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How tosucceed asa research
degreestudent
m
aintain
goodw
orkin
g
relat
ionsw
ith
supe
rvisors
havearealistic,
motivated
attitude
gethelpwhennecessary
manage
time
effectively
write
regularly
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How to succeed as a
research degree student
To succeed as a research degree student means to
complete your thesis in the required time and have it
favourably received by your examiners. It is important too
that your research is respected by your peers for example,
through seminar and conference presentations.
How do you achieve this success? Research shows that to
be a highly successful research degree student, you need
to:
maintain good working relations with your supervisors
write regularly
manage your time effectively
have a realistic attitude and stay motivated
get help when necessary.
These characteristics are discussed in the following pages,
with some additional information showing how they are
catered for at the University of South Australia (UniSA).
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Maintaingoo
d
workingrelations
Maintain good working relations with
your supervisors
Choose the right supervisors people with research
proles in your eld who are able to mentor you and work
professionally with you as you become an increasingly
independent expert in your eld.
If your thesis is interdisciplinary you may need additional
supervisors to cover all elds.
Meet and discuss problems regularly.
Set goals together.
Communicate regularly by email.
Talk openly about supervision concerns.
If your supervision is not working, deal with it sooner
rather than later. Discuss it with:
x your supervisors
x your school or institutes research education: porfolio
leader (or equivalent)
x your divisions dean of research.
Keep a written record of all discussions.
While relationships between students and academic advisers are more
exible and collegial these days, they remain hierarchical. Your supervisor
is still your primary academic guide and mentor during your candidatureand your relationship is of critical importance. (Mare Krone in Denholm &
Evans 2006, p. 24)
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Writeregularly
Write regularly
Set deadlines for written work and tell your supervisor
what they are.
Synthesise information and write something about your
research often.
Write about what you are reading.
Write regularly even when you think your writing is notgood enough.
Use the MS Word thesis template provided by UniSA (or
adapted other template) from day one.
Keep a research diary, journal, log book or lab book and
record every detail.
Get help if you are stuck.
Seriously consider publishing your research as you go.
PhD theses containing published research are almost the
norm in some disciplines.
Writing is a way of validating the underlying premise of the research
work that is, that you have a thesis or hypothesis and that your
approach and argument, or your experimental design will test these
ideas and provide new insight. Even if you are not sure that you have
anything new to say, it is still worth writing. Your supervisor understands
that it takes time for the new ideas to emerge and appreciates anywriting at all rather than nothing. (Robyn Owens in Denholm & Evans
2006, p. 176)
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Manage your time effectively
Treat your research degree as a job.
x Set regular hours and stick to them.
x Have a proper workplace at home, in addition to the
workplace provided at UniSA.
x Set deadlines and stick to them.
x Take breaks and holidays.
Avoid distractions.
x Make your research degree a major priority in your
life.
x Set goals and realise that you have to let some other
things go.
x Avoid over-commitment to distracting activities.
x Dont let anything interfere with your study
timetable.
Limit paid employment.
x The primary role of full-time research degree
students is to work on their thesis and complete
within the allocated time of candidature. It istherefore recommended that full-time research
degree students undertake paid employment of no
more than 8 hours per week.
x If you must work longer hours, switch to part-time
study.
Manageyo
urtime
effectively
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g
y
eff
ectively
Another strategy during thesis preparation where my main task was
writing full-time was to treat it like a job. I would be at the computer [or
laboratory] by 08.30, with a break for coffee at 10.00, with lunch at 12.30,another break at 15.00 and nish at 17.00. These breaks reect my normal
ofce routine, which gave me a sense of being back at the ofce. (Louise
Reynolds in Vilkinas 2005, p. 8)
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Have a realistic attitude and stay
motivated
Remember, its a research degree not a Nobel Prize
(although it could lead to a Nobel Prize). Your research
degree is one small step, not the answer to the meaning
of life.
Research something you are passionate about you
have to maintain your interest for at least 23 years.
It is better to research a question than a topic. In the
beginning this will be broad, but as you proceed it will
be rened. It is the itch you are trying to scratch in
your research.
Avoid becoming strangled by perfectionism. Just do
your best and accept your strengths and limitations.
Have an I can do it attitude failure is not an option:
x A research degree is 90% persistence and 10%
intelligence (Einstein who, incidentally, failed his
PhD on the rst attempt).
Have a plan with built-in milestones eg researchproposal, ethics approval, literature review, conferences,reviews of progress.
x Stick to your plan.
x Develop supports.
x Reward goals and milestones when you attain them
in your research. Keep at it.
Havearealisticattitude
&
staym
otivated
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Remember, your research degree provides you with anopportunity to engage with a research project of yourchoice for an extended period. Such opportunities in thefuture may be limited by the demands of employers orresearch organisations.
Make the most of this opportunity and gain maximumbenet from it.
Havearealisticattitude
&staym
otivated
One way to stay motivated is sustained tracking of progress.
Tracking your progress means that you can push yourself into action to
meet a deadline or plan a reward or a well-earned break, when you know
that you have reached a signicant milestone in the doctoral journey.
(Jacqueline Rowarth & Pam Green in Denholm & Evans 2006, pp. 115-6)
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Get help when necessary
A research degree is a supervised training program. Accept that its OK to get help sooner rather than
later.
Ask your supervisor.
Talk to your school or institute's research education:
portfolio leader (or equivalent). Talk to a lecturer in research education (Learning and
Teaching Unit).
Talk to other students.
Join a peer support group or online community.
Attend on-campus RESA (Research Education Support
Activities) workshops.
Work through RESA online support materials.
Network with other researchers in your eld.
Attend conferences.
Gethelpwhen
ne
cessary
As a mature-aged candidate, separated, with a young family, teaching
full-time and enrolled in a doctorate part-time at a university over 600
km from my home, I knew that setting up my own peer support group
was the only way I would survive. Indeed, during my long, eight-year
candidature I belonged to four such groupsI continue to belong to one
group with two fellow academics, a number of years since graduation.
(Kath Fisher in Denholm & Evans 2006, p. 41)
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Resources
Your supervisors are your best resource. However, during your degree you
will also benefit from the following resources.
Websites
These UniSA websites are key resources for your studies.
Research degrees students
www.unisa.edu.au/researchstudents for life cycle information,
administrative processes, key policies and contacts
Research Education Support Activities
www.unisa.edu.au/researchstudents > Workshops & resources
(left menu)for on-campus and online workshops and resources
Resources for Research Degree Graduate Qualities
Research Education Support Activities > Research Degree
Graduate Qualities(left menu) for support in completing yourreviews of progress and developing the qualities you will need in your
future career
Books
As a research degree student (particularly if you are a doctoral student)
you will nd the following Australian books useful. UniSA Library hasmultiple copies of each.
Denholm, C & Evans, T (eds) 2006, Doctorates downunder: keys to
successful doctoral study in Australia and New Zealand, ACER Press,
Camberwell, Victoria.
Full of valuable information about every aspect of doing a doctorate.
Buy a copy and refer to it regularly as you progress through yourresearch degree.
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(This resource is based on Kearns, Hugh and Gardiner, Maria 2006, The 7secrets of highly successful PhD students, Flinders University)
Produced by the
Graduate Research Centre
City West campus
University of South Australia
April 2013
Gardiner, Maria & Kearns, Hugh 2010, Turbocharge your writing:
how to become a prolic academic writer, Adelaide, S. Aust. :
Thinkwell
Kearns, Hugh & Gardiner, Maria 2006, Defeating self-sabotage:
getting your PhD nished, Adelaide : Staff Development and TrainingUnit, Flinders University.
Kearns, Hugh & Gardiner, Maria 2006, The 7 secrets of highly
successful PhD students, Adelaide : Staff Development and Training
Unit, Flinders University
Anything by these authors will be relevant full of practical tips. They
also run workshops.
Vilkinas, T (ed) 2005, The thesis journey: tales of personal triumph,
Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
CRICOS provider Number: 00121B
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