, head of the
Centre for Learning and Teach-
ing at the University of Brighton,
says you need to define a gap
in knowledge – and one that
can be questioned, explored,
researched and written about in
the time available to you.
“Set some boundaries,” she
advises. “Don’t try to ask every-
thing related to your topic in
every way.”
Instead, you need to focus
on your area of work, know how
to defend your choice of a par-
ticular subject and explain why
you are using the methodology
you have selected. She says
you need to be aware of current
and established theories
related to the topic so that
you can situate your own work
my life choices to others, and especially and ensure that it makes a
to those more senior who potentially are contribution.
too distant from the realities facing PhD Cunliffe observes that doing
graduates today. a PhD is one of the few times
Ultimately, I wish that I had been told that in your life when you have unin-
my choices are mine and are not “failures” but
successes. They are conscious choices that
simply look different from the conventional
and assumed path. The language that those in
full-time academia use to those more junior is
vital in dispelling these myths about failures.
Academic institutions should manage
expectations about life post-PhD by promoting
and supporting the wide-ranging roles and
careers in which PhD graduates find them-
selves, regardless of whether it was by circum-
stance or by choice.
Fiona Whelan is academic standards and
quality officer at Queen Mary University of
London. She was awarded a DPhil in history
from the University of Oxford and is the
author of The Honest PhD Guide and
The Making of Manners and Morals in
Twelfth-Century England. She blogs at
ALAMY
beyondthedoctorate.blogspot.com.
terrupted time for study.
“At an early stage in your
career it is very unlikely that
you will write a theoretical mas-
terpiece,” he warns. “It is better
to stamp your name on a body
of empirical research that peo-
ple haven’t done before.”
But you have to be inter-
ested in the topic. “You are
going to do this for three or four
years and it can get terribly bor-
ing if you aren’t interested in it,”
warns James Hartley, research
professor in psychology at
Keele University.
You then have to find some-
one else who is interested in it.
For science graduates, this will
probably be a case of joining a
team of people working in a
similar area. For those in the
arts and social sciences it will
be a matter of identifying a
suitable supervisor.
Hartley says it can also be
useful to think about topics
that spark general interest. If
you do pick something that
taps into the zeitgeist, your
findings are more likely to
be noticed.
Patrick Dunleavy, professor
of political science and public
policy at the London School of
Economics and author of
Authoring a PhD, says your
choice of topic should be con-
tinually updated to keep pace
with your findings.
“It isn’t just a question of
defining a PhD topic,” he says.
“It’s a question of configuring
it.” He warns that problems
arise when people fail to
answer the question they
have posed.
Dunleavy says that you also
have to think carefully about
what the key value-added
components of your thesis will
be. In a standard eight-chapter
PhD, with 10,000 words per
chapter, you will usually need
an introduction, a conclusion
and perhaps a chapter on
methods, leaving five chapters
in which to concentrate on
original work.
“Pick up an idea, take it for
a walk and put it down some-
where else. You are moving it
around and seeing a new
application,” he says.
On the other hand, you will
need at some point to go out
on a limb. “If you want to do
original work, you need to
understand that you don’t
understand something and
that the rest of the world
doesn’t either,” he adds.
He advises reading and
discussing things with every-
one from your peer group to
your partner. “It is very import-
ant to articulate what you are
trying to do,” he says.
Your thesis will be cited in
your CV for years to come so it
is essential to get the topic
and title right. Achieve this,
and it could set the pattern
for the rest of your career.
Further reading:
Authoring a PhD:
How to Plan, Write and
Finish a Doctoral Thesis
or Dissertation,
by Patrick Dunleavy;
The Postgraduate
Research Handbook,
by Gina Wisker.
Times Higher Education 5
DAVID PARKINS
Advice
squad
PhD supervisors range from excellent to
abysmal. Five academics talk about the advisers
they had as postgraduates and how their
experience affects the way they mentor now
W
hen a PhD supervision session consti-
tutes just another blocked-out hour in
a besieged diary, it can be all too easy
to forget that it could make an impression that
stays with the student for the rest of their
research career.
We asked five academics for their recollec-
tions of the PhD supervision they received, and
the way it had informed their own approach
to tutoring. Three had enjoyed excellent
supervision that had deeply influenced their
own practice. But two had not. One recalls
exchanges with their tutor characterised by
yawns and silences, while another was treated
with a “cutting harshness”, valuable only as
an exemplar of how not to conduct yourself.
The fact that both unfortunate tutees went
on to have successful careers – albeit, in the
6 Times Higher Education 27 March 2014
38
former’s case, largely thanks to a second
reader – suggests that sympathetic PhD super-
vision is not an absolute prerequisite for future
academic success. But it is surely important.
So what characterises it?
According to one highly experienced super-
visor, good supervision is like good parenting:
you have to be “tough and clear”, as well as
“kind and generous”.
Another contributor suggests good supervi-
sors must have “great curiosity and even
greater responsibility”, while a third suggests a
certain virtuosity with the F-word can also be
an asset.
But the most important piece of advice for
supervisors must surely be that if you see a fire
extinguisher flying from your tutee’s hand
towards your head, be sure to duck.
27 March 2014 Times Higher Education 397
 She was detached and
DAVID PARKINS

harsh, but the benefits

became apparent later

I
completed my PhD in the 1990s at the same

DAVID PARKINS
university where I’d been an undergraduate
at the tail end of the 1980s. My vibrant
department was an exciting place to be in the
period when “New Historicism” was still new
and the first biographies of the relatively
recently deceased Michel Foucault were begin-
ning to be published.
It also struck me, on the very first rung of
my academic career, as a department full of
inspirational women. The staff photograph of
one impossibly glamorous lecturer (who died
much too young) showed a wraith of smoke
making its way across her timeless face from
the cigarette she balanced between elegant
fingers. Two younger women had recently
been appointed, and watching how they
handled their first lectureships was invaluable
to me. My supervisor was also a woman, and
was well known and very established.
At first, I felt lucky to be working with her.
It quickly became apparent, however, that she
was a matchless source only of gnomic
wisdom. “ ’Twas ever thus,” she would slowly

I was stubborn and stimulated a flow of text that went under my

supervisor’s editorial hammer, eventually forg-
ing a thesis and then papers. Today, remem-
intone, nodding her head, pointing her fingers
into steeples in front of her mouth, her lively,
intelligent eyes flashing at me from behind
insensitive, but he never bering those early verdicts, I take particular
pleasure when referees comment that “this
thick glasses in a way that utterly closed down
the conversation and left me feeling like an

stopped supporting me manuscript is well written”.

I also realise that I have adopted elements
of my supervisor’s writing style. I am unable
to use the word “reveal” but like to use
“remarkably” and still write “by contrast”
imposition. (She was the kind of supervisor
whose claims to extreme busyness suggested a
series of commitments far more important
than my own packed schedule, which counted
for little when it came to making our rare

T
he relationship between PhD student and
supervisor can be complex. A colleague
of mine chased his supervisor out of the
laboratory and then hurled a fire extinguisher
at him. Fortunately it missed. Another was left
entirely on his own while his supervisor did
fieldwork in Tonga. My experiences fall some-
where between these extremes of interaction.
I started my PhD in 1980 and it has taken
me until now to understand how the interac-
tion with my supervisor has shaped so much
of my career. I began with almost no under-
standing of what was expected or required,
merely possessing a puppy-like enthusiasm, a
passion for research and a determined disposi-
tion. By contrast, my supervisor was one of
the great biologists of his generation, focused,
determined, experienced and unimaginably
busy. He had built a major research group at
the cutting edge of his discipline. At the age of
21, the significance of all this made little
impression on me.
Communication between us was not always
easy, not least because I did not know how to
listen. At one point I was told that I “must
stop” a set of experiments. My response was
to put the equipment on a trolley, wheel the
set-up into different rooms and undertake the
research surreptitiously at night. I did this for
40 Times Higher Education 27 March 2014
8 27 March 2014 Times Higher Education 41
six months and the experiments failed. My
supervisor had been right and I had been
wrong, but he had used the word “must”.
I still dislike being told what to do, but this
experience taught me that automatically doing
the complete opposite is not always an intelli-
gent response.
There were many other awkward incidents.
Memorably, I salvaged a beautiful oak profes-
sorial desk that had languished in pieces in the
department storeroom. I assembled it and
moved it into the communal office, for which I
was branded by my supervisor as trying to be
self-important. For me, it was purely an
aesthetic issue, as my 1960s metal-frame desk
did not appeal, and I responded to the criti-
cism with forthright Anglo-Saxon expletives. I
appreciate now why a PhD student with an
oak roll-top professorial desk may cause irrita-
tion among the group. But at the time I simply
did not understand the fuss or sensitivities.
These two examples illustrate why I was
not an easy student. Yet my supervisor did not
give up and in the end we generated some
wonderful data. It was time to write.
My first effort was described as “the worst
draft of a PhD thesis I have ever read” and
“even worse than any of the foreign
students’ ”. This uncompromising verdict
rather than “in contrast”; I try not to split my
infinitives – a practice long abandoned by
most; I have a tendency to number points in
the text and I use whole phrases that have
their origins back in those early days. This has
all been passed on to my PhD students, who
deliberately use “in contrast” and split their
infinitives to make sure I have read their work.
So what else did my supervisor do for me,
other than provide a rather difficult individual
with an environment conducive to learning
how to undertake focused, well-designed
experiments, write scientific papers, deal with
constructive criticism and be rigorously self-
critical?
Well, so much more than I appreciated for
years. It turns out that many nominations,
awards and jobs were all influenced to a
greater or lesser extent by the person who
supervised my PhD. The support has never
stopped, and I ask myself what, over the years,
have I done for him? The short answer is not a
lot. But at least in those early days I didn’t
throw a fire extinguisher at him!
Russell Foster, a fellow of Brasenose College,
Oxford, is professor of circadian neuroscience
and head of the department of ophthalmology
at the University of Oxford.
appointments.) Buck-passing on her part was
often – in a way that wouldn’t be possible
these days – presented to me as a valuable
career opportunity. As a consequence, pains-
taking editorial tasks, in the inky-fingered days
before widespread digitisation, took up huge
amounts of my time and earned me just the
smallest mention in editions that trumpeted
my supervisor’s name.
She could be cuttingly – and, with hind-
sight, unconsciously – harsh. I vividly remem-
ber the hot summer’s day when she phoned me
at home as I was jubilantly constructing a
Swedish flatpack bed. I answered and told her
what I was doing. There was a pause before
she delivered, in her clipped, diamond-pointed
intonation, a little line that did much to
remind me just how much harder she thought
I should be working, and how very unimpor-
tant I was in the academic scheme of things:
“Good. Building a bed. That’s a marvellous
life skill, I’m sure.”
But she also did much for which I’ll always
be grateful. Six months in, when my initial
PhD project was really floundering, she
suggested I take a day out and spend it reading
books by a woman called Margaret Cavendish
in Cambridge University Library. This was a
wonderful experience in itself: the rare books
room was a hushed treasure trove which, do well to remember not only the difficult
despite its arcane rules and indomitable gate- times but also the marvellous opportunity
keepers, felt like home – unlike the well- offered by having a remarkable scholarly
stocked but austerely modernist concrete mentor almost on tap.
library of my home institution. But, more The influence of my supervisor has certainly
importantly, the trip presented me with the endured – albeit in reverse. Where she saw me
eventual subject of my thesis and first book. as “just” a PhD student, I take an altogether
The last time I heard of my supervisor, she more holistic approach to supervising. I treat
had semi-retired to a comfortable job at her my doctoral students as young people trying to
favourite university, and had overcome a build careers, with complex and conflicting
serious illness. The wonder to me was that she demands being made of them every day. If I
had succumbed to it in the first place, having can support them, be approachable and let
always seemed invincibly steely. them into my life, I can better guide them in
But now that I’m a supervisor myself, I do an increasingly precarious world where,
remember her increasingly fondly. When we perhaps, ’twas ever thus, but it needn’t be.
become parents, we realise how much we, as
children, sometimes took for granted the hard Emma Rees is aa senior lecturer
professor in English
of literature at the
and
work and affection of our own parents. Simi- University of Chester
gender studies and theand authorof
director TheInstitute
ofthe Vagina:
larly, when we become supervisors, we would A
of Literary and Cultural
Gender Studies History (2013).
at the University of Chester.
9
 I was lucky. M
“ r Zaretsky, the world is not holding its
breath to read your next chapter.” I
looked up from the letter, gazed out of
He displayed the window of the cafe where I was sitting and
sighed. I had missed a deadline and, as always,
great curiosity my adviser, Hans Schmitt, drove home the
point with little hesitancy and less sentimental-
ity. And a good thing too: a deftly delivered
and greater blow of a two-by-four to a student’s head is,
at times, the greatest service an adviser can
responsibility render.
I was then living in Paris, where I had
moved thanks to a fellowship from the Wood-
row Wilson International Center for Scholars,
after a year spent scouring archives in the
southern city of Nîmes. Although weighed
down with several boxes of index cards (the
fruit of my research) and a Mac Plus (it
DAVID PARKINS
42 Times Higher Education 27 March 2014
10 27 March 2014 Times Higher Education 11
seemed so portable back then), I felt unbear-
ably light: my wife and I had gone through a
painful transatlantic break-up and I was still
struggling with the fallout.
But Mr Schmitt (at the University of
Virginia, professors are addressed as our
founder, Thomas Jefferson, is, as “Mr”) would
have none of it. He shared with me his shock
and concern about the divorce, but he did not
allow this to bleed into our professional rela-
tionship. As a result, his letter avoided any
reference to my private history. Instead, it was
all about the public history of Catholics, Prot-
estants and Jews in Nîmes during the Occupa-
tion. Following the letter’s opening zinger were
several typed pages in which Mr Schmitt
meticulously corrected and commented on the
much-belated dissertation chapter. He
criticised my unsubstantiated claims, but also
complimented (though much less frequently)
my use of archival sources and oral interviews.
Even when separated by an ocean – which
was far wider before the internet – Hans
Schmitt was by my side. He had been there
ever since the day I asked him if he would
serve as my adviser. My reasons for choosing
him had little to do with modern French
history – my field of study – since Mr Schmitt
didn’t work on modern France. He had writ-
ten books on the French Catholic nationalist
Charles Péguy and the European Coal and
Steel Community, regional politics in Switzer-
land and the Quakers in Germany. Nor did my
reasons have anything to do with historio-
graphical trends: Mr Schmitt – who died in
2004, 15 years after I defended my
dissertation – thought theory was best left in
the physics department and gender was best
left to job applications.
But I recognised in Hans Schmitt two essen-
tial traits for an adviser: great curiosity and
even greater responsibility. His sense of
wonder about the past was striking, as was his
sense of duty towards it. And since the past’s
future was in the hands of his students,
Mr Schmitt treated us with the same respect
and sense of responsibility. He liked to say that
the only inevitable thing is what has already
happened. Now that I am the age he was when
I first met him, I see just how lucky I was to
have had him as my adviser.
Robert Zaretsky is professor of history in the
Honors College, University of Houston.
HOW TO HELP, OR HINDER
My career total of supervisees is now
more than 80 and, over the years, I have
learned a vast amount about what to
do and what not to do as a supervisor.
Here are my top five dos and don’ts.
ALWAYS
1. Remember that a PhD is an organic process.
Reassure the student that change is not only good,
it is necessary. If you end up thinking the same way
as when you started, something has gone wrong.
This advice is particularly helpful in year two, when
the end seems a long way off.
2. Read drafts. I have an agreement with my
students that I will correct minutiae in a first draft,
but after that I expect perfect copy without typos or
mistakes in English. This is very time-consuming in
the beginning, but rapidly helps students improve
their writing and thinking skills.
3. Have a clear understanding about what
tutorials are for and recognise that students’
needs change. Spend time suggesting reading in
the first instance, but then make sure you are
given a piece of written work in advance of
meetings so that you both have something
concrete to discuss.
4. Be rigorous in reading and returning work
quickly. If you have several students, read in the
order you receive work. I tell students my reading is
like aircraft stacked up over Heathrow: they land in
order, nobody jumps a queue.
5. Be generous with time and above all with ideas.
Supervising is like good parenting: you have to be
tough, clear, kind and generous.
NEVER
1. Impose yourself on students. They are
independent beings, not clones (see point 5 above
for parenting parallels).
2. Skim through a chapter and hand it back
without annotations.
3. Neglect to send a page or two summarising the
advice you have given after a tutorial, because nine
times out of 10 the student will be too agitated to
remember what was said.
4. Seek to engage too closely with a student’s
personal life. When a friendship develops, it can
last a lifetime, but it has to grow naturally.
5. Choose examiners whom you may not be able to
trust. I have co-examined with people who hadn’t
bothered to read the thesis, people ideologically
opposed to the thesis and people who see vivas as
a time for aggression and one-upmanship. An
external examiner can be as important as a
supervisor for the future, writing references, giving
career advice and perhaps even collaborating with
research projects.
Susan Bassnett is professor of comparative
literature at the University of Warwick.
43
 I was saved from
DAVID PARKINS

an advisory vacuum
by a responsive
second reader

M
y most vivid recollection of meeting
with my dissertation adviser Brendan O
Hehir (no apostrophe, please!) as a
doctoral candidate at the University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley in the 1960s was the volume and
duration of his yawns, which could sometimes
last as long as 10 or 15 seconds.
Granted, my painstaking analysis of the
rhetorical strategies Jonathan Swift used in
urging the Irish people to boycott William
Wood’s copper coinage in the Drapier’s Letters
may not have been gripping stuff (spoiler alert:
they succeeded). But this was the same
Brendan O Hehir who had co-authored not
one but two lexicons to Finnegans Wake (one
Gaelic, the other Classical), as well as an
annotated edition of 17th-century poet John
Denham’s Cooper’s Hill. If anyone should
have had a high tedium threshold, it was
surely Brendan.
Nor, to the best of my knowledge, did he from Joyce’s Martello Tower in Sandycove was
suffer from narcolepsy, although, to his credit, not entirely a hardship; and I was commis-
he had survived childhood rheumatic fever and sioned to write an introduction to Gulliver’s
two experimental heart bypass surgeries that Travels for the same series for which “Famous
had helped transform him from a skeletal nine Seamus” Heaney wrote an introduction to
stone to nearly 14 stone in less than a year, Macbeth. But by 1970 the job market was
with an accompanying dramatic revival of his starting to dry up and I needed to get my
libido (it was Berkeley in the 1960s, after all). degree and begin seeking gainful employment.
I had taken several of his courses and he Whenever Brendan did get around to
had even once published an article on Swift’s responding to my letters, his written comments
poetry, so he seemed a likely choice to direct continued to suggest drowsiness. Fortunately,
my doctoral dissertation. I asked Gardner Gardner came to the rescue. He not only

Our expletive-filled experiment, and the issue of whether what I

was seeing in a scanning probe microscope
image was real (or yet another irritating arte-
why the blasted instrument has given up the
ghost this time. Get the experiment wrong and
and
it it might
might wellover
be well be over a year
a year beforebefore youthe
you get
Stout, who had published a scholarly edition
of Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey, to
be my second reader because it was in his
responded promptly but also grasped the
holistic argument of my thesis better even than
I did. His detailed comments both challenged
interactions arose from our fact). And I gained a huge amount from our
“robust” exchanges of ideas.
get the
next next allocation
allocation
attempt it again.
again.
of beamoftime
beamto time to it
attempt seminar on Swift and Sterne that I’d begun to
investigate the Drapier’s Letters. His easy
and directed in ways that enabled me to return
home confident that the end was nigh. Further

drive and commitment But it wasn’t just Greg’s remarkable talent

for using the F-word as object, subject,
(ad)verb and adjective in a single sentence that
impressed me. His enthusiasm for research
and teaching, his generosity with his time and
After a rather arduous 40-hour shift, I was
about to leave for breakfast when Greg
arrived. I barked out a list of instructions,
including telling him to leave certain key
parameters on the experimental kit alone. He
manner was the exact opposite of Brendan’s
incredibly awkward small talk.
While never true social friends, I had once
invited Brendan to dinner as thanks for
supporting my successful Fulbright application
fortified by the approval of a third reader, I
succeeded in 1972 in attaining a faculty posi-
tion at Southeastern Massachusetts University
(now the University of Massachusetts Dart-
mouth), where I remained until I retired in

M
y PhD was a masterclass in the art of
swearing. I don’t mean that I was frus-
trated all the time: far from it. But
regardless of whether my research was going
well or if it was in a phase when nothing
seemed to work, my supervisor, Greg Hughes,
and I communicated almost entirely in
expletives.
Some might argue that this reliance on
swearing was a result of deficiencies in our
respective vocabularies (and they’d have a
point in my case). But I prefer to think that it
reflected the extent to which we were both
engaged with, and driven by, the research. Far
from being the disinterested and dispassionate
operators scientists are supposed to be, we
both cared deeply about the interpretation of
spectroscopic data, the best way to set up an
12 Times Higher Education 27 March 2014
44
his inspiring mentorship also played a huge
role in convincing me, less than a year into my
PhD at Dublin City University, that I wanted
to be an academic scientist.
One lasting memory I have is of a particu-
larly fraught experiment in the last year of my
PhD. A considerable amount of the science I
did took place at the now sadly decommis-
sioned Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation
Source just outside Warrington. Experiments
at synchrotrons (particle accelerators that
generate an intense beam of radiation invalu-
able for studying a wide range of materials)
are scheduled around short allocations of
“beam time”. This necessitates lots of long
shifts in a cramped environment and often
results in sleep-deprived, caffeine-fuelled scien-
tists bickering about how best to sort out just
would have been quite within his rights to take
umbrage at the lippiness of a young and rather
unkempt scientist with a fraction of his
research experience. But instead, he nodded
sagely and smiled. He later told me that it was
at that point – when I was telling him what he
should do, rather than the other way round –
that he realised I deserved the award of a
doctorate.
Ever since, I’ve used the willingness of
students to robustly argue their case, and/or
tell me why I’m wrong, as a benchmark for
their PhD readiness. By that point, they may
also find that they are swearing just that little
bit more than when they started.
Philip Moriarty is professor of physics at the
University of Nottingham.
for research in Ireland, on which occasion he
downed several cups of “Irish coffee” after
instructing me to leave out the sugar, cream –
and coffee. Ever the pedant, he corrected my
mispronunciation of Irish towns, including
where I eventually settled, Dun Laoghaire –
which is apparently pronounced “Dun Leary”
and not, as I had ventured, “Dun Lay-ug-
hairy”. Who knew?
Once settled in Ireland, I began making
what I considered productive use of the Trinity
College Dublin archives, and sent Brendan
progress reports on what I discovered. By way
of response, all I received was deafening
silence. Six months passed and still nothing –
which, as Lear remarked so memorably, was
not altogether encouraging.
Of course, living in Ireland a stone’s throw
2013 (see “Fallout”, Times Higher Education,
7 November 2013).
Because my scholarly focus shifted radically
over the years from Swift and the 18th century
to Sylvia Plath (much too long a story to
recount here), I soon lost contact with both my
dissertation advisers. The last time I saw
Brendan was at a Modern Language Associ-
ation meeting in San Francisco nearly two
decades later. By then he was so physically
transformed by the brain cancer from which he
would soon die that I scarcely recognised him
when he was “introduced” to me. Rather than
a yawn, my facial expression more closely
resembled that of Edvard Munch’s Scream. l
Richard Larschan was professor of English at
the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
13
27 March 2014 Times Higher Education 45
10
32 Times Higher Education 11 July 2013
14
truths a
supervisor
will never
tell you
There are some important
dos and don’ts to bear
in mind when choosing
someone to oversee your
doctoral thesis, advises
Tara Brabazon – the
foremost being don’t
let the supervisors
grind you down

11 July 2013 Times Higher Education 15

33
 1 3
2
M
y father used to tell a joke, over and
over again. It was a classic outback
Australian, Slim Dusty joke that – like
the best dad jokes – I can’t remember. But I do
recall the punchline. “Who called the cook
a bastard?” To which the answer was, “Who
called the bastard a cook?”
This riposte often comes to mind during
discussions about doctoral supervision and
candidature management. Discussions go on
(and on and on) about quality, rigour, ethics
and preparedness. Postgraduates are moni-
tored, measured and ridiculed for their lack of
readiness or their slow progress towards
completion. But inconsistencies and problems
with supervisors and supervision are marginal-
ised. In response, I think of my father’s one-
liner: Who called the supervisor a bastard?
Who called the bastard a supervisor?
To my mind, I never received any satisfac-
tory, effective or useful supervision for my
doctorate, research master’s or two coursework
master’s that contained sizeable dissertation
components. I found the supervisors remote
and odd. A couple of them tried to block the
submission of the theses to my institution.
Indeed, on three separate occasions in my
career, academics informed me that if I submit-
ted this thesis, it would fail. The results that
followed these warnings were a master of arts
passed with distinction, a master of education
with first-class honours and a dean’s award,
and a PhD passed without correction. I was
left with the impression that these supervisors
had no idea what they were doing. The worst
supervisors share three unforgivable character-
istics: (1) they do not read your writing,
(2) they never attend supervisory meetings, and
(3) they are selfish, career-obsessed bastards.
I am now an experienced supervisor and
examiner, but I still remember my own disap-
pointments. For the doctoral students who
follow, I want to activate and align these per-
sonal events with the candidatures I have man-
aged since that time. Particularly, I wish to share
with the next generation of academics some
lessons that I have learned about supervisors.
As a prospective PhD student, you are
precious. Institutions want you – they gain
funding, credibility and profile through your
presence. Do not let them treat you like an
inconvenient, incompetent fool. Do your
research. Ask questions. Use these 10 truths
to assist your decision.
34 Times Higher Education 11 July 2013
16 11 July 2013 Times Higher Education 17
The key predictor of a
supervisor’s ability to guide
a postgraduate to completion
is a good record of having
done so
Ensure that at least one member of your super-
visory team is a very experienced supervisor.
Anyone can be appointed to supervise. Very
few have the ability, persistence, vision, respect
and doggedness to move a diversity of students
through the examination process. Ensure that
the department and university you are consid-
ering assign supervisors on the basis of intel-
lectual ability rather than available workload.
Supervising students to completion is incred-
ibly difficult. The final few months require
complete commitment from both supervisor
and postgraduate. Make sure that you are
being guided by a supervisor who understands
the nature of effective supervision and has
proved it through successful completions.
You choose the supervisor.
Do not let the institution
overrule your choice
As a postgraduate who is about to dedicate
three or four years to an institution, you
have the right to select a supervisor with
whom you feel comfortable. Yet increasingly,
as the postgraduate bureaucracy in universities
increases, administrators and managers
“match” a prospective candidate with a super-
visor. Do not let this happen. Do research on
the available staff. Talk directly with individ-
ual academics. Ascertain their willingness to
supervise you, and then inform the graduate
centre or faculty graduate administrators of
their commitment.
4
Stars are attractive but may be
distant. Pick a well-regarded
supervisor who does not spend
too much time away
It may seem a tough, unusual or impossible
task to find a supervisor who has a strong
profile but rarely goes away on research leave
or disappears to attend conferences. Post-
graduates need to be supervised by people
with an international reputation whose name
carries weight when they write references.
But they must not be jet-setting professors,
frequently leaving the campus and missing
supervisory meetings to advance their own
career. They must be established and well
known, but available to supervise you rather
than continually declining your requests for
meetings because they are travelling to Oslo,
Luanda or Hong Kong.
5
Bureaucratic immunity is vital.
Look for a supervisor who will
protect you from ‘the system’
There is an excessive amount of university
doctoral administration. I understand and
welcome the value in checking the ethical
expenditure of public money; a programme
of study submitted in the first year and
an annual progress report through the
candidature will accomplish this task.
But now we have to deliver milestone
reports, public confirmations of candida-
ture sessions, biannual progress reports,
annual oral presentations of research
and – in some universities – complete a
form that must be signed off at the conclu-
sion of every supervisory meeting.
Every moment a student is filling in a form
is one less moment they are reading a book or
article, or writing a key page in their doctor-
ate. Time is finite. Bureaucracy is infinite.
A good supervisor will protect you from the
excesses of supervisory administration.
Byline bandits abound. Study
The irony of many graduate centres is that a potential supervisor’s work
they initiate incredibly high demands on Does your prospective supervisor write with
students and supervisors yet are incredibly lax
during crucial periods of the candidature when
PhD students? Good. Do they write almost
exclusively with their PhD students? Not so
a rapid administrative response is required. good – in fact, alarm bells should start ringing.
One of my postgraduates had to wait 16 Supervision is a partnership. If your prospec-
months for a decision on her doctorate. Two tive supervisor appears to be adding his or her
examiners had returned timely reports and name to students’ publications and writing
passed with minor corrections. The third very little independently, be concerned. Some
academic, however, did not examine the thesis, supervisors claim co-authorship of every publi-
did not submit any paperwork and did not
respond to any communications. I sent email
cation written during the candidature. Do not
think that this is right, assumed, proper or the
after email – made phone call after phone call default setting. The authorship of papers
– to the graduate centre trying to facilitate a should be discussed. My rule is clear: if I write
resolution to this examination. Finally, after it, it is mine. If you write it, it is yours. If we
a rather intensive period of nagging, a decision write it together, we share the authorship.
was reached to accept the two reports and no It is important that every postgraduate finishes
longer wait for the third. The question the candidature with as many publications
remains – why did the graduate centre take as possible. Ask supervisors how they will
16 months to make this decision? If I had not enhance and facilitate your research and
phoned and emailed administrators, would publishing career. Remember, you are a PhD
they have forgotten about this student? A student. Your supervisor should assist you to
good supervisor must be an advocate for the become an independent scholar, not make you
postgraduate through the increasingly bureau- into their unpaid research assistant.
cratised doctoral candidature.
35
 7
6
Be wary of co-supervisors
Most institutions insist on at least two super-
visors for every student. This system was
introduced not for scholarly reasons but to
allay administrative fears. There is a concern
that a supervisor might leave the institution,
stranding the student, or that the supervisor
and student might have a disagreement, again
leaving the student without support.
These arguments are like grounding all
aircraft because there are occasional crashes.
Too often I see an academic “added” to the
team to beef up his or her workload. I have
been in a university meeting where research-
active professors were “added” to a super-
visory panel not because they were excellent
supervisors (far from it) but rather because
they needed to boost their profile for the
research assessment exercise.
Certainly there are many occasions where
a co-supervisor is incredibly valuable, but this
must be determined by their research contribu-
tion to the topic rather than by institutional
convenience. I once supervised a fine thesis
about Russian television. I had the expertise in
television studies; a colleague held expertise in
Russian studies and the Russian language. It
was a great team. We met weekly as a group,
with specialist meetings held with either of us
as required to complete the doctorate. The
candidate submitted in the minimum time.
At times, an inexperienced co-supervisor
is added to a team to gain “experience”. That
is, perhaps, understandable. But damage can be
done to students through bad advice. I know
of a disturbing case in which an inexperienced
co-supervisor chose a relatively junior friend
to examine a doctorate. Before the senior
co-supervisor had been informed, this prospec-
tive external examiner had been approached
and had agreed, and the paperwork had been
submitted. Two years later, the candidate is
still progressing with corrections. Each time
he submits revisions that supposedly verify the
concerns expressed during the oral examina-
tion, he is presented with another list because
the inexperienced supervisor agreed to “correc-
tions to the satisfaction of the examiner”. This
problem was caused by an overconfident but
inexperienced co-supervisor being added to the
team and then going on to appoint an over-
confident but inexperienced examiner.
Sometimes – in fact frequently – less is
more. A strong relationship with a well-
qualified, experienced and committed super-
visor will ensure that the postgraduate will
produce a strong thesis with minimum delay.
36 Times Higher Education 11 July 2013
18 11 July 2013 Times Higher Education 19
A supervisor who is active in
the area of your doctorate can
help to turbocharge your work
Occasionally students select a “name” rather
than a “name in the field”. The appropriate-
ness of a supervisor’s field of research is criti-
cal because it can save you considerable time.
Supervisors who are reading, thinking and
writing in the field can locate a gap in your
scholarly literature and – at speed – provide
you with five names to lift that section. A
generalist will not be able to provide this
service. As the length of candidatures – or
more precisely the financial support for
candidatures – shrinks and three years
becomes the goal, your supervisor can save
you time through sharing not only their
experience but also their expertise.
A candidature that involves Invest your trust only in decent
teaching can help to get and reliable people who will
a career off the ground repay it, not betray it
In Australia, teaching with your supervisor This truth may seem self-evident. But super-
is often the default pattern, and it is a good visors – like all academics – are people fi rst.
first.
one. In the UK, tutoring is less likely to emerge If the prospective supervisor needs a personal-
because of budgetary restraints. But a post- ity replacement, lacks the life skills to manage
graduate who does not teach through the a trip to the supermarket or requires electronic
candidature is unprepared to assume a full- Weekly supervisory meetings tagging so that he (or she) does not sleep with
time teaching post. Many doctoral candidates
are already academics and are returning to
are the best pattern the spouses of colleagues, then make another
choice. Supervisors should be functional
study. Others work in a diversity of profes- There are two realities of candidature manage- humans. They can be – and should be –
sions and have no intention of taking a job ment. First, the longer the candidature, the less quirky, imaginative and original. That non-
in a university. Therefore, this “truth” is not likely you are to finish. Second, a postgraduate standard thinking will assist your
relevant. But for those seeking a career in who suspends from a candidature is less likely project. But if there is a whiff of
academia who intend to use the doctorate as to submit a doctorate. social or sexual impropriety, or if
a springboard, teaching experience is crucial. The key attribute of students who finish is there are challenges with personal
A postgraduate may see themselves as a seri- that they are passionately connected to their hygiene, back away in a hurry.
ous researcher. But it is teaching that will get thesis and remain engaged with their research At times during your candidature
them their first post (and probably their
second and third). The ultimate supervisor is
and their supervisor. I have always deployed
weekly meetings as the best pattern for super-
you will have to rely on this
person. You will be sobbing in
also an outstanding teacher who will train vision to nurture this connection. their office. You will need to
their postgraduates in writing curricula, There are reasons for this. Some postgradu- lean on them. You must have
managing assessment and creating innovative ates lack time-management skills and would the belief that they can help
learning moments in a classroom. None of prefer to be partying, facebooking or tweeting, you through a crisis and not
these skills is required for or developed by rather than reading, thinking and writing. If manipulate you during a moment
a doctorate. You can be supervised well with- students know that written work is expected of vulnerability.
out these teaching experiences. However, each week, and they have to sit in an office I knew a supervisor whose
if you have a choice, select the supervisor with a supervisor who is evaluating their idea of supervision was a once-a-
who can “add value” to your candidature. work, that stress creates productive writing semester meeting in a bar where he would
One of my proudest moments emerged in and research. So if a meeting is held on order three bottles of red wine and start The key truth and guiding
a tutors’ meeting for my large first-year course
at Murdoch University: creative industries.
a Thursday, then on Tuesday a student panics
and does some work. Yet if meetings are fort-
drinking. The meeting ended when the wine
finished. Another supervisor selected his
principle is evident
I apologised to my tutors for the hard work nightly, this stress-based productivity is halved. postgraduates on the likelihood that the Do not select a supervisor who needs you
and low pay that was a characteristic of It is better to provide a tight accountability students would sleep with him. Yet another more than you need him or her. Gather
sessional university employment. Mike Kent structure for students. Weekly meetings was so completely fixated by her version of information. Arm yourself with these 10
– who is now an Dr associate
Mike Kent professor in inter-
and a tenured accomplish this task. feminism that all the doctorates completed truths. Ask questions. Make a choice with
net studies
lecturer at Curtin
in internet University
studies – stated
at Curtin that
University under her supervision ended up looking insight, rather than respond – with gratitude
the pay was
– stated that an
theextra.
pay wasHe anwasextra.
beingHetrained
was to incredibly similar. Any deviation from a – to the offer of a place or supervision. ●
teach. That was
being trained to the value
teach. Thatfrom
wasthe
theprocess.
value I particular political perspective would result in
still
fromthink tutors should
the process. be paid
I still think more,
tutors but I be
should screaming matches in her office. This was not Tara Brabazon is the
headdean of graduate
of school and
valued
paid more,– andbutvalue – Mike’s
I valued – andinsight.
value – Mike’s only unpleasant but destructive to the research
professorand professor at
of education of Charles
cultural Sturt
studies
insight. students’ careers. at Flinders University.
University, Australia.
37

How not to write
a PhD thesis
In this guide, Tara Brabazon gives her top 10 tips for doctoral failure
M
y teaching break between Christmas
and the university’s snowy reopening
in January followed in the footsteps
of Goldilocks and the three bears. I examined
three PhDs: one was too big; one was too
small; one was just right. Put another way,
one was as close to a fail as I have ever exam-
ined; one passed but required rewriting to
strengthen the argument; and the last
reminded me why it is such a pleasure
to be an academic.
Concurrently, I have been shepherding three
of my PhD students through the final two
months to submission. These concluding
weeks are an emotional cocktail of exhaustion,
frustration, fright and exhilaration. Supervi-
sors correct errors we thought had been
removed a year ago. The paragraph that
seemed good enough in the first draft now
seems to drag down a chapter. My postgradu-
ates cannot understand why I am so picky.
They want to submit and move on with the
rest of their lives.
There is a reason why supervisors are
pedantic. If we are not, the postgraduates will
live with the consequences of “major correc-
tions” for months. The other alternative,
besides being awarded the consolation prize of
an MPhil, is managing the regret of three
wasted years if a doctorate fails. Every correc-
tion, each typographical error, all inaccuracies,
ambiguities or erroneous references that we
find and remove in these crucial final weeks
may swing an examiner from major to minor
corrections, or from a full re-examination to a
rethink of one chapter.
Being a PhD supervisor is stressful. It is a
privilege but it is frightening. We know – and
individual postgraduates do not – that strange
comments are offered in response to even the
best theses. Yes, an examiner graded a magnif-
icent doctorate from one of my postgraduates
as “minor corrections” for one typographical
error in footnote 104 in the fifth chapter of an
otherwise cleanly drafted 100,000 words. It
was submitted 10 years ago and I still remem-
ber it with regret.
Another examiner enjoyed a thesis on
“cult” but wondered why there were no refer-
ences to Madonna, grading it as requiring
major corrections so that Madonna references
could be inserted throughout the script.
Examiners have entered turf wars about the
disciplinary parameters separating history and
cultural studies. Often they look for their
favourite theorists – generally Pierre Bourdieu
or Gilles Deleuze, at the time of writing – and
20 Times Higher Education
ALAMY
are saddened to find citations to Michel
Foucault and Félix Guattari.
Then there are the “let’s talk about some-
thing important – let’s talk about me” examin-
ers. Their first task is to look for themselves in
the bibliography, and they are not too inter-
ested in the research if there is no reference to
their early sorties with Louis Althusser in
Economy and Society from the 1970s.
I understand the angst, worry and stress of
supervisors, but I have experienced the other
side of the doctoral divide. Examining PhDs is
both a pleasure and a curse. It is a joy to
nurture, support and help the academy’s next
generation, but it is a dreadful moment when
an examiner realises that a script is so below
international standards of scholarship that
there are three options: straight fail, award an
MPhil or hope that the student shows enough
spark in the viva voce so that it may be possi-
ble to skid through to major corrections and a
full re-examination in 18 months.
When confronted by these choices, I am
filled with sadness for students and supervi-
sors, but this is matched by anger and even
embarrassment. What were the supervisors
thinking? Who or what convinced the student
that this script was acceptable?
Therefore, to offer insights to postgraduates
who may be in the final stages of submission,
cursing their supervisors who want another
draft and further references, here are my 10
tips for failing a PhD. If you want failure, this 2. Use phrases such as “some I make my postgraduates pay for such state- abstract that begins: “My original contribu- Finally, we located a clear section in one
is your road map to getting there. academics” or “all the literature” without ments. If they offer a generalisation such as tion to knowledge is…” If students cannot chapter that was original. He signalled it in the
mitigating statements or references “scholars of the online environment argue that compress their argument and research findings abstract. He highlighted it in the introduction.
1. Submit an incomplete, poorly Generalisations infuriate me in first-year democracy follows participation”, I demand into a single statement, then it can signify flab- He stressed the importance of this insight in
formatted bibliography papers, but they are understandable. A that they find at least 30 separate references to biness in their method, theory or structure. It the chapter itself and restated it in the conclu-
Doctoral students need to be told that most 19-year-old student who states that “all verify their claim. They soon stop making is an awful moment for examiners when they sion. Needless to say, every examiner noted the
examiners start marking from the back of the women think that Katie Price is a great role generalisations. – desperately – try to find an original contribu- original contribution to knowledge that had
script. Just as cooks are judged by their ingre- model” is making a ridiculous point, but when Among my doctoral students, these tion to knowledge through a shapeless meth- been highlighted for them, based on a careful
dients and implements, we judge doctoral stu- the primary reading fodder is Heat magazine, demands have been nicknamed “Kent foot- ods chapter or loose literature review. If and methodical understanding of the field. He
dents by the calibre of their sources. the link between Jordan’s plastic surgery and notes” after one of my great (post-) postgradu- examiners cannot pinpoint the original contri- passed without corrections.
The moment examiners see incomplete empowered women seems causal. In a PhD, ates, Mike Kent (now Dr Kent). He relished bution, they have no choice but to award the
references or find that key theorists in the generalisations send me off for a long walk to compiling these enormous footnotes, confirm- script an MPhil. 4. Fill the bibliography with references to
topic are absent, they worry. This concern Beachy Head. ing the evidential base for his arguments. As The key is to make it easy for examiners. In blogs, online journalism and textbooks
intensifies when in-text citations with no The best doctorates are small. They are he would be the first to admit, it was slightly the second sentence of the abstract, ensure that This is a new problem I have seen in doctor-
match in the bibliography are located. tightly constituted and justify students’ choice obsessive behaviour, but it certainly confirmed an original contribution is nailed to the page. ates over the past six months. Throughout the
If examiners find 10 errors, then students of one community of scholars over others the scale of his reading. In my current supervi- Then we can relax and look for the scaffolding noughties, online sources were used in PhDs.
are required to perform minor corrections. If while demonstrating that they have read sory processes, students are punished for and verification of this statement. However, the first cycle of PhD candidates
there are 20 anomalies, the doctorate will need enough to make the decision on academic generalisations by being forced to assemble a I once supervised a student investigating a who have studied in the web 2.0 environment
major corrections. Any referencing issues over rather than time-management grounds. “Kent footnote”. very small area of “queer” theory. It is a are submitting their doctorates this year. The
that number and examiners question the Invariably there is a link between a thin specialist field, well worked over by outstand- impact on the theses I have examined recently
students’ academic abilities. bibliography and a high number of generalisa- 3. Write an abstract without a sentence ing researchers. I remained concerned through- is clear to see. Students do not differentiate
If the most basic academic protocols are not tions. If a student has not read widely, then the starting “my original contribution to out the candidature that there was too much between refereed and non-refereed or primary
in place, the credibility of a script wavers. A scholars they have referenced become far more knowledge is…” restatement of other academics’ work. The and secondary sources. The Google Effect –
bibliography is not just a bibliography: it is a important and representative than they actu- The way to relax an examiner is to feature a scholarship is of high quality and does not the creation of a culture of equivalence
canary in the doctoral mine. ally are. sentence in the first paragraph of a PhD leave much space for new interpretations. between blogs and academic articles – is in full
Times Higher Education 21
force. When questioned in an oral examina- know plenty of examiners who gain great an order of reading and watching for her
tion, the candidates do not display that they pleasure in constructing a table and listing all examiners, moving between four chapters and
have the capacity to differentiate between the the typographical and spelling errors in a films. The examiner responded in her report
calibre and quality of references. script. Occasionally I do it and then I know I – bristling – that she would not be told how to
This bibliographical flattening and reduc- need to get out more. evaluate a thesis: she always read the full
tion in quality sources unexpectedly affects Spelling mistakes horrify students. They exegesis and then decided whether or not to
candidates’ writing styles. I am not drawing a render supervisors in need of oxygen. Post- bother seeing the films. My student – thank-
causal link here: major research would need to graduates may not fail doctorates because of fully – passed with ease, but this examiner told
be undertaken to probe this relationship. But them, but such errors end any chance of pass- a truth that few acknowledge.
because the students are not reading difficult ing quickly and without corrections. These Most postgraduates I talk with assume that
scholarship, they are unaware of the specifici- simple mistakes also create doubt in the exam- the examiners rush to the packaged DVD or
ties of academic writing. The doctorates are iner’s mind. If superficial errors exist, it may CD, or that they will not read a word of the
pitched too low, filled with informalities, be necessary to drill more deeply into the doctorate until they have seen the exhibition.
conversational language, generalisations, opin- interpretation, methods or structure chosen to This is the same assumption that inhibits these
ion and unreflexive leaps between their present the findings. students in viva voces. They think that they
personal “journeys” (yes, it is like an episode will be able to talk about “art” and “process”
of The X Factor) and research protocols. 8. Make the topic of the thesis too large for two hours. I have never seen that happen.
I asked one of these postgraduates in their The best PhDs are small. They investigate a The emphasis is placed on the exegesis and
oral examination to offer a defence of their circumscribed area, rather than over-egging how it articulates the artefact.
informal writing style, hoping that the student the originality or expertise. The most satisfy- Postgraduates entering a doctoral
would pull out a passable justification through ing theses – and they are rare – emerge when programme to make a film or create a sonic
the “Aca-Fan”, disintermediation, participa- students find small gaps in saturated research installation subject themselves to a time-
tory culture or organic intellectual arguments. areas and offer innovative interpretations or consuming and difficult process. If the student
Instead, the student replied: “I am proud of new applications of old ideas. neglects the exegesis until the end of the candi-
how the thesis is written. It is important to The nightmare PhD for examiners is the dature and constructs a rushed document
write how we speak.” candidate who tries to compress a life’s work about “how” rather than “why” it was made,
Actually, no. A PhD must be written to into 100,000 words. They take on the history there will be problems.
ensure that it can be examined within the of Marxism or feminism. They attempt to The best students find a way to create
regulations of a specific university and in keep- distil 100 years of history, theory, dissent and “bonsai” exegeses. They prepare perfectly
ing with international standards of doctoral debate into a literature review and end up formed engagements with theory, method and
education. A doctorate may be described in applying these complex ideas to Beyoncé’s scholarship, but in miniature. They note word
many ways, but it has no connection with video for Single Ladies. limits, demonstrate the precise dialogue
everyday modes of communication. The best theses not only state their original between the exegesis and artefact, and show
contribution to knowledge but also confirm in through a carefully edited script that they hold
5. Use discourse, ideology, signifier, the introduction what they do not address. I knowledge equivalent to the “traditional”
signified, interpellation, postmodernism, know that many supervisors disagree with me doctoral level.
structuralism, post-structuralism or on this point. Nevertheless, the best way to
deconstruction without reading the protect candidates and ensure that examiners 10. Submit a PhD with a short
complete works of Foucault, Althusser, understand the boundaries and limits of the introduction or conclusion
Saussure, Baudrillard or Derrida research is to state what is not being discussed. A quick way to move from a good doctoral
How to upset an examiner in under 60 sec- Students may be asked why they made those thesis to one requiring major corrections is to
onds: throw basic semiotic phrases into a sen- determinations, and there must be scholarly write a short introduction and/or conclusion.
tence as if they are punctuation. Often this and strategic answers to such questions. It is frustrating for examiners. We are poised
problem emerges in theses where “semiotics” The easiest way to trim and hem the ragged to tick the minor corrections box, and then we
is cited as a/the method. When a student uses edges of a doctorate is historically or turn to a one- or two-page conclusion.
ALAMY

words such as “discourse” and “ideology” as geographically. The student can base the work Students must be able to present effective,
if they were neutral nouns, it is often a signal on Belgium, Brazil or the Bahamas, or a convincing conclusions, restating the original
for the start of a pantomime of naivety particular decade, governmental term or after contribution to knowledge, the significance of
all these words. They leave themselves vulner- neoconservative theory. This is difficult is by directly questioning the script: “On p57,
throughout the script. Instead of an “analy- a significant event such as 11 September 2001. the research, the problems and flaws and
able to an examiner who knows their ideologi- research, particularly since she is also trying to you state that the academic literature has not
sis”, postgraduates describe their work as Another way to contain a project is theoreti- further areas of scholarship. Short conclusions
cal state apparatuses from their repressive punctuate this study with Stan Aronowitz’s addressed this argument. Yet in 1974, Philippa
“deconstruction”. It is not deconstruction. cally, to state there is a focus on Henry are created by tired doctoral students. They
state apparatuses. investigations of post-work and Henry Philistine published a book and a series of arti-
They describe their approach as “structural- Giroux’s model of popular culture and educa- run out of words.
Giroux’s research into working-class educa- cles on that topic. Why did you decide not to
ist”. It is not structuralist. Simply because they tion rather than Henry Jenkins’ configurations Short introductions signify the start of
study structures does not mean it is structural-
6. Assume something you are doing is tion. For such students, supervisors have to cite that material?”
of new media and literacy. Such a decision can deeper problems: candidates are unaware of
ist. Conversely, simply because they do not
new because you have not read enough prune the students’ arguments to ensure that Invariably, the answer to this question –
be justified through the availability of sources, the research area or the theoretical framework.
study structures does not mean it is
to know that an academic wrote a book all the branches are necessary and rooted in often after much stuttering and stammering –
or the desire to monitor one scholar’s pathway In the case of introductions and conclusions in
poststructuralist.
on it 20 years ago their original contributions to knowledge. is that the candidate had not read the analysis.
through analogue and digital media. Examin- doctoral theses, size does matter.
Again, this is another new problem I have seen The over-readers present their own chal- I leave the question hanging at that point. We
The number of students who fling names ers will feel more comfortable if they know Hope washes over the start of a PhD candi-
in the past couple of years. Lazy students, who lenges. For our under-readers, the world is could get into why they have not read it, or
around as if they are fashion labels (“Dior”, that students have made considered choices dature, but desperation and fear often mark its
may be more kindly described as “inexperi- filled with their own brilliance because they do the consequences of leaving out key theorists.
“Derrida”, “Givenchy”, “Gramsci”) is becom- about their area of research and understand conclusion. There are (at least) 10 simple indi-
enced researchers”, state that they have not realise that every single sentence they write But one moment of glimpsing into the abyss of
ing a problem. I also feel sorry for the students the limits of their findings. cators that prompt examiners to recommend
invented the wheel because they have not has been explored, extended, tested and failure is enough to summon doubt that their
who are attempting a deep engagement with re-examination, major corrections or failure. If
looked under their car to see the rolling applied by other scholars in the past. Intrigu- “originality” is original.
these theorists.
objects under it. After minimal reading, it is ingly, these are always the confident students,
9. Write a short, rushed, basic exegesis postgraduates utilise these guidelines, they will
I am working with a postgraduate at the An unfair – but occasionally accurate – cliché be able to make choices and realise the conse-
moment who has spent three months mapping
easy to find original contributions to knowl- arriving at the viva voce brimming with pride 7. Leave spelling mistakes in the script of practice-led doctorates is that students take quences of their decisions.
edge in every idea that emerges from the jar- in their achievements. They are the hardest Spelling errors among my PhD students leave
Michel Foucault’s Archaeology of Knowledge three and a half years to make a film, installa- The lessons of scholarship begin with intel-
ring effect of a bitter espresso. ones to assess (and help) through an oral exam me seething. I correct spelling errors. They
over media-policy theories of self-regulation. It tion or soundscape and spend three and a half lectual generosity to the scholars who precede
More frequently, my problem as a supervi- because they do not know enough to know appear in the next draft. I correct spelling
has been frustrating and tough, creating – at weeks writing the exegesis. Doctoral candi- us. Ironically – although perhaps not – candi-
sor has been the incredibly hardworking how little they know. errors. They appear in the next draft. The
this stage – only six pages of work from her dates seem unaware that examiners often read datures also conclude there.
students who read so much that they cannot Helpful handball questions about the most night before they bind their theses, I pray
efforts. Every week, I see the perspiration on exegeses first and engage with the artefacts
control all the scholarly balls they have significant theorists in their research area are that they have removed the spelling errors.
the page and the strain in the footnotes. If a after assessing if candidates have read enough Tara Brabazon is the dean of graduate
thrown into the air. I supervise an inspirational pointless, because they have invented all the Most examiners will accept a few spelling
student is not prepared to undertake this scale in the field. research and professor of cultural studies
scholar who is trying to map Zygmunt material in this field. The only way to create or typographical mistakes, but in a word-
of effort, they must edit the thesis and remove Indeed, one of my students recommended at Flinders University.
Bauman’s “liquid” research over an often-debilitating moment of self-awareness processing age, this tolerance is receding. I
22 Times Higher Education Times Higher Education 23

ALAMY
And here’s how
you should do it
Ingrid Curl shares some simple rules for keeping your written work
clear, jargon-free and presented at its best for assessment
W
riting up a PhD can often take place in
a frenzy of activity in the last few
months of your degree study, after
years of hard work. But there are some steps
that you can take to increase your chances
of success.
Do not be daunted by the task of “writing
up” your work.
Work on the text as your PhD takes shape,
remember that all writers need editing, and
help yourself by using these basic tips to make
life easier. Read what great writers say about
how to write before you start, and take their
advice to heart. There is no dark art to clear,
concise work; it is mostly a result of editing,
and editing again. Above all, keep Elmore
Leonard’s advice in mind: “If it reads like
writing…rewrite it.”
Plan the structure of your thesis carefully
with your supervisor.
Create rough drafts as you go so that you can
refine them as you become more focused on
the write-up. Much of writing comprises
24 Times Higher Education
rewriting so be prepared to rework each chap-
ter many times. Even Ernest Hemingway said:
“The first draft of everything is shit.”
Academic writing does not have to be dry.
Inject some flair into your work. Read advice
on writing and remember George Orwell’s
words in Why I Write: “Never use the passive
where you can use the active”; and Mark
Twain’s on adjectives: “When you catch an
adjective, kill it.” If you prefer, Stephen King
said: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
Do not write up in chronological order.
Work on each chapter while it is fresh in your
mind or pertinent to what you are doing at
that moment, but come back to it all later and
work it up into a consistent, coherent piece,
restructuring sections where necessary.
Think carefully about your writing.
Write your first draft, leave it and then come
back to it with a critical eye. Look objectively
at the writing and read it closely for style and
sense. Look out for common errors such as
dangling modifiers, subject-verb disagreement
and inconsistency. If you are too involved with
the text to be able to take a step back and do
this, then ask a friend or colleague to read it
with a critical eye. Remember Hemingway’s
advice: “Prose is architecture, not interior dec-
oration.” Clarity is key.
Most universities use a preferred style of
references.
Make sure you know what this is and stick to
it. One of the most common errors in aca-
demic writing is to cite papers in the text that
do not then appear in the bibliography. All ref-
erences in your thesis need to be cross-checked
ALAMY
with the bibliography before submission.
Using a database during your research can
save a great deal of time in the writing-up pro-
cess. Helpful software includes EndNote or
Paperpile. Managing your bibliography from
day one may seem obsessive but it will save
you a great deal of time and stress by the end
of the PhD process.
Use a house style.
Professional publications such as Times Higher
Education use a house style guide to ensure
consistency in spelling. For example, do not
use both -ise spellings and -ize spellings, and
be consistent when referring to organisations
or bodies. Because dictionaries vary in their
use of hyphenation, use one dictionary and
stick to it throughout the writing process. If
you consult the New Oxford Dictionary for
Writers and Editors, you will note the extra-
ordinary number of words with alternative
spellings. It can also be a very useful guide
to preferred spellings, use of italicisation
and foreign phrases.
Take care when quoting from other
sources.
Ensure you note whether the italic emphasis
is in the original and take careful notes when
you are collecting quotes for your thesis.
Transcribe them accurately to save work later
and keep original spellings (even if they differ
from your chosen style) to ensure fidelity to
your source.
Think about plagiarism.
If you are quoting from works, quote from
them accurately and paraphrase where neces-
sary for your argument. This is where careful
note-taking and use of references is invaluable
and will help you to avoid even inadvertently
plagiarising another work.
Remember that your thesis is your
chance to present your work in the
best possible light.
Consider your opening paragraphs, entice
your reader with your writing and above all be
clear about your hypothesis and your conclu-
sion. Append material where it adds value but
not where it merely bulks out your work. Con-
sider your reader at all times. This is your
chance to showcase your work.
If you stick to these rules, your writing will
be clear and jargon-free. Take to heart
Orwell’s advice: “Never use a foreign phrase, a
scientific word, or a jargon word if you can
think of an everyday English equivalent.”
Oh, and follow these tips to
make sure you get it in on time
Scholar Siân Lindsay’s research on doctoral completion
offers valuable insights and practical advice
T
he problems of meeting
deadlines are as acute in
academia as in any other
line of work – if not more so.
And perhaps the first high-
stakes encounter academics
have with this difficult-to-master
discipline is the PhD.
Siân Lindsay, lecturer in edu-
cational development at City
University London, has investi-
gated the process of doctoral
completion. She interviewed
several PhD candidates at her
institution as they were writing
up their theses, in a bid to
understand the factors that
facilitate or obstruct their
progress.
Dr Lindsay – who spoke
about her project at a Society
for Research into Higher Educa-
tion event – shared some of her
discoveries with Times Higher
Education.
“Overwhelmingly, students
who were on track to complete
their thesis on time had actually
written their thesis as they went
along,” she said.
“It seems really obvious to
say, but the reason students
don’t complete on time is
because they don’t tend to
have their thesis ready.”
She added that it was not
particularly important what form
such continual writing took,
whether drafting chapters or
keeping an academic diary,
which is what she herself did.
“Every single day I’d write
down what I’d done and why I’d
done it, because when you write
up your thesis you have to justify
why you’ve gone in certain direc-
tions,” she said.
“Looking back on the diary
helped me, particularly in the
viva. I could use it to rationalise
my decision not to approach it
in a certain way.”
Dr Lindsay said she believed
that “serial writing”, a term used
by Rowena Murray in her book
How to Write a Thesis, helped
with the development of a thesis
because you are not “just ‘tell-
ing’ knowledge, you’re ‘develop-
ing’ it”.
The second key factor she
identified was a proactive
supervisor who offered encour-
agement and feedback during
the write-up.
“When you’re writing your
thesis it’s very strange because
you don’t know where the goal-
posts are. You can look at other
examples of students’ theses,
but it’s hard to figure out how
your thesis needs to look. So
your supervisor is key to guiding
you towards what the end prod-
uct should look like.”
Acknowledging that it was
too simplistic to say “make sure
you have a good supervisor”,
The done deal
Siân Lindsay’s top tips on finishing
your thesis on time
n Continual writing during your research project is key; don’t
leave writing to the very end, as then the task of writing your
thesis may seem impossible. Remember that the very act of
writing things down can help you develop your ideas.
n Making and sustaining supervisor contact and
supervisory support is essential, especially when
nearing the end.
n Immerse yourself in academic culture and get talking
about your research at conferences and research symposia.
It is worth trying to publish in a peer-reviewed journal. This
will be a valuable confidence boost for your viva.
n Don’t get a full-time job, even if you are sorely
tempted. However, a part-time job could work in your
favour because it could help to structure your time, pro-
viding a break from unhelpful spells of isolation and giv-
ing you an anchor to the rest of the world.
n Support and understanding from friends and family is
important. Talk to them about the challenges you may be
experiencing, especially during the final stages.
n Find a writing-up environment that works best for you
and minimises unhelpful distractions.
n Reflect on what drives you to write your thesis. Breaking
the task into manageable chunks with self-imposed dead-
lines works well for most, and being organised is paramount.
she advised students to be viva, but it’s fun to do. Avoiding
“making and sustaining contact those offerings by universities is
with your supervisor, particularly going to tempt you into isolation
during write-up”. and wanting to leave the whole
“Then there are self-based process. When you’re talking to
factors: being motivated, organ- other people, you’re getting new
ised, having self-discipline – ideas and perspectives. It’s
strategies to understand how refreshing your isolated state
you work best,” she said. “Feel- of mind.”
ing overwhelmed” is common Meanwhile, Dr Lindsay said
among PhD students, so break- that she was surprised at how
ing work into chunks can be a few students had told her that
very productive approach. they had “let their thesis fall by
“Having support and encour- the wayside” because they had
agement from friends and family run out of money.
and a good working environment “A lot of the students went
are crucial too,” she added. and sought part-time work any-
Immersing oneself in aca- way,” she said. “While they were
demic culture was a factor Dr writing they could have that
Lindsay also rated highly. “At City part-time job as a distraction
we have an annual research and it helped to structure the
symposium and students can process. But being in full-time
present their work and talk employment was a big no-no.”
about their research,” she said. Further reading:
“That’s so important because it How to Write a Thesis,
not only prepares you for the by Rowena Murray.
Times Higher Education 25
How to
hate public
speaking
and do
it anyway
Inger Mewburn highlights the
importance of ‘body work’ and exposure
therapy for reluctant PhD presenters
I
n 1988 my careers counsel-
lor ran several tests and
presented me with two
choices: teacher or architect. It
was a no-brainer. I hated public
speaking and mucking about
with pencils all day sounded
like heaven. Imagine my horror
when I discovered, just days
after I started my degree, that
architecture school involved
public speaking. A lot of public
speaking. Public speaking
almost every day.
Architecture school is not
the most supportive environ-
ment for a young woman with a
fear of public speaking. The end
of semester “design jury” ses-
sions were the worst. A group of
grown-up architects would swan
in, crack open a few beers and
tell you that your work was crap
in front of a room of your peers,
sending you back to the draw-
ing board (literally). The first
time I was publicly humiliated, I
ran to the bathroom crying. One
of the architects followed me in
and offered tissues, along with
some friendly advice: “Get over
it now, girl, or quit. If you keep
reacting like this, the next five
years will be hell.” I didn’t want
to quit, so I learned to take the
criticism calmly. I slowly devel-
oped the ability to respond to
intense, aggressive questioning
on my feet, without getting vis-
ibly flustered. By carefully
watching who was criticised
and who was praised, I learned
to sell my work, not just explain
it. I estimate I did about 300
26 Times Higher Education
Planning to work during
ALAMY
your PhD? Here are some
things to bear in mind
Former Scotland international rugby player Colin Gregor
reflects on how he combined his PhD with his job
C
olin Gregor combined his PhD at Heriot-
ALAMY
Watt University with captaining Scot-
land’s rugby sevens team. Here are
his 10 tips for balancing study and work.
Set goals
Not just any goals, but process goals. The
dream goal is obvious: completing the PhD.
And there are performance goals along the
way. This can all be very daunting if you don’t
break it into smaller process goals that you
can tick off as you complete them. Assistance
presentations during my under- from your supervisor is vital. They have been
graduate degree, an excellent there and done it. Follow their advice. And if
programme of exposure therapy. they don’t offer it, go and ask.
After a decade in the architec-
ture profession, I can now Celebrate progress
speak to a room of more My supervisor highlighted this to me. If you
than 1,000 people. are going to beat yourself up until you finish
I finally did take that career your PhD, you are not going to enjoy it. Be
counsellor’s advice and became proud of the small sections you complete. Pat
a teacher in my thirties. One of yourself on the back. Then get your nose back
the professional skills I teach in the books.
PhD students is – take a
moment to enjoy the irony – Communicate
public speaking. However, when Facebook, Skype, email. There are countless
I say “teach”, that’s not entirely ways to ensure that you remain in constant
accurate. Just as you can’t dialogue with your supervisor, irrespective of
learn to swim from reading a where you both are in the world. There were
book, you can’t learn to be a times when I was playing rugby in South opportunity. Nonetheless, if you have a spare realises the stresses and strains that it entails.
great presenter without present- Africa, Las Vegas or Tokyo and I quickly real- hour, crack on with some work. It’s amazing He has been excellent at providing an outlet
ing. The best advice I can offer ised that maintaining dialogue was crucial to how much you can get done in concentrated, and contextualises the trials and tribulations
is this: “Most people won’t continued progress. Equally, when my super- short periods. of a rugby match or tournament.
class. Most women cross their these neurons are the bio- confident. If you know your
remember a word you said, but visor was visiting the Heriot-Watt campuses in
legs on public transport and logical basis of empathy. If this hands will shake – mine always
they will remember how you
feel rightly outraged over “man- theory is right, when you have do, even now – put your notes
Dubai or Malaysia, it was important to have Be prepared Forward plan
made them feel.” I can’t open communication channels. Just like the Scouts, it is worth being organ- This is as much for your supervisor as for you.
spreading”, but the simple fact visible signs of nervousness – on the podium and don’t pick
remember where I learned that ised. This allows you to undertake work in the They also have jobs. They may not be able to
is that most men have never shaking hands, sweating, up that glass of water. If you
one, so apologies for the lack
received the training about flushed face – your audience tend to blush, dress so you
Plan your time brief periods you may have. Take some papers drop everything because you suddenly need
of attribution, but dwell for a This is absolutely essential. Life as a profes- with you to read wherever you go. Again, this help. Plan regular meetings. Look at what
keeping your “privates” hidden, will feel an echo of what you actively feel cold when you start
moment on that statement and sional rugby player competing on the HSBC helps to keep your work progressing in small issues may arise, and if you need help, ask.
which most women learn at are feeling, inside their body. talking. Trust me, you will be
you will feel the truth of it. Can Sevens World Series was a major time commit- chunks when you almost don’t realise.
their mother’s knee. Body work Your audience will almost warm by the time you finish.
you really remember the con-
is the most crucial part of a shake, sweat and blush, which But remember: exposure ther-
ment. However, you can’t train or play 24 Passion
tent of the last talk you
great performance because of is very distracting. You’ll be apy is the very best way to get
hours a day. It was important to realise when Take a break Finally, pick a topic that stimulates you. It is
attended? Or do you remember there would be windows of opportunity to Contradicting everything I’ve said so far, it is hard work. There will be lows along the way.
how our brains work. Think memorable all right, but for all over it, so seize every opportu-
the speaker and the general knuckle down with some studies. It’s a shame also vitally important to take a break. This If you are passionate about your topic it will
about the last time you the wrong reasons. nity to get up on stage. You
gist? I bet it’s the latter. this PhD can’t collect air miles. Along with the was applicable to my rugby career, too. You help to pull you through the troubles to a
watched a bad presentation by Before every presentation, might even learn to love public
As most actors know, the less than salubrious surroundings of our train- cannot be switched on and fully focused all the happier place.
a nervous speaker – you prob- think about how to prepare your speaking, hopefully without
sure way to create the right ing base at a reformed steelworks in Mother- time. So plan breaks and take them. Remove
ably felt uncomfortable, right? body, not just your notes. Prac- having to endure five years
feeling in your audience is well, this PhD has been around the world a yourself from your work. Clear your head Colin Gregor is a PhD student at Heriot-Watt
There’s a reason for that feeling. tising in front of the mirror feels at architecture school.
through “body work”. Everyone couple of times. and when you come back you will be more University, whose PhD thesis involves a
When we watch another human weird but helps with body Inger Mewburn is the
does body work, all the time, focused again. longitudinal study of a high performance
perform an action, the mirror memory so the performance managing editor of the
just to pass as socially accept-
neurons in our brains are acti- will be smoother. Control your Thesis Whisperer blog and
Little and often sports team to investigate conflict and its
able beings. Most body work is
vated. These neurons weakly environment as much as pos- director of research training
This relates to the previous point. I benefited Choose wisely effects on a team. He is the former captain of
unconscious and the result of a from exploiting small periods of time to keep A supportive and flexible professor is vitally Scotland’s seven-a-side rugby team. This article
fire in the same pattern as the sible. Dress in something that is at Australian National
lifetime of training, shaped by progressing my thesis. Ideally, these will be important. My supervisor will happily admit first appeared on Heriot-Watt’s It’s Not You,
performer. Some argue that sweat-proof and makes you feel University.
your age, gender, culture and interspersed with more significant windows of that he has never played rugby; however, he It’s Your Data blog on PhD life.
Times Higher Education 27
 10 steps to
PhD failure
Postgraduate study is tough, but for those who want to make it
G
iven the stakes involved, one peculiar
aspect of graduate school is the number
of students who seem indifferent to its
pitfalls. Year after year many run headlong,
like lemmings, off the same cliffs as their
predecessors. Yet a good share of these people
ignore or are even hostile towards the advice
that might help them avoid screwing up.
Having repeatedly witnessed this process,
we have concluded that a small group of
students actually want to screw up. We do not
know why. Maybe they are masochists or fear
success. Whatever the reason, our heart goes
out to them. Indeed, we hope to help them –
by setting down a course of action that will
ensure that they blunder through graduate
school in a spectacularly disastrous fashion.

1
even harder, Kevin Haggerty and Aaron Doyle offer some tips
(as well as advice to those who might prefer to avoid the pitfalls)

Stay at the
same university
It can be tempting to obtain all three of your
degrees (undergraduate, master’s and PhD)
at the same university: you have already
established personal and professional friend-
ships there, you know the routines of the
university, you have a solid working relation-
ship with the academics, and you even have
lined up a potential PhD supervisor who will
incorporate you into an existing research
project. However, if you actually want to
succeed, doing so is probably a mistake.
Friends and colleagues often tell students
to obtain their degrees at different universities,
but seldom explain why. One reason is that
departments have different strengths. Going to
a different university or country exposes you
to different perspectives. If you complete both
your undergraduate and your master’s at one
location, some say that you have probably got
everything you can from the kind of scholar-
ship and research practised in that department.
(Whether this is true is a different matter.)
Going somewhere else for your PhD shows
that you have expanded your intellectual
horizons. In contrast, others will view the
fact that you did all your degrees at the same
place as an indication that you lack scholarly
breadth and independence, and that you were
not wise or committed enough to follow this

Getty
standard advice about studying elsewhere.
3028 Times
Times Higher
Higher Education
Education 27 August 2015 27 August 2015 Times Higher Education 29
31
2 3 5
in in
graduate
graduate school.
school. It It
is is
also
also easy
easy totodo.do.If If
youyou

ReuteRs
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choose
choose a supervisor
a supervisor because
because ofof a single
a single over-
over-
riding
ridingfactor
factor – such
– such asasa desire
a desire forfor someone
someone
Choose
Choosethe
the whowho is is
personable,
personable, ororis is
notnot intimidating,
intimidating, oror Concentrate
Concentrate
has a big
has a big name
name – you
– you risk choosing
risk choosing poorly.
poorly.
Do
Doan
an coolest
coolest SoSochoose
choose carefully,
carefully, andand dodo not notletlet
anyanyoneone only
onlyon
onyour
your
factor
factorswaysway your
your decision
decision too toomuch.
much. Enquire
Enquire
unfunded
unfundedPhD
PhD supervisor
supervisor about
about whether
whether others
others recognise
recognise youryour potential
potential thesis
thesis
supervisor
supervisor asasa solid
a solid choice.
choice. DoDo herher students
students
If If
youyoureceive
receive ananoffer
offerforforadmission
admission toto
a PhD
a PhD Several
Several years
years ago,
ago,I pulled
I pulled aside
aside a graduate
a graduate finish their
finish theirdegrees,
degrees, and and in in
a reasonable
a reasonable time?
time? It It
is is
easy
easy toto assume
assume thatthatat at
graduate
graduate school
school
programme
programme that
thatdoes
doesnot notinclude
include funding,
funding, youyou student
student andandadvised
advised herhertotofind
finda different
a different Does
Does sheshepublish
publish work
work ofofhighhigh quality
quality in in youyouwill
willspend
spend most
most ofof your
your time
timeandand energy
energy
should
should walk
walk away.
away. If If
thethefunding
funding arrangement
arrangement PhD
PhD supervisor.
supervisor. I delicately,
I delicately, butbutclearly,
clearly, prominent
prominent outlets?
outlets? Does
Does sheshe have
have a record
a record onona thesis.
a thesis. This
Thisfocus
focus ononcompleting
completing youryour
is vague,
is vague,youyou should
should clarify
clarifyit as
it as
much
much possible
as as possible pointed
pointed outoutthat
thatherhercurrent
current supervisor
supervisor hadhad ofofgetting
getting herherstudents
students published?
published? DoesDoes sheshe thesis
thesis(in(inreasonable
reasonable time)
time)cancanfoster
fosterthethe
totomake
make sure
sure that
thatit has
it hassubstance.
substance. While
While many
many a record
a record ofofrelating
relating poorly
poorly totoothers
others and
and equitably
equitably co-author
co-author articles
articles withwith herher students?
students? mistaken
mistaken belief
belief that
thatnothing
nothing else
else
in in
graduate
graduate
master’s
master’s students
students areare
unfunded,
unfunded, thethe
normal
normal was
was seen
seen asasa source
a source ofofextreme
extreme irritation
irritation byby Is Is
thethe
supervisor
supervisor tootoooverwhelmed
overwhelmed with
withother
other school
school matters.
matters. Such
Such anan attitude,
attitude, paradoxic-
paradoxic-
practice
practice is is
forforPhDPhD students
students totobebesupported
supported many
many departmental
departmental colleagues.
colleagues. commitments
commitments totogivegiveyou youthethe attention
attention youyou ally,
ally,
cancanbebe a way
a way totoscrew
screw up.up.
through
through scholarships,
scholarships, teaching,
teaching, a supervisor’s
a supervisor’s The Thestudent
student waswas torn
torn– for
– forherher supervisor need?
supervisor need? Has Hassheshesecured
secured research
research grants?
grants? What
What While
While doing
doing PhDPhD study,
study,youyoulearn
learntoto
individual
individual research
research grants,
grants, orora combination
a combination ofof was
was also
alsocharismatic,
charismatic, had
hadpublished
published in in prom- kinds
prom- kindsofof jobs
jobsdiddid herherprevious
previous students
students obtain?
obtain? become
become a researcher
a researcher and andanan academic.
academic. Those
Those
those
thosethings.
things. AnAn offer
offerofofadmission
admission without
without aa inent
inent outlets,
outlets, andandhad hadresearch
research interests
interests that Is Is
that thethe
supervisor
supervisor immersed
immersed in in
herher academic
academic roles
rolesinvolve
involve considerably
considerably more
more than
than simply
simply
financial
financial package
package cancanbebe interpreted
interpreted in in
several
several were
were reasonably
reasonably close
closetotoherher
own.own. SoSo sheshe community?
community? carrying
carrying out outa large
a large research
research project.
project.Profes-
Profes-
different
different ways,
ways, butbutnone
none is is
encouraging.
encouraging. rolled
rolledthethedice
diceandandmaintained
maintained thetherelationship.
relationship. Also
Alsoconsider
consider thethepersonality
personality ofof a potential
a potential sors
sorsalso
alsoteach,
teach, edit
editjournals,
journals, attend
attend confer-
confer-
Most
Most obviously,
obviously, it signals
it signals that
that
thethedepartment
department Three
Three years
years later,
later,
thethestudent
student satsatin in
mymy supervisor.
supervisor. DoDo colleagues
colleagues findfindherher easyeasytoto ences,
ences, review
review manuscripts,
manuscripts, mentor
mentor students,
students,
is is
notnotcommitted
committed toto you.
you.It It
cancanalso
alsobebea sign
a sign office
officecompletely
completely distraught.
distraught. HerHer supervisor work
supervisor work with?
with? YouYou should
should consult
consult widely.
widely. organise
organise workshops
workshops and andadminister
administer different
different
ofofproblems
problems oror even
evencrisis
crisisin in
your
your department,
department, would
would notnotrespond
respond totoemails
emails andand phone
phone TheTheavailability
availability ofof anan appropriate
appropriate supervisor
supervisor aspects
aspects ofoftheir
theirdepartment
department andanduniversity,
university,
university
university oror discipline.
discipline. Beyond
Beyond whatwhat thethe
lack
lack calls
callsandandwas wastaking
taking forever
forever totocomment
comment onon should
should definitely
definitely affect
affectyour
your decision
decision about
about which
which among
among manymany other
other things.
things. Graduate
Graduate school
school
ofoffunding
funding might
might saysayabout
about howhow thethe
admissions
admissions drafts
drafts ofofherherthesis
thesischapters.
chapters. InIn essence,
essence, herher PhDPhD programme
programme totoattend.
attend. But Butif the
if theperson
person youyou slowly
slowly exposes
exposes you youtoto thethenuances
nuances ofofthese
these
committee
committee views
viewsyou,
you, anan unfunded
unfunded PhDPhD will
will supervisor
supervisor failed
failedherherasasa mentor,
a mentor, herher degree have
degree haveyouryour sights
sightssetsetonon is is
known
known asas a good
a good tasks.
tasks.
require
requireyouyou totosupport
support yourself
yourself through
through your
your was
was in in
crisis,
crisis,
and andshesheneeded
needed totofindfinda new
a new supervisor,
supervisor, there
there arearelikely
likely toto bebe other
other students
students While
While youryour overriding
overriding priorities
prioritiesareare toto
course,
course,research
research andandwriting
writing your
your thesis.
thesis.
This
This supervisor
supervisor quickly.
quickly. seeking
seeking totowork
work with
with her. If If
her. you you arearegoing
going toto
aa publish,
publish, toto make
make progress
progress ononyour
your thesis
thesis and
and
precarious
precarious financial
financialsituation
situation is demanding
is demanding andand Screwing
Screwing upup your
your choice
choice ofofsupervisor
supervisor is is university
university mainly
mainly to towork
work with
with thatthatperson,
person, make
make otherwise
otherwise toto build
build upup youryourCV,CV,youyoutypically
typically
cancanseverely
severely delay
delay
youryourcompletion.
completion. one
oneofof thethebiggest
biggest missteps
missteps youyou can canmake
make sure that
sure thatsheshewill
willactually
actually workwork withwith you.
you. still
still
have
have enough
enough hours
hours in in
your
yourdaydaytoto getget
involved
involved in in
other
other projects.
projects. NotNot doing
doing soso means
means

ReuteRs
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that
thatyouyou arearemissing
missing opportunities
opportunities totobecome
become
a well-rounded
a well-rounded academic.
academic. AndAnd greater
greater expo-
expo-
sure
suretotodifferent
different activities
activities helps
helps youyoutotodistin-
distin-
guish
guish yourself
yourself in in
thethejobjob market.
market.

6 Expect
Expectfriends
friends

4
and
andfamily
familytoto
understand
understand
Expect
Expect I was
I was over
over thethe moon
moon when
when I won
I won mymy doctoral
doctoral
people
peopletotohold
hold scholarship.
scholarship. Eager
Eager toto share
share thethegood
good news,
news,

your
yourhand
hand You
Youarearethetheperson
personwhowhoultimately
ultimately I phoned
toto
I phoned
thethe
mymy
details
details
parents.
parents.
andand said:
My
said:
My mum
“That’s
mum
“That’s
listened
not
listened
notenough
closely
enough
closely

organises
organisesyour yourdegree.
degree.Nobody
Nobodywillwillpull
pull money
money toto liveliveoffoff
of.of.CanCan youyou getget
two?”
two?”
AsAs
ofof
a postgraduate,
your
a postgraduate,
your ownown programme.
you
you
programme.
needneedtoto
While
take
While
take
youyou
charge
charge
should
should
you
youaside
asidetotoremind
remindyou youthat
thatyou
youmust
must Deflated,
Deflated,
possible.
possible.
I had
I had tototelltell
herherno,no,
thatthatwaswasnot not

seek
seek guidance
guidance from
from your
your supervisor
supervisor andandfrom
from complete
completea aform formbybya acertain
certaindate
date Her Her reaction
reaction waswas notnot atypical:
atypical: most
most people
people
thethegraduate
graduate chair
chair oror
herherassistant,
assistant,you youareare outside
outside youryour academic
academic colleagues
colleagues will
will havehave
thetheperson
person whowho ultimately
ultimately organises
organises youryour a hard
a hard timetime relating
relating toto your
your experiences.
experiences.
degree.
degree. Nobody
Nobody – and
– andcertainly
certainly notnot
youryour ToTo anan outsider,
outsider, a PhD
a PhD student’s
student’s schedule
schedule
supervisor
supervisor – will
– willpull
pull
youyou aside
aside
totoremind
remind looks
looks tantalisingly
tantalisingly open.
open. It It
cancan contain
contain hugehuge
you,
you, forfor
example,
example, that
that
youyou must
musttake
takea certain
a certain slots
slots where
where you you appear
appear totobebe doing
doing nothing.
nothing.
course
course ororcomplete
complete a form
a form bybya specific
a specific date.
date. Those
Those people
people might
might encourage
encourage youyoutoto socialise
socialise
YouYouareare
also
alsopersonally
personally responsible
responsible forfor moremore orortoto taketake onon moremore household
household tasks
tasks toto
developing
developing your
your own own intellectual
intellectual path.
path.DoDo notnot fillfill
thethe time.
time. Maintaining
Maintaining self-discipline
self-discipline is is
hardhard
expect
expect your
yoursupervisor,
supervisor, oror anyone
anyone else,
else,
totohold
hold enough
enough at atthethe bestbest
ofof times
times without
without outside
outside
your
your hand
hand andandtelltell
youyouwhich
which books
books totoread,
read, encouragement
encouragement toto postpone
postpone oror forgo
forgo your
your
journals
journals totosubscribe
subscribe to,to,
future
futureresearch
research scholarly
scholarly labours.
labours. YouYou will
will likely
likely have
have toto telltell
projects
projects toto
pursue,
pursue, research
research collaborations
collaborations friends
friends and and family
family thatthat although
although youyou might
might
toto explore,
explore, conferences
conferences totoattend
attend ororgrants
grants not not have
have a formal
a formal workday,
workday, youyouareare“on“on thethe
toto apply
apply for.
for. clock”
clock” and and havehave totouseuse your
your timetimetoto complete
complete
Seek
Seekguidance
guidance about
about your
yourdegree
degree a long
a long listlist
ofof tasks.
tasks.
programme
programme andandyouryourscholarly
scholarly development,
development, But But
bebe suresure toto cultivate
cultivate a group
a group ofof sympa-
sympa-
butbutdodo notnot
wait
waitaround
around expecting
expecting others
others toto thetic
thetic academic
academic friends
friends andand colleagues
colleagues withwith
telltell
youyouwhat
what totododo next.
next. whomwhom you you can can share
share andand discuss
discuss your
your exploits.
exploits.
30
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Times Higher
Higher Education
Education 2727
August
August
2015
2015 2727
August
August
2015 Times
2015 Higher
Times Education
Higher Education31
3333
7 9
While
While working
working onon mymy master’s
master’s degree,
degree, mymy thesis
thesisintointosomething
something more
more feasible.
feasible.

ReuteRs
ReuteRs
I bumped
I bumped into
intoone oneof of
mymy professors
professors and and Master’s
Master’s and andPhD PhD students
students tendtendto to
setsetoverly
overly
summarised
summarised mymy thesis
thesistopic
topicforfor
him.him.I was
I was ambitious
ambitious parameters
parameters forfortheir
theirresearch,
research,
doing
doing research
research onon thethesexsex
trade,
trade,sosoI detailed
I detailed mistakenly
mistakenly thinking
thinking thatthattheir
theirthesis
thesishashasto to
bebe
howhow I expected
I expected to to
conduct
conduct a feminist
a feminist analysis
analysis a monumental
a monumental contribution
contribution to toknowledge.
knowledge.
Cover
Cover of of
prostitution
prostitution in in
Toronto.
Toronto. It would
It would address
address The The jazz
jazztrumpeter
trumpeter Dizzy
Dizzy Gillespie
Gillespie famously
famously Have
Haveaa
economic
economic issues
issues andand incorporate
incorporate recent
recent theor-
theor- said saidthatthatit took
it took hishis
whole
whole lifelife
to to
learn
learnwhat
what
everything
everything etical
eticalworkworkonon ethnicity
ethnicity andandidentity.
identity. My My notnotto toplay.
play.TheThe samesame is true
is true forfordesigning
designing andand thin
thinskin
skin
methodology
methodology involved
involved ananambitious
ambitious planplanforfor writingwriting academic
academic works.
works. You You need
need to to
identify
identify
Students
Students eager
eager to to screw
screw upup should
should remember a lengthy
remember a lengthy period
period of of
first-hand
first-hand observation
observation in in what what notnot to to
cover
cover in in
youryour research,
research, andandyouyou My My student
student Tom Tom was was in ina funk.
a funk. After
After I asked
I asked
that
that their
their thesis
thesis is their
is their defining
defining personal
personal andand thethe
field,
field,
combined
combined withwith
dozens
dozens of of
interviews
interviews must must remove
remove tangents
tangents peripheral
peripheral to to
youryourana-
ana- himhimseveral
several times
times what what waswas wrong,
wrong, hehe
professional
professional achievement.
achievement. TheThe thesis
thesis is every- with
is every- with female
femalestreet
streetprostitutes,
prostitutes, police
policeofficers,
officers, lysis lysisoror argument.
argument. You You might
might havehaveto to
cutcutmajor
major confided
confided thatthat hehe was was upsetupset bybythethe reviews
reviews
thing.
thing. Therefore,
Therefore, it should
it should contain
contain everything. politicians
everything. politicians andand local
localactivists.
activists.When
When I stopped
I stopped sectionssections oror even
even chapters.
chapters. ThisThis will hurt.
will hurt.I cut
I cut that
thathehehad had received
received of ofanan article
article thatthat hehe hadhad
Approach
Approach your
your topic
topic from
from every
every conceivable talking,
conceivable talking, hehe
smiled
smiled wryly
wrylyandandsaid,
said,“Well,
“Well, youyou many many pages
pages of ofmaterial
material in inthethefinal
finalstages
stagesof of submitted
submitted to toa journal
a journal forforpublication
publication consid-
consid-
angle.
angle. UseUse a diverse
a diverse setset
of of methodologies.
methodologies. certainly
certainly have
haveyour yourworkworkcutcutoutoutforfor
you.”
you.” writing
writing mymy master’s
master’s thesis,
thesis, including
including a number
a number eration.
eration. The The reviews
reviews werewere harsh,
harsh, thethe paper
paper
Explore
Explore thethe topic
topic fromfrom every
every theoretical
theoretical AsAs wewe parted,
parted, I thought
I thought to to
myself:
myself:“He’s
“He’sright.
right. of of
chunks
chunks that
thatI loved
I loved butbut which
which diddidnotnotquite fit fit
quite waswasrejected,
rejected, and and Tom Tom doubted
doubted whether
whether hehe
framework
framework conceivable.
conceivable. Aim Aim to to produce
produce anan This
Thisis insane. I will
is insane. never
I will neverbebeable to to
able dodo allall
of of with
with mymy final structure
final structure and and arguments.
arguments. AA thesis,
thesis, waswascutcutoutout to to bebe anan academic.
academic.
analysis
analysis that
that spans
spans thethefullfull sweep
sweep of of human
human this.”
this.”The Theproject
project was wasmassive,
massive, unfocused,
unfocused, andand likelikeany anywritten
written work,
work, is always
is always stronger
stronger when
when HeHe thenthen handed
handed meme a copy
a copy of ofthethe response
response
history.
history. This
This will
will ensure
ensure thatthat
in in
3030 years
years youyou had hadto tobeberadically
radically reduced
reduced in in
scope
scope and andambi-
ambi- you you omitomit unnecessary
unnecessary sections.
sections. Simply
Simply place
place that
thathehehad had written
written to tothethejournal’s
journal’s editor.
editor.
will
will bebe asking
asking whether
whether youyou areare eligible
eligible forfor tion or or
tion I would
I would never
never finish. I slept
finish. horribly
I slept horribly that
that thosethose parts
parts in in
a separate
a separate filefile
and andwork
work them
them Thank
Thank goodness
goodness hehe had hadnotnotyetyetsent sent it off.
it off.
pension
pension benefits
benefits as as a graduate
a graduate student.
student. night,
night, butbutmymy fear motivated
fear motivated meme transform
to to transform upup later
laterforfora submission
a submission to toa journal.
a journal. Tom’s
Tom’s reply
reply came came across
across as as
bothboth hurt hurt and and
angry.
angry. HeHe essentially
essentially accused
accused thethe reviewers
reviewers

Getty
Getty
of of
being
being know-nothings
know-nothings whowho werewere notnot upup onon
thethe
recent
recent literature
literature and and hadhad missed
missed thethe point
point
of of
hishis
paper.
paper. HeHe then then questioned
questioned thethe editor’s
editor’s
Students
Studentstend
tendtotosetsetoverly
overlyambitious
ambitious competence
competence
After
Afterreading
reading
forforchoosing
hishis
choosing
letter,
letter,
such
such
I explained
inept
I explained
inept reviewers.
to to
reviewers.
Tom Tom
parameters
parametersforfortheir
theirresearch,
research, whywhy hehe needed
needed to to develop
develop a thick
a thick skin skin about
about
thinking
thinkingthat
thattheir
theirthesis
thesishashastotobebea a hishis
professional
response
professional
response to tothethe
work.
work.
editor.
editor.
Then Then I shredded
I shredded hishis

monumental
monumentalcontribution
contributiontotoknowledge
knowledge YouYou arearelikely
likely a high
a high achiever
achiever who who hashas
accumulated
accumulated a lifetime’s
a lifetime’s worth
worth of ofacademic
academic
success.
success. You You areare accustomed
accustomed to to
being
being among
among

8 10
thethe
best
beststudents
students and and to to being
being praised.
praised. The The
feedback
feedback you you have
have received
received from
from high high school
school advantage.
advantage. If the
If the
relationship
relationship ends
endsbadly,
badly,
sheshe
andanduniversity
university teachers
teachers may may have
have tended
tended to to Get
Get can
can
become
become a target
a targetof of
gossip
gossipandandinformal
informal
emphasise
emphasise
of of
thethe
sugar-coating.
sugar-coating.
positive,
positive,
Things
Things
sometimes
sometimes
arearedifferent
to to
different
thethe
in in
point
point
thethe romantically recriminations,
romantically recriminations,
Without
Without
sometimes
condoning
sometimes
condoning such
forfor
such
years
years
situations,
to to
situations,
come.
come.
I should
I should

Abuse
Abuseyour
your more
more
areare
elevated
higher,
elevated
higher, and
levels
and
levels
failure
of of
failure
academia.
academia.
is common.
is common.
Standards
Standards
involved point
involved point
where
outout
where
that
a fling
that
a fling
I know
I know
between
between
of of
several
several
a student
a student
instances
and
instances
andananaca-
aca-
YouYou willwillbebe competing
competing with
with other
other high-
high- demic
demicended
ended amicably,
amicably, andandin in some
some cases
cases
audience
audience calibre
calibre students
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about how how free
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inging turgid,
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SoSo vow vow thatthatyouyou will

will notnot write
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itional
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ininGrad
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is like playing
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week
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effort. because
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gaveherher anan unfair
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thein
the the
way USUS and and
through onon 1414
to September
the September in in
finish line. thetheUK.UK.
Times
3434
32 Higher
Times Education
Higher 2727
Education August
August
2015
2015 2727
August
August
2015 Times
2015 Times
Higher
Higher
Education
Education
35
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