Unlocking PhD Success: How to Acquire Crucial PhD Skills [1 ed.] 9783031406508, 9783031406515

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Unlocking PhD Success How to Acquire Crucial PhD Skills Eelko K. R. E. Huizingh

Unlocking PhD Success

Eelko K. R. E. Huizingh

Unlocking PhD Success How to Acquire Crucial PhD Skills

Eelko K. R. E. Huizingh University of Groningen Groningen, The Netherlands Huizingh Academic Development Assen, The Netherlands

ISBN 978-3-031-40650-8 ISBN 978-3-031-40651-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5

(eBook)

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Paper in this product is recyclable.

To those who inspire me Agnes, Ilse & Evelien, and more recently: Renan and Naomi

Preface

PhD journeys are challenging. The high PhD failure rates (30% to 70%) indicate how challenging the journey is. Overcoming the PhD challenges takes more than just doing your study right. To succeed on your PhD journey, you need to have the ‘right’ skill set. And that is what this book is about. It explains the skills you need, why they are necessary, and how to develop them. Many supervisors assume that students will learn the crucial PhD skills ‘on the fly’. This is because PhD projects are designed as learning projects and offer plenty of opportunities to acquire and practice skills. And supervisors are right: learning by trial and error works, it just takes a lot of time and effort. Time and effort that students usually lack (or can use better). Learning by trial and error also unnecessarily slows down the learning process. Compare it with riding a bike or playing a musical instrument. It helps so much if someone tells you how to climb on the bike and where to put your hands and feet, or how to take the instrument in your hands and where to put your fingers. In essence, that is the goal of this book: to help you speed up the learning process by making you aware of the skills needed for your project, which competences they include, and how to acquire them. Completing your journey successfully The failure rates of PhD students are high, and that is not because candidates are not smart enough. In the 200+ workshops I have given and at the many PhD colloquia I have been involved in over the years, I have met multiple

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thousands of PhD students. But I have never met a student who was not smart, ambitious, passionate, and hard-working. Still, this does not guarantee success. To prevent failing, you need to have acquired a broad skill set at the right time. This book enables you to accomplish the transformative journey toward becoming a confident and accomplished scholar. It addresses in detail the six essential skills every PhD student must possess: research, writing, presentation, time management, persistence, and collaboration. Each chapter delves into the significance of these skills within the PhD process, explores the necessary competences, and provides practical strategies for their acquisition. By offering numerous tips, tricks, and actionable advice, my aim is to empower you to optimize your performance throughout your PhD journey. You will discover how to assess your current skill set, identify areas for improvement, and develop a personalized academic development plan. Use the many informative figures and tables as a lunch buffet providing quick and easy access to valuable guidance. In its infant stages, this book was the reader I developed for my Academic Talent Development workshop. I derived its contents from countless sources, from my own experiences as an academic researcher, from the many discussions I had with PhD students from all over the world, from interacting with students at workshops, colloquia, seminars, and conferences, and from attending their presentations and reading their papers. The many notes I made throughout the years have resulted in this book. I owe a lot to everyone I have interacted with. Thank you so much! I have experienced that many PhD students are only partially aware of what it takes to complete their journey. You may feel uncertain, lack confidence, or even suffer from self-doubt. But you are a talented person! I can only hope that embracing this book will help unlock your full potential as an exceptional PhD candidate. I wish you good luck! Groningen/Assen, The Netherlands

Eelko K. R. E. Huizingh [email protected] https://www.HAcademic.com

Contents

1

Introduction Academic Talent Development 1.1 Growing Skills 1.2 Personal Academic Development Plan: PAD Plan 1.3 What Includes Academic Work and the Ph.D.? 1.4 How Do Top Academics Do It? 1.5 Choosing Direction for Ph.D. Skills Development 1.6 Critical Ph.D. Skills 1.7 Can You Acquire the Ph.D. Skills? References

1 3 7 8 10 12 14 16 18

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Research Skills 2.1 Critical Research Competences 2.2 Upgrade Your Knowledge to the Required Level 2.3 What Makes a ‘Good’ Study? 2.4 What Makes a ‘Good’ Research Environment? 2.5 Towards Your Study 2.6 Defining Your Research Question References

21 22 24 28 32 34 35 38

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Collaboration Skills 3.1 Importance of Collaboration 3.2 Collaborating with Your Supervisor 3.3 Collaborating with Others 3.4 Effective Communication

41 42 44 52 54

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3.5 Collaborating in the Academic Community References 4 Writing Skills 4.1 Where to Publish Academic Research? 4.2 Why Bother About Writing Papers? 4.3 Academic Writing Essentials 4.4 How to Improve Publishing Skills? 4.5 How Are Academic Papers Evaluated? 4.6 The Structure of an Academic Paper 4.7 Five Tips for the Writing Process References 5

56 59 61 62 66 69 72 75 77 79 81

Presentation Skills 5.1 Presenting as a Researcher 5.2 Preparing a Presentation 5.3 Making Slides 5.4 Delivering a Presentation 5.5 Time for Questions and Answers 5.6 Attending and Presenting at Academic Conferences References

83 84 86 88 91 97 99 101

6 Time Management Skills 6.1 Time Management Starters 6.2 Working Effectively 6.3 How About Your Working Style? 6.4 Ph.D. Stress: Good and Bad 6.5 Increasing Your Effectiveness 6.6 Tools for Effective Time Management 6.6.1 Gantt Chart to Design a Project Schedule 6.6.2 Critical Path to Analyze Relations Between Tasks 6.6.3 Pomodoro Technique to Get Tasks Done 6.6.4 Eisenhower Matrix: Important and Urgent Tasks References

103 104 106 110 112 114 118 119 120 122 123 125

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127 128 131 134 138 143 148

Persistence Skills 7.1 The Need for Persistence 7.2 Academic Setbacks in Perspective 7.3 How to Overcome Setbacks 7.4 How to Maintain Work–Life Balance 7.5 Keeping Mental Health References

Contents

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Making It Work 8.1 Designing Your Academic Development Plan 8.2 What Ph.D. Skills to Improve? 8.3 When to Improve Your Ph.D. Skills? 8.4 How to Improve Your Ph.D. Skills? 8.5 How to Assess Your Ph.D. Skills Improvement? 8.6 How Do Successful People Do It? 8.7 Toward a Good Life After the Ph.D. 8.7.1 Ikigai: Which Job Fits You? 8.7.2 Long-Term Health and Success 8.8 Personal Growth as an Ongoing Process References

Index

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151 152 154 155 156 160 164 166 167 168 172 174 175

1 Introduction Academic Talent Development

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still . Chinese proverb.

Abstract Ph.D. journeys are learning projects, and to grow the right skills, you need to analyze your project and work context, reflect on your current skills, and decide which skills to develop when and how. The result is a personal Academic Development Plan that serves as a roadmap to move from your current skills to the skills required for your project. These skills are also needed for doing academic work which includes research and publishing, teaching, supervising, acquiring research grants, administrative tasks, and developing international experience. Focusing on top academics, seven strategies are identified for doing such activities effectively. For Ph.D. students, six academic skills are essential. Grouped into three categories, these are related to doing (research and collaboration), communicating (writing and presenting), and managing (time management and persistence).

Doing a Ph.D. implies starting a messy journey. A journey full of twists and turns and involving a complex and potentially frustrating combination of trial and error. It requires simultaneous learning and doing: learning for professional, academic, and personal growth and doing for defining, designing, and executing a research project and writing publications. The journey comes with many uncertainties and pitfalls. Will your research ideas work out? Will

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_1

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your supervisor be a good mentor? Can you overcome setbacks and deal with stress? Can you acquire skills fast enough? Ph.D. projects tend to be ambitious, risky, and badly structured. The journey to make you a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is a marathon, not a sprint. Not surprisingly, many students fail to reach the finish line. Ph.D. failure rates are estimated to be in the 30–70% range.1 Although they vary across disciplines and countries, they tend to be high and stable. A recent study of 1500 Ph.D. students reported as most important reasons perceived competence, the relationship with the supervisor and other faculty, and the presentation and publication rate of candidates.2 This implies that in many cases, earlier and better development of crucial Ph.D. skills could have made a difference. In order to succeed, Ph.D. students need to develop the ‘right kind of capital’ to successfully navigate the fields of social and scholarly play.3 Also, many Ph.D. students have only a limited understanding of what it takes to do a Ph.D. and/or have unrealistic expectations.4 High stress levels are the likely and unfortunate consequence since candidates tend to have no time to properly prepare for their Ph.D. journey. As Gabriela Rivera, describing her first year as a Ph.D. student, noted: ‘doctoral students are expected to hit the ground running, so there is not much time for deliberation’.5 The goal of this book is to help you, as a current or prospective Ph.D. student, finish your journey successfully by: 1. Creating awareness of the essential Ph.D. skills: which skills do you need? 2. Assessing current skills: how well are you prepared given the requirements of your project? 3. Enabling skills development: what improvements do you want, and how and when to realize them? As a starting academic researcher, you probably do not have all required skills yet. Which is good, as Ph.D. projects are meant to be learning projects, you will have plenty of opportunities to grow, no reason to worry! When navigating the Ph.D. journey, you learn not only about your research field but also how to design, do, present, and publish research. You will learn personal

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Grasso et al. (2009), Stubb et al. (2012), Jones (2013), Litalien and Guay (2015). Litalien and Guay (2015). 3 Usher and McCormack (2021). 4 Lovitts (2001). 5 Rivera (2022). 2

1 Introduction Academic Talent Development

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skills, such as how to collaborate, overcome setbacks, and manage a diverse set of tasks. Using this book The following chapters describe in detail each of the skills required for a successful Ph.D. journey. These skills take different forms for different projects. For an experimental study, you need different research skills than for qualitative research. They also depend on you, your background, interests, knowledge, and experience and on the setting in which you operate, your supervisor, research group, graduate school, collaborations, etc. Ph.D. students lack time, including time to find out about the skills they need to develop. Therefore, this book is designed as a lunch buffet for skills development. Almost each section contains a figure or table summarizing the issues discussed. Scan them to determine whether a deep dive makes sense for you at this moment. Just select, read, and use the elements from which you can benefit at this stage in your Ph.D. studies, if needed you can always return to a chapter. This first chapter provides an overview of growing skills in the context of academic talent development. It starts with a discussion of how to grow skills in general, and why learning requires leaving your comfort zone and engaging in tasks a bit farther away from what you are comfortable with (Sect. 1.1). This book favors an active approach to growing skills, implying that you decide which skills to develop how and when. The intended skills development is captured in a personal Academic Development Plan, and Sect. 1.2 describes the structure of such a plan. The next two sections are about working in academia. Section 1.3 focuses on what tasks include academic work, and Sect. 1.4 describes how highly successful academics do it. The final three sections return to skills development. Section 1.5 addresses how to choose a direction for skills development. The six essential academic skills that make up the structure of this book are presented briefly in Sect. 1.6, and the following chapters discuss them one by one in detail. The final Sect. 1.7 is about the growth mindset, an approach to skills development helpful in realizing further skills growth.

1.1

Growing Skills

Skills reflect the ability to perform a task or activity. With better skills, you can do work easier, faster, better, and with more confidence. Any Ph.D. journey includes many challenges, e.g., failing to get access to the

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right data, data analyses failing to provide interesting results, or a supervisor suddenly changing jobs. These and many other unfortunate events can happen, but they are mostly beyond your control. You can only control what you can influence, and that includes ensuring you develop the skills needed to succeed in your project. You need the right set of ‘doctoral capital’, which is a composite of certain academically useful practices, attributes, dispositions, and behaviors.6 Having such skills will not prevent bad things from happening, but it will put you in the best position to deal with them in such a way that they become obstacles you are able to overcome. Growing skills requires taking three steps, see Fig. 1.1. First, you need to understand the tasks at hand and identify the required skills. When analyzing large datasets, you need different skills than when doing research based on interviews with a small number of people. Having a supervisor with an extensive international network diminishes the need to build your own network. Being part of a large and intensively collaborating research group is different from working mostly alone. So what skills are required given the project and the setting you are in? The second step involves reflecting on your current skills. Look critically but fairly into the mirror to assess the quality of your current skills. You do not have to be perfect, no one is. The yardstick of ‘good enough’ comes from your project. You may not be world class in statistics, but when your statistical skills are sufficient to analyze your data, it is fine. What are your strengths and weaknesses given what is needed for successful completion of your project?

Understanding What needed?

Development

Reflection

How get betier?

How good?

Fig. 1.1 Ongoing process of growing skills

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Walker and Yoon (2017), Nori et al. (2020).

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The third step concerns skill development. What, when, where, and how can you do in order to grow your skills, and what will tell you whether you have made a step forward? Can you benefit from online resources or take a course, can fellow Ph.D. students help you, your supervisor coach you, or is it about practicing in a safe environment? Do not try to improve all your skills at the same time, but prioritize. Think also about how you can determine whether you have realized improvement. Not only does that raise your selfconfidence and give you a moment to celebrate, but it also signals that it is time to focus on growing another skill or, if it did not work out, to select a different way of developing a skill. Growing skills is presented here as a simple three step process, but as Fig. 1.1 shows, it is an ongoing, iterative process. Each cycle allows you to grow skills, at the same time you learn about what skills exactly are required and which skill development methods work best for you. At different stages of your project, you may need different (levels of ) skills. That is why growing skills is a never-ending process, not even after your Ph.D. project: we are never too old to learn. As said, having the right skills enables you to move through your project easier, faster, better, and with more confidence. Tasks will take less effort and time, your performance increases, and growing skills and overcoming setbacks will increase your conviction that you can really do it. This reduces stress, while boosting energy and positive emotions. The spiral works in many different ways! Skills are applied to do tasks, and tasks can belong to one of three zones, see Fig. 1.2. The first zone is the comfort zone which includes tasks and activities you are capable to do. When you need to do such familiar tasks, you know what and how to do them. The result is a steady level of performance, and you will feel comfortable, safe, and in control. However, not much learning takes place in this area. Growth takes place when you take on challenges just outside your comfort zone. Such challenges are part of the learning zone (or ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ in the original model of psychologist Lev Vygotsky). Entering this zone requires stretching skills, allowing you to improve current skills and develop new ones. You explore and expand your boundaries. Doing tasks in this zone requires focused effort and attention, and therefore, you may feel excited and engaged but also uncomfortable. Growing skills involves taking calculated risks. Learning challenges are risky because you can never be sure that everything will work out, and problems are to be expected. But if you organize personal development well, the challenges become calculated risks by including a safety net. Practice an important presentation first in a safe

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Panic zone Learning zone Comfort zone

Fig. 1.2 Learning zone model

setting, e.g., with your colleagues. When designing an experiment or doing a complex statistical analysis for the first time, have an experienced researcher to check your work before moving on. Over time, while developing, practicing, and improving skills in the learning zone, they become part of your comfort zone. Your self-confidence will grow as well, as successful personal development not only increases skills but also shows and strengthens your ability to grow. The third and final zone is the panic zone. Here, we find activities that are currently beyond what you are familiar with and can reasonably expect to learn. Doing such tasks can be demotivating and overwhelming. Fear of failing creates stress which inhibits learning and growth. You are overstretching, and it is better to take smaller steps. As learning takes place just outside the comfort zone, it is good to put yourself from time to time in a slightly uncomfortable situation by committing to tasks you are not sure you are able to do. This is how you expand your comfort zone and develop new skills. For challenges to be effective learning activities, they should not be too close to your comfort zone, as you then learn in micro-steps only. Self-confidence and trust in your abilities to grow should prevent you from sticking to an unnecessarily flat learning curve. On the other hand, the challenges should not be too far outside your comfort zone, as you then risk entering the panic zone. Given the fine balance between both contradicting requirements, it may take trial and error to determine the best learning activities. The balance is also different for different skills and situations and different for each person.

1 Introduction Academic Talent Development

1.2

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Personal Academic Development Plan: PAD Plan

Because we all have unique zones of comfort, learning, and panic, each researcher will grow in different ways and at different speeds. Nevertheless, improving skills is too important to leave to chance. Successfully completing a Ph.D. project is more likely when you have developed the right skills at the right time. A personal Academic Development Plan serves as a roadmap to move from your current skills to the skills required for your project. Such a plan lists the skills needed for your project, identifies areas in which you require further development, specifies goals for further improvement, determines when and how to improve, and identifies how to notice that an improvement has been realized. Figure 1.3 provides an overview of the structure of a personal Academic Development Plan. The first column lists the skills that need further growth in order to be able to complete your project. As stated before, it is not about becoming the perfect researcher, the goal is to get your project done. The second column stipulates what improvement you intend to realize for a certain skill. What is it that you want to be able to do? To design an experiment, to analyze data, or to give a compelling presentation? The more specific you define the desired skills improvement, the easier it is both to realize the improvement and to notice that you succeeded in growing. The third column refers to timing: determine before which date you should have improved a specific skill based on your understanding of when you need that skill for your project. The fourth column contains the activities you intend to undertake in order to improve. This could include reading a blog, watching YouTube videos, or having a chat with a fellow Ph.D. student who is excellent in that particular skill. There are many different ways to grow skills, and the most effective way depends on the skill to grow, the individual (different learning strategies fit different people), and the situation (what is possible in your context?). Personal Academic Development Plan What skill?

Which goal?

When improve?

1. 2. 3. Fig. 1.3 Personal Academic Development Plan

How improve?

Feedback?

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The final column ‘feedback’ refers to how you can notice that you have achieved the skills improvement. It could be based on your own reflection, but it could also involve feedback from others, such as your supervisor or fellow Ph.D. students. Feedback signaling that growth has taken place should make you celebrate your progress and serve as a stepping stone toward the next learning cycle. A personal Academic Development Plan is developed stepwise by assessing the skills you need when for your project and comparing these with your current skills. The plan, just like your skills set, is essentially a work in progress, and it is never done. Return to this document from time to time, reflect on it, and revise it. In this way, it becomes the trace of your personal development process, with consecutive cycles of requirements assessment, self-reflection, and learning activities.

1.3

What Includes Academic Work and the Ph.D.?

Just like any profession, academic work includes multiple activities, see Fig. 1.4. The two most obvious ones are research and teaching. Research and publishing involve identifying issues worth studying, designing research projects, conducting them, and sharing the lessons learned. The latter activity can come both in oral variants (e.g., presenting at conferences) and written variants (publishing articles and books). Publishing can also target different audiences. Aiming at academic audiences is useful since their feedback can help you further improve your research, and getting published in academic journals is important for building the track record necessary for an academic career. Recently, more and more universities have stressed the importance of societal relevance. How can various stakeholders outside academia, such as policymakers, managers, practitioners, or the general public, benefit from the insights generated by your research? This usually requires translating academic contributions into useful practical recommendations. For Ph.D. students, publishing often happens in collaboration with other researchers, most notably their supervisor(s). Although academic freedom includes choosing your own subjects to study, many Ph.D. projects start with a project proposal or at least some research ideas developed by someone else. This means that the focus of the project is more or less defined before the candidate begins, which has both pros and cons. The upside is a jump start, someone has already developed initial research ideas, studied relevant literature, and thought about ways to design

1 Introduction Academic Talent Development

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2. Teaching

1. Research & publishing

Academic 4. Research grants

3. Supervising

Tasks 5. Administrative tasks

6. International experience

Fig. 1.4 Activities that make up academic work

the study. Maybe you can even benefit from data collected in a previous project. The downside is less freedom: the space to develop and follow your own path may be limited. Teaching happens at the bachelor’s and master’s level, but it can also include running classes for Ph.D. students. It involves interaction with the next generation of students by sharing your expertise, passion, and unsolved issues. Whether and how much teaching Ph.D. students do depends. Many universities assign Ph.D. candidates a fixed but limited number of teaching tasks, but others do not. Often, the teaching includes more general bachelor’s courses or supervising bachelor’s theses. Especially when these tasks are related to your own research project, you can benefit from teaching in multiple ways. Teaching broadens your understanding of your research field. Most academic research is very focused, but teaching forces you to put separate studies into the broader perspective of your research area. Teaching can also be a way to deepen your understanding, as the best way to master a subject is to teach it. Finally, teaching offers the opportunity to improve your presentation skills. How to attract and keep the attention of a room full of less motivated bachelor’s students? Teaching a class for the first time takes a lot of preparation. Since giving the same course again takes much less preparation, the time savings are substantial if you manage to get the same courses assigned every year. The third task, supervising , can be linked with both research and teaching. Supervising involves coaching students in their research projects, maybe resulting in bachelor’s or master’s theses. More senior researchers supervise Ph.D. students and run teams in larger research projects, and for them, supervising often becomes the major way of doing research. Apart from supervising bachelor’s students’ research projects, Ph.D. candidates are generally not expected to provide much supervision. Like many organizations, research institutes tend to lack money, so acquiring research grants has become a prominent part of academic work.

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Often, getting research grants is a highly competitive process, involving multiple rounds of both written and oral presentations of a research proposal. In many cases, funding has been secured before a Ph.D. student starts, which means that applying for grants is not needed at the start. Later on, it can be necessary, e.g., to fund the next parts of a project, conference or research visits abroad, or (at the end of the project) to move into a postdoctoral position. Doing administrative tasks is necessary as research institutes tend to be run largely by and for academics. Although this is a good thing, many academics regard playing a role in the bureaucracy of their organization as a burden. It ranges from coordinating study programs, memberships of a board of examiners, to more or less full-time managerial jobs such as Head of Department or Dean. Sometimes Ph.D. students face administrative tasks regarding their own project, especially if it is funded by a third party that requests reporting. However, in most cases, as a Ph.D. student you will not face many administrative tasks. Good supervisors shield their students as much as possible from administrative duties, to allow them to focus on their core task of research. The final task, international experience, may not sound like a real task at first glance, but it plays a prominent role in hiring and promotion decisions. Academia is and has always been a global trade. All across the globe, researchers are focusing on similar issues, and together we aim to better understand our phenomena of interest. Showing evidence that you are part of this international network is important, possible evidence includes joint research projects, articles co-authored with international researchers, extended visits at reputed foreign research institutes, or (temporary) appointments abroad. All of these options are open to Ph.D. students, and it can be both professionally and personally rewarding to acquire international experience. If your supervisor does not take the lead in this, arrange it for yourself.

1.4

How Do Top Academics Do It?

When new in a profession, it makes sense to take a look at how top performers do their jobs. Figure 1.5 contains guidelines that can help you make decisions in your academic career.7

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Petre and Rugg (2010).

1 Introduction Academic Talent Development

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Quality Keep It Simple & Stupid

Honesty

Visibility

Strategies Top Academics

Collaborate

Passion

Vision

Fig. 1.5 Strategies that make top academics successful

Quality Top academics strive for high quality in research, writing, and teaching. Understanding, incorporating, and adhering to high standards help a lot in becoming successful, whatever you do. Applying high standards does not automatically lead to success, but it is definitely a necessary requirement for it. Visibility Just doing a good job is not enough, others should notice that too. Top academics share their work on multiple occasions and are active in academic communities. Identify the relevant communities in your area and their activities. Signing up for mailing lists and becoming a member of important associations allow you to benefit from useful community resources. Many associations, conferences, workshops, and seminar series depend largely on volunteers. By offering to help out, you not only learn new skills and extend your network, but it also increases your visibility in relevant communities. Passion You get paid for your work, but sustaining long hours and overcoming setbacks is a lot easier when you love what you do. Think about the difference between a passionate teacher and one who is just making hours. Passion

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brings intrinsic motivation, which is further increased if you regard your tasks as meaningful. How passionate are you, regarding both your research topic and academic tasks such as research, publishing, and teaching? Vision It helps your academic career if you become an expert ‘in something’. Compose a coherent story about what you have done ‘as a body’, and not as a list of more or less random projects you happened to be involved in. Think about your strengths and passions, and then weave a net of activities that represent and match them. Consider the projects and activities you do as part of building a portfolio that shows what you are aiming for, your vision. Collaboration Everyone knows something that you do not know. This implies we can all benefit from collaboration but also suggests the need to carefully select research partners. Top academics work with other excellent people. Find researchers with skills and/or resources that complement yours, and that are willing and able to challenge your thinking. Honesty Apply high ethical standards, and stick to them. I can be short on this one: in the long run, shortcuts do not work. Keep It Simple and Stupid This is the famous KISS principle: you cannot do everything at once. Even when it comes to tasks you love doing, you can do too many. Therefore, limit the number of projects you are involved in, make sure they have sufficient overlap, and do not be afraid to say ‘No’ to requests or opportunities. Know your priorities and realize that yours may be different from those of other people. Build the portfolio you want to have step by step. Just trust that one high-quality and finished work will lead to the next one.

1.5

Choosing Direction for Ph.D. Skills Development

This book is about skills development. No matter how good you currently are, there are always many different skills in which you could grow further. So, you need to prioritize. Which skills should you focus on? Three perspectives,

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Demand oriented

Direction for Skills Development Strengths oriented

Interest oriented

Fig. 1.6 Three perspectives on choosing direction to develop your skills

each with their own advantages and disadvantages, help answer this question, see Fig. 1.6.8 The first perspective is demand oriented . This perspective starts with assessing which skills are currently or will be important in the near future. Knowing the skills your project or possible future employers (will) demand makes it easier to ensure you can make a living (and a career). The downside may be that you invest time and effort in what others want from you, not in what you would like to do or what matches the person you are. You run the risk of getting motivational problems. The second perspective takes the individual as a starting point and is strengths oriented . Identifying your strengths and focusing on developing them further has the advantage that you will probably learn fast, and by becoming an expert, you increase your attractiveness to future collaboration partners and employers. However, this perspective can limit the scope of your development activities. Strengths are based on past experiences. Certain skills may not be among your strengths only because you have never been in a situation that would offer you the associated experiences. Allowing yourself to have new experiences can lead to the discovery of new talents. The third perspective on choosing a direction to grow skills is interest oriented . In this case, the starting point is what you care about. What do you value? What drives you? Learning about our passions has multiple advantages. It makes us pay closer attention, process information more efficiently, employ more effective learning strategies, work harder, and persist longer,9 simply because what we do is meaningful to us. A possible disadvantage 8 9

Visser (2014). Murphy Paul (2013).

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of this perspective is that you develop yourself in a direction with few job opportunities. For career purposes, the demand perspective may offer the best strategy, while in order to make the learning process smooth, the strengths perspective would score highly. Realize that a Ph.D. study is a learning process. Allow yourself to experience new challenges, to venture into unknown lands, also to understand better who you are. That offers valuable lessons for later use, e.g., when making career decisions, selecting new challenges, or deciding about possible collaborations. In practice, all three perspectives play a role, while they often also overlap. When you are hired to do a project, the demand perspective is obviously relevant. Further developing your strengths makes you a valuable collaboration partner for others lacking your unique skills. And in the long term, it is important to stay close to the person you are and ensure that you develop yourself according to your own interests.

1.6

Critical Ph.D. Skills

Ph.D. programs show substantial heterogeneity in their length and design,10 not only between various countries but also within countries and research institutes, depending upon how projects are funded and the candidate’s qualifications. Nevertheless, they also have many similarities. Most programs emphasize independent, individual research that aims at an original contribution to scientific knowledge, involve one or more faculty supervisors and an examination board, and include courses on specialist topics and transferrable skills.11 Based on these similarities and to allow for a structured discussion, this book focuses on the six most important skills for successful completion of a Ph.D. project. Although their relative importance differs from project to project and may also change over time, you will definitely need each of the skills listed in Fig. 1.7. The six essential academic skills are grouped into three categories related to doing, communicating, and managing. The two skills related to doing are research and collaboration. Research is obviously a core skill for Ph.D. students. Any Ph.D. candidate is assigned to a specific research project. This implies you need the skills to define and design your project and to conduct the study through the often iterative stages of data collection, data analysis, and results presentation. The necessary research skills are discussed in more detail in Chap. 2. 10 11

Jackman et al. (2022). Levecque et al. (2017).

1 Introduction Academic Talent Development Doing:

Communicating:

Managing:

1. Research

3. Writing

15

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

5. Time Management

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

Fig. 1.7 Six critical skills to succeed in your Ph.D. journey

Collaboration is the second skill each Ph.D. student needs. Being a Ph.D. student can, at times, feel like a lonely job, but it is not one you do alone. At least your supervisor is involved, but often you also collaborate with or can benefit from interacting with other researchers, either to do joint research, to learn from their experiences, or to share materials, devices, or other resources. Collaboration is not limited to other academic researchers and can involve a wide range of other individuals, including project sponsors, participants in your field research, and organizers of conferences and other events at which you present your work. Bad collaboration is a burden, and good collaboration energizes and accelerates. Chapter 3 focuses on what makes for good collaboration skills. Communication is needed for both research and teaching, and the two main forms are written and oral presentations. Writing is inevitable, as you need to have produced a Ph.D. thesis at the end of your project, but in most cases, students write multiple articles for conferences and journals during their project as well. Academic writing is a specific branch of reporting, and you need to be aware of what entails good academic writing in order to get your articles published, see Chap. 4. Oral presentations at conferences, workshops, or seminars are a common way of sharing the lessons learned from your research and collecting feedback from peers. Presenting can be scary, standing alone in front of a critical audience full of individuals who know much more about a topic than you do. But presenting can also be stimulating: getting the opportunity to discuss your research with smart people who share your passion for a topic. Two sides of the same coin, it is up to you which side you want to see. Presentation skills are the topic of Chap. 5. The final two skills are related to managing. Time management skills are needed in order to get your project done with the available resources in the allocated time period. Academic work is never done, and most academic researchers tend to act like perfectionists. There are always options to further

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improve a research design, polish an article, or refine a presentation. It is tempting to keep on doing so, but each task has to reach the finish line. In order to get it all done, you need to manage your time well, see Chap. 6. The final skill is persistence. No matter how good your skills are, setbacks are inevitable, and Ph.D. journeys are known to challenge the mental health of candidates. Things within and beyond your control will go wrong, you only do not know what, where, and when. Therefore, skills are needed to effectively cope with setbacks, not only to survive them but also to learn and benefit from them. Persistence skills are discussed in Chap. 7.

1.7

Can You Acquire the Ph.D. Skills?

‘I am just not a presenter’. Or: ‘I cannot write’. Some people have a very clear and definitive view on their skills: it would have been great, but I just do not have talent for this. I agree that not all people have the same talents and are equally smart. We all have different abilities. But both self-selection and selection by supervisors and hiring committees ensure that those starting the Ph.D. journey are smart, ambitious, and passionate. And no matter how challenging Ph.D. projects are, most of them are not rocket science (unless that is your topic…). That means that you should be able to acquire the skills needed to complete your project. A good way to approach growing skills is by adopting a growth mindset. Mostly based on the research of Carol Dweck and colleagues,12 the literature differentiates between two mindsets that have an impact on whether people are able to acquire new skills. These mindsets are called the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. A fixed mindset assumes that human capabilities are fixed, and they are determined and limited by our talents and intelligence. You have to do with what you have. The growth mindset assumes that human capabilities can grow, and capabilities are seen as potential that can be developed. What you have is your starting point, and with effort and time, you can grow. Research has shown that the beliefs that people have about their capabilities impact their ability to learn, grow, and ultimately perform.13 Table 1.1 lists a number of differences between both mindsets and how they influence attitudes and responses. A common misunderstanding is that the growth mindset suggests that we all can become Einstein. That is not true, the growth 12

See for example: Dweck (2006, 2012). Despite its attractiveness, the mindset theory is not a silver bullet, see for an accessible overview of the ongoing discussion: Denworth (2019); Bennett (2022).

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Table 1.1 Important differences resulting from the belief in a growth mindset or in a fixed mindset Characteristic

Growth mindset

Fixed mindset

Capabilities My successes Successes of others

Can develop over time Result of effort and practice Source of inspiration: what can I learn from them?

Feedback

Hints to grow

Learning

I can learn anything I want

Limits of abilities New challenge

Limited by my efforts and attitude Embrace opportunity to learn

Failure

What can I learn from it?

Weakness

Acknowledge: I have not mastered it yet High: I have not learned it yet Internal: I can do it if I try enough More frequently Potential is developed

Are inborn talents Determined by talent Threat or source of jealousy: they have talents I do not have Criticism: judgments about my qualities I am either good at it or I am not Limited by my potential Threat: could reveal I cannot do it Evidence I cannot do it Deny: I lack this talent

Persistence Locus of control Reflection Impact on development

Low: I cannot do it External: it is not within my reach Less frequently Potential is under-utilized

mindset does not suggest anything about our endpoint, it only suggests that we can get better than we currently are. The growth mindset does not only influence how we can learn as individuals, but it also suggests which type of feedback is helpful. Praising a student or colleague that ‘she is very good at something’ reinforces a fixed mindset. However, praising the process, for example, the effort, strategy or realized progress, reinforces a growth mindset, ‘If I have been able to take one step, I can also take the next one!’. The growth mindset assumes we can all improve our skills, but the theory does not assume that improvement comes by itself. It recognizes that growing skills is hard work, taking time and effort. Developing skills starts with defining an effective learning strategy, which requires being explicit about what and how you want to learn. Determine clear, ideally measurable objectives for what you want to be able to accomplish. Not ‘I want to improve my presentation skills’, but ‘I want to have my presentation easily fit in the time frame set for it’, assuming that your problem is that you often do not finish a presentation in time.

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The second step involves deliberate practice, which is essentially about repeating an activity until you master it. But it is not about mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is carried out with the specific goal of improving performance. In the above example, you could decide to make fewer slides, put less content on slides, or use intermediate timing to signal how well you are doing (and please do not opt for talking faster). The third element is feedback. We can only learn from practicing if we get quick and accurate feedback. Good feedback shows how well you score on the objective set at the start of the learning process. If you do not monitor performance, it is hard to improve in a systematic way. In the presentation example, you could measure how much time a presentation takes when rehearsing at normal talking speed or at which slide you are when the allocated time is over. The final step involves evaluation of your performance, reflection on how you practiced, and determining what and how to practice in the next learning cycle, assuming you have not reached your objective yet. In the presentation example, you could decide to talk less about a specific topic or skip issues. With the right feedback and fair reflection, you do not need an external coach to help you improve and you can be your own coach. Only when you get stuck and a next learning cycle does not lead to sufficient improvement, consider inviting someone else to help you get back on track. This does not mean that you should not look at other people. Studying others can be very helpful to generate ideas for improvement. Not in order to copy their behavior, but to understand what the options are. It is not about one size fits all, it is about the size that fits you.

References Bennett, Paul W. (2022), Overhyped Psychological Theory: What does the “Growth Mindset” Controversy Teach Us?, July 3, https://educhatter.wordpress.com/ 2022/07/03/overhyped-psychological-theory-what-does-the-growth-mindset-con troversy-teach-us/. Denworth, Lydia (2019), Debate Arises over Teaching “Growth Mindsets” to Motivate Students, Scientific American, August 12, https://www.scientificameri can.com/article/debate-arises-over-teaching-growth-mindsets-to-motivate-studen ts/Or. Dweck, Carol S. (2006), Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Random House. Dweck, Carol S. (2012), Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential , Constable & Robinson Limited. Or search the internet for ‘growth mindset’.

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Grasso, Maureen, Melissa Barry, and Thomas Valentine (2009), A Data-Driven Approach to Improving Doctoral Completion, Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools (Chapter 1). Jackman, Patricia C., Lisa Jacobs, Rebecca M. Hawkins, and Kelly Sisson (2022), Mental health and psychological wellbeing in the early stages of doctoral study: a systematic review, European Journal of Higher Education, 12, 3, 293–313, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2021.1939752. Jones, Michael (2013), Issues in Doctoral Studies – Forty Years of Journal Discussion: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 8 (6), 83–104. Levecque, Katia, Frederik Anseel, Alain De Beucklaer, Johan Van de Heyden, and Lydia Gisle (2017), Work organization and mental health problems in Ph.D. students, Research Policy, 46, 868–879, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.res pol.2017.02.008. Litalien, David , and Frédéric Guay (2015), Dropout intentions in Ph.D. studies: A comprehensive model based on interpersonal relationships and motivational resources, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 218–231. Lovitts, Barbara E. (2001), Leaving the Ivory tower: The causes and consequences of departure from doctoral study, Roman & Littlefield, Boston. Nori, Hanna, Marja Peura, and Arto Jauhiainen. (2020), From imposter syndrome to heroic tales: doctoral students’ backgrounds, study aims, and experiences, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 15, 517–539. Murphy Paul, Annie (2013), How the Power of Interest Drives Learning, Nov 4. https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/32503/how-the-power-of-interest-dri ves-learning Accessed 17 June 2021. Petre, Marian, and Gordon Rugg (2010), The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill Education. Rivera, Gabriela (2022), Making Sense of the New Ph.D. Student Experience: Adapting to the First Year of Doctoral Studies Program, Journal of Management Inquiry, 31(3), 331–334. https://doi.org/10.1177/10564926221092343 Stubb, Jenni, Kirsi Pyhältö, and Kirsti Lonka (2012), The Experienced Meaning of Working with a Ph.D. Thesis, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 56, 4 (August), 439–456. Usher, Wayne and Brittany A. McCormack (2021), Doctoral capital and well-being amongst Australian Ph.D. students: exploring capital and habitus of doctoral students, Health Education, 121 (3), 322–336. Visser, Coert (2014), Interesses als drijvende krachten achter ontwikkeling, TvOO, 2, 18–22. Walker, Jude, and EeSeul Yoon (2017), Becoming an academic: the role of doctoral capital in the field of education, Higher Education Research & Development, 36, 2, 401–415.

1. Research

3. Writing

5. Time Management

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

2 Research Skills

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960).

Abstract Doing research requires both academic competences, such as critical inquiry, independent judgment, rigorous analysis, and clear expression, and methodological competences, which are related to designing and executing your research project. Since Ph.D. projects intend to generate new knowledge, understanding the state-of-the-art knowledge is a prerequisite. Upgrading your knowledge is done by selecting, analyzing, and reflecting on the right literature. Doing high-quality research results from critical characteristics of both the study and the research environment. As any field offers many research opportunities, it is essential to select the right focus for your project in an iterative process. Which knowledge gap do you intend to fill? The next step is to define a research question. Seven requirements for a ‘good’ research question are discussed in detail.

Doing research is the core of any Ph.D. project, and that is why research is the first skill to discuss in detail. The chapter starts with identifying necessary research competences, which include both general academic competences and more specific methodological competences; see Sect. 2.1. Ph.D. projects aim to contribute new knowledge. In order to claim that your study does, you

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_2

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need to have an in-depth understanding of your research field. Only when you know the state-of-the-art in your field can you confidently claim to add new insights. Section 2.2 discusses how to upgrade your knowledge to the required level. The quality of research is impacted by various factors. Section 2.3 discusses the role of defining the study purpose, the research planning and process, how to justify knowledge claims, and applying ethical academic standards. A supportive research environment facilitates high-quality research. Such an environment is determined by its research culture, available expertise, adequate resources, and a supportive social environment; see Sect. 2.4. The final two sections deal with the issue of finding the right focus for your study. Ph.D. projects have a relatively narrow focus, implying that many interesting issues will not become part of your project. Section 2.5 discusses how to determine the purpose of your project. The final section provides an overview of the requirements for formulating a good research question, one of the most important steps in the initial phases of a research project. Research questions are derived from the state-of-the-art knowledge and problems faced in practice, but also depend on your personal interests; see Sect. 2.6.

2.1

Critical Research Competences

Regardless of the topic you study, you need both general academic competences and methodological competences (Fig. 2.1).1 The more general academic competences include critical inquiry, independent judgment, rigorous analysis, and clear expression. A critical mindset is necessary because the basis of academic progress is not accepting the state-of-the-art as is. Things that have long been taken for granted can be overturned by new insights. For a long time, people have thought that the earth was flat (and some people still do). Or take the famous statement of Lord Kelvin (1824– 1907) who once said that ‘heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible’. His statement makes sense if we consider flying machines as devices floating in the air. But once we understood that it is gravity that makes heavier-thanair flying machines fall down, we could create a solution by developing a device that produces an upward counterforce. Independent judgment matters since, in academia, we only accept knowledge claims when a researcher presents convincing evidence. It is the evaluation of the evidence or arguments, not the person providing them, that

1

Derived from: Gill and Johnson (2010).

2 Research Skills

23

• Critical inquiry

General academic • Independent judgment • Rigorous analysis competences • Clear expression

Methodological competences

• • • •

Searching & reviewing literature Designing research Collecting & analyzing data Deriving lessons learned

Fig. 2.1 Critical competences for top-quality research

determines whether we accept a knowledge claim. It should not matter whether you are a ‘hotshot’ or a starting Ph.D. student. Also, do not follow advice just because it comes from senior researchers, but because their reasoning makes sense to you. Rigorous analysis prevents making obvious but incorrect or incomplete evaluations derived from superficial observations. A great example is the famous dialogue described by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) with five years old Julia2 : Piaget: What makes the wind? Julia: The trees. Piaget: How do you know? Julia: I saw them waving their arms.

Establishing real cause-and-effect relationships is not always that easy! The ‘devil is in the details’ as they say, and that is definitely true for academic research projects. Do not get satisfied by first glance reflections but dive deeper. The final general academic competence of clear expression is always needed for effective communication, but it is extra important in academia. Researchers must formulate in a very precise, accurate, and still easy-to-understand way both what and why they did in their study and what we can learn from it. This concerns the review of the literature, the methodological details of the study design, the description of the data, how the data were analyzed, the results, and how these results further our understanding. Each of these elements should be presented in a transparent way. When you clearly express yourself, reviewers can disagree, unclear expression should lead to objecting reviewers. 2

Papert (1999).

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Methodological competences are related to imagining, designing, and executing research projects. It pertains to searching for literature and reviewing past research to determine the focus of your research project. For the next phases of the project you need to understand which methods are available, their pros and cons, how to justify a selected approach, and how to undertake the data collection and data analyses. What methods are often used, and are they the right ones for your project? When will you follow prior research, and when is it better to deviate from it in order to discover new insights? Finally, you need to be able to derive meaningful lessons from your research, which implies putting your results in the perspective of both the current state-of-the-art knowledge in your field and how practitioners deal with the issues you study. For each of these methodological competences, it is important to understand the standards of high-quality research in your field. Study in detail papers published in the top academic journals. How do such papers report previous research, justify their research focus, design and execute their study, and derive lessons learned? Determine what you can apply to ensure that your study meets the highest research standards in your field.

2.2

Upgrade Your Knowledge to the Required Level

The goal of academic research is to add new knowledge to our global knowledge base. Consider academic research as an ongoing process of searching for pieces that can be added to an unfinished puzzle. Your study should offer us the next piece. That requires you are aware of the state-of-the-art knowledge in your field. Only then you can claim to offer new insights. Study the literature to update yourself on current concepts, definitions, measurements, and theory. Ignoring these risks that you recreate them with different labels.3 It is no fun to read in a review report ‘great study, but this has already been published a decade ago in a paper the authors apparently overlooked’. The initial stages of your project are devoted to developing an in-depth understanding of current knowledge. As ‘current’ knowledge is a moving target, searching and reading literature is not a stage but an ongoing process. Figure 2.2 contains five tips helpful in reaching an understanding of the state-of-the-art knowledge in your field.

3

Berente et al. (2022).

2 Research Skills

25

1. Read a lot

5. Engage academic process

4. Have intellectual discussions

Upgrade your knowledge

2. Read what matters

3. Analyze & document

Fig. 2.2 Five tips to upgrade knowledge about your research area to the required state-of-the-art level

1. Read a lot The first piece of advice is read, read, read. But do not just read everything. Not because that is not fun, I always enjoy reading about issues I am passionate about. The reason is that with probably no other activity researchers can so easily waste time than reading. It is akin to surfing the internet for hours. Read with a strategy in mind, implying you first ask yourself: what knowledge would further my project? It is useful to distinguish between two stages, each asking for a different reading strategy. Initially, focus your reading on acquiring breadth, to get a quick overview of the various theories, concepts, definitions, methods, measurements, etc. in your field. Useful reading materials can include textbooks (when you start at a basic level) and published Ph.D. theses. Papers in academic journals can also be helpful, mostly when they are meta-analyses, systematic literature reviews, or other review articles. Such papers provide rather complete and up-to-date overviews of a field, contain many references, and are usually written by seasoned researchers. They give quick insight into what researchers agree upon in a field, what they disagree upon, and what issues (questions, approaches) have been overlooked until now. Such papers are a great starting point for developing focus in your project. In the next stage, when you know more about your focus, acquiring depth is more important. Limit your reading to research regarding your focus area and make sure you get a complete overview of what aspects of a phenomenon

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previous researchers have investigated how. This is necessary for formulating a research question that is novel and relevant. Novelty implies that the insights your study will offer have not been published yet, ensure that the ‘gap in the literature’ you focus on is a real gap. Relevancy refers to the value these insights offer, to ensure you make a difference with your research. 2. Read what matters Limit your reading to what matters most. You have to be selective because it is impossible to read every study published in your area. Do not even try. Two yardsticks in deciding whether a paper is worthwhile to read are that (1) it is important for your project and (2) it concerns a high-quality publication. What matters to your project relates to both the topic of your study and the phase you are in. When developing your research design, just jump to the methodology section of a paper to see how these researchers have designed their study. When analyzing data, focus on the results section to see how others have analyzed data or presented results in tables or figures. The second yardstick is the quality of the publication. In academia, we have a strong hierarchy of journals. Papers published in top journals tend to be based on better research, focus on more important issues, and are written by more knowledgeable researchers. Their findings are also regarded as more credible evidence than research published in second- or third-tier journals. Update yourself on which are the top journals (see Sect. 4.2) and the top researchers in your field, and use that knowledge to select papers. Reading such papers also helps in understanding what concerns high-quality research, what makes valid evidence, and how to write good articles. Read only what matters most, other publications you may scan, store for possible future use, or simply ignore for the moment. 3. Analyze and document Do not read passively, but analyze and document what you read. Read articles with a critical mind, keep asking yourself: What do these authors mean? Do I agree with their logic and claims, and what are the implications for my research? What in this article can improve my study? Answer such questions while reading and make notes. A common problem in the initial stages of a project is that you do not yet know what is relevant for your study. Just make more notes to ensure that you can quickly retrieve the important parts of an article later when you know what is relevant for your project. Making notes is essential. Multiple times in my career, I remembered clearly that I had read

2 Research Skills

27

something interesting in an article and that it was near the end of the right column, but I had forgotten which article it was. Please do not repeat my mistake. Analyze and document what you read. For managing your articles and notes, you need a system. You can either use general purpose software, such as a word processor or spreadsheet, or dedicated software. Examples of dedicated reference management software are Mendeley, EndNote, and Zotero. The advantage of dedicated software is that they have special functions for managing references, such as storing papers in an organized way, quick and easy retrieval of articles and notes, creating citations and reference lists at the end of your articles in the format a journal requires, and sharing literature with colleagues. Choose a system at the start of your project. Search the internet for the pros and cons of the various reference management programs, ask fellow Ph.D. students and collaboration partners which system they use, and check which software is available at your institution as not all programs are for free. 4. Have intellectual discussions The fourth tip to upgrade your knowledge is to have intellectual discussions about your research topic. Discuss with informed others the details of your research project openly and critically. What about the focus of your project, how and why it is relevant for both theory and practice, the context in which you do field work, your approach to collecting, analyzing and presenting data – discuss all these issues and investigate what improvements are possible. ‘Informed others’ include obviously your supervisor, but also (senior) colleagues and other Ph.D. students, both from your own university and other research institutes. Interview people working in practice in your field to discover their real problems and solutions, and how your research can help them. Everyone has a unique background and a different perspective which offers opportunities to learn or to find confirmation that you are on the right track. 5. Engage in the academic process The final tip is to engage in the academic process. The academic community consists of associations, journals, conferences, workshops, seminars, blogs, etc. Attend them, read them, learn what works and what does not, spot hot topics that attract much research interest, identify and approach key individuals and key research groups, become active and contribute. The academic community is a global, rather open and dynamic community. Do not be shy,

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Table 2.1 Questions that you may ask yourself in order to get a better understanding of how your field has evolved and which issues deserve further investigation What questions were raised first in academic research and which ones later? Which definitions have been used thus far and which ones have why become accepted? How has the focal problem been framed until now, and what are possible other perspectives? Which problems are solved and which ones are still unsolved? What are issues that previous research seems to agree on and which ones not? Which factors have been taken into account and which possible other factors have not? Which theories or methods have been applied most often and which ones less/ not? What contexts have been studied most often and which ones less/not? What are dominant research approaches (or schools)? What are current challenges for practitioners? What are the standards for valid evidence (measurements, analyses) in the field? Which journals publish most often on these issues? Who are the top researchers (research groups) in the field?

join the community. It offers many opportunities to further develop both your project and skills. You will not only learn to present and defend, the community also offers valuable network contacts and possible collaboration partners. These five tips will help you, not only in upgrading your knowledge to the level necessary to contribute new insights, but also in understanding how your field has evolved over time. State-of-the-art knowledge is like a picture of what we currently know, understanding your field implies knowing how your field has reached its current level. This not only makes it easier to put and formulate contributions in the right perspective, but it also helps in identifying issues that deserve further investigation. What will be the next hot topics in your area? By critically evaluating what has been done, you can spot limitations or biases in current knowledge. Table 2.1 contains questions that can be helpful in doing so.

2.3

What Makes a ‘Good’ Study?

Several factors make up a ‘good’ study. In this chapter, we discuss them grouped into two categories, namely factors related to the study and factors related to the environment in which the researcher works (which is the topic of the next section). This section focuses on the four pillars of high-quality

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29

High Quality Research

Study purpose

Research planning & process

Justification knowledge claims

Ethical standards

Fig. 2.3 Four research-related pillars that make up a high-quality study

research: the purpose of the study, the research planning and process, the justification of knowledge claims, and ethical standards; see Fig. 2.3. Study purpose Any study starts with defining the purpose of the project. Without a clear focus, any choice in designing and executing research can be right or wrong. In some Ph.D. projects, the purpose is clearly defined at the start, most often when a research proposal is already available, e.g., when the project is funded by an external party. In other cases, only a direction is known at the start, and it is the task of the candidate to explore and specify a clear purpose. A good purpose is one that is important for both science and practice, and interests the researcher personally. Search your field for pressing issues, aim for something that we need to know, not just ‘nice to know’ (see Sects. 2.5 and 2.6 for more details). Research planning and process The research planning and process refer to the actual study you do. Which steps and activities need to be done in what order to get the project done? This concerns both the scientific and practical planning of the project. From a scientific point of view, you need to be aware of the state-of-theart knowledge in your field, the concepts, definitions, theories, methods, measurements, etc. that have been developed in your area and that you can use as building blocks for your own project. From a practical point of view, each research project entails a number of activities that take time and other resources, need to be done in a particular order, and may sometimes also force you to return to a previous activity or stage. Think about which activities you need to do, in what order, and what resources they require. Compare what it takes to do your project with the

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resources you have at hand. So, how much time, knowledge, skills, funding, materials, and other crucial resources do you have access to? If these are not sufficient, you could explore opportunities to acquire additional resources. Options include applying for funding, hiring assistants, getting training, and collaborating with researchers who have what you need. If that does not work out, you may need to refocus your project, e.g., by narrowing it down or changing its purpose. Developing a project plan and managing time are discussed in detail in Chap. 6. Justification of knowledge claims The third pillar of high-quality research is justifying knowledge claims, which is related to the methodological competence of deriving lessons learned discussed in Sect. 2.1. The goal of scientific research is to enlarge our understanding of natural or social phenomena. Why and how do things happen? Can we predict them? Can we influence them? Your research should offer us a next step forward. For this, you need to ask the right questions (your study’s purpose) and search for answers in the right way (your research process). Justifying knowledge claims concerns formulating the contribution of your study in such a way that connects well with and builds on prior research, and is substantiated by the results of your study. It requires both understanding your field and analyzing the data sufficiently. Adequate analyses provide the right evidence for answering the research questions while acknowledging the limitations of the data (either in terms of the amount of data or measurement levels), ruling out alternative explanations, and showing the robustness (or generalizability) of the results. The results need to be presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, both in text and visual elements (graphics, pictures, tables, etc.). The same applies to your knowledge claims. The results represent the findings of your study, the statistics, or patterns you found. Knowledge claims concern the meaning you assign to results. What can we learn from your study? How does it further understanding in your field? Not only your knowledge claims should be clear, but also its limitations. Any research project faces limitations in terms of the contexts and factors considered and the amount of data collected. No study is perfect. It is important to be transparent about your study limitations that helps in interpreting your knowledge claims and in defining follow-up research projects. Ethical standards Ethical standards are essential in academia since trust plays a major role. In many cases, it is even for journal editors and reviewers hard to ascertain

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whether researchers have really done their study in the way they report. When I review a manuscript, I have to assume that the statistics represent the exact outcomes of applying statistical software on a really existing database. Often, I can only check whether the reported results are consistent and logical. For the rest, I rely on trust. But as researchers are humans, trust is not always justified. Too ambitious researchers, strong peer pressure, self-justification (‘it was just a minor adjustment’ or ‘everyone needs to make choices when doing research’), and/or low ethical standards cause researchers to violate ethical rules and commit fraud. From time to time, journals have to retract articles, sometimes due to proven fraud, or because of copyright issues or non-disclosure of conflicts of interest. In any case, getting involved in such issues damages the authors’ reputation as it casts doubt on their integrity. Applying high ethical standards starts with being transparent on how the study was conducted. In the ideal case, the researcher reports all details that enable other researchers to replicate a study. In the social sciences, exact replication is usually impossible, when people and organizations are involved. A next sample is always different from the original sample, even when the distribution of important variables is the same. Nowadays, to exclude at least some obvious sources of fraud, a rising number of journals not only ask for possible conflicts of interest but also request that researchers share their data. There are many ways to minimize possible concerns about a study and its outcomes. A good example is a study published in Nature on the effectiveness of the growth mindset, the learning theory discussed in Sect. 1.7.4 Several proponents of the theory, including Carol Dweck and some of her colleagues, were involved in this study, which may make critics suspicious about its positive results. To counteract this, the study did not only involve a large sample (over 12,000 students from a representative sample of 65 US public schools), but also a randomized controlled trial, two different professional research companies blind to the study purpose collected and analyzed the data, while both the hypotheses and analysis plan were preregistered. The school teachers and researchers were kept blinded to students’ random assignment to a condition (training the growth mindset), while the analysts were not aware of the identities of the variables they were analyzing. And finally, their study was replicated by a separate set of researchers in another country with another large sample. When studies involve (human) subjects, researchers often have to submit their research plan for ethical review first. Research ethics committees review the plan to ensure the integrity and quality of the study, they review research

4

Yeager et al. (2019).

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involving human participants to ensure that their dignity, rights, and welfare are protected.5 Important issues concern research objectives, what is required from participants, informing participants, asking for consent, data handling, protecting privacy, and debriefing participants.

2.4

What Makes a ‘Good’ Research Environment?

The second group of factors important for doing good research is related to the environment in which you do research. Figure 2.4 shows the four pillars of a sound research environment,6 namely the research culture, available expertise, adequate resources, and the social environment.

Research Environment

Research culture

Expertise

Adequate resources

Social environment

Fig. 2.4 Four pillars that make up a high-quality research environment

Research culture The research culture of the group to which you belong is determined by the importance of research, and the values and behaviors concerning research. Some universities or departments value other activities over research, the pressures of having to teach large groups of students or acquire funding from external sources can easily override the desire to focus on scientific research. In the ideal case, the group to which you belong has found a proper balance between the various activities, but in practice this balance varies from department to department. Groups with a sound research culture allow their faculty 5

Hunter (2007). See for an extensive overview of the characteristics of successful research environments: Bland and Ruffin (1992). 6

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to spend a decent amount of their time on doing research, have research productivity as a priority, and celebrate and reward research successes. In such settings, you can freely suggest, discuss and explore research ideas, get advice from other researchers, and learn from their best practices. Such settings have meetings and seminars in which research progress is discussed, offer researchers opportunities to attend conferences, and invite external researchers to give research talks and/or stay for a while (from a few days to a few months). In short, a robust research culture offers a stimulating environment for doing research. Expertise In order to get your project done, you need a lot of knowledge and skills. These pertain to the topic you study, methods to collect, analyze, and present data, which journals to follow, important conferences in your area, or how to use devices and get access to materials. Having colleagues who can help you out offers a jump start, otherwise you have to discover and learn it by yourself. Adequate resources Many different resources are needed for your project. This starts with office space where you can study and write, but also includes spaces and facilities needed for your research, e.g., a lab, devices, and materials. A good physical library is less important nowadays, but it helps a lot if your library offers subscriptions (free online access) to the important journals in your field. Other useful resources include research assistants, network contacts, and of course, funding. Social environment A supportive, safe, and positive climate in your research group makes it fun to go to work each morning. Many others at work can be helpful in creating such a setting, including your supervisor(s), research group members, fellow Ph.D. students and connections at other research groups, both domestic and abroad. The expertise and skills they can offer were discussed above, but as being a Ph.D. student can be stressful, it is good to have colleagues with whom you can blow off steam while sharing a drink or meal. A supportive social environment also extends beyond work, you may need the support of partners, friends, and family to sustain the challenging journey you are on.

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Towards Your Study

Any field, no matter how specialized, contains many issues, concepts, theories, methods, measurements, and contexts. So, the good news is that there is a lot to choose from when designing your study, the bad news is that you need to exclude a lot of interesting options from your project. What is most pressing, either from an academic or practice point of view, and preferably both? What seems to be doable with your resources? What do you personally consider interesting? The three most often heard advices in the initial stages of a study are: focus, focus, focus! Which gap do you intend to fill? That determines the purpose of your project and defines the niche in which you will become an expert in the coming years. Remember that a good Ph.D. project advances understanding in a field. That implies that the purpose of the project should center around discovering new knowledge. Knowledge can be loosely defined as anything that is useful in other contexts as well. Knowledge is derived from findings that can be generalized and reveal underlying mechanisms or rules that are valid in other situations as well. So, when considering possible purposes for your project, ask yourself what knowledge contribution a purpose could offer. Has that knowledge not been published yet? Does the project focus on an issue that is not well understood and regarded as important by experts in the field? For whom or in what situations would your contribution make a difference? Defining the study focus is an iterative process. Read the scientific literature to understand what we already know, update yourself on important societal problems, listen to practitioners who experience real-life problems, and discuss with other researchers what investigating a particular issue entails. Successful researchers get inspired by gaps in the literature, by issues that current knowledge cannot explain, or by interacting with practitioners.7 And most of them do not use a single source. It is helpful to generate multiple potentially interesting ideas and refine them stepwise. Identify a few main articles in the field and make explicit what insights you intend to add to these studies. What would such a project include? And how does that match with your interests and resources? Formulate clear answers, and when struggling: make the next iteration. While developing the research proposal, avoid reinventing the wheel. Use and build on definitions, theories, frameworks, methods, and measurements that have been proposed, validated, and applied by previous research. It makes

7

Cao et al. (2019).

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it easier to progress with your study, facilitates comparing your results with prior research, and increases the confidence of reviewers in your research. The collaboration chapter (Chap. 3) stresses the importance of seizing the opportunity to benefit from others. This already starts in the initial stages of your research project. Share your ideas with others, let them comment on it, collect suggestions about different perspectives and approaches, and use these to define a promising project. Do not wait until it is clear what you will study, but gather feedback as much and as early as possible.

2.6

Defining Your Research Question

Any research project starts with a clear purpose, a question to answer. Your research activities form the quest for the answer. The purpose and boundaries of the study need to be defined clearly, but at the same time, you need to remain flexible and be able to switch gears when interesting opportunities pop up or you encounter dead ends. This is a rather contradictory recommendation. A clear purpose is needed in order to plan the research process. At the same time, research projects are akin to adventure trips, during which we bump into unexpected issues and opportunities. Initial research ideas and plans do not work out, or you get promising new ideas, new collaborations, or new data. Overcoming tough challenges, and identifying and seizing new opportunities is what makes research fun. But it also creates a paradox when defining the purpose of a research project: you should formulate a clear and strict research question, while remaining flexible for when the unexpected happens. In order to benefit from opportunities popping up, do not fully fill the available time with activities, but leave room in the final parts of your project for ideas to emerge at a later stage. Regard your project as consisting of multiple subprojects. Define a good research question for the first (two) subprojects, and remain flexible for the subsequent subproject(s). This solution does not always work, e.g., when your study receives external funding or needs formal approval by a committee, they often want to see all parts of the project clearly defined. In such cases, I hope that at a later stage you still manage to exchange an old idea for a better opportunity. For overcoming unforeseen problems, think about possible plans B when designing your plan A. Design a field study in such a way that you can use the data not only for answering your initial research question but also for a couple of related questions. This may imply collecting more data than needed for plan A, e.g., by running additional experiments, studying multiple contexts,

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E. K. R. E. Huizingh 1. Clear and unambiguous 2. Focused, but not too narrow 3. Informed by & connected to prior research 4. Relevant and useful

‘Good’ Research Question

5. Researchable through data collection 6. Feasible 7. Match with your personal interests

Fig. 2.5 Seven requirements for a ‘good’ research question

doing more observations, or adding questions to a survey. The gold nugget of your project may be hidden in a different place than you initially thought! What makes a good research question? Based on various other studies, Jane Lewis8 formulated the following requirements for a ‘good’ research question; see Fig. 2.5: • Clear and unambiguous. Both to yourself and to others, it should be clear what you intend to study and what you do not. ‘Developing a better understanding of a phenomenon’ would not qualify as a good research question. What exactly do you want to study about this phenomenon? Its composing elements, stages, measurements, antecedents, consequences, relationships with other phenomena, or context specificity? • Focused, but not too narrow. A research question needs a clear center of attention, to clarify the boundaries of the project. On the other hand, it should not be too narrow, as such studies are often not that interesting. The question ‘Is X a cause of Y?’ would usually be too narrow, while variants, such as ‘When (or why) does X lead to Y?’ are still focused but not too narrow. • Informed by and connected to prior research. Our global knowledge base is built gradually, step by step we test, extend, refine, and sometimes reject existing knowledge. Any research proposal therefore needs to recognize current knowledge and to detail how the new project relates to it, e.g., by specifying a gap in the literature. The new project should be sufficiently different from what has been done before in order to lead to novel insights.

8

Lewis (2003).

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• Relevant and useful . Your project needs to deliver meaningful new insights. It should help academia and/or practice (individuals, policymakers, organizations) do a better job. • Researchable through data collection. Almost any Ph.D. project involves field research in which you collect data. This implies that the research question must be formulated in such a way that it is possible to design a field study through which you can collect the evidence that enables you to answer the research question. • Feasible. Resources are always limited, you will never get unlimited time, money, materials, machines, access to important actors or other data sources. So, what resources do you have or can make available, and are these sufficient for the project you would like to do? • Match with your personal interests. Any research project requires long hours, even nights and weekends, and no matter how well you prepare, setbacks are unavoidable. You will have to invest the proverbial ‘blood, sweat, and tears’. Knowing that is the case, you better make sure that whatever you do reflects your personal interest, passion, and drive. Is your research question meaningful to you? As research projects tend to be adventure trips, consider whether your research question is symmetrical. The symmetry of a research question has to do with how valuable or publishable the results will be, given the range of possible research outcomes. As you do not know the results in advance, consider various possible outcomes and determine how interesting they could be. Would such outcomes be sufficiently interesting to a particular audience to warrant a publishable paper? Symmetrical research questions lead to publishable results, regardless of the outcome. Non-symmetrical research is only publishable when a specific answer is found. Imagine a study that tested whether eating five apples a day would cure cancer. In the unlikely case that the study provides convincing evidence for this hypothesis, it will be publishable. However, if the evidence leads to rejecting the hypothesis, it is very unlikely that a journal will be interested in this paper. Non-symmetrical research questions tend to be based on assumptions that turn out to be invalid or aim to prove counterintuitive ideas, such as my apple-eating example. A useful instrument for formulating a good research question that leads to an interesting and doable research project is the Watson Box. It addresses the what and why of a study, and ensures well-developed linkages with prior research and a feasible project; see Table 2.2.

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Table 2.2 Watson box with helpful questions to define a good research question while ensuring a doable research project What? • What • What • What • What gap? • What

puzzles or intrigues me? is a problem in practice? do we know about it? is not well-understood: the is my research question?

How—conceptually? • How to benefit from literature: which models, concepts or theories? • How can these be brought together into a conceptual framework to guide my study?

Why? • Why will this study be of interest to others? • Why would practitioners benefit from it? • Why would it contribute to literature? • Why am I a suitable person to carry out this study? How—practically? • How to collect data: which methods? • How to analyze data – which methods? • How to get access to data sources? • How to carry out the study with the resources available to me?

Adapted from: Watson (1994)

References Bland, Carole J., and Mack T. Ruffin (1992), Characteristics of a productive research environment: literature review, Academic Medicine, 67 (6), 385–397. Cao, Cathy Y., Xinyu Cao, Matthew Cashman, M. Kumar, Artem Timoshenko, Jeremy Yang, Shuyi Yu, Jerry Zhang, Yuting Zhu and Birger Wernerfelt (2019), How do successful scholars get their best research ideas? An exploration, Marketing Letters, 30, 221–232. Derived from: Gill, John and Phil Johnson (2010), Research Methods for Managers, 4th edition, Sage Publications, London, p. 11. Hunter, David (2007), The roles of research ethics committees: implications for membership, Research Ethics Review, 3 (1), 24–26. Lewis, Jane (2003), Design Issues, in: Ritchie, Jane, and Jane Lewis (editors) (2003), Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, Sage Publications, London, p. 48. Miranda, Shaila, Nicholas Berente, Stefan Seidel, Hani Safadi, and Andrew BurtonJones (2022), Editor’s Comments: Computationally Intensive Theory Construction: A Primer for Authors and Reviewers, MIS Quarterly, 46 (2), iii-xviii (p. xiv). Papert, Seymour (1999), Child Psychologist Jean Piaget, Time, March 29, https:// content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,990617,00.html. Watson, Tony J. (1994), Managing, Crafting and Researching: Words, Skill and Imagination in Shaping Management Research, British Journal of Management, 5 (special issue), 77–87.

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Yeager, David S., Paul Hanselman, Gregory M. Walton, Jared S. Murray, Robert Crosnoe, Chandra Muller, Elizabeth Tipton, Barbara Schneider, Chris S. Hulleman, Cintia P. Hinojosa, David Paunesku, Carissa Romero, Kate Flint, Alice Roberts, Jill Trott, Ronaldo Iachan, Jenny Buontempo, Sophia Man Yang, Carlos M. Carvalho, P. Richard Hahn, Maithreyi Gopalan, Pratik Mhatre, Ronald Ferguson, Angela L. Duckworth, and Carol S. Dweck (2019), A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement, Nature, 573, 364–369. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y.

1. Research

3. Writing

5. Time Management

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

3 Collaboration Skills

If you want to go fast—go alone, and if you want to go far—go together. African proverb.

Abstract Doing a Ph.D. involves collaboration to improve your work, get approval, and share results. The professional relationship with your supervisor is the most important one. What makes an ideal supervisor? How to assess supervisor qualities and the match with you? Supervisors can provide five types of support, and you will have multiple (categories of ) meetings that need to be managed well. Collaboration with others starts with making an offer, which involves four stages, from identifying your needs to making a pitch. For any collaboration to succeed, communication is crucial. How to prevent people from misunderstanding you? Finally, Ph.D. students are also members of the global academic community. In many ways, you can benefit from and contribute to professional associations, conferences, journals, and working groups.

Collaboration is an important part of academic work. Bad collaboration can be annoying, suck up your energy and slow down your project, while good collaboration can be fun and energizing, speed up, and improve your study. This chapter starts with why collaboration matters in Ph.D. projects, for which purposes you encounter it and with whom you can collaborate; see Sect. 3.1. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_3

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The next two sections zoom in on possible collaboration partners. The most important Ph.D. collaboration is with your supervisor(s). Section 3.1 discusses candidate–supervisor interactions and identifies the various roles of a supervisor in this collaboration. Your project can also benefit from collaboration with other researchers and practitioners. Such collaborations should be win–win situations. Section 3.2 describes how to identify potential collaborators and how to make a collaboration pitch. Communication is crucial for any successful collaboration, and often failing collaborations could have been prevented by better communication. Section 3.4 deals with what makes communication in a collaboration effective. While most collaborations involve one-on-one cooperation, as a Ph.D. student, you also become part of the academic community in which you interact with other researchers in your field. The final Sect. 3.5 discusses how to benefit from participating in associations, conferences, journals, and working groups.

3.1

Importance of Collaboration

Doing a Ph.D. can be a lonely job, which comes from specializing deeply in your project, but it also involves collaboration. The African proverb at the start of this chapter ‘If you want to go fast go alone, and if you want to go far go together’ is true for academia too. Figure 3.1 shows the three main aims of collaboration in Ph.D. projects. The most important aim of collaboration is to improve your work. As I often say in my workshops: each person in this audience knows something that I do not know, and that is true for each of us. We all have unique backgrounds, knowledge, resources, and networks. If we can pool the useful elements together, any project will benefit. Collaboration also makes your work better because your collaboration partners have learned from their past mistakes, which prevents you from making the same mistakes. It is also more stimulating to do joint work than to do it alone. Positive and intense collaboration, involving a continuous stream of ideas going both ways, is an Why collaborate?

To improve work

To get approval

Fig. 3.1 Aims of collaboration in Ph.D. projects

To share results

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important and inspiring source of energy that provides direction, speed, and meaning to our work. After all, we humans are social creatures. At each stage of a research project, collaboration can be helpful, e.g., to acquire funding, formulate research questions, design the study, do field work, analyze, and present data to writing articles and surviving the review process at journals. Due to the many potential benefits of collaboration, I recommended in Chap. 2 to discuss your research ideas with others. Giving advice is about the lowest level of collaborative involvement, but others can offer much more help in preparing, designing, and executing research. If you can develop win–win situations in which both parties derive something valuable from the collaboration, you can start sustaining and effective collaborations. Good collaboration improves both the outcome and process of work; it leads to better results easier and faster. The second collaboration aim is that, as a Ph.D. student, you need approval for your work. This may concern a research proposal, a research design or even your entire thesis. Smooth collaboration with those who need to approve helps in getting it. What does a committee evaluating research proposals consider to be important? What standards does your supervisor apply to research designs? Having a good collaborative relationship with such parties helps in preparing documents and increases your chances of success. The third goal of collaboration is to share the results of your work. At what conferences and seminars can you present your research, get exposure for your findings, and receive valuable feedback? In what elements of your work are organizers of such events interested, how can you get in touch with them, and how can you benefit from joining their events? Collaboration when sharing results can also involve cowriting articles. Writing with senior researchers who have already published in higher ranked journals can be beneficial, as they know how to structure a paper, the elements you should stress, and what reviewers find important when judging manuscripts. As this discussion of the various reasons for collaboration shows, during a Ph.D. project you can and will collaborate with multiple and different partners. Figure 3.2 distinguishes three groups of potential collaboration partners. The first concerns your supervisor(s). In some cases, this person is called the principal investigator (PI) or advisor. Supervisor interactions are obviously unavoidable, and usually this is the person(s) with whom you interact most often and for the longest period of time. As supervisors are involved in hiring candidates, the interactions may even begin before you formally start the project. And often the collaboration does not end when the project is done, because getting articles published in academic journals may take much longer.

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Supervisor(s)

Collaboration Partners Researchers & Practitioners

Academic community

Fig. 3.2 Collaboration partners in a Ph.D. project

For these reasons, having a good working relationship with your supervisor is essential, which is discussed in more detail in the next section. The second group of collaboration partners consists of researchers and practitioners you interact with during your project. They can be involved in your project at one or multiple stages. Sometimes they assist only in a specific activity, e.g., collecting data when it concerns individuals or organizations offering you access to an empirical setting in which you can explore your research ideas. Some of these collaborations are intense and may last multiple years, e.g., with the co-authors of your papers, while other collaborations are much shorter, e.g., with someone you interview only once. Nevertheless, all of these interactions are important as they can impact the process and outcome of your project. The final group of collaboration partners includes the academic community. This is a broader and less specific group of people and organizations. They can directly contribute to your project by offering useful advice or connections, but they can also be of help by offering a platform to share your work with an interested and knowledgeable audience. Also here, the interaction is two-sided: as an academic researcher, you can benefit from the academic community, but you are also expected to contribute to this community.

3.2

Collaborating with Your Supervisor

Of all possible collaborations, the professional relationship with your supervisor is the most important, complex and enduring one during your doctoral career. Various studies have shown that the quality of this relationship is

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strongly related to student performance.1 It will last your entire project and can be as frequent as daily or weekly meetings. The relationship is complex by design, as your supervisor is both your collaborator and evaluator. Collaborator because you jointly do research, attend conferences, and write papers. Evaluator as your supervisor has a main say in deciding whether your work is good enough to ultimately be awarded the Ph.D. title. Actually, a supervisor can take on many more roles, including director, facilitator, adviser, teacher, guide, critic, freedom giver, supporter, friend, and manager.2 Not surprisingly, having both a helping role and having to warrant dissertation quality can create tensions.3 Another potential pitfall is that Ph.D. supervisors did not rise to this rank because of their excellent supervision skills, but because they are excellent researchers. Ideal supervisor From a student’s point of view, the requirements of a supervisor are being reliable, confident in the student, encouraging, knowledgeable, informative, and sharing.4 But that is not all, supervisors should have highly developed listening skills, encourage debate, offer continuous and quick feedback and support, provide adequate supervision time, challenge in a supportive way, be enthusiastic, share a vision with the student, be a good editor, and demonstrate human warmth and understanding. The ideal supervisor is a passionate expert in the field with an extensive, international network who allocates a lot of time to supervision and offers timely and constructive feedback. The reality, unfortunately, is that not many people are ‘ideal’. Study your supervisor As perfect supervisors do not exist, the supervisor relationship can be both a major cause of and remedy for stress. For these reasons, it is wise to not only carefully manage this relationship, but also to invest time and effort in it even before starting the project. What can you expect from your (prospective) supervisor? Study this person, learn about their interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Have a look at their academic track record. How many students have they supervised? About what topics have they written articles? In which journals were these published? Memberships of editorial journal boards or boards of academic and professional associations signal a supervisor’s international standing and network. Approach their previous and current Ph.D. students 1

Armstrong (2004). Brown and Atkins (1988). 3 Mainhard et al. (2009). 4 Denicolo (2004). 2

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and ask about both the content and process of their supervisor collaboration. What does this supervisor expect from Ph.D. students? What about their good and bad experiences? What would these students have done differently in hindsight? How easy is it to get access to this person? How about their communication? Any tips and tricks for dealing with this supervisor? Gatfield developed a model with four supervisory styles, depending on the level of support (low–high) and structure (low–high) that a supervisor offers.5 Laissez-faire supervisors provide low support and low structure, this style is non-directive and does not involve a high level of personal interaction, students have a lot responsibility and freedom. Pastoral supervisors offer high support and low structure, they combine helpful and personal attention but are not necessarily task-driven. Directorial supervisors offer low support and high structure, they have a close and regular interactive relationship with the candidate but avoid non-task issues. Finally, supervisors with a contractual style offer both high support and high structure, they facilitate candidates in a helpful and friendly collaboration. Assess potential collaboration Once you have done your homework, decide whether you are the right person to work with this supervisor. Choosing a supervisor is a crucial decision.6 Does the preferred supervising style of the supervisor match your needs and values? Many books and blogs about student-supervisor collaboration suggest the analogy of a marriage. Though that would not be my first thought, it makes sense: a marriage is not a relationship between two random people, but between two people who are similar on many issues while complementing each other on other issues. The same is (should be) true for student-supervisor collaborations. Both need to share passion for the same topic, have a similar work attitude, feel a burning desire to find solutions to important problems, and strive for comparable levels of quality. Such similarities being absent is a recipe for conflict. The combination of a sloppy student and a perfectionist supervisor cannot go without conflict. Think about your needs for technical support, emotional support, goal setting, or guidance and structure in planning tasks. In addition, it helps if the two of you can get along regarding more personal issues, such as mutual respect, trust, working style, and a shared sense of humor. This facilitates more direct and open communication. Reflect upon yourself and assess how much of a match you are with your supervisor. The fit does not have to be perfect, but it is better to know in 5

Gatfield (2005); A more elaborate model of supervisory styles based on various degrees of influence and proximity is found in: Mainhard et al. (2009). 6 Hunter and Devine (2016).

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advance where the match is not good. Sometimes it helps to add another senior researcher to the supervision team or as a co-author to a specific paper. And of course, your skills are not fixed either, so grow them in directions your supervisor cannot take care of. In short, before you start, study your supervisor and determine whether the fit is sufficient. Organize a discussion in the early stages of your project, not only about the contents of your project, but also about how your supervisor intends to collaborate with you, and what you need and expect from supervision. It is not a guarantee for success, but a good first step. Process of collaboration It is important to understand the various ways in which supervisors can support doctoral students. The formal role of supervisors varies from university to university, so do your homework and make yourself familiar with how this is defined and organized formally at your institution. Next to filling in the right forms in the right way at the right times, Petre and Rugg distinguish between five types of support supervisors can provide; see Fig. 3.3. Technical support Technical support includes any help related to the development of skills that are necessary for your project. Supervisors can either help you grow the needed skills themselves or point at resources useful for your development, such as colleagues, literature, or courses. In these ways, they help you make progress in your project.

1. Technical support

5. Personal support

Supervisor Support

4. Project management

2. Intellectual support

3. Administrative support

Fig. 3.3 Five types of support supervisors can provide. Petre and Rugg (2010)

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Intellectual support Intellectual support includes further developing your general academic competences, such as critical inquiry, independent judgment, rigorous analysis, and clear expression. It often comes as support linked to your project, such as knowledge about the state-of-the-art and recent developments in your field, and specialist expertise in conducting research and writing papers. Administrative support Administrative support ranges from acquiring funding, e.g., for data collection or making research trips abroad, to protecting you from political and administrative issues within the institution. At my university, Ph.D. students are expected to also do some teaching, it obviously helps a lot if these courses are related to the student’s research topic and if the student can teach the same subject for multiple years. A supervisor can help arrange this. Project management Support in terms of managing the project includes help in creating goals, deadlines, structure and planning, both for the entire project and for meetings. Personally, I regard these mainly as student tasks, since that puts the student in the driver’s seat of the project. However, in the initial stages of a project, the supervisor’s role in such tasks can be larger, and if a student fails to meet a deadline, the supervisor needs to remind them and act upon this. Personal support The final type of supervisor support is personal support. Any Ph.D. project includes tough times, and supervisors are supposed to offer then not only professional support but also emotional support. The same is needed when life events happen, from starting a family to a loved one passing away. Finally, to help a student prepare for the future, supervisors can offer career advice. Multiple supervisors Some Ph.D. students are not supervised by a single person but by a team of supervisors, usually two or three. In such cases, discuss and clarify at the start of the project the roles of each supervisor. Joint supervision can be arranged in many different ways. One option is that all supervisors jointly supervise the student from start to finish. This can imply that each supervisor takes on the various roles discussed above throughout the entire project. They can also divide some of the roles based on their relative strengths, experience and interests.

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Other options to divide supervision include involvement at different levels, in different parts of the project, or for different tasks. In the first case, one supervisor takes care of daily supervision, while the other(s) operate more at arm’s length and are only involved periodically when major decisions have to be made. If your project is divided into multiple subprojects, supervisor involvement may vary per subproject. It may even be the case that one of the supervisors is not involved at all in one of the subprojects. If the supervisors have very distinct expertise, they may divide their tasks accordingly. For example, maybe one supervisor is an expert regarding theory in your area, while another is specialized in statistics and only involved in analyzing data. It is important that both you and your supervisors are aware of their respective roles at the start of the project. Unless their roles are quite independent, making it unlikely that their suggestions contradict each other, I would recommend aiming for meetings where all supervisors are present. This enables you to get them resolve conflicting advice rather than this becoming your task. Categories of meetings Meetings with your supervisor can be grouped into multiple categories; see Fig. 3.4. The first distinction is between ad hoc and planned meetings. Ad hoc supervisor meetings are initiated because you happen to see each other (at the coffee machine, in the lab or in the corridor) or because an event occurred, e.g., a problem or opportunity requiring immediate action. Ad hoc meetings depend upon the availability of your supervisor. Most supervisors have to deal with numerous tasks; see Sect. 1.3, and face busy schedules, so they may not always be available for an ad hoc meeting or have very little time for it, implying that ad hoc meetings are short. Due to the limitations of ad hoc meetings, you also need to have planned meetings. These meetings are scheduled in advance, often come with fixed time intervals (e.g., each week or each month) and should allow for in depth discussion (15 min is not enough). The most common form of planned meetings are progress meetings. Such meetings center around the daily issues of your project. Where are you, and which steps will you take next? The discussion focuses on the details of your study and concerns the short-term planning of your project; see Chap. 6. Progress meetings are important to ensure that problems are recognized and solved as quickly as possible. They prevent you from getting stuck and having to redo work. Progress meetings have a high frequency, in labs students and supervisors can be meeting daily, but once a month is usually the minimum. Their length depends on the frequency; I usually prefer one-hour meetings.

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Meetings with supervisor(s)

Ad hoc meetings

Planned meetings

Progress meetings * Frequent * Short-term aim: status & next steps

Strategy meetings * Less frequent * Long-term aim: rethink project & work process

Fig. 3.4 Various categories of meetings with supervisor

Next to planned progress meetings, it is good to have a strategy meeting once a while, e.g., every three to six months. At many universities, such meetings tend to come as performance reviews, but then you are getting evaluated, the meeting I have in mind is balanced and focused on both the long-term planning of your project and the process of work. Possible questions for long-term planning are: is your entire project still on track? What are the plans for next year, and when or what needs to be done as preparation? What new insights have we gained in the past period, both from the ongoing project and the literature, and are these a reason to change the long-term planning? What about positive or negative changes in resources that could impact your project? The second topic for a strategy meeting concerns work process evaluation. This deals with issues often skipped in progress meetings due to a lack of time. What aspects of your research work can be improved? This can relate to interactions with others, access to resources, and the quality of supervision as you experience it. Is the feedback you get timely, useful, balanced, and aimed at your work and not at you? Can you easily get advice and support when you need it? Do you feel comfortable, safe, and valued as a member of the research team? It may be tempting to ignore problems, and some problems dissolve by themselves, but as most tend to grow, it is better to tackle them when they are still small. Conflicts can have many causes, including that the student has not followed supervisor advice, setbacks in the project, unhealthy professional relationships, incompetence of the supervisor, or a mix of them. If needed, ask a third person to join this part of the meeting or schedule a dedicated meeting.

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To signal the difference with progress meetings, organize the strategy meeting at a different place, time and/or setting, e.g., in a restaurant while sharing a meal. When preparing, realize that, as in any collaboration, the interests of the various actors are only partially aligned. To you, your project may be one of the most important things in the world, but your supervisor may be involved in a dozen projects. You may intend to leave academia after your Ph.D. and therefore want to have all your papers done at the end of your contract, while your supervisor would love to see you stay in academia, implying plenty of time to further develop papers. Be transparent about diverging interests and take such differences into account when making decisions. Toward effective meetings The best advice for successful collaboration is: be proactive. Do not wait until your supervisor asks when a paper is finally finished, but update them frequently and prepare meetings well. Think about what you want to get out of a meeting. Make and share in advance an agenda with the issues to discuss, consider how much meeting time is needed and available, and think about what your supervisor needs to prepare: what do they need to know before a meeting, what is the best way to offer this, how much reading time would it take, and how does that fit in their schedule? Avoid confronting supervisors with unexpected issues during a meeting. Inform them in advance by composing a dedicated and short document, and give them sufficient time to read, digest, and think about it. This makes them prepared to help with thoughtful advice instead of just firing off the first thing that comes to mind. Bring a laptop to the meeting to make notes and be able to share or run additional analyses. During meetings, remain focused on the agenda, as supervisors usually have limited time. Ensure that, at the end of a meeting, you know what to do next. Make notes of advice, suggestions, and decisions, and turn them into brief minutes that are available before the next meeting. When discussing an issue, supervisors appreciate that you show having prepared it. This can include checking relevant literature, thinking about possible solutions, making a list of pros and cons, doing exploratory analyses, or suggesting a preliminary plan for the next period. Do not be afraid to share your own thoughts, it is part of growing academic skills that you show the ability to engage in critical intellectual discussions. And ask questions. Feedback should not set you back but rather move you forward by offering suggestions and directions about what to do next. Supervisors appreciate an active attitude, especially if you substantiate ideas with

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logic and evidence, either from literature or from data analyses. In an ideal Ph.D. project, the role of the student grows during the project while that of the supervisor gradually diminishes.

3.3

Collaborating with Others

As stressed before, you can benefit in many ways from collaborating with others. Because academia is a rather open environment, it offers plenty of opportunities to do so. Therefore, do not hide yourself in your institution or office but get out, meet, and team up with other researchers to ensure your project benefits from such interactions. However, if you intend to start an important collaboration, either with a researcher or someone in practice, do your homework first. Figure 3.5 shows the stages you go through before making an offer to collaborate. The process starts with your own project and interests. What is it that you need? What would make your project richer or help you move forward faster? The answer could be detailed knowledge of certain theories, access to data or materials, or the skills to apply a complex statistical method. Next, identify who has the resource you are looking for. Potential academic partners are authors of interesting papers you have read, senior researchers with specific expertise and solid track records, researchers with whom your supervisor collaborates, or any other researchers you have met. Collaboration partners can also come from practice. Think about firms, governments, industry associations and other relevant organizations, or managers, policymakers and experts. You (or your supervisor) may know them already, otherwise you can find them in social media (blogs, LinkedIn, X/Twitter),

Identify what you need

Identify who has it

Determine what you can offer

Make your collaboration pitch

Fig. 3.5 Doing homework before making a collaboration pitch

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presenting at events, writing in practical media outlets, etc. Partners from practice may offer specific expertise, access to data sources, funding, or help you get a real job one day. After identifying a potential partner, study them. How much of the resource that you are looking for do they have? How important is it for them? How about their quality? When considering collaboration with other researchers, take a look at their track record. It is great that you share a passion for the same topic, but successful collaboration requires more than just passion. Aim to team up with excellent people who complement you. Studying potential collaboration partners helps you determine what resources you have that could be valuable to them. Collaboration works best in win–win situations. You gain by getting a missing resource and they should benefit too. Different people and organizations value different things. Organizations may have a problem with which you could help them. Companies value practical insights that allow them to save money or sell more, but sometimes it is sufficient to offer an assessment of how they fare relative to other firms. Academic researchers may be interested in becoming co-author of an article, getting access to data you have, or connecting to and visiting the research group you are affiliated with. Determine what you can offer and how valuable that would be to a partner. The more value you can offer them, the higher the priority they will assign to collaborating with you. And then it is time to make your pitch: approach a potential partner and explain the collaboration you have in mind. What are the projected results? What do you do, and what do you ask from them? What is the timing? What is in it for them? Do not stress too much how they can benefit from the collaboration, just provide the details of what you offer and let them assess its value. Figure 3.5 suggests that starting a collaboration is a linear process, in reality it is highly iterative. You may consider multiple potential collaboration partners, you may need to get to know them better first to learn about their resources, their interest in your project, and whether the two of you can get along. Sometimes you have to do a small joint project first before you can start a more extensive and longer term collaboration. That is why arranging collaborations can take a lot of time, and involve extensive networking and meetings in informal settings. Scientific conferences are ideal for building an academic network. They come with many sessions, receptions, coffee breaks, lunches, and dinners during which it is relatively easy to meet new people. When you have been in a session with a hotshot in the field, approach them during a next break to introduce yourself. Or maybe your supervisor can assist and introduce

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you to a senior researcher. Realize that academic collaborations are personal collaborations. You may read about a collaboration between two universities, in reality the collaboration is usually between a few individuals who know each other, are interested in the same issues and happen to work at different institutes. Two final comments regarding starting a collaboration. First, do not be afraid to take the first step. Just realize that even the old guys once were young, inexperienced, unknowing, etc. And second: do not underestimate what you can offer them. You may have access to data, be affiliated with a reputed research group, have knowledge of recently developed statistical methods, or have time to do research. They may lack such valuable resources or just love to get inspired by the enthusiasm of a passionate and dynamic young researcher!

3.4

Effective Communication

Communication is key for any collaboration to succeed. Failing collaborations often start with failing communication. Essentially, effective communication means getting messages across, which implies that how the receiver understands a message equals to how the sender intended it to be. You may be familiar with an internationally popular children’s game that goes by several names, including Chinese whispers, broken telephone and the messenger game.7 Children form a line or circle, and the first child whispers a message in the ear of the second child. This child repeats the message to the third, and so on. The last child announces the message just heard to the entire group. The first child then compares the original and final message. While the goal is to get the same message around, this usually does not happen. The message of the last child differs considerably from that of the first, often with humorous effect. In practice, non-effective communication usually results in much less enjoyment than in the children’s game. Often, we think we communicate effectively, implying we send a message that is very clear to us. But the receiver may understand a quite different message. Effective communication requires the ability to perform a broad range of communication tasks; see Fig. 3.6.8

7

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/chinese_whispers. Accessed 25 September 2023. University of Waterloo, Centre for Teaching Excellence, Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member, https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/ tips-students/being-part-team/teamwork-skills-being-effective-group-member Accessed 25 September 2023. 8

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Explain ideas clearly Reflect on activities & interactions

Express feelings

Effective Initiate discussion about process

communication

skills

Interpret nonverbal cues

Ask questions to clarify

Listen carefully

Fig. 3.6 What effective communication enables you to do

• To explain ideas clearly: what exactly is it that you want to share? Express yourself as unambiguously as possible. To make it more likely that both parties interpret a verbal agreement in the same way, confirm it by e-mail. As different people tend to interpret spoken words differently, by summarizing the discussion in written text, you either prevent misinterpretation or it comes to the surface much sooner. • To express feelings in an open but non-threatening way: no project will ever be executed fully according to plan, so expect people to not deliver on time or not as you thought you had agreed. Effective communication includes the ability to make the point when you are not happy with something, but to do so in a way that it does not harm the relationship, assuming you still want to continue the collaboration. • To ask questions to clarify another person’s ideas and emotions: people do not respond to what someone says, but to their understanding of what they hear. So, before responding, validate whether you have understood someone’s thoughts correctly. By first asking questions to make them clarify their thoughts and emotions, it is more likely that you will respond to what they intended to communicate. • To listen carefully: one of the most common reasons for ineffective communication is that people mistake communication for talking and that listening is the time you think about what you want to say next. Real listening, fully getting what the other person means and why, is not easy and takes a genuine effort to wanting to understand the other.

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It becomes even more complex when collaborating with people from different cultures. A good listener is an active listener. The key elements of active listening are paying attention, showing that you are listening, providing feedback which may include paraphrasing (‘What I am hearing is…’), deferring judgment, and responding appropriately.9 • To interpret nonverbal cues: communication is only partly about using words, a large part is nonverbal. Pay attention to facial expressions, body movements and postures, gestures, eye contact, tone and volume of the voice, and the space between the two of you. These signals may even tell more than the words being spoken about whether you are soon to reach agreement or whether you better stop trying. • To initiate conversations about the process when you sense that the collaboration is not going well. It is often easier to discuss the content of collaboration than the process of collaboration. But sometimes it is the process that is not functioning well, e.g., when decisions are postponed instead of made, when agreements remain vague, clear time schedules are lacking, or not everyone adheres to them. Then it is time to discuss the process of collaboration. • Reflect on the activities and interactions in the collaboration. Are we on the right track to realize the project’s aim? Is everyone putting enough effort in activities? Or do you observe gaps between what people say and do? Are problems ignored instead of addressed? Paying attention to such issues requires taking a step back and to reflect on what and how things have been done. And then to bring your observations to the table in a nonthreatening way and ask others to do so too.

3.5

Collaborating in the Academic Community

Becoming a Ph.D. student means you become a member of the global academic community in your field: Welcome! The academic community is to a large extent made up of and run by academics. And as you are one of them now, you can benefit from it, but are also expected to contribute. The academic community is an open system that consists of various, loosely connected elements, including professional associations, conferences, journals, and working groups; see Fig. 3.7.

9

http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm. Accessed 25 September 2023.

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Professional Associations

Academic Journals

Academic community

Academic Conferences

Working groups

Fig. 3.7 Most important elements of the academic community

Professional associations Professional associations are organized groups of (mostly) scholars in a particular field and sometimes in a region. Some associations are broad and large, with thousands of members (but then often with divisions and special interest groups), while others are specialized and small. Next to community building, their aim is to stimulate and share high quality research, teaching, and best practices in the field. Associations may require a membership fee, usually not that high and with lower fees for Ph.D. students, in return they offer access to online resources and discounts at events or other purchases. Online resources can range from newsletters, blogs, working papers, conference proceedings to interviews and overviews of future events. Academic conferences One of the most important activities of associations concerns organizing scientific conferences. Conferences usually require a paper or abstract for presentation, and bring deadlines (always helpful to get a task finished), stimulate motivation (due to learning about your research topic and the opportunity to travel), and offer the chance to build a network including senior researchers and Ph.D. students from other universities. Often, conferences take place annually around the same dates, with a deadline for submission a few months before the event. What a submission entails varies, the least I have ever seen was a 50-word abstract, other events ask for a full paper, but most request something in between. The review process also varies strongly,

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from very tough, only accepting one in ten submissions or less, to virtually absent, basically accepting any submission. Conferences are not only organized by nonprofit academic associations, commercial organizations do it as well, implying that conferences come in many shapes. Some of them are akin holiday trips, e.g., organized in Hawaii or another great place to spend a few days on the beach. Consult your supervisor and senior researchers in your group to find out about decent scientific conferences in your field. A decent conference is one attended by leading researchers in the field, offers a substantial amount of time to present your research (at least 15–20 min), and allows sufficient time for discussion (at least 10 min). These characteristics make them a good platform for collecting useful feedback on your project. For more information about conferences, Sect. 5.6 discusses how to attend and present at a conference. Academic journals Both professional associations and commercial publishers publish academic journals. Each journal has a specific focus area, its aims and scope, which are clearly described on their website. Most academic journals use a peerreview system, implying that other researchers in the field review submitted manuscripts. Many fields have hundreds or even thousands of journals, it is important you are familiar with the journal rankings in the field and carefully select a journal to submit your research to, see Chap. 4 on academic writing. Working groups As the name working groups already suggests, these are usually more informal groups aimed at realizing a specific goal. The goal could be to acquire funding by preparing a research proposal involving multiple universities from various countries, it could also be to further a specific topic in a field. Some of these latter types of working groups are called special interest groups (SIGs), which are sometimes part of larger, more general professional associations. The international academic community is a rather open community, implying that it is easy to approach someone to request feedback, ask questions, share ideas, or offer help. The openness makes it easy to join, benefit, and contribute. You can benefit in many ways, e.g., by getting access to top researchers in the field, learning about recent research that will only be published in a journal next year, interacting with both senior and junior researchers in the field, and sharing your research and getting useful feedback. Maybe you want to spend a period abroad, at another university. Such a visit could have been initiated two years earlier at a conference during a coffee break.

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You can contribute to the academic community in many ways. Associations and working groups are always looking for active volunteers to maintain their websites, compose newsletters, review papers, and help organize events. Also, journals are often looking for researchers willing to act as peer reviewers. Most of these tasks in the academic community are done by volunteers, implying you do not get paid to do them, but the benefits range from expanding your network, making yourself visible in the community, to acting as a decent ‘academic citizen’. You can also start smaller and closer to home. At your own university, you can offer to organize an internal research seminar series or a workshop. You may discover budget to invite international experts. And then you find yourself simultaneously serving your community, making yourself visible, and building a valuable network. Another option for joining a community is to become a member of a student organization or a Ph.D. Community of Practice at your institution. Such groups have members from different disciplines and with diverse backgrounds, and offer peer support, networking opportunities, and possibilities to learn soft skills, while also voicing and representing student interests with the university administration. Next to events that are interesting from a professional point of view, they organize social events to meet fellow Ph.D. students in a relaxing setting.

References Armstrong, Steven J. (2004), The impact of supervisors’ cognitive styles on the quality of research supervision in management education, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74 (4), 599–616. Brown, George, and Madeleine Atkins (1988), Effective teaching in higher education, Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, UK. Denicolo, Pam (2004), Doctoral supervision of colleagues: Peeling off the veneer of satisfaction and competence, Studies in Higher Education, 29 (6), 693–707. Gatfield, Terry (2005), An investigation into Ph.D. supervisory management styles: Development of a dynamic conceptual model and its managerial implications, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27 (3), 311–325. Hunter, Karen H. and Kay Devine (2016), Doctoral students’ emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave academia, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11, 35–61. Mainhard, Tim, Roeland van der Rijst, Jan van Tartwijk, and Theo Wubbels (2009), A model for the supervisor-doctoral student relationship, Higher Education, 58 (3), 359–373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9199-8. Petre, Marian, and Gordon Rugg (2010), The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill Education.

1. Research

3. Writing

5. Time Management

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

4 Writing Skills

Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words. Mark Twain (1835–1910).

Abstract You can publish research in many different outlets, with either a more academic or societal impact. Peer-reviewed academic journals are a prominent target. They vary strongly in quality, which is often measured in terms of their impact factor. Writing for journals requires a specific form of storytelling that is formal, concise, explicit, and organized. Journals evaluate manuscripts based on their contribution, provided evidence, rigor of the study, and clarity of writing. To ease writing papers, the chapter provides eight tips to improve publishing skills. As academic articles are highly and often similarly structured, you can use this insight to prepare an article skeleton that you can then fill with the content of your study. In order to get papers done, the chapter ends with five tips for the writing process.

The two main ways in which researchers share their work are through written and oral presentations. This chapter focuses on the specifics of academic writing1 , the next chapter discusses oral presentations. Section 4.1 provides an overview of the many possible outlets to publish your research, depending upon whether you want to make an impact in academia or practice. The rest 1

This chapter is based on: Huizingh (2021).

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_4

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of this chapter focuses on writing for academic audiences. Publishing articles in academic journals is the main way to exchange knowledge in the academic community. With papers, you can share the lessons from your study, and they also make you visible to other researchers. Section 4.2 discusses the various ways in which you can benefit from writing articles. Many beginning researchers view academic writing as a complex endeavor. It involves a specific type of storytelling, and its main characteristics are described in Sect. 4.3. The fact that many researchers, not only Ph.D. students, struggle with writing underlines the importance of developing good writing skills. Section 4.4 provides an overview of the various ways you can do this. The final two sections deal with the content and process of academic writing. One reason why academic writing is a unique type of storytelling concerns the structure of academic papers. When reading a novel, you only discover the structure while reading, but academic stories tend to have a specific and common structure. The advantage of this is that you do not have to invent a structure, writing a paper starts with a well-developed structure waiting to be filled with the content of your study; see Sect. 4.5. The writing process needs to ensure that you get your articles done and that they are good enough to submit to a journal. Section 4.6 provides an overview of recommendations aimed at realizing this.

4.1

Where to Publish Academic Research?

Many different outlets are interested in publishing academic research. Based on the distinction between outlets targeting mainly an academic audience and outlets aiming at societal impact, Table 4.1 provides an overview of the various publication opportunities. These outlets differ in many ways, for example, in importance, size and research stage. Abstracts for conferences and blogs are rather short pieces of text, while a book can be a few hundred pages. Academic journals are interested in finished studies, while many conferences prefer work-in-progress submissions. The publication outlets with academic impact are listed in their order of importance for the academic community, with peer-reviewed academic journals on top. Since many Ph.D. students may have put their thesis on number one, I first discuss the Ph.D. thesis and then papers in academic journals.

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Table 4.1 An overview of outlets in which academic research can be published Academic impact

Societal impact

Academic journal Ph.D. thesis Academic conference (Text) book (chapters)

Research report Policy documents Press release Trade journal (Popular) book Blog Social media

Ph.D. thesis Your dissertation serves as the proof of your ability to do independent, highquality academic research. Ph.D. dissertations come in two formats, namely monographs and article-based. A monograph is a book-based thesis, with separate chapters for the introduction, literature review, methodology, results, etc. It is considered the classical thesis, but nowadays, most Ph.D. students write an article-based thesis. Such theses are cumulative and consist of a number of articles about the same topic. Often, to provide overall structure and logic, the articles in the thesis are preceded by a general introduction, while the thesis ends with an overall conclusion. The idea is to aim for articles published in academic journals and to compose the dissertation as a bundle of articles. The main reason for the move toward article-based theses is the recognition that publishing in journals is crucial for academic reputation building. The formal requirements for Ph.D. theses vary across research fields, universities, and countries. In some fields, monographs are still common, such as in the humanities. Also, the requirements for article-based theses vary. Differences are found in the number of articles, whether one or more papers should already have been accepted by a journal, single- versus co-authored articles, and how extensive the introduction and final chapter need to be. It is important at the start of a Ph.D. project to update yourself on the exact formal requirements at your institution and to discuss these with your supervisor. It also helps to browse through a few, recently published theses supervised by your supervisor. How are these structured? How many pages? What additional items do they contain, such as a preface, bio, index, and list of references?

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Academic journals Academic journals are often considered the ultimate vehicle for sharing academic research. Figure 4.1 provides an overview of their main characteristics. Any field has a strong hierarchy of academic journals, ranging from a few top journals and several second-tier journals to many journals at the bottom of the hierarchy. Journal rankings are often based on objective criteria, namely how often, on average, articles from a journal are cited (by other journals). Such a statistic is called the journal impact factor . These can be found in the journal citation reports at webofscience.com (published by Clarivate) or in the SCImago journal rankings at scimagojr.com (based on the Scopus database of Elsevier). In most fields, other rankings are available on the internet, which may also take into account subjective evaluations of the relative standing of a journal. Some universities and countries publish their own rankings of journals in various categories. It is important to familiarize yourself with the relevant journal rankings in your field and at your institution. Consult your supervisor about this. As top journals have a low acceptance rate, publishing in such journals is not only the most difficult but also the most rewarding. Better journals usually offer better reviews, which does not imply easier reviews, but reviews performed by more knowledgeable researchers, implying you get Academic Journals Ranking: * Objective criteria: journal impact factor * Subjective criteria Top journals: * Low acceptance rate * Better reviews * Build academic reputation * Citations & impact Issues: * Regular issues * Special issues: topic & deadline Predator journals: * No academic impact * Publish when you pay * Pretend to be academic journals Fig. 4.1 What you need to know about academic journals

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more insightful feedback on your work. Publishing in top journals is not only good for your reputation, but your research will also have more impact and get cited more often. Submitting articles to highly ranked journals may feel like a risky strategy, but realize that the worst that can happen is a journal rejecting your paper, you will survive! Hopefully it comes with useful feedback, and then you can improve your article and try another journal. Academic journals tend to have both regular issues and special issues. In regular issues, they publish research matching the aims and scope of the journal, you can submit whenever your manuscript is finished. Special issues are focused on a specific topic and come with a detailed call for papers and a deadline for submission. It is usually easier to get published in a special issue than in a regular issue, but it requires a manuscript that fits well with the topic of the special issue. Check the journal website for any forthcoming special issues and their requirements. While the top of the journal hierarchy contains only a few journals, the bottom of the hierarchy usually includes hundreds of journals, if not more. Many of these are predator journals. Such journals are not true academic journals, although they pretend to be, they are commercial ventures. Basically, any manuscript you submit, they will publish, as long as you are willing to pay their publication fee. Publishing in these journals has no academic impact. Such journals are known for their aggressive marketing tactics, e.g., you may receive an e-mail that an editor has learned about the great paper you recently presented at a conference and has decided to offer you the unique opportunity to publish in their journal. Of course, it is always flattering to receive such messages, but realize that all other conference participants receive the same message. And you still have to pay. Conferences Conferences are often not considered a final outlet for research publications. Often, academics present work-in-progress research at a (few) conferences during multiple stages of the project before submitting the final manuscript to an academic journal. In this way, you collect helpful feedback on the way to a finalized manuscript. Conferences are not only great for collecting feedback and networking, but they also come with deadlines. Check the call for papers at the conference website to see when and what a conference requires as a submission. Many conferences accept multiple types of submissions, from a poster, a short or long abstract, to a full paper. Depending upon how far you are in the project, select an appropriate type. Conferences often publish papers in proceedings, but many offer the possibility to opt out if you do not want that.

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Publication outlets with societal impact The second column in Table 4.1 provides an overview of outlets with a societal impact. Research reports are often required by the sponsor of externally funded projects. Such reports provide a broad overview of what has been studied and with what results. The readers of research reports are usually less interested in how a study is grounded in the literature and its methodological details, issues that are important for academic papers. Some sponsors even prefer to receive the report as a set of slides, which saves time in preparation. Policy documents are similar to research reports, but their focus is on how policymakers can use research results to shape new policies. Universities are keen on getting press attention for their research. Such media outlets range from newspapers to radio and TV stations. Many universities have a press office or communication department that can help compose a press release for a recently finished research project. The challenge of writing press releases is finding a balance between clearly formulating the findings of a study with all of its limitations and providing an easy-to-understand and impactful message. Trade journals are interested in publishing the results of studies that are valuable for decision makers. Usually, the focus of such articles is on the study’s lessons, how to apply them and the expected benefits, and much less on how the research was conducted. Compared to academic articles, articles in trade journals are easier to read, with simpler sentences and in layman’s terms. Publishing in the form of blogs and on social media (X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) is something you can do by yourself. Again, realize that such outlets require a different length and writing style that match the abilities and interests of their audience. For example, many blogs are around 500 words. Choose easier words, shorter sentences and attractive titles (‘clickbait’), avoid jargon, include a promise or paradox in the first paragraph to capture the interest of casual readers, and add informative and attractive graphics and images.

4.2

Why Bother About Writing Papers?

Science can be considered the road to deeper insight. Often, this road is not easy or fast. Not straight, but winding. Not smooth and well-paved, but with bumps and holes. But on the positive side, it is a road we jointly travel. You can benefit from the research and insights of fellow researchers, just as they can benefit from your input. The most common vehicle to enable knowledge

4 Writing Skills

Develop academic career

Build reputation in field

Engage in academic dialogue

Organize your thoughts

Write Academic Papers

Contribute performance score

67

Share & get feedback

Get tangible output

Stepping stone to thesis

Fig. 4.2 Reasons to start writing papers

exchange are academic papers. A paper describes what a group of researchers has learned during their part of the journey. Because academic papers are a vital part of academia, writing papers is a core task for researchers. However, writing academic papers for peer-reviewed academic journals takes a lot of time and effort, and is risky, given the high rejection rates. So, why would you write academic papers? Fig. 4.2 provides an overview of the many reasons why it makes sense to write papers about your research. • To organize your thoughts. Probably you have developed many ideas about your research area while reading literature, listening to or discussing with other researchers, conducting interviews, and analyzing data. Many thoughts that float around. Writing them down forces you to explicate them, structure them, and critically examine them. • To share experiences and findings with others and as a means to get feedback. When doing research, you encounter interesting outcomes and develop new insights. Why not share them with others? Papers are the means by which you communicate with the (academic) world. They are also a useful tool to collect feedback from other researchers. People will read your work and comment on it. Getting feedback is not always fun, but it is inevitable for progress.

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• To get tangible output. Because Ph.D. projects are multi-year projects, this is an important reason to write papers. Friends and relatives may wonder why you still have nothing to show, maybe not even after a few years of hard work. Writing papers as part of a Ph.D. project implies creating tangible output. Moreover, having written a paper is always rewarding: you get to see your work in print and with your name on it. Having made your contribution to science will encourage you to keep going. • As a stepping stone toward a Ph.D. thesis. It is always a bit exciting to show your work to your supervisors. Is it good enough? How will they respond? How much additional work will follow? Submitting your thesis to a reading committee can generate even more stress, as they have not been involved in your project. How much stress would you experience if parts of the thesis have already been positively evaluated by reviewers of a decent academic journal? Who will reject your work if they have accepted it? • To contribute to your departmental or university academic performance score. A growing number of universities and countries quantify academic performance. They use the number and quality of published papers as input for such metrics. By publishing papers, you contribute to your research group’s performance score and ranking. • To engage in the ongoing academic dialogue . Academic research represents an ongoing and never ending conversation. It is an open conversation, anyone who thinks they can contribute is free to do so. Publishing papers implies that you participate in the academic dialogue. • To build a reputation in the field . Especially if you consider getting a future job in academia, it is important that academics link you to a specific topic. Academic researchers are experts in something. Dissertations are not the most appropriate means to build such a reputation, published papers in major academic journals are. • To develop an academic career . A Ph.D. is usually no more than a basic requirement for an academic career. The reputation of the institution granting your Ph.D. and your supervisor(s) reputation can make a difference. But to a large extent, academics derive researcher quality from a researcher’s publication track record. How many papers? Published in what journals? How often cited? Even when a publication record is not formally required, it may make a difference: Recently, a head of school told me that for an assistant professorship, they had more than 200 applicants. Formally, only a Ph.D. was required, but to make the selection process manageable, she decided to drop all applicants who

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had not finished their Ph.D. yet, and who had not published in peer reviewed academic journals.

In short, writing and publishing academic papers is good for you, your career, your institution, and the academic community.

4.3

Academic Writing Essentials

Ultimately, academic researchers are judged by their publications. This makes writing an important task, but also one that many researchers struggle with. One study found academic writing skills to be the most frequently mentioned skill that doctoral students need to improve for their research productivity.2 The reasons relate to both the process and product of writing. As an author, you need to self-manage the writing process, because it usually comes without deadlines while other tasks present themselves as more urgent. Ending up with a high-quality article (the product of writing) requires the ability to clearly formulate what new insights a paper offers, how it is embedded in and extends the literature, the relevant research details and results, etc. And all of this needs to be written in the systematic and concise way of academic storytelling. Academic writing is a specific form of storytelling. Scientific articles are stories about a problem, that various people have tried to solve but only partially managed to do so, and how and why your work offers a next step toward a better solution. Four principles capture the most important differences between academic storytelling and other forms of storytelling. Academic writing is formal, concise, explicit, and organized; see Fig. 4.3.

Formal

Concise

Academic storytelling Explicit

Organized

Fig. 4.3 Four principles of academic storytelling

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Sevim and Sarıkaya (2020).

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Formal writing Academic writing is formal and impersonal. This implies avoiding casual and conversational language, such as contractions (they’ve, aren’t or don’t) and informal vocabulary. Avoid colloquial words and expressions such as ‘awesome’, ‘hard to swallow’ (difficult to believe), and ‘up for grabs’ (available to anyone). Academic writing is impersonal, authors usually take the self out of their stories. Papers are not about authors and their beliefs, experiences, opinions, and emotions, but they are about phenomena, objects, ideas, concepts, and theories that help us understand the world, and to which others have access too. Although academic writing is impersonal in some (social sciences) fields using ‘we’ in an article is acceptable when describing study details, but with some exceptions, ‘I’ is mostly absent in academic writing. Objectivity is also pursued by avoiding exaggerations (‘The best approach ever!’), sweeping generalizations (‘One should always do this’) and emotional arguments. Claims need to be based on evidence, not on subjective judgments or feelings. Instead of emotionally loaded terms such as ‘wonderful’ or ‘terrible’, academic texts use more moderate words such as ‘helpful’ or ‘problematic’.3 Academic writing often involves using technical terminology, jargon used in a specific domain. Whether you need to use jargon depends on your audience. When writing for specialists, you have to use jargon (otherwise you signal you are not an expert), but when writing for non-specialists, avoid it (otherwise it deters readers). Concise writing Academic writing is concise writing, meaning that you should not use more words than necessary. Many journals impose a word limit, restricting your story length. Conceptual articles and studies based on qualitative research are often relatively long, while also their prose tends to be more important than it is for quantitative or modeling-based papers. Limit the length of an article by not repeating yourself, discuss issues only once. Concise writing also implies that every word should matter. If you can leave out a word without touching the meaning of a sentence, it is a filler and redundant. Clarity is more important than elegance in academic writing. As a result, academic writing often results in dense texts (with a low words to content ratio) which makes such articles not always easy to read.

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https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/writing.html. Accessed 25 September 2023.

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Explicit writing Academic papers are explicit and precise in terms of the words they use, their assertions and contributions. In terms of words, use as much as possible accepted terminology and definitions from your field, avoid vague language, and if a term has multiple meanings, define it first and stick to that definition throughout the article. Select terms carefully and use them consistently. Many forms of storytelling recommend using colorful words and a variety of words to avoid boring text. That is not what we do in academic writing. When you use a similar but different word for a concept, reviewers start worrying whether you refer to a different concept. This may imply that sentence after sentence, you use the same words, which could be boring but brings clarity. Be clear when describing your research since details matter, such as the setting in which you did the study, or the order of activities or questions. Be explicit in your arguments (why you did something) and assertions (what you take for granted), and justify them by providing supporting evidence, which can include logic, references to prior research, and results from your study. In the case of previous research, cite appropriately, both in the article text and in the list of references at the end. When using results from your study, these must be part of the paper, allowing readers to understand how you interpreted findings or used them in your reasoning. Do not be afraid to immediately give away your core message. Newspaper articles use the warning ‘spoiler alert’ when they are about to offer details of a movie that may hurt the fun of watching: How does it end? Who did it? Academic writing takes the opposite approach. Be explicit about the main takeaways of your study, include them in the abstract and often in the introduction too. Actually, for many papers, the title would already need a spoiler alert. Organized writing Academic papers need to be well organized. The story starts with a clear statement of the study’s goal, followed by the gathering of evidence, and ends with a discussion of the lessons learned and their implications. The article should have a clear focus, centered around sharing newly discovered knowledge. To find out whether your paper has a good focus, try to summarize the article’s core message in a single sentence. If you struggle, postpone any further writing and rethink what your article contributes to the literature. Once you have clearly defined your article’s core message, writing becomes much easier. Academic articles often follow a standard structure; see Sect. 4.5. The paper should flow in a logical manner from one section to the next. The

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story is told in a linear fashion and contains no detours or side steps, everything discussed should matter. When a paper discusses a particular theory or approach, the reader assumes that it will be used in this paper. Avoid making the mistake of elaborating on something that once seemed relevant to your project but, in hindsight, is not. This makes a paper different from ‘a story about a research project’. Research projects are often adventure trips in which we first try several things, before, sometimes accidentally, we happen to do the right thing. Academic papers tend to leave out all the mistakes and U-turns before the researchers arrived at their final contribution. Writing a linear story often implies omitting many details, they do not make it into the final article because they are not essential for the paper’s contribution. Think about papers you have read but that do not show up in the ultimate literature review, the results of many data analyses (‘we ran another 25 models to test additional variables and alternative model specifications, but this led us nowhere’), or even colorful details of the data collection (‘it was a rainy morning, and I got really soaked during my ten-minute walk to the station’). Such details may be interesting to tell when sharing a drink, but they should not end up in the paper. Your paper has only room for what readers need to know in order to understand and accept your knowledge contribution. Everything else is fat that should be cut away.

4.4

How to Improve Publishing Skills?

Getting research papers published is not easy, especially when aiming for the better journals. You better start well prepared to ensure that a lack of publishing skills is not the reason why your article gets rejected. The following eight tips help you develop publishing skills; see Fig. 4.4. 1. Read papers from top journals. When reading articles, you need to be selective, as discussed in Sect. 2.1, because many more interesting papers are published than you can read. Therefore, focus on articles from the higherranked journals. Such papers are usually based on better research and are written in a better way. Exposure to top-quality studies improves your own research. 2. Analyze the structure and presentation of top journal articles. When reading papers, researchers tend to focus on the content. What new insights does this article offer? How did they do their research? How can my research benefit from it? Obviously, these are important questions, but as papers published in better journals tend to be written better, take time to review

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1. Read papers from top journals 2. Analyze articles structure & presentation 3. Attend ‘Meet the editors’ sessions 4. Search editorials for publication tips

8 Tips to Improve Publishing Skills

5. Aim for better journals 6. Team up with experienced co-authors 7. Develop publication strategy 8. Start writing early in project

Fig. 4.4 Eight tips to improve your publishing skills

how the authors present their story. What is the structure of the article? What makes this structure logical? How do the authors motivate their study? How do they frame their purpose as something we need to know? Which elements of their research do they stress, how and why? How do they treat weaker research elements (their study limitations)? Understand what makes an article well-written, and apply it to your own writing. 3. Attend ‘Meet the editors’ sessions. Many conferences include sessions in which editors of major journals present and discuss their journals. During such sessions, editors discuss issues such as the positioning of their journal, various statistics (e.g., the number of submissions, acceptance rate, and average review time), changes in content (topics about which they receive significantly more or less submissions), common reasons for rejecting and accepting papers, and the type of research they are interested in. Attending such a session may also provide an opportunity to consult an editor about your paper, perhaps during the next break. 4. Search editorials for publication tips. Issues of academic journals often start with an editorial. Researchers usually skip editorials, because they are interested in the studies on the following pages, but these editorials can be important to improve your publishing skills. In some editorials, editors discuss their experiences dealing with authors or reviewers, or important recent developments in the field. Most notably are the first and final editorial of an editor. In the first one, they look forward: what kind of research would I like to see published in this journal? In the final editorial, they

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tend to look back: how has the journal evolved, what were the major changes in terms of submissions, topics, and research approaches? What are important developments in our field? Aim for better journals. If you have done decent research, you deserve to be published in a good journal. Publishing in higher-ranked journals is important for your reputation and academic career. If you first target lowranked journals (because ‘I am just a starting Ph.D. student’), perhaps even unnoticed, you will adopt their lower writing standards. Aiming high shows your ambition, and even if you fail, better journals tend to provide more useful feedback as they have more knowledgeable reviewers, which is helpful for improving your article in order to get it accepted at the next journal. And finally, you never know, it could be your lucky day! Team up with experienced co-authors. A lot of effective academic publishing expertise is tacit knowledge. This is knowledge that is not easily explicated, and that can only be acquired by observing and collaborating with individuals possessing the knowledge. That is why you can benefit so much from experienced co-authors who have already published (multiple times) in the top journal you would like to target. Develop a publication strategy. Do not let chance determine how much, what and when you write, but develop a strategy. What articles do you intend to write? For which outlets, e.g., conferences and journals? When will you write them? Revisit the strategy periodically, to update it and to incorporate newly discovered opportunities. Start writing early in your project. Obviously, you need to finish a study before you can write an article about it, but do not wait until the very end of your project to start writing articles. Divide your project into subprojects and plan articles for each of them. When doing a subproject, think about parts that you can already write, e.g., sections about the literature or methodology.

These tips are good starters for your publishing journey. To further improve your publishing skills, you can also join specific courses and workshops on academic writing. Such trainings share more dedicated tips and provide concrete advice on how to further improve your articles.

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Contribution sufficient

Evidence sufficient

What Reviewers Evaluate

Rigor sufficient

Clarity sufficient

Fig. 4.5 How reviewers and editors evaluate manuscripts

4.5

How Are Academic Papers Evaluated?

Most academic journals use a peer-review process, implying that a few researchers in your field are invited to evaluate your manuscript. To structure the evaluations, reviewers are asked to answer a short survey, provide written feedback, and recommend a decision. Their recommendation can range from reject to accept, with minor revision and major revision as intermediate options. Reviewers provide only a recommendation; it is the editor who decides about your manuscript. The short survey contains either open questions or closed questions in which reviewers are asked to evaluate important characteristics of the manuscript. Although each journal has its own set of questions, they address similar characteristics, which are summarized in Fig. 4.5. Contribution For most journals, the knowledge contribution of a paper is the most important issue in the evaluation process. Three important aspects of a knowledge contribution are: 1. What new knowledge does this paper (claim to) add? For this, it is important to not just state that your paper ‘enlarges our understanding’ or ‘increases our insight’, but to make explicit what new knowledge your study offers. Have you identified the causes of a phenomenon? Or assessed their relative impact? Have you developed a new theory or a new way of measuring? What is it that we know now that we did not know before you did your study?

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2. How relevant is the contribution to this particular journal ? Each journal has a specific focus, its aims and scope, and the editor wants to know whether a paper’s contribution is at the heart of the journal’s focus. As an author, this implies doing your homework: assess the focus of a journal and stress these issues in your paper. 3. How important is the contribution to the field? Is your study a major step forward or only a minor one? Is it opening new avenues for further research? Does it offer a radically new perspective on an important phenomenon? As an author, think about the implications of your contribution. Who can benefit in what ways from your study? Stress these implications, and do not leave it up to the reviewers to think about the difference your study can make. Evidence Your knowledge contribution is a claim, and claims in academic papers must be substantiated by evidence. Reviewers need to evaluate whether the evidence presented in the paper justifies the claims made. If you have only found a minor difference between two groups, you cannot make sweeping statements about the differences between them. How much of the claim is related to the specific circumstances of your study? Does your evidence rule out alternative explanations? Such questions give insight into how well a claimed knowledge contribution is based on solid and convincing evidence. As an author, play the role of the devil’s advocate. Think about various reasonings a critical reviewer could come up with and counter such reasonings based on logic, your data, or prior research. Rigor Evidence is based on the research you have done. So, the next logical step is for reviewers to assess how you have done your study. Does it match the standards of high-level research in the field? Have you followed all the steps in a recipe in a methodology textbook? How about the methods you applied, measurements, sample size, analyses, etc.? As an author, make sure you aware of the standards of high-quality research in your field (see Sect. 2.2), be transparent about the procedures of your study, ensure that they match the standards of high-quality research, and provide evidence that your data is of high quality. If you have interviewed people, show evidence that these people are knowledgeable regarding your study’s topic. If you have used a 1 to 7 scale, show evidence that your data cover the entire scale (if your data set contains only 6 and 7 scores, statistical methods treat the 6 as a low score, while in reality it is a high score).

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Clarity Clarity is about how easy it is to read a paper. It has to do with structure: is your paper well-structured and does it reflect a logical story? Clarity is also related to writing details such as writing style, headings, blank lines, guiding sentences, and the division into paragraphs. And think about visual elements, such as tables and graphs. Have you used them as effective communication vehicles? A well-designed visual element conveys a clear and relevant message to readers. In short, it is not only what you tell readers, but also how you do it. When writing a paper, I recommend first ensuring you have the content right and then focusing on how to improve clarity. A lack of clarity often results in receiving odd feedback or questions: you have left room to interpret something differently than intended. Review this part of your paper and determine how you can formulate it in an even more unambiguous way.

4.6

The Structure of an Academic Paper

Academic papers are highly structured, which enables readers to quickly find specific details in an article, such as related literature or how data were analyzed. Most articles, especially those based on field research, share a similar structure, exceptions include theoretical papers, literature reviews and essaystyle articles. The downside of such a common structure is that this makes academic writing less creative, authors have less freedom to invent a unique structure for their story. On the other hand, it makes academic writing much easier because you already have so much structure to start with, it is a skeleton waiting to be filled with the content of your study. The common structure of academic papers consists of three layers. These layers form a logical structure as they address the questions of ‘what will you do?’, ‘what did you do?’, and ‘what have we learned?’, see Fig. 4.6. On top of this, the figure shows a title and an abstract. Other possible paper elements include a list of references, acknowledgments, statements about conflicts of interest, data availability, and the contributions of each author. What will you do? The first layer informs readers about what to expect from this paper and is usually a single section, the Introduction. Often, it begins by stating the paper’s general topic and then identifies the more specific problem, phenomenon or issue that the article focuses on. After explaining its relevance, assuming it is not obvious, the article briefly presents what is known

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Title & Abstract 1. What will you do?

Topic, problem, knowledge, gap, study aim, contribution

2. What did you do?

Old ideas, new ideas, research design, methods, results

3. What have we learned?

Conclusions, practical implications, limitations, future research

Fig. 4.6 Common structure of academic papers

about the problem (what have we learned from previous research?) and what knowledge is still lacking (what is the gap in the literature?). Uncovering that piece of knowledge is then defined as the aim of the current paper. Sometimes short descriptions of the study and its results are included, as is a brief overview of the paper’s contribution(s). In some journals, the Introduction ends with a paragraph describing the content of the rest of the article. What did you do? The second layer describes the actual research work. In many social science journals this layer starts with a more elaborate discussion of the literature. Such a literature review presents the background of the study, what is already known based on prior research (‘old ideas’), and links that to the research ideas of your study (‘new ideas’) by showing how these ideas are grounded in the literature. Quantitative papers may make research ideas as explicit as a set of hypotheses. The main part of the second layer concerns the field study, in particular how you conducted the research and what the results are. The first issue is covered by headings such as methodology, materials and methods, research design, experimental approach, or data collection. The second issue describes the methods used to analyze the data and the outcomes of the analyses. What have we learned? The third layer deals with the takeaways of a study. What does the paper contribute to our knowledge? And how is it related to current knowledge: is it consistent with previous research, or does it cast doubt on commonly held beliefs? These are the academic conclusions or theoretical implications, sometimes labeled ‘discussion’. The third layer may also address how practitioners

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can benefit from the new insights. What and how can they improve using the insights your study offers? Next, it is good academic practice to be transparent about the limitations of a study. It helps readers understand to what extent new insights can be generalized and which questions are left unanswered. This brings us to the final topic: the ideas for future research. These suggest how follow-up researchers can overcome your study’s limitations and what new questions can be explored building on the insights provided by the current paper. Combining elements into a paper In many research fields, articles contain most of the items discussed in this section, but writing conventions differ across research fields. The items do not always show up in the order discussed in this section, and some may be left out. Articles in the natural sciences often limit the literature review to the Introduction section. In some fields, the results are presented right after the introduction while the methodology (research design) and (statistical) analyses are placed at the end, to accommodate readers more interested in the ‘what’ than in the ‘how’ of a study. Limitations are sometimes discussed in the methodology section, as both are strongly linked, and suggestions for further research may be left out. Inform yourself about the typical article structure in your field by analyzing a few articles in recent issues of your target journal. Usually, the differences in article structure are larger between different research fields than between different journals in the same field.

4.7

Five Tips for the Writing Process

One of the main challenges of writing academic papers is that a paper is never fully done, no paper ever gets perfect. Consider your paper done when it is good enough to submit to your target journal. To reach this stage, the following five tips for the writing process can help; see Fig. 4.7.

1. Reserve time for writing

2. Realize writing is iterative

3. Organize getting feedback

4. Focus on publishable papers

5. Be aware of plagiarism risks

Fig. 4.7 Five tips to improve the writing process of academic papers

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1. Reserve time for writing. Most researchers have multiple duties and clients, e.g., students, colleagues or research sponsors, who set clear deadlines for tasks. Academic writing is different. Often, deadlines are lacking, and no editor knocks on your door to ask if your paper is finished. Therefore, set your own deadlines, submit to conferences (they have submission deadlines), and reserve a fair amount of writing time in your weekly schedule. 2. Realize that writing is iterative. Not even the most experienced author is able to write a paper without multiple rounds of editing. So, do not wait until you have thought of the perfect sentence, but key in your current thoughts. Tomorrow or next week, read and rewrite your text, and keep on iterating until you are satisfied. This is also how to end a writer’s block: put your hands on your keyboard, key in a sentence, and your writer’s block is over. If you are not satisfied with this text, improve it next time, but your writer’s block is over. 3. Organize getting feedback. After multiple iterations, we all tend to become blind to our own text. It is one of the most difficult aspects of writing, to step out of your own shoes and into those of someone who knows nothing about your research, and then to read and evaluate your article. Other people may spot weaknesses in your story that you overlook, they may also know about different literature and methods, meaning that you can benefit from their input at multiple stages of the research and writing process. Feedback often does not come by itself, you have to organize it. Discuss research ideas in safe settings, volunteer to give presentations, attend conferences, ask colleagues to read your work, etc. As both content and clarity matter, ask for feedback on both aspects. If English is not your native language, have a copy editor check your text. 4. Focus on publishable papers, not published ones. We all want to get papers published in high ranked journals, but we can only partly influence that outcome. You can only control what you submit, not how others evaluate your work. Therefore, focus on writing publishable papers and then hope for the best. 5. Be aware of plagiarism risks. Plagiarism has become a major concern. It refers to ‘using someone else’s ideas, words or material—directly or indirectly—without giving them credit’.4 Most journals use software to check for plagiarism; therefore, be careful, especially when referring to other studies or when using natural language chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Bard or similar tools. Also, when (parts of ) earlier versions of a manuscript have

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been published, e.g., at a conference or as a working paper, play it safe and mention this either in a footnote or in the letter to the editor when submitting to a journal. Realize that plagiarism includes self-plagiarism.

References Huizingh, Eelko K.R.E. (2021), Reader Successful Academic Writing, Huizingh Academic Development. Petre, Marian, and Gordon Rugg (2010), The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill Education, 81–82. Sevim, Özge Mavi¸s, and Esma Emmio˘glu Sarıkaya (2020), How to be productive in Ph.D. Level: A needs assessment study for doctoral students’ research productivity, International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 12(2), 75–94.

1. Research

3. Writing

5. Time Management

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

5 Presentation Skills

The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives. Lilly Walters.

Abstract Oral presentations are used to share research ideas or results, but they also include teaching. Effective presentations require careful preparation, from determining a key message and studying the audience to developing a structure that reflects a story. As many presentations use slides, the chapter provides detailed guidelines for designing effective slides. To deliver a presentation well, prepare it both at home and in the presentation room. It also concerns how you speak, body language, dealing with notes, and time management. Many presentations are followed by a Questions and Answers session. Five steps are discussed for dealing well with questions. As research is often presented at academic conferences, the chapter discusses presenting at conferences, attending presentations, and planning conference visits.

Next to writing articles, giving oral presentations is the second main way in which researchers share their work. This chapter discusses how to design oral presentations, and how to prepare and deliver a presentation. The chapter starts with a Sect. 5.1 about the why, what, and where of presenting as an academic researcher. This is followed by a discussion of how to prepare a presentation. In essence, this is not so different from article writing, in both cases you need to be aware of the key message you intend to leave your © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_5

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audience with and then share the story in a way that is both attractive and understandable, see Sect. 5.2. As many academic presentations include the use of a slide deck, Sect. 5.3 discusses the dos and don’ts of making slides. The next step is to deliver the presentation in front of an audience. Section 5.4 describes what to do right before the start of your presentation and how to give the presentation, including the use of notes, speaking, and body language. Many academic presentations end with a Questions and Answers session. This is the moment you can show your competence and can benefit from the expertise of the audience, at least if you manage the Q&A well, see Sect. 5.5. Meeting, listening to, and discussing with fellow researchers at academic conferences is an important and fun element of academic life. Section 5.6 describes attending and presenting at academic conferences.

5.1

Presenting as a Researcher

Nicholas Coles quotes a friend who attended one of his talks. Though he thought the talk went really well, she told him ‘that academics are experts at making interesting stuff boring and inaccessible’.1 So, how to make your presentation interesting and easy to understand for your audience? Oral presentations are an important part of academic work. It is a main way to share research ideas or a study’s lessons with an academic or practice audience, and it also includes teaching. The goals of a presentation can therefore be manyfold, including disseminating knowledge, getting feedback, presenting yourself and your work, and building a reputation. Also, the setting in which you give a presentation can vary strongly. This makes it important to find a good match between the why (goal), what (key message), and where (setting) of a presentation. The ‘why’ of presentations The reasons for giving a presentation can be approached from two different perspectives. The event organizer offering you a platform to present has reasons for doing so, these can range from wanting to share the latest research, solving a particular problem, giving practical advice, to offering entertainment. Often, their goals are a mix of these reasons. The other perspective is the researcher’s, the reason(s) why you accepted the invitation to present. Possible reasons include sharing research, receiving

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Where setting

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Why goal

What - key message

Fig. 5.1 Three main elements of an oral presentation that need to be aligned

feedback, collecting or maintaining network contacts, getting a job, helping practitioners, getting exposure, returning a favor, or acquiring funding. Obviously, these different reasons impact your presentation. If you present for a job application, you want to impress the audience. If your goal is to get feedback, you want to highlight the vulnerable parts of your research, as that is where your work needs further strengthening. The ‘what’ of presentations The ‘what’ refers to the contents of the presentation. That could be research ideas, results, or an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge about a topic. The latter, for example, may be the case when teaching or presenting to a non-academic audience. Such an audience regards you as the expert in the field, and wants to learn from what you know, which is obviously more than what you have researched yourself. However, when presenting at academic conferences, the audience is more interested in what you have done in your project than what previous researchers have done. The ‘where’ of presentations The setting in which you present concerns the audience and the setting’s physical characteristics. Studying your audience is essential when developing a presentation. What is their background? What do they already know? And what matters to them? These questions should shape the content of your presentation. The size of the audience and the location impact how you deliver the presentation, as interaction is much easier with a small and clearly visible audience (I once gave a talk in a theater where I was blinded by spotlights, and my audience was hidden in total darkness). Other aspects, such as indoor versus outdoor, with or without slides, and the availability and setup of audio-visual devices, also impact how to deliver a presentation. A final aspect of ‘where’ is to what extent the setting can be regarded as safe.

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Internal seminar series or a doctoral colloquium are (or at least should be) examples of safe environments, some conferences and especially job talks are more challenging settings.

5.2

Preparing a Presentation

Presentations need to be prepared carefully, which involves multiple stages; see Fig. 5.2. The figure suggests a linear process, but in reality you often go through multiple iterations before you get it fully right. Determine key message Preparing starts with determining the key message that you want to leave your audience with. Suppose you meet an audience member immediately after your presentation, how do you want that person to summarize your talk? What is it that you want them to remember? This statement should become the central message of your presentation. The rest is just a coherent story to get your message across and make your audience understand and accept it. Study your audience The next step is to think about whom you will present to. If needed, ask the event organizers about your audience’s background. What do they already know? What is their perspective on the topic? What is valuable to them? And

Your Presentation

Ensure you tell a story

Develop a structure

Study your audience Determine your key message Fig. 5.2 Stages of preparing a presentation

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equally important: what are they not interested in? If the answer to the latter question is: your key message, then you have a problem. You may need to reconsider your key message, or even your willingness to give the presentation. Obviously, a presentation can only be successful if you share something that your audience considers meaningful. Studying your audience also concerns details, such as familiarity with specific jargon, theories, or methods. Do not spend a lot of words and time on what they already know, just to show that you know it too. Make it as easy as possible for your audience to understand and process your key message. Choose your words, examples, and references carefully. Develop presentation structure The third step is to determine the structure of the presentation. Tell your story in a logical sequence, think about where to start and which steps will bring you (and the audience) to your key message. A golden rule for developing a presentation structure is to first tell what you will tell (introduction), then tell them (body of the story), and finish by telling what you have told (conclusion). Match the number of steps in your story with the available time. How much detail, how many minutes, words, and slides to spend on each step? With little time, take fewer and larger steps, or maybe do not begin at the very start. Including too much detail is more often a problem than including too little. Decide which details are crucial and leave out everything else. Ensure you spend most time (and details) on what matters most. A good presentation is focused on conveying a clear key message. Keep this in mind when choosing content to share. Adding content to a presentation is like adding salt to food.2 Not enough, and it comes out bland, but too much creates a distasteful dish. With academic presentations, the latter is more often the problem than the former. Be careful not to overwhelm your audience by discussing eight more previous studies or five more dense tables with lots of numbers. Your audience will then struggle to remember anything from the presentation. Realize that people typically complain when talks go on for too long, not for being too short. Ending early also leaves more time for questions and discussion. If audience members are interested in additional details, they will ask.

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Coles (2022).

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Ensure presentation is a story Ensure that your audience will perceive your presentation as a story, not as a set of slides or bullet points. When deciding to leave out issues, do not do so at the expense of storytelling. Also, humans tend to remember concrete issues much better than abstract ones. To make a point, consider using concrete issues, such as analogies, anecdotes, or practical examples. In order to have an impact, both the start and the end of a presentation are important. A good starter engages your audience. To grab attention, provide a surprising or shocking number, a rhetorical question, quote, picture or interesting anecdote, make a provocative statement, tell a personal story, or ask the audience to imagine something. Present a problem and invite your audience to join you on a journey to find a solution. A presentation also needs a strong end. Think about what to leave your audience with at the very end. Usually, this is about your key message, so conclude with what you want your audience to remember from your presentation. If you started by grabbing attention in a specific way, consider closing the loop by returning to it at the end and linking it to the insights your study offers.

5.3

Making Slides

Many presentations use slides. The role of slides is to support a presentation. They are no more than aids, the audience should focus on you telling a story (I know this sounds scary). Many research presentations are based on a paper the presenter has written, but be careful with just copying text, tables, or figures into slides. A table in a paper can be very helpful to clearly display information, the same table copied into a slide may be horrible, with too much fine print, too many details, and lots of abbreviations. Making effective slides is not just an art, the nine tips in Fig. 5.3 will help you do this. 1. Minimize text. Use bullet points and keywords. Bullet points make it easier for your audience to follow where you are in your story. Avoid filling your slides with complete and grammatically correct sentences, that is what you do in a paper. Use keywords and telegraphese, the fewer words the better. When you show text to your audience, they start reading, and as humans are notoriously bad at multi-tasking, they stop listening. The more text you put on a slide, the less time you give your audience to listen. Aim for no more than one line of text per bullet, with a maximum of 1.5 lines.

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1. Minimize text 2. Use visuals instead of text 3. Use sans serif font 4. Use visual hierarchy

Making Effective Slides

5. Limited & meaningful use of colors 6. Check for spelling mistakes 7. Show content stepwise 8. Document your story 9. Apply the KISS principle

Fig. 5.3 Tips to for making effective presentation slides

2. Use visuals instead of text. Consider using pictures, graphs, photos, icons or symbols instead of text. You can also mix them with text. For example, a slide can contain the text ‘A influences B’ or simply ‘A → B’ 3. Use a sans serif font. A sans serif letterform does not have extending features at the end of strokes. It is a more minimalist typeface and therefore easier to read. Examples of sans serif fonts are Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Verdana. Serif fonts include Times New Roman, Baskerville, Georgia, and Courier New. 4. Use a visual hierarchy. Let the design of a slide reflect the hierarchy of items in your story. Visual tools to show hierarchy are font size, contrast of colors, bold, and indent. 5. Limited and meaningful use of colors. Ensure high contrast between the background of a slide and text or graphics. Use a different color sparingly to emphasize specific elements. Highlight only a few elements, minimize the number of different colors, and ensure good contrast. Consider whether the non-highlighted elements cannot simply be left out. Suppose you have a regression analysis with three variables of interest and 10 controls, why not remove all controls from the table and just say that you controlled for various factors? 6. Check for spelling mistakes. They distract the audience, and it is a shame to see a simple spelling mistake displayed on a 4 by 3 m screen. Not only the text gets enlarged, but also the size of your error. When using boxes or pictures, align them well.

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7. Show content stepwise. Sometimes you cannot avoid a slide full of bullets, boxes, arrows, or other items. But because you will talk about them one by one, it helps to show the items stepwise. Consider starting with a blank slide, then showing a first box (bullet, arrow, variable), then a next one entering the scene, etc. This is much less confusing for your audience than seeing a slide full of items all at once. It also captures their interest, they realize you will show more items, but which ones? (In PowerPoint, see the tab Animations.) 8. Document your story. Write down what you intend to say about a slide, not in full text, but make a list of keywords you intend to include in your storytelling. Exceptions are the start and end of your presentation, to ensure a relaxed yet powerful start (and finish), it makes sense to memorize both. Consider using PowerPoint Notes to document your story. These notes are useful for rehearsing your presentation and for finding out whether it all fits within the allotted time, but do not use them when giving the presentation; see Sect. 5.4. 9. Apply the KISS principle: Keep It Simple & Stupid . Be consistent in your design choices, use the same minimalistic background, font, font sizes, margins and colors throughout the presentation, and minimize their variety (Less is More). Stay away from fancy movements when transitioning to the next bullet or next slide, avoid flashy graphics and funny animations. Special effects are indeed great tools for attracting your audience’s attention, but they turn the focus of the audience to your presentation design rather than your story. For preparing slides with text, Fig. 5.4 contains four specific guidelines. Number of slides If each slide contains quite some information, allocate two minutes per slide. If most of the slides are relatively thin on information, you can include a few more slides. But never have more slides than the number of minutes for your presentation. Because this includes the first and last slides, make them meaningful too. Do not have a final slide without content and only showing ‘Thank you very much. Any questions?’, see also Sect. 5.5 about Questions and Answers. Number of lines per slide The second guideline addresses the number of lines, bullets, or items per slide. While some promote the rule of ‘one message per slide’, in many cases it makes sense to have multiple items on a slide. Take 6 as the maximum and

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1-2 mins / slide

Font size 18+

Preparing slides

6 lines / slide

30-40 words / slide Fig. 5.4 Practical guidelines for preparing slides

consider displaying them one by one, or even having the item you currently discuss shown in a different color than the already discussed items (these should then have a color with less contrast). Number of words per slide The total number of words on a slide should be no more than 30–40. If you happen to end up at 20 words or below, you are doing great. Font size The font size depends on the size of the screen and the distance to the audience. In many cases, you may not know this in advance. To play it safe, select a font size of 18 + (or even 24 + ), this pertains to the smallest font used on your slides! Only for a footer may you use a smaller font size. An additional advantage of a large font is that fewer lines fit on a slide and fewer words on a line, which forces you to use less text (and not select a smaller font size…). DO NOT USE ALL CAPITALS, as text in lower case is easier to read.

5.4

Delivering a Presentation

Delivering a presentation requires various forms of preparation. The previous sections dealt with the steps up to the moment that your presentation is ready to be shared with an audience, Fig. 5.5 provides an overview of the four stages of delivering a presentation. The first three steps are discussed in this section; the next section is about Question and Answers.

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While at home

While in the room

While speaking

While answering questions

Fig. 5.5 Four stages of delivering a presentation

While at home A presentation must be well rehearsed. Nothing more shameful than a presenter who first needs to read the text on a slide or check the presentation notes before being able to say something. So, rehearse at home, do it multiple times, out loud, and check the time. It does not matter if you need to check the presentation notes several times during the first few rehearsals, you will quickly learn the contents by heart. If you are not a native English speaker, it can be helpful to check the pronunciation of specific words, e.g., with www.howjsay.com. Checking the time is also important. Avoid wishful thinking that you can ‘fit it in’, organizers offer you a limited number of minutes to present, and that is it. Make the steps in your presentation look (sound) natural. The worst transition is a short pause followed suddenly by a slide about a new topic. A simple and effective way to create smooth transitions is by introducing the next topic with a rhetorical question at the end of the previous slide. After presenting the aim of your study: ‘How did we design our study?’. After discussing the methods: ‘What did we find?’. Show the next slide only after the rhetorical question (which also has the function of raising interest: when a question is asked, humans are curious about the answer). Record your rehearsal, and listen and watch carefully. Do you often use fillers such as ‘uhm’ and ‘ahh’? Do you behave naturally, not moving too much, oddly or not at all? If it is a really important presentation, e.g., the first time at an international conference or for a job talk, consider practicing it for a safe, ad hoc audience. Invite some colleagues, friends, or family members to listen. Make sure you design this rehearsal similarly to the real thing. Ask for feedback from your audience on everything that could matter, including the clarity and speed of both the story and your talking, the logic of the storyline,

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slides, posture, etc. One of my workshop participants came up with a great suggestion for a really safe audience: practice at home in front of a group of stuffed animals! Though they may not give much useful feedback… While in the room Inspect the room in which you will deliver the presentation before the session starts, if possible even before the audience enters the room. At a conference, you could do this during a coffee break. Make yourself familiar with the room: how is the structure of the room, where will you stand, can you walk around, do you need to use a microphone, how can you turn it on and off, etc.? Try to arrange the setting so that you can see the slides in front of you while looking at the audience. Sometimes this requires moving tables, you better do this before the audience enters the room. Always use a remote control to move through the slides. If the organizers offer one, make yourself familiar with it, but bring your own just in case. Avoid using the laser pointer, which is unfortunately often available on remote controls. If you want to highlight something, think about this beforehand and give that item (temporarily) a different color. Check your full presentation on the computer the organizers provide; they may be using different software. Especially check colors, animations, sound, video, and external websites you intend to access during the presentation. Check the connection of your laptop with the system in the room if you use your own device. If still needed, inform yourself about the details of how the event organizers have arranged presentations. Will you be introduced by the chairperson or moderator? Will the moderator manage time, or do you have to do it? What signals will the moderator use, e.g., for 5 min or 1 min to go? Do they allow questions during the presentation or only at the end? Two final tips before your presentation really starts. First, be on time for your presentation. You may not be fully relaxed, but you definitely make things worse when you run into the room at the moment your presentation is about to start. Second, have a printed copy of your slides available in your briefcase, not in your hands. Even if you have tested everything, just remember that Mr. Murphy is still around (‘Anything that can go wrong will go wrong’), you may need a backup. While speaking The most important element in delivering a presentation is to tell an engaging story, avoid reading slides aloud. You want the audience to pay attention to you, and they will only do so if you engage them and if they learn more

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from listening than from reading slides. So, tell a captivating story that is clear and coherent with logical links. A captivating story is one that the audience wants to know how it ends. Create a concrete story by adding examples, make research ideas intriguing, and raise likely alternative explanations that are refuted with evidence. Four important elements of how to deliver a presentation are the way you speak, the use of body language, dealing with presentation notes and time management; see Fig. 5.6. How to speak Feeling some tension before a speech is positive, it is a signal to yourself: this is important. Acknowledge it as such, it is natural and normal, some even suggest to greet your anxiety: ‘Hey, this is me feeling nervous’, and to reframe the presentation as a conversation you have with the audience.3 Visualize yourself as a relaxed person in front of an interested audience who appreciates your presentation, and take a deep breath to calm yourself just before going on stage. The more you speak in public, the easier it gets. It also helps to memorize the start of your presentation. Do the same for the end to prevent finishing abruptly by saying, ‘This was my presentation’. After having spoken your final words, pause for a couple of seconds and then thank your audience. As a talk is an oral presentation, use spoken language, which is less formal than the language used in written academic papers. No problem to use

How to speak

Controlling body language

Presenting successfully

Dealing with notes

Time management Fig. 5.6 Four elements for delivering a successful presentation

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contractions (such as isn’t, couldn’t, and we’ll) and simpler, more casual words (e.g., ‘We wanted to find out…’ instead of ‘The purpose of the research project is…’). Speak with the active voice, as that sounds more compelling and interesting to your audience. It is also no problem to use ‘We’ (or ‘I’) in presentations; it shows that you take responsibility for your work. While academic writing is distant writing, you may let your passion shine through your presentation. Speak slowly and clearly, but also lively. When nervous, most people start talking faster, so in most cases, the advice is to slow down. If you are not using a microphone, speak loud enough that the audience in the back rows can hear you. Do not be afraid of a moment of silence, but use it to your advantage. A pause emphasizes a point or indicates the move to the next topic, similar to a blank line in a text. A pause allows the audience to think about what you have just said and to take a breath. It also allows you to take a breath and remember your next point. Speaking lively implies that you use your voice as an instrument. Vary the speed and loudness of talking, and mix a high and low voice (and avoid speaking monotone). The way you speak impacts both the meaning of your words and how engaging the audience perceives your talk. Read aloud the following three sentences (italics refers to the emphasized word): • Why does the dog bark? • Why does the dog bark? • Why does the dog bark? Emphasize a different word, and your audience hears a different message. Controlling body language For many presenters, their body is somehow an issue. Well, we all have one, so do not mind too much. A few tips can help. Have an upright but relaxed posture, do not lean. Standing up tall is important, as a straight posture signals power, confidence and being serious. Avoid standing frontally in front of the audience, slightly stand to the side of your audience by moving one foot about 20 cm forward.4 Look at your audience, you present to them and not to the slides behind you. Avoid turning your back to the audience, that is why it is important to

4

https://www.cbs.de/en/blog/15-effective-presentation-tips-to-improve-presentation-skills/. 25 September 2023.

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have either the slides presented on a small screen placed between you and the audience, or on an additional monitor in the back of the room. Establish and maintain eye contact with the audience to give them the feeling that you are speaking to them. At natural points in the presentation, at the end of a clause or sentence, make eye contact with another audience member. Let your eyes make jumps through the audience to make everyone feel part of your presentation, avoid staring at a single person. It is stress relieving to select interested and friendly looking people in different parts of the audience and to consider them as friends whom you inform about your latest work. In any case, look at your audience while talking to keep their attention, and do not look at the floor, ceiling, screen, notes, or devices. Unless impossible, e.g., when using a fixed microphone, walk around a little and gesture with your hands. Do not move too much, as that is a sign of being nervous and distracts the audience. A natural moment for taking a step is when your story takes a step, use the transition to a different topic or a different perspective to move yourself. Hand gestures are natural too, even the way you hold the palms of your hands can have an impact (for more information: check this informative TED talk5 ). Use hand gestures moderately (e.g., move only one hand), consider including a few planned gestures (e.g., to emphasize a point), but in most cases, it is best to not think too much about your gestures and act as natural as possible. What to avoid: crossed arms, hands behind your back or in your pockets. Facial expressions impact how you are perceived by the audience. To be perceived positively, smile and signal that you are confident and enthusiastic about what you present. Avoid the extremes of having a blank face or appearing overanimated. Showing is stronger than telling, so show that you are excited, instead of saying it. Dealing with notes If you want to be save and have access to your presentation notes, keep note cards in your hand. Do not put them on a table, then you need to lean and look down in order to read them. Do not use Powerpoint Notes when giving a presentation, unless it is an online presentation, people will notice that you are reading aloud. Never write down full sentences in your notes, just a number of keywords in case you lose track of the storyline. If you have rehearsed multiple times, it is likely that you do not have to look at them too often. Consider printing the notes in a larger font. 5 Check the TED Talk of Allan Pease, Body language, the power is in the palm of your hands, TEDx Macquarie University, November 17, 2013 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZ7k8cMA-4.

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Time management In the ideal room, you find a clock in the back of the room, but unfortunately, many architects have not learned this lesson yet. So, either bring a watch (not your phone, as that requires taking it out of your pocket, turning it on, and having a look at it) or arrange with the chairperson that they will signal time. For example, by showing a card or a specific hand gesture to indicate five or two minutes left. Respond to these signals without showing your audience. If you have too little time, you have not rehearsed enough. If it does happen, never ever start talking fast, faster, fastest. When running out of time, quickly make up your mind, skip a few slides, and make sure your presentation still has a strong finish. Remember, not only the first impression matters, but the last one too!

5.5

Time for Questions and Answers

Many presentations are followed by a Q&A, Questions and Answers session. To start the Q&A and if it fits the situation, invite the audience yourself to ask questions. That is a sign of confidence. However, in many cases, the moderator will take over, and asks the audience for questions and moderates the Q&A. Dealing well with questions requires you to take the five steps displayed in Fig. 5.7.

Listen

• Until end of question

Think

• Pause & think of answer

Restate

• Repeat, paraphrase or clarify

Answer

• Respectful • No defending • Short & focused

End Fig. 5.7 Five steps for dealing with questions

• Confirm: sufficient? • Thank for suggestion

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The first step concerns the asking of a question, make sure you give the asker sufficient time to formulate the full question. You may think you already know the rest of the question after the first few words, but you might be wrong. So, listen carefully to the entire question and do not interrupt the questioner. Next, wait a few seconds before you respond. It gives you time to formulate a clear answer while signaling to the audience that you take the question seriously. In many cases, it makes sense to restate the question. This not only buys time to think about an answer but maybe not everyone in the audience was able to hear or understand the question, especially not when asked without a microphone by someone in the front rows. To make the entire audience part of the discussion, repeat or clarify the question. You may also paraphrase it, repeating it in your own words assures that you have understood the question in the right way. In step four, you answer the question. Always be respectful and begin your response with a positive signal to the questioner, even if the question is negative or way off. ‘A very good question’ is often used as a starting phrase, it is even better if you can tell the audience why it is such a good question. Remember that any question is good because it enables you to explain something you could not include in your presentation or to discuss elements in more detail. Getting no questions is worse. A question may be negative or aggressive, but avoid defending yourself. Explain what you have done and the reasons you had for doing so. Confirm that you were aware of the alternatives and that you made a deliberate choice to do it this way. Treat the question as an opportunity to clarify, but keep it focused and short (you may get more questions). And if you realize you were wrong, acknowledge it and move on, we all make mistakes. In the final step, confirm whether your reply has satisfied the asker (‘Does this answer your question?’), unless you see that the audience has lots of questions. If someone has suggested a useful point or provided good advice, frame it as an opportunity to further strengthen your work, not as a weakness in it. Show your gratitude and thank the questioner. This may inspire others in the audience to also think about ways to help you. Q&A sessions can be quite stressful: you are there by yourself in front of an audience of experts, who can ask tough questions that you may not fully be able to hear due to the acoustics in the room, or not fully understand if English is not your (or their) native language. It requires you to listen, think, and formulate answers simultaneously. And then you also want to make notes in order not to forget useful feedback. In such situations, ask a friend or

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colleague in the audience in advance to take notes of everything said during Q&A. Afterward, when you are relaxed again, consider how you can benefit from the feedback and questions. In Sect. 5.3 on making slides, I recommended not including a final slide that reads ‘Thank you very much. Any questions?’. The reason is what happens during the Q&A session. Most often, your final slide is shown during the entire Q&A session. A final slide with conclusions, ideally with your take-home message, gives your audience the chance to reread and rethink your contribution. A final slide with ‘Any questions?’ gives them a good reason to check their smartphone.

5.6

Attending and Presenting at Academic Conferences

Academic conferences are a great platform for sharing research, both inprogress and finished. The events are attended by other researchers, implying that they are not only interested in the outcomes of your study (as a practitioner audience would be), but also in the process of your research (which theories, data sources, methods, etc.). It also implies that they are knowledgeable and capable of providing useful feedback. Doctoral colloquium Many conferences have various types of sessions or even subevents. An important event for Ph.D. students is a doctoral colloquium (Ph.D. Colloquium or Ph.D. lab), often organized a (couple of ) days before the conference. They are attended by Ph.D. students in the field and some selected senior researchers, and sometimes a few practitioners as well. Usually, a limited number of Ph.D. students can attend, they present their research, seniors may discuss theirs or important developments in the field, and panel discussions or round table discussions offer space to develop a deeper understanding of various topics. A major aim of these events is to help students make choices in their projects. Therefore, clearly present the goal of your project, in what stage you are, and for what issues you would like to receive feedback or suggestions. So, do not hide weaknesses in your project or issues still open for debate, but identify them and describe briefly what input would be helpful. These events are not only useful for further developing your research but, due to the specific audience, also for building a network of academic

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researchers. They are most useful in the early stages of a Ph.D. project, preferably the first year. Presenting at academic conferences As with any presentation, think about the audience first when designing a presentation for an academic conference. Your audience will be knowledgeable about research methods, and, because presentations are often scheduled by topic in parallel tracks, they are probably familiar with the basics in the field. So, do not start reiterating these by discussing various papers in detail, your audience expects you to dive deep. Building on the why of presentations, see Sect. 5.1, think about the goal of your presentation. Is it to present finalized research and are you about to enter the job market, or are you in the initial stages of a project and can you benefit from help regarding literature or methodology? Some conferences even have specific research-in-progress tracks that aim to help researchers with their ongoing studies; they may explicitly ask for identification of the issues you would like to get advice on. The duration of conference presentations varies, usually about 20–30 min including time for questions and answers (but much longer at a doctoral colloquium, often 45–60 min). At a conference, you have about 15–20 min to present and 5–10 min for Q&A. This implies you have only a limited amount of time to present, which underscores the importance of thinking about the goals of your presentation. It is better to have a presentation with a narrow focus and a clear message than one that overwhelms the audience with details. If the goal of your presentation is to get useful feedback, think first about what feedback you want, and then ask yourself: what does someone need to know about your study in order to be able to give such feedback? Because time is limited, it is important to generate interest in your study. Focus on the most important aspects of your study. What is it that makes your study interesting or unique? And build your presentation around it. While presenting or during the Q&A, identify people in the audience who seem to be interested in your study or are well-known scholars, and approach them for feedback during the next break. Attending presentations When attending presentations by other researchers, aim to ask (or formulate) at least one constructive question to each presenter. This not only prevents you from falling asleep, it also shows your involvement and makes yourself visible to both the presenter and the rest of the audience (but please do not

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ask a question just to show how smart you are, that is regarded as annoying and will backfire). Plan conference visit A few final tips for your conference visit. Usually, conferences are overloaded with keynote talks, sessions, workshops, and other activities. And you also want to network during breaks, lunches, and dinners. This implies you need to carefully plan your conference visit. Download (and print) the conference schedule in advance, review the sessions and the list of delegates. Which sessions are most interesting to attend? Which people do you want to meet in person? Use your time at the conference carefully, time flies, and it is one of the few opportunities to meet researchers from other universities and countries in person and in informal settings. Academia is an open environment, so do not be shy and approach seniors and other Ph.D. students at the event. It is always tempting to spend coffee breaks and dinners with your colleagues, but you can do that at home.

References Abrahams, Matt (2014), Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques, Stanford Graduate School of Business, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAnw16 8huqA. Coles, Nicholas A. (2022), Why Lectures Are Like Blind Dates, Nature, 607, 7 July, S3-4.

1. Research

3. Writing

5. Time Management

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

6 Time Management Skills

It is not enough to be busy… The question is: What are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862).

Abstract Many research projects are more ambitious than rich in resources, making careful management essential. Project management is the process of ensuring the production of deliverables of sufficient quality with the allocated resources on time. An effective working style is equally important: when, where, and for how long are you most productive? Stress during doctoral studies is common. Good stress enables top performance, but bad stress exhausts. To keep a grip on your tasks, the chapter discusses effective guidelines to improve both short-term time management and the long-term planning of a Ph.D. project. Finally, four easy-to-use tools and methods to improve project planning and time management are described. These include the Gantt chart, critical path method, Pomodoro technique, and Eisenhower Matrix.

When starting a Ph.D. project, you may think you have plenty of time: multiple years just to do a research project! But once the journey has started, activities turn out to take more time than expected, and the clock seems to start ticking faster and faster. When it feels like you want to do more than what fits in the time available, you need to carefully manage your time. This

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_6

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chapter starts with the basics of time management by addressing why time management is needed, what it involves, and how to do it, see Sect. 6.1. Time management implies conscious use of your time and therefore requires planning: thinking ahead of what you want to accomplish when, the activities you need to do, and the resources you have. Section 6.2 discusses various guidelines on how to better match these three elements, and how to work more effectively. No size fits all, so determine which guidelines would work best for you: what fits your working style? This is the topic of Sect. 6.3. Avoiding stress in a Ph.D. project seems impossible. Stress is not always a bad thing, as stress can have positive and negative effects, see Sect. 6.4. Nevertheless, many Ph.D. students experience considerable stress during their journey, so it is important to keep a grip on your work. Section 6.5 provides a number of tips to improve both your time management and your research project planning. To ease the planning process, various tools have been developed, this chapter ends by discussing four of them: the Gantt chart, the critical path method, the Pomodoro technique, and the Eisenhower Matrix; see Sect. 6.6.

6.1

Time Management Starters

Time management is often neither fun nor easy, but it is unavoidable and helpful in getting things done. Research projects are often more ambitious than rich in resources, implying we have to carefully manage time and other resources. Let us begin with the starters: the why, how, and what of time management; see Fig. 6.1.

Why

What

Ambitions > Time

Deliverables => Activities

How Take ownership Fig. 6.1 Three starters of time management

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Why refers to the main reasons for time management. The most essential reason is: you do not have enough time. Any project involves a large number of activities, many of which you do for the first time, but all should be done ‘right’, while unexpected setbacks are unavoidable and require additional time, often at moments when you do not have much left. And the problem is even more challenging because project success also depends on others. In order to manage their involvement, you need to first carefully manage your own activities and time. What has to do with what you want to accomplish. Deliverables can be stated in different ways, e.g., solving a problem, writing an article, or successfully defending a thesis. For each deliverable, think about which activities in what order need to be performed. Solving a problem may require building a model or design, collecting data, and/or testing various ideas. Each of these concerns activities that you can plan. However, activities are usually only partially controllable. Testing an idea is a controllable activity, as you can determine what it takes to test one idea. But how many tests are needed before you find a workable solution is beyond your control. Writing an article that is good enough to submit to a journal is a controllable activity, whether it gets accepted is beyond your control. We often strive for results that we can only partly influence. As our influence on others is limited, we had better define and focus on what is within our own reach. Not realizing the difference may lead to doing great work and still getting frustrated. Be happy with your great article and regret that reviewers do not recognize its value. How concerns the ways in which you deal with time and other resources. Making conscious use of precious resources starts with taking ownership. Clearly define the purpose of your project and the activities to be performed. Taking ownership of time assumes that, as much as possible, you decide how to spend your time, minimizing the impact of others. Time management requires planning your project, which includes identifying the activities to be done, determining the required resources, and identifying relationships between the activities, in terms of both time (the order of activities) and resources (persons, knowledge, materials, etc.). Make an overview, identify bottlenecks, and address them ahead of time. Developing a plan Planning is a process that works backward. It starts with assessing what you want to end up with, and then you determine what needs to be done. It helps to think of intermediate deliverables, deadlines and milestones, as they break up a large chunk of work into smaller parts. Identifying the various activities and intermediate deliverables makes a ‘big task’ doable. A project

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may contain formal deadlines imposed by your contract, target conferences or journals, but it is wise to set additional informal deadlines in consultation with your supervisor. These serve as useful progress checks, hence the name milestone. Three tips for planning a Ph.D. project. First, carefully check the formal requirements at your institution, both in terms of the ultimate Ph.D. thesis and other tasks you are supposed to do, such as coursework and teaching. Second, if you have to do coursework as part of your Ph.D. project, which is common in several European countries, plan it early on in the project. Then you have a longer period to benefit from it, and it prevents you from having to do it near the end of your project when you are occupied by many other pressing tasks. Third, realize for what activities you depend on others. Not only should you inform them well ahead and check their availability, but also make sure you have other activities planned in parallel, implying that if they fail to meet a deadline, you do not get stuck.

6.2

Working Effectively

Project management entails the process of ensuring the production of deliverables of sufficient quality with the allocated resources on time. Figure 6.2 shows the classical project management challenge, matching the three requirements of quality, time, and resources. Each of the three can compensate for the other two: being satisfied with lower quality makes it possible to produce a deliverable with the available resources and on time. Additional time enables realizing the set deliverable with the resources available, while more resources help produce the required quality on time. A bit cynical saying goes that one can get two of the three but never all three.

Quality

Project Management Challenge On time

Fig. 6.2 Challenge of project management

Resources

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Nevertheless, satisfying all three requirements is the challenge for any project. A useful method to approach this challenge is to consider your research project as a conversion process, see Fig. 6.3. The conversion process includes four groups of factors: input, output, constraints, and resources. The input to the project consists of the project purpose formulated at the start, while the output is defined in terms of deliverables for academia (e.g., Ph.D. thesis, journal articles, conference submissions), practice (e.g., workshops, interviews, blogs), and reports for possible sponsors of the study. Your project faces various constraints, in terms of budget, time, quality, and logic (e.g., doing a study precedes writing an article about it). Finally, a broad range of resource types are available, such as people (you, your supervisor, colleagues, possible co-authors, etc.), money (for doing research, attending conferences, visits to other universities, etc.), expertise (of you and your collaborators, and expertise you have access to), and facilities (anything that could be useful for your project). The better your understanding of all four factors of the conversion process, the easier it is to make a plan and to adjust it when circumstances force you to do so. Making and executing a plan for a Ph.D. project is not easy. Projects tend to start with many uncertainties, you probably do the first Ph.D. Constraints • • • •

Financial Time Quality Logic

Output

Input Purpose project

Research project

Resources • • • •

People Money Expertise Facilities

Fig. 6.3 A research project as a conversion process1

1

Adapted from: Maylor (2005);

Deliverables: • Academia • Practice • Sponsor

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project in your life, the research team is novel, and often only parts of the research project and deliverables are (clearly) defined at the start. This certainly prevents you from making a perfect plan at the start, but interestingly enough, that is not the main goal of planning either. The main reason for planning is to know as early as possible when to switch gears. The value of a plan lies in offering early warning signals. When is it necessary to reconsider what and how you are doing, as current progress threatens reaching the project’s objective? Good planning will tell you in time. Figure 6.4 contains six tips to make both designing and executing a plan easier. 1. Plan realistically, not optimistically Be as realistic as possible when estimating how much time you need for tasks. Make educated guesses. If you need to read literature for a project, look at how many articles an average paper cites. Realize that these authors also read articles that did not end up in their list of references, so multiply the number of references by two. Estimate how much time reading one article takes. And realize that literature needs to be found first, and you may discover later on to have overlooked relevant papers. Each of these considerations contributes to a realistic plan, instead of an optimistic one.

1. Plan realistically, not optimistically

2. Include slack resources strategically

3. Be aware of your priorities

6 Tips for Planning 4. Minimize interruptions

5. Humans cannot multi-task

6. Be prepared to say ‘No.’

Fig. 6.4 Six tips for making and executing a planning

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2. Include slack resources strategically Do not use all resources for your plan. If something goes wrong, you are stuck. Reserve time, money and other resources for activities that do not work out according to plan or for activities you are not aware of at the moment. Such resources are called slack resources. Use them strategically, e.g., in combination with activities you cannot fully control. So, if you have one additional week, plan it right after the week that you have planned to receive feedback from your supervisor, or someone has to prepare something for you. If they do not deliver as agreed, that will not cause major problems. 3. Be aware of your priorities Often, Ph.D. students need to do multiple tasks of varying importance to their project. As some activities matter more than others, set and guard your priorities accordingly, focus on what is most important for your project. Remember, it is not about the number of hours that you work, but how much time you spend on the right tasks. Important tasks, such as preparing field research or writing a paper, tend to take a lot of time. Reserve (more than) sufficient time for such tasks. When running out of time, your least important activities should get hurt, not your most essential ones. 4. Minimize interruptions Interruptions always hurt quality. Switching tasks can be helpful when running out of steam, but doing so should be your choice. So, if you intend to work on an important task for a longer period of time, ensure you do not get interrupted. This may include making yourself ‘unfindable’ by working at a different location and turning off your phone and e-mail. 5. Humans cannot multi-task If something goes wrong or if you have lost inspiration for one task, it is great to have another task waiting, therefore, plan multiple activities in the same period. However, this is about switching tasks, not about doing multiple tasks simultaneously. Many studies have shown that humans cannot multi-task,

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although many studies have shown that many humans think they can. Practice switching tasks only on a limited scale, plan only a few tasks in parallel, as each switch takes time. 6. Be prepared to say ‘No.’ One of the most important tips for achieving a plan: realize when to say ‘No’, and have the guts to do so. When you get a request (‘Can you please do this or that?’), do not feel pressed to immediately accept or reject it, but buy time to consider the request (‘I will let you know’, ‘I will check’). Ask yourself what is in it for me (Does it offer valuable new experiences, skills or contacts?), whether it is part of your duties, a one-time task or a recurring one, and how it fits in your schedule (you could also map it in the Eisenhower Matrix, see Sect. 6.6.4). If you feel it is a request you cannot decline, see if you can find a compromise, maybe someone can help you with a task on your to-do list. Declining a request may feel impolite, but safeguarding your project is wise. The same applies to opportunities that pop up during your Ph.D. journey. New research ideas, suggestions for follow-up studies, opportunities for research collaborations, conferences and foreign visits. They share both their attractiveness and their claim on your precious resources. If you want to get your project finished, be prepared to say ‘No’. Another way of putting this is the formula Yes = x*No (x > 1), which you should read as: saying Yes to one request implies saying No to multiple other requests.

6.3

How About Your Working Style?

Completing a project successfully requires having an effective working style, and the first step toward developing such a working style is understanding your current working habits. Figure 6.5 shows the three questions that will bring such insight. The first concerns timing: when are you most productive? The answer could pertain to weekdays, e.g., some people are more productive at the beginning of a workweek than at the end, when the weekend is around the corner. The answer could also relate to your internal clock, some people are early birds and highly productive when most colleagues have not shown up at work yet, while others are typical night owls, being most effective during (late) evenings. The second question relates to the time interval: for how long can you be highly productive? The time period can be specified both in terms of a minimum and maximum duration. If you need twenty minutes to warm up

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When productive?

Where productive?

How long productive?

Fig. 6.5 Getting insight in your style of working

first, then reserving 30 min for an important task does not make much sense. The maximum refers to the wear-out effect, after a certain period we all need a break. For many people, this is after 50–90 min of intense work. Also, do not overestimate the number of hours per day you can spend doing intense, creative work. Many studies have shown that almost half a workday is spent on meetings, chatting with colleagues, breaks, reading news, social media, etc.2 Spending many more hours a week on work often does not make sense: when people make excessively long workweeks, their productivity tends to decline, sometimes even sharply. If you are not aware of how long you can be productive, track time for one or two weeks and you will know. Just set the timer on your smartphone and write down what you are doing in 10- or 15-min increments. Such a report also shows how much time you spend on your core work and how much on additional activities. Pay especially close attention to communication. Although communication is essential for effective collaboration, much (online) communication may not be related to your core tasks. The disruptive and always-on nature of social media, chat, and e-mail strengthens their possible negative effect on productivity. The final question refers to the setting: where are you most productive? The answer can be formulated in various ways. In terms of location: at work, in a coffee shop or at home? In terms of people: just by myself or in the company of others who are working hard too? In terms of sound: total silence, with your favorite music or with the murmur of people in the background? In

2

This is why we need to ditch the 8-h workday for good , Fast Company, 25 October 2020. https:// tribunecontentagency.com/article/this-is-why-we-need-to-ditch-the-8-hour-workday-for-good Accessed: 22 July 2021.

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terms of workplace organization: at an empty table with just your laptop and maybe a few papers, or at a desk cluttered with papers, pens, mugs, boxes and a million other items? Answering the three questions of when, how long, and where you are most productive provides insight into your working style, use this knowledge to plan your most important tasks accordingly. Schedule your day and the various settings in which you work around your peak productive hours. If you are most effective in the early morning, it is a pity to spend the first couple of hours of the morning checking social media and regular e-mails. Planning tasks in line with your most effective working habits can include working at home or in the library, blocking time slots in your agenda, making yourself unfindable, or buying noise-canceling headphones.

6.4

Ph.D. Stress: Good and Bad

Stress during doctoral study is common,3 and stress can be good or bad. Good stress is what we need in order to perform at our best, this is the stress you feel right before a presentation, lecture or job talk. It prevents you from being out of focus, from not paying enough attention or missing a great opportunity. Good stress is temporary, the negative physical or emotional symptoms disappear after a while. Bad stress, on the other hand, exhausts and has negative health effects. It can manifest itself in multiple symptoms, these could be physical (having a headache, stomach ache or fast heartbeat), emotional (being irritated, uncertain, or depressed), cognitive (being indecisive, forgetting, or worrying), or behavioral (excessive eating, smoking or drinking, or making mistakes).4 In contrast to good stress, bad stress tends to be more permanent and therefore gets worse over time. Doing something that takes a lot of energy is not a problem when you are still energetic, but doing so over a longer period of time sucks away your energy, negatively impacts your health, and may ultimately result in a breakdown and burnout. The empirical relationship between pressure and performance has been captured in the Yerkes–Dodson law.5 According to their law, developed in 1908, performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. At high stress levels, the effect tilts and performance decreases. 3

Cornwall et al. (2019). Tips for dealing with unhealthy stress (in Dutch), https://www.skillstown.com/5-tips-voor-het-omg aan-met-ongezonde-stress Accessed: 25 September 2023. 5 Yerkes, and Dodson (1908); See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerkes-Dodson_law. 4

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Peak performance

Performance

Fatigue Energized Laid back

Focused

Exhaustion Anxiety / Panic

Inactive

Breakdown Bored Burn out Too less stress

Optimal stress

Too much stress

Stress level

Fig. 6.6 Yerkes–Dodson law capturing the relationship between stress and performance

Figure 6.6 illustrates this effect as a bell-shaped curve showing the relationship between performance on the vertical axis and stress level on the horizontal axis. The model illustrates that too little stress is not good either, we get bored and inactive, far from being inspired, challenged and creative. At peak performance, we experience ‘good’ stress and are energized and focused. If your stress is higher than needed for peak performance, you experience too much stress. This leads to negative effects and goes from bad to worse when stress levels increase further or last longer. This is what was labeled above as ‘bad’ stress. Literature indicates that the Yerkes–Dodson law does not apply to any task but specifically to complex, unfamiliar, or difficult tasks, and that is precisely the type of tasks Ph.D. students do. Interestingly, it may not always be the activities themselves that drain you out, but how you consider them. As mindfulness researcher Ellen Langer puts it: ‘Stress is not a function of events; it is a function of the view you take of events’.6 Not the events, but your thinking about them creates the stress. If you feel overwhelmed, this creates stress because you think you have to do it all by yourself in a short period of time and with too few resources. Her advice is to check whether these assumptions hold. And if they all do, how bad are the consequences really if you cannot accomplish such a horrendous task? Recent research goes one step further by suggesting that even how you view stress matters. People who viewed their stress response as helpful for their performance, were found to be less stressed out, less anxious, and more confident, while their physical stress response was also more healthy.7 Stress

6 7

Langer (2014). McGonigal (2013); See also: McGonigal (2015).

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was also found to make people more social. When reaching out to others under stress, either to seek support or to help someone else, makes your stress response healthier and your recovery from stress faster. This research suggests that how we think and act can transform our stress experience. Choosing to view the stress response as helpful creates the biology of courage, while connecting with others under stress creates resilience. Nevertheless, as experiencing stress is a common problem for Ph.D. students, monitor the stress you experience, and when it gets too much, make sure you take appropriate action on time, see also Chap. 7.

6.5

Increasing Your Effectiveness

Keeping a grip on what you need to do is crucial to not getting overwhelmed by your work. This section describes two sets of guidelines to increase your personal effectiveness. The first set aims at improving time management and includes tips for short-term effectiveness; the second set focuses on the longterm planning of your Ph.D. project. Short-term effectiveness is determined by your choice of tasks to do and how you go through the day, Fig. 6.7 provides an overview of guidelines to improve short-term time management.

1. Make a to-do list 7. Reflect on how you fare

6. Take regular breaks

2. Plan for interruptions

Tips for Time Management

5. Reward yourself

3. Start with high priority

4. Avoid procrastination

Fig. 6.7 Seven tips to improve your time management

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1. Make a to-do list Time management starts with knowing what you have to do. To keep track of your short-term tasks, make a to-do list. Which activities do you need to do today or this week? How much time will each activity take, and how important is it for your project? Based on this, develop a schedule for today or this week. The activities on your to-do list are derived from the deliverables you intend to realize; see Sect. 6.1. To keep track of progress and accomplishments, add columns for the ‘Doing list’, and ‘Done list’ (this is similar to a Kanban board). You can either do this on a whiteboard in your office, or by using dedicated tools; see Sect. 6.6. 2. Plan for interruptions As interruptions are unavoidable, do not schedule tasks for eight hours on an eight-hour workday. Reserve room for interruptions and unexpected events. If possible, bundle them, e.g., combine a chat with a coffee break, and check social media only as a reward after having finished a core task instead of each time when receiving a new message. When working on an important task and interruptions do not fit, minimize their likelihood. Put your phone away, close your mailbox, stick a notice ‘Do not disturb’ on your door, or leave your office. 3. Start each day with a high priority task If you have many items on your daily to-do list, it is tempting to start with the smaller tasks. Because then, after an hour, you have already done several tasks, and that feels great (I know!). But these tend to be little tasks that are not so important (see Sect. 6.6.4), such as answering a few e-mails. To prevent running out of time and energy when dealing with larger and more important tasks, start each day with the most important task for the day and leave social media (and e-mail) closed until you have completed that task. 4. Avoid procrastination Imagine a big and complex task involving not-so-nice people that you could also do tomorrow: why would you do it today? Well, for several reasons. Our fear of a task is usually bigger than its real negatives. The task will probably haunt your mind all day long: why don’t you do me? Those not-so-nice people will not become nice overnight, so postponing does not make things

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easier. And taking action generates an impetus for further action, having accomplished a task you dreaded feels even better. So, the best time to do such an unattractive task is: now! This advice is akin to the ‘Eat the Frog First’ method, which suggests you should start each day with the hardest, most important task on your to-do list. Procrastination is a problem for many Ph.D. students.8 It helps to set priorities and deadlines, learn to say ‘No’ (‘Yes, it is a great idea to have an ice cream, but I first want to finish this task’), and manage distractions such as e-mail and social media. 5. Reward yourself for achieving a goal No matter how small a task, every time you complete one, you have accomplished a goal, and you should reward yourself for it. You do not have to open a bottle of wine or eat multiple chocolate bars a day, but allowing yourself to spend a few minutes on social media, grabbing a cup of coffee, or having a chat with a friend are all examples of small rewards that will make you feel great. They provide the energy for your next task! 6. Take regular breaks To recharge your battery and remain creative and productive, plan and take regular breaks. Ensure to have sufficient breaks both in frequency and duration, multiple times a day and at the end of days and weeks, and have regular holidays. Effective breaks are breaks away from your work (and mobile phone!). Breaks also help solve complex problems. Often, the best ideas pop up when you have allowed your brain time for incubation. It also helps to change the scenery regularly, walk outdoors during lunch time, grab your tea from a different place than you normally do, or go to the bathroom on another floor. Such actions break patterns and refresh your body and mind. 7. Reflect on how you manage time From time to time, reflect on how you are doing. Are you happy with the way you work and the progress you make? What type of activities tend to take more time than planned? Is procrastination a problem? Are you easily distracted? When and why? Do you reward yourself enough? Review and, if necessary, revise your time management approach. Also, reconsider your 8 For more information about procrastination, watch the hilarious and insightful Ted Talk of Tim Urban ‘Inside the mind of a master procrastinator’.

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1. Project planning is iterative

2. Plan deliverables throughout project

5 Tips for PhD Project Planning

3. Start with deliverables ASAP

4. Reserve enough time to finalize deliverables

5. Map project time on a calendar

Fig. 6.8 Five tips to improve your research project planning

work habits. If needed, you could again keep a time log and review how you use time. During your project, you acquire new skills while tasks and circumstances change, what worked in the past may not work anymore in the future. While the above tips focus on short-term time management, the next set of tips aim to improve the planning your research project; see Fig. 6.8. 1. Project planning is iterative Planning is an ongoing, iterative process. Any plan is based on what you know at a certain moment in time. When goals, tasks, skills, resources, or circumstances change, your plan needs to be updated as well. Do not postpone planning until you know exactly what to do and how much time and other resources are needed. Make a plan with the knowledge you have now, and revisit and revise the plan periodically. Usually, we know more about short-term activities and less about activities further in the future, implying that the short term can be planned in more detail. The next three months you can probably plan on a weekly basis, the rest of this year by month, but next year maybe only by quarter, and the year thereafter only by half-year. Do not waste time perfecting estimates, as time goes on, you can further detail the plan. 2. Plan deliverables throughout project It seems logical to first do your research project and then produce deliverables. However, it is better to organize your project in such a way that you

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can produce multiple deliverables during the project. This breaks a big challenge into multiple smaller ones, you climb a mountain step by step, and it is more motivating as it creates tangible output throughout your Ph.D. journey, implying ample opportunities to reward yourself. 3. Start with the deliverables production ASAP It is not only wise to plan multiple deliverables throughout the project but also to start producing them as soon as possible. Think about possible papers when developing a research proposal. Write a preliminary literature review when studying the literature, write a draft methods section when preparing field research, etc. You may have to change the text when composing your ultimate paper, but at least you have a good start, and it makes it less likely that you forget important details. 4. Reserve enough time to finalize deliverables Writing papers is an iterative process of writing, reading, rewriting, rereading, and rewriting. The process includes presentations of draft versions at seminars and conferences to gather feedback, often implying more rounds of rewriting. Writing a paper is about getting both the content and the presentation right, which is why getting a paper done for 80–90% can take as much time as finalizing the article. Make sure your schedule allows for this. 5. Map project time on a calendar When developing a project plan, the short-term schedule is often based on weeks. You need three weeks for this task and four weeks for the next one. All these activities may nicely fit into the 52 weeks of a year. However, interviewing people during the holiday season is notoriously difficult, and while you may be willing to work during the end-of-year break, your supervisor or co-authors may not. Map your schedule on a calendar to see if it is realistic.

6.6

Tools for Effective Time Management

Various tools and methods have been developed to improve project planning and time management. This final section discusses four easy-to-use tools. The Gantt chart is a simple graphical tool that helps in planning by providing a visual overview of what needs to be done when; see Sect. 6.6.1. The critical

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path method is a bit more advanced and helps in prioritizing activities, it is useful when you have many activities to be done partly in a particular order and partly in parallel; see Sect. 6.6.2. The Pomodoro technique is a highly structured method to get specific tasks done, focusing on short-term time management; see Sect. 6.6.3. Finally, the Eisenhower Matrix is a helpful tool for prioritization, by distinguishing between important and urgent tasks; see Sect. 6.6.4. You can use these methods in multiple ways. A basic way is with paper and pencil or on a whiteboard in your office (then you see it each morning), but various software (apps) are available for each of the methods discussed in this section. You can use general purpose software, such as Excel or Word, or dedicated software, such as Trello, Asana, Clickup, Workzone, or RescueTime. To free yourself from online distractions, you can use tools such as Freedom or LeechBlock.

6.6.1 Gantt Chart to Design a Project Schedule A Gantt chart is a bar chart that makes a project schedule visible by showing the various tasks and their duration. The rows contain tasks or activities, the columns refer to time periods. The graph contains horizontal bars that show when an activity starts and for how many time periods it lasts. The chart is named after its inventor, Henry Gantt (1861–1919).9 A major strength of the chart is its ease of use, both in designing and using it. It helps in developing a schedule, communicating it to others, and reviewing progress. The length of a bar signals the duration of a task. The color or shading of the bar can be used to provide other information, such as the type of task, who is responsible for it (when working in a team), or the extent to which a task is completed (a darker color or more shaded reflects more completed). It is also possible to show the sequence in which tasks need to be performed. In the simple example of Fig. 6.9, all previous activities need to be completed before the next one can start, but often this is not the case. A Gantt chart allows you to plan activities in parallel. Sequential relations can be shown with an arrow from the end of the preceding task to the start of the following task. It is also possible to review the plan at multiple levels. Figure 6.9 shows a plan in weeks, but you can aggregate this to months, quarters, or even years. But you can also zoom in, for example, the activity literature review may include (multiple rounds of ) searching, reading, and reviewing literature, 9

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart.

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Month June July August September October November December Week start 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 Week number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ID Activity Duration 1 Start 0 2 Literature review 6 3 Finalize research question 2 4 Prepare questionnaire 4 5 Test questionnaire 2 6 Deliver questionnaire 4 7 Prepare data set 1 8 Analyze data 5 9 Write paper 3 10 Finish 0 Total 27

Fig. 6.9 An example of a Gantt chart for a (survey-based) research project

followed by a write-up and discussion with the supervisor. These steps may be planned on a daily basis. The Gantt chart in Fig. 6.9 has been made with MS Excel, but dedicated software allows making more complex (and more beautiful) charts. Search the internet for ‘free Gantt chart tools’.

6.6.2 Critical Path to Analyze Relations Between Tasks The critical path method is used to plan a number of activities that partly have to be done in a fixed sequence and partly can be done in parallel.10 The method focuses on the time needed to complete these activities and identifies the longest stretch of dependent activities as the critical path. The time required to complete this sequence of activities from start to finish determines how long a project takes to complete. To use the method, you need a starting point, a logical end point, a list of all activities that are part of the project and their duration, and the dependencies between the activities. A simple version of the method uses an activity-on-arrow diagram in which the activities are shown in boxes that are linked with arrows to show dependencies. The number in the box refers to the time periods it takes to complete an activity, in the example of an online survey in Fig. 6.10 these are days. It is easy to see that the upper path in the figure takes more time than the lower path, 13 days (including the first and final activity) versus 10 days. This implies that the upper path is the critical path. If one of these activities is delayed, then the entire project will take longer. In terms of project management, these are the activities that require close supervision. The numbers above and below each box refer to the possible start and finish days of an activity. The numbers above denote the earliest start and completion days, while the numbers below are the latest start and completion 10

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method.

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An example of a critical path analysis for the preparation of a survey

days without making the project any longer. For the activities on the critical path, both sets of dates are the same, as these activities do not offer room for delay. For activities not on the critical path, the difference between both numbers of days reflects their maximum possible delay without impacting the duration of the entire project. In critical path terminology, this is the float of an activity. In this case, even if one of the activities ‘Preparing the e-mail list’ or ‘Preparing the mailing text’ gets delayed for three days, the entire project can still be completed on time. Critical Path Analysis is helpful in identifying activities that require close monitoring, if these activities take longer, the entire project will be delayed. These are the activities on the critical path. The other activities, which are not on the critical path, can be delayed without extending the project. However, if they get delayed too much, their sequence becomes the critical path. Once the critical path is identified, decide whether its length is acceptable. If not, check if you can shorten it by using additional resources or by rescheduling the involved activities. When executing the project, the critical path diagram can be used to determine the consequences of setbacks, will they affect only a few activities or will they impact the entire project? An alternative and common representation of a critical path is an activityon-node diagram, which basically includes the same information as displayed in Fig. 6.10. More complex diagrams can include special constraints, e.g., maybe some activities can be done on any day (because you do them by yourself ), while other activities can only be done during weekdays (because others are involved). Dedicated critical path software not only allows for drawing the diagram and making it more complex, but also identifies the critical path (which can be quite a lot of work in the case of a project with many different paths) and calculates the various times. Search the internet for ‘free critical path analysis tools’.

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6.6.3 Pomodoro Technique to Get Tasks Done The Pomodoro technique is a simple scheduling method to get activities done during a day by promoting sustained concentration and preventing mental fatigue. The method prescribes alternating between relatively short, focused work sessions and frequent short breaks. The 25-min work sessions are similar to sprints, as proposed by the scrum method. The method, developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, involves the use of a timer. The story goes that Cirillo used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer and therefore decided to call the work sessions pomodoros, Italian for tomatoes.11 The Pomodoro technique includes six steps; see Fig. 6.11. 1. Decide on the task to be done Prepare a list of activities you need to do, and decide on the task you want to start with. 2. Set a 25-min timer This is the action reflecting the promise you make to yourself: I will work uninterrupted on the selected task for 25 min. 1. Decide on the task to be done 2. Set a 25 minutes timer 3. Work on task until timer rings 4. Take a short break (5-10 mins) Yes

5. Less than 4 rounds done? No 6. Take longer break (20-30 mins)

Fig. 6.11

11

Pomodoro technique to get activities done

For more information, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique and https://france scocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique. Accessed 25 September 2023.

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3. Work on the task until the timer rings Do not let yourself get interrupted, work fully focused on the selected task. No multi-tasking, just focused monotasking. 4. Take a short break (5–10 min) Stop working when the timer rings, put a checkmark on your to-do list, and record what you have completed. Then: take a short break. During the break, you can do anything you like as long as it is not work-related, the break is reserved for relaxation. 5. Less than 4 rounds done? Return to step 2 for the next round As long as you have not finished a series of four rounds, return to step 2 for the next pomodoro, which includes the next task on your to-do list, assuming you have completed the first task. After four rounds, go to step 6. 6. After round 4: Take a longer break (20–30 min) Take a longer rest after completing four work sessions. Again, use the break to relax. After the break, return to step 2 to do the next four pomodoros. Variations of the Pomodoro technique involve personalization by adapting the method to your work habits. Depending on your natural concentration cycle, you could select a longer time period (30–40 min) for each work session. Or if it turns out that it is hard to sustain four pomodoros before having a longer break, you could also have one after three work sessions. If you feel to lack motivation for the pomodoros, consider doing it with a few colleagues. For software to use the Pomodoro technique, search the internet for ‘free pomodoro app’.

6.6.4 Eisenhower Matrix: Important and Urgent Tasks While the Pomodoro technique is helpful for getting tasks done on a day, the Eisenhower Matrix is useful for reflecting upon your prioritization of tasks. Do you use time wisely? Time management requires not only good planning but also good insight in your work habits. Both scheduling and the Pomodoro technique require you to first prepare a to-do list and then decide on the order in which you do activities. The Eisenhower Matrix is helpful for making and evaluating prioritization decisions. This is useful when preparing

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a schedule or reflecting on your work habits, especially in situations where many tasks arrive unannounced. Examples include an unexpected e-mail, someone knocking on your door, or that you suddenly remember having forgotten a task. Since these events are not part of the schedule, you need to decide ad hoc what to do. Reality then tends to unfold according to a famous quote, attributed to former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower: ‘What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important’. Based on this quote, the Eisenhower Matrix is constructed. The matrix is a simple 2 × 2 matrix, distinguishing between not-urgent and urgent tasks, and not-important and important tasks; see Fig. 6.12. The matrix can be used to look backward, to review and reflect on your work habits, or to look forward, to prioritize tasks. In both cases, you start by identifying a list of tasks, e.g., everything you have done this week or intend to do next week, and then put each of them in the appropriate cell. Next, match your priorities with how you spend your time. It is natural to focus on what is urgent, as these tasks present themselves as live-or-die activities. However, many do not belong to the burning-house category, activities that are both urgent and important. Many urgent tasks are not really important for your project, so why would you do them immediately or spend much time on them? In general, the recommended strategies for the four boxes are: delegate (box 1), do as soon as possible (box 2), eliminate (box 3), and schedule and do later (box 4). From a prioritizing point of view, boxes 2 and 3 contain easy targets. Tasks in box 2 are both urgent and important, they are hard to ignore or forget, making it unlikely that they will not get sufficient attention. Box 3 contains activities that you obviously assign a low priority to, you only do them when

Urgent

Not urgent

Fig. 6.12

1. Message from mailing list Student e-mails Facebook X/Twitter

2. Deadline conference Meeting supervisor Preparing a presentation

3. Web browsing Most e-mails

4. Read articles Write journal paper Networking Attend research seminar

Not important

Important

Eisenhower matrix for categorizing and prioritizing activities

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you happen to have plenty of time and nothing on your to-do list anymore. Spend as little time on them as possible, and if you can: eliminate them. The boxes 1 and 4 are more difficult. Box 1 contains urgent tasks that are not important, you can postpone them but doing so requires a conscious decision to ignore them for a while. Though it is tempting to do them immediately, responding to e-mails or social media are activities that you better bundle and do at moments when you lack the energy to do complex, creative tasks. Ignoring them becomes easier if you turn off the notification of new e-mails or social media messages. The other box that requires attention is box 4, which contains tasks that are important but not urgent. No one gets hurt if you postpone writing a paper until tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow the same will be true, and that such tasks get easily neglected. The solution is that if a task does not make itself urgent, you need to do it. Write them on a to-do list, assign a high priority, determine a deadline, reserve sufficient time for completing them, and do not let any other (urgent) task interfere when doing them, e.g., by using the Pomodoro technique. This is a good strategy, especially for vulnerable activities such as writing, reading, and thinking. One of the main reasons that the Eisenhower Matrix is such a useful tool is that many people tend to focus on doing things right. They forget that doing so should be preceded by thinking about what are the right things to do. The Eisenhower Matrix helps you do the latter. For ready to use templates, search the internet for ‘free Eisenhower Matrix template’.

References Cornwall, Jon, Elizabeth C. Mayland, Jacques van der Meer, Rachel A. SpronkenSmith, Charles Tustin and Phil Blyth (2019), Stressors in early-stage doctoral students, Studies in Continuing Education, 41:3, 363–380, DOI: https://doi.org/ 10.1080/0158037X.2018.1534821. Langer, Ellen (2014), Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity, Harvard Business Review, March, p. 68–73 (Quote: 71). Maylor, Harvey (2005), Project Management, 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall, p. 26. McGonigal, Kelly (2013), How to make stress your friend , TED Talk, TEDGlobal, https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend. McGonigal, Kelly (2015), The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It, Avery, New York. Yerkes, Robert M., and John D. Dodson (1908), The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation, Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18 (5), p. 459–482.

1. Research

3. Writing

5. Time Management

2. Collaboration

Critical PhD Skills

4. Presentation

6. Persistence

7 Persistence Skills

A person who never made a mistake. never tried anything new. Albert Einstein (1879–1955).

Abstract Research projects include many uncertainties. Eight common reasons are discussed why researchers do not manage to deliver projects on time. When facing setbacks, it helps to see them in the right perspective, e.g., setbacks reflect ambition, others are struggling too, and academic standards are only partially objective. To help overcome setbacks effective guidelines are discussed. Combining a challenging Ph.D. project with a personal life becomes easier when recognizing how they can strengthen each other. Many Ph.D. students are ambitious, hard-working and perfectionists, and when put in a competitive environment, these strengths can easily run against them. As a result, many students experience mental and/or physical health problems. To make you alert, the chapter discusses the factors that contribute to getting or preventing such problems.

Setbacks are part of everyday life, some days come with blue skies and sun, and sometimes it is stormy and rainy. Setbacks are unavoidable in Ph.D. projects because such projects tend to combine high ambitions with many uncertainties. Various things will go wrong in your project, and then the question is: how to recover and persist? That is the topic of this chapter.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5_7

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Section 7.1 discusses the need for persistence in Ph.D. projects, and it provides an overview of common reasons why researchers do not manage to deliver on time and presents a general approach on how to respond when encountering setbacks. Section 7.2 provides a deeper understanding of academic setbacks by putting them in the broader context of academic work. Setbacks call for strategies to overcome them. Section 7.3 provides a set of guidelines for developing strategies that are effective in doing so. The final two sections take a broader perspective. Section 7.4 raises the issue that next to an academic life, you also have a personal life. How do you make sure that your ‘total life’ accommodates both well? The final Sect. 7.5 focuses on how to maintain good mental health during your project, which is a challenge for many Ph.D. students. It discusses both the factors influencing mental health and strategies for coping with Ph.D. stress.

7.1

The Need for Persistence

Ph.D. projects are challenging by nature since their primary goal is to discover new knowledge. Each project is novel and comes with many unknowns. I often compare research projects with adventure trips as they involve so many uncertainties and unexpected turns. The adventure trip is undertaken by an inexperienced adventurer (you), who at the start still lacks some of the necessary knowledge and skills. The purpose of the trip is new and often vaguely formulated, and during the journey, you may find out that it is not formulated correctly or is too ambitious. The purpose may also become outdated when another researcher publishes the knowledge you were looking for, forcing you to change course halfway through. It is the first time for this team of researchers to collaborate, making it uncertain whether the team composition is right, both professionally and personally. Usually the team lacks certain resources, but they will only discover during the project which resources are missing. So, uncertainties all over the place. Good planning certainly helps, but even a good plan cannot make all uncertainties disappear. What if you cannot get access to data sources? What if you get much less or less interesting data? What if reviewers do not appreciate your study and reject your article? As no plan can eliminate these uncertainties, the main function of planning research is to make you alert to them in advance. It helps to be aware of what to monitor more closely, notice problems at an earlier stage, and think about a possible plan B before you really need it.

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1. Poor time management 2. Difficulty concentrating

8. Personal problems

7. Loss of motivation

Why Researchers Fail to Deliver on Time

6. Negative beliefs

3. Discouraged by task scale

4. Need to feel pressure 5. Perfectionism

Fig. 7.1 Common reasons why researchers are not able to deliver their project on time

Fig. 7.1 contains a list of common reasons why researchers do not manage to deliver their projects on time.1 The first two were already addressed in Chap. 6, namely poor time management and feeling unable to concentrate for a sufficient time (the Pomodoro technique may help). The third reason pertains to the ambition level of the project, and the candidate can get discouraged by the scale of the task at hand and feel overwhelmed. In such cases, it helps to develop a plan and break the big challenge into smaller, manageable parts. The fourth reason is that some researchers first need to feel pressure before being able to commit to important tasks. In such cases, it is important to have deadlines or set them yourself, while applying the Eisenhower Matrix may help too (see Sect. 6.6.4). Perfectionism is a characteristic of many great researchers because it makes them set high standards. But, it can also prevent researchers from finishing tasks because no study or paper will ever be perfect. There is always room for further improvement, and that little voice in your head may keep telling you that your work is not good enough yet. In such cases, perfectionism becomes a hurdle to completing the project. At a certain point, a research design or paper is good enough, and you must have the courage to move on. The final three reasons are related to the researcher’s mental health. The researcher may have negative beliefs about their ability to perform. In some cases, it is labeled the impostor syndrome, when people doubt their skills, talents, or achievements and consider themselves to be frauds.2 Indeed, 1 2

Based on: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/sd/ld/resources/writing/planning-disseration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome.

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you may currently lack important skills, but Ph.D. projects are designed as ‘learning by doing’ projects. You grow skills while executing the project. The relevant question is not whether you have certain skills, but how to acquire them. Adopting a growth mindset, see Sect. 1.7, helps overcome negative beliefs. Loss of motivation can have multiple causes, including problems related to the progress or outcomes of the study, collaboration with your supervisor, or acquisition of resources. Finally, issues in the researcher’s personal life may make them fail to deliver a project on time. No matter what reason impacts the progress of your study; if it happens, signal it as soon as possible and arrange a meeting with your supervisor and/ or important people in your life to discuss whether it is necessary to switch gears. The sooner you address a problem, the better. It also helps that you realize that it is impossible to prevent setbacks, and they are a natural element of research projects. Planning can partially prevent some of them, but even a great plan has its limitations. As former boxing world champion Mike Tyson once said, ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth’. The remainder of this chapter therefore focuses on how to deal with setbacks when they happen. As a starter, Fig. 7.2 shows the general approach to how to respond when encountering setbacks. First, take a deep breath and accept the situation as it is—you have a problem now. Then, be creative in considering your options, any problem has more than one solution. Next, organize help, you are not alone on planet earth, and other people can help generate solutions or implement them. And finally, keep on going, do not focus on the setback, but focus on how you will get your project completed despite the setback.

Take a deep breath

Be creative considering options

Organize help

Fig. 7.2 Quick advice on how to deal with setbacks

Keep on going

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7.2

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Academic Setbacks in Perspective

Being aware of the specific academic norms and work practices helps to put setbacks in the right perspective. Based on discussions with numerous Ph.D. students and combined with insights from this and previous chapters, Fig. 7.3 presents a list of reflections that make it easier to adapt to and remain successful in your Ph.D. project, even in the face of setbacks. 1. You are not the only one struggling On purpose, I have put this reflection at the top of the list, as I have met so many Ph.D. students in my workshops who felt so relieved by learning that they are not the only one struggling. Each Ph.D. student finds their project challenging, and everyone makes mistakes and has papers rejected. It is certainly not just you failing. Everyone experiences stress and is afraid about whether their literature review is complete, whether their research design survives the scrutiny of critical reviewers, or whether their papers will ever be published in good journals. That is why it is good to meet other Ph.D. students at seminars, workshops, or conferences: they will confirm. It helps a lot to share your worries and to hear that others are going through a similar process. 1. You are not the only one struggling 2. Reflect on your workload 3. None of your works will be perfect 4. Others work is not perfect either 5. Academic standards not objective

Putting Academic Setbacks in Perspective

6. Reviewers reject your work, not you 7. Setbacks reflect ambition level 8. Always remain in the driver's seat

Fig. 7.3 Eight reflections to put academic setbacks in perspective

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2. Reflect on your workload Research projects involve a lot of tasks, and academic researchers work hard. High standards, perfectionist researchers, unrealistic goals, and many uncertainties all add to the risk of becoming physically and mentally exhausted. Of course, stress is not only caused by your workload but also by how you perceive it (see Sect. 6.4). But no matter how common stress is in academia, too much stress can lead to serious health issues, see Sect. 7.5. When you feel overwhelmed by all your duties, it is time to reflect. Make a list of tasks, (re)consider priorities, revisit your plan, reflect on work habits, and review time management practices. If the result is that you still feel stressed and unsure whether you can complete all your tasks, meet with your supervisor or discuss it with another trusted individual. It is important that you do not just keep going, prevent sticking in an unhealthy situation. 3. None of your works will be perfect Many research schools aim for publications in top journals, and top journals require excellent research captured in excellent stories. Not surprisingly, universities are looking for hard-working, talented, and ambitious young researchers with high internal standards. Having such standards makes you fit into academia, but it is also a possible pitfall. Be aware of it, and make sure that it does not turn against you. None of your works will be perfect. No literature review can include all studies about a topic, each research design has its limitations, and no data analysis can rule out all possible alternative explanations. Strive for the best you can do, but realize that at the end of the day, it is about ‘good enough’. 4. Other people’s work is not perfect either After reading the previous paragraph, many researchers may respond that they agree, followed by ‘but….’. But many studies in top journals are designed and written so well that they look perfect. For several years, I ran a reading group of Ph.D. students at my university, and each session we discussed a paper from a top-level journal. We tore the article apart. What did the authors promise on page one, and what did they deliver on the final page? What

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was identified as ‘gap in the literature’ and what have they studied? Does the evidence collected in their research fully justify the contributions they claim? What are the unmentioned limitations of their study? etc. We have never found a perfect article. Each paper neglected certain aspects, hid details, overlooked alternative explanations, or ignored limitations. Even seemingly perfect-looking work has its flaws. 5. Academic standards are not objective Although the standards in academia are high, they are not (fully) objective. There is always room to debate whether what you have done is good enough. A peer review of your work is never fully objective, reviewers are humans who may like or dislike why, how or what you have done, they may feel convinced by your arguments or not. Inform yourself about the rules for excellent research in your field, e.g., concerning designing a study, measurements, analyses, etc. And if you deviate from these rules, let that be a conscious choice. Justify what you have done and what you conclude, and then accept that academic standards are partly subjective, which can work for or against you. 6. Reviewers may reject your work, but they do not reject you Many academic researchers are passionate and hard-working, and when they have finally completed their paper, they may regard it as their baby. And when someone criticizes your baby, well, that hurts. Getting feedback can hurt, especially when you take it personally. But always make the distinction between your work and yourself. Reviewers are asked to judge your work, and they are expected to be critical and can only base their judgment on the information you provided. And yes: some are polite and friendly, while others do it bluntly. But in any case: they evaluate your work, not you. 7. Setbacks reflect your ambition level No process in life goes without problems, and the more ambitious and uncertain the process, the more and bigger the problems. Research projects are no exception to the rule. A problem is a hurdle to overcome, not a reason to give up. Referring to the statement of Albert Einstein at the start of this chapter (‘A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new’): setbacks reflect your ambition level. If you do not encounter any, you are not ambitious enough. If you submit an article to a journal and it gets published right

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away, you were not ambitious enough, and you should have tried a higher ranked journal. Follow the advice of the great poet Oscar Wilde: ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars’. 8. Always remain in the driver’s seat Take and keep ownership of your project, and act accordingly. Academics love debate, at any presentation, they will suggest things you could or should do differently. But it is your project. You should prioritize, choose, decide, schedule, and do: always remain in the driver’s seat of your study. Obviously, that does not imply being stubborn, experienced researchers are not always wrong. But as you invest multiple years of your life in this project, it should be your project.

7.3

How to Overcome Setbacks

You will face setbacks in your project. But how to overcome them? Persistence will keep you going when the going is tough, and resilience will help you get back up when something goes wrong in your project. A nice and simple definition of resilience is getting back on your bike even though you fell down and skinned your knees.3 Nelson Mandela formulated it elegantly too: ‘The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall’. These all sound great, but what is the best way to rise after you have fallen? Fig. 7.4 provides seven tips for doing so. 1. Keep faith in the meaningfulness of your project Once you were convinced that your project could make a difference for real people and for real problems. Setbacks may make it harder or even impossible to realize all your objectives, but that does not imply that your project loses its meaning. Keep faith in your project’s ultimate purpose. A setback means that you need to travel a different path to get to your destination or that you can reach it only partly, but setbacks do not change the basic premise: you are on your way to a meaningful destination.

3

Villa (2021).

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1. Keep faith in meaningfulness of project 2. Realize you are in a learning process 3. Address problems, do not avoid them

7 Tips to Overcome Setbacks

4. Apply a wise solution strategy 5. Discover the good things in failure 6. Celebrate successes 7. Organize a support network

Fig. 7.4 Seven tips of how to overcome setbacks

2. Realize you are in a learning process Ph.D. projects have two aims: to complete a research project and to deliver a candidate who is capable of doing research. It is an explicit project goal that you, by doing the project, develop your skills. A Ph.D. project in which the candidate does not learn anything is a failed project. Setbacks signal opportunities to learn from and appreciate them for this reason. Misfortune, of course, is never fun, the initial and natural emotional response is one of disappointment, and it usually implies additional work too. But realize that Ph.D. projects are ‘learning on the job’ projects. 3. Address problems, do not avoid them Most problems do not disappear by ignoring them. Instead, most of them tend to grow bigger if you do so. It may not be fun to address a small problem but realize that tackling a big problem is even worse. Small problems have simple solutions, and big problems tough ones. So, do not avoid problems, address them when they are still small, take timely action, or seek help.

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4. Apply a wise solution strategy Wise solution strategies have four elements in common. First, they focus on possible solutions instead of the problem. It may be tempting to spend a lot of time thinking about who is to blame for what, but that does not improve the situation. What can you do to make the situation better? Minimize your dependence on forces beyond your control, and focus on changes that are possible with your efforts and skills. Second, approach the problem from different angles. Each problem has multiple solutions, and often none of them is superior. Some of them are just more effective, easier, cheaper, or faster to implement. Take the time to generate and consider multiple solutions, and when choosing one, do not aim for the optimal solution but for a feasible one. The goal is to move on with your project. Third, solve the problem stepwise. Big problems are often complex, not fully understood, and require multiple partial solutions, while it is hard to assess the best combination of partial solutions. Tackle the problem step by step, and do first things first. As Desmond Tutu, the former South African bishop, once said ‘There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time’. Fourth, asking for and organizing help are not signs of weakness, but signal your understanding of how a research team can best move forward. If possible, create win–win situations, and you will discover that other people are happy to contribute to your project. 5. Discover the good things in failure Often, setbacks are not only bad events. Setbacks may feel like failures, but without such misfortunes, the ultimate results might have been worse. When you test a research design and it does not work out as anticipated, you have saved yourself the wasted effort of a full round of data collection. Negative feedback when presenting the results of your study prevents you from investing a lot of time in writing a paper that would have been rejected. We humans can learn as much from our ‘failures’ as from our successes. What makes sense is to ask yourself if and how you could have prevented the setback or at least noticed it sooner. That reveals the lessons hidden in a setback. It also helps to realize that previous problems turned out to be learning opportunities through which you grew your skills. As the saying

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goes: everything that does not kill you makes you stronger. I know, when in the middle of a mess, this is the last thing you want to hear. Nevertheless, there are always reasons why things happen the way they do or why you respond in a certain way. When the dust has settled, reflect on the events. Life is a search for yourself, and fair reflection helps decide the next step. It also helps if you keep your sense of humor, and bad things feel less bad if you see the humorous elements in them. 6. Celebrate successes We tend to pay more attention to bad things than good things. But not everything goes wrong on your Ph.D. journey. You are a talented person, capable of accomplishing a lot. So, even when your mind is fully focused on a failure, remind yourself of a few recent achievements. This may take a conscious effort, as supervisors tend to focus their feedback on what you can do better, rather than on everything that is good. Do not take these achievements for granted but celebrate them. It does not have to be a big party each time, it is often sufficient to treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee, some ice cream, or a meal that is just a bit more special than your usual one. It is even better to ask a couple of colleagues or friends to join the celebration. Celebrating successes has at least two positive effects. First, celebrations give energy, which you can then use to overcome problems. Second, celebrations make you aware that your project is not total misery. Yes, you face a problem, but many other aspects of your project fare well. Celebrations signal the positive balance of your project. 7. Organize a support network It is great that when you feel the need, you can turn to someone to share your doubts and problems and get advice or help to overcome them. We all need a support network on which we can rely in tough times. For such times, you require both a professional and personal network, as both types of support may be necessary during your project, and it is usually better to invoke different people for each type of support.

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How to Maintain Work–Life Balance

Ph.D. projects are challenging and take a lot of time and energy. And then, you also want to have a personal life. To spend time with your partner, raise a family, have fun with friends, enjoy movies and series, have physical exercise, pursue a hobby, etc. And I even overlooked basic human needs, such as sleeping and eating, and the daily chores of buying groceries, preparing meals, and cleaning. How to combine all of these with academic life? Two main aspects are helpful in understanding how to combine the various areas of your life. These are time and effectiveness, and I developed a ‘scientific’ formula for both of them to make it easier to explain their impact on finding a proper work–life balance. The time aspect is captured in the following formula: 24 = Work + Personal + Relaxation.

(7.1)

The formula reflects that no matter how hard we try, no day has more than 24 h, and we need to pack all activities into this limited amount of time. The best you can do is to allocate the 24 h among the three activities of work, personal, and relaxation according to your priorities. By definition, spending more time on one activity comes at the expense of another. Working one additional hour implies one hour less for personal and/or relaxation. The second aspect is effectiveness, and the formula for this aspect also takes into account that you do all three activities, but combines them in a different way: Effectiveness = Work∗ Personal∗ Relaxation.

(7.2)

The assumption of this formula is that your effectiveness at work is not only determined by the number of hours you spend working but that the other activities matter too. It suggests that spending time with family and friends, exercising, eating well, and all the other non-work activities can contribute positively to effectiveness at work. Everyone can work long hours for a short period of time, but the ultimate success of your project is determined in the long run. When working long hours for an extended period, you run the risk of making mistakes, becoming less creative, losing morale, and feeling exhausted. It also increases the likelihood of catching diseases. At a certain point, spending more hours at work will lower your effectiveness and, thereby, your performance. Non-work activities can contribute positively to work effectiveness because they allow you to recharge your battery and serve as incubation time for

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creative solutions. Another reason is that the skills you develop in one area of life can also be applied in other areas. That is why Ellen Langer4 suggests not to think about work–life balance, but to consider the combination in terms of work–life integration: “Balance’ suggests that the two are opposite and have nothing in common. … If you keep them separate, you don’t learn to transfer what you do successfully in one domain to the other’. At work, in your personal life or in the gym, in each situation you experience setbacks and successes, need to schedule, and deal with stress. The persistence skills you build when taking on a sport-related challenge can be useful for reaching goals at work. Maintaining a healthy work–life balance or integration is difficult for many Ph.D. students. Figure 7.5 provides an overview of recommendations that can be helpful in defining, monitoring, and keeping a healthy work–life balance.5

Know & live your values

Practice selfcompassion

Practice time management

Towards Healthy Work-Life Balance Boundaries in time, tasks & space

Reconsider habits Work smarter, not longer

Fig. 7.5 Six recommendations for a healthy work–life balance

4

Langer (2014). More information about these and similar practices and recommendations can be found in many websites, search the internet for ‘healthy work-life balance’. Other useful sources include books such as: Brooks (2004). Freidman (2014). 5

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1. Know and live your values In theory, there are millions of things you could do during the next 24 h, but in reality, you can only do a very few of them. Prioritizing is inevitable and must reflect your values. How important is work to you? How important is it to have relationships with a partner, children, relatives, or friends? To contribute to your community? To have time for yourself, your passions, and hobbies? These questions touch upon personal and fundamental issues and require making difficult trade-offs. Once you have a clearer view of your values, check whether you spend your time according to them. Define a limited number of important life areas (for example, work, family, friends, and hobbies) and keep track of how much time you spend on them for at least several weeks. Compare the results with your values, and then you will know. 2. Practice time management Make sure that you are and remain in the driver’s seat when spending your time. Use the time management methods and tools discussed in Chap. 6. That chapter focused on work activities, but it can make sense to extend time management to non-work activities, to ensure that these do not have to bear the consequences of your Ph.D. ambitions. Getting your Ph.D. is important, but it should not be your entire life. Realize that spending time with your family or on hobbies also contributes to work performance, as discussed above. In that sense, it is very similar to the advice to take regular breaks, see Sect. 6.5. Deliberate rest is important as it is a mental respite from work that gives both your brain and body the chance to recharge. Alex Pang calls it deliberate,6 because it is practiced intentionally, when people organize their days to ensure having time for it. Not working may look like idleness, but it is critical for productivity. The logic is similar to the inverted U-curve relationship between stress and performance discussed in Sect. 6.4.

6

Pang (2016).

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3. Set boundaries in time, tasks, and space Humans are most effective when fully focused on a single task. Multi-tasking and blurring between various activities decrease performance. For example, your performance decreases when you worry about a sick parent while at work or when you think about a work e-mail while playing with your child. For optimal performance and a healthy work–life balance, you need to set limits on your work time, tasks, and spaces. Your workday should start at a certain time but also have an end time. Limit the number of tasks you commit to and have the ability to say ‘No’ to requests, see Sect. 6.2. Boundaries also apply to spaces, because work and personal life need different spaces. When working at home, aim not to spend both lives in the same room. If that is unavoidable, clean up your work stuff when it is time to start your personal life. It is great that digital tools allow constant accessibility and working from anywhere, but these tools may also destroy useful walls. Enforcing boundaries may include switching off your phone, turning off work e-mails, having a separate work and personal phone or laptop, or using separate browsers for work and personal. You can also use technology to enforce boundaries, e.g., an app to block distracting (social media) websites during work hours and to block work tools during evenings and weekends, or an autoresponse message to inform e-mailers that you are offline. 4. Work smarter, not longer When you feel you cannot get your work done in a reasonable number of hours, consider working smarter instead of longer. How, when, and where do you do your work? Can you organize this in a different way to increase your effectiveness? Seemingly small changes can have a big impact. If you answer five e-mails upon arrival, you get interrupted five times. If you collect incoming e-mails until a specific moment and answer them in a batch, you get interrupted only once. Working smarter can include combining tasks, collaborating, delegating, or outsourcing them. If the problem is that you get too easily distracted, turn off your smartphone (or give it to a colleague for an hour), use pomodores (see Sect. 6.6.3), or reconsider the place and time of your work. Another way is to organize for more flexibility: if you can work remotely or have included slack resources in your plan (see Sect. 6.2), it is easier to deal with unexpected

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events in your work and personal lives. The same applies to your personal life: if you have someone as a backup to pick up your child from daycare, you have more options to deal with setbacks at work. 5. Reconsider your habits We all develop habits, which are great because habits allow us to perform tasks without spending cognitive energy. The downside is that we mindlessly do activities, and while maybe the way we do them was once an excellent and deliberate choice, it may not be the best option anymore. You may commute by car instead of bike because cycling takes more time. But if that implies spending most of your time indoors, being hardly ever in nature, and having to go to the gym to exercise, then maybe biking is not such a bad option. Although habits are not set in stone, they are notoriously difficult to change. One of the reasons is that we tend to go for radical changes. Think about New Year’s resolutions that are forgotten by February and crash diets that only work for a few weeks. As radical changes are a recipe for failure, it is better to start small and build from there. If you keep making small improvements, these changes compound. As James Clear calculates, if you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you will be thirty-seven times better by the end of the year.7 6. Practice self-compassion Perfectionism has already been mentioned several times in this book, and to achieve a healthy work–life balance, letting go of perfectionism is a prerequisite. Perfectionism may have worked well when you were young, but it is easier to maintain a perfectionist habit as a child since life gets more complicated as you grow up.8 Instead of your parents, it is you who need to take care of meals, finances, home, household chores, etc. The more tasks and responsibilities you have to juggle, the more impossible it becomes to do each of them perfectly. Perfectionism is no longer an option, let it go. Each of these recommendations may improve your work–life balance. A healthy work–life balance is not about just splitting your time equally between work, personal, and leisure as the second formula may suggest. A healthy balance not only varies from person to person, but it also changes over time. Both the status of your work and personal lives are in a constant

7 8

Clear (2018). https://www.kantata.com/blog/article/13-tips-tricks-to-maintain-a-healthy-work-life-balance.

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state of flux, which requires constant rebalancing. Therefore, monitor your work–life balance regularly and adjust when necessary.

7.5

Keeping Mental Health

Smart, ambitious, passionate, hard-working, perfectionist, and competitive, these are labels fitting many Ph.D. students. When put in the pressure cooker of a highly competitive and ambitious environment, these strengths can run against them. Too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. As a result, many Ph.D. students experience mental and/or physical health problems during their doctoral studies, manifested as sleep deprivation, anxiety, self-doubt, unhappiness, and loneliness. In serious cases, they lead to burnouts, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, depression, and even suicide attempts. Students drop out for a period, need more time to complete their studies, consider leaving academia (or do so), and, in the very worst case, commit suicide. Lots of factors contribute to getting or preventing mental health problems. Many studies aimed to identify the most important influencing factors; three systematic reviews collectively analyzed more than 200 studies.9 Such studies focus on various health issues, e.g., stress, anxiety, and depression,10 and various indicators of Ph.D. success, e.g., satisfaction, progress, or quit intentions.11 Given these differences and the many differences in research field, country, culture, and other sample characteristics, it is not surprising that literature has identified a very large number of determinants. Based on the categorization of Jackman et al.,12 Fig. 7.6 provides an overview of factors identified in the systematic literature reviews. Given the many factors studied, seemingly related factors are combined. For example, social isolation (in the category personal situation) also captures moving to a different city (or even country) for the Ph.D. and being separated from family and friends. The overview in Fig. 7.6 shows that mental health is the result of many factors simultaneously influencing student health, and some of them have a negative effect while others positively impact health. The negative factors include concerns about being a doctoral student, the various activities that

9

Jackman et al. (2022). Hazell et al. (2020). Sverdlik et al. (2018). 10 Evans et al. (2018). 11 van Rooij et al. (2021). 12 Jackman et al. (2022).

+

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Personal situation • Being female • Perfectionism • Work-life imbalance • Sacrificing personal identity • Feeling powerless • Financial worries • Social isolation • Language difficulties

+

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Academic community issues • Isolation from peers • Mismatch with supervisor • Departmental issues • Less physical presence on campus • Competition among peers • Unhealthy work culture • Mismatch personal and institutional values

Academic community support • Supervisor support (feedback, commitment, involvement) • Peer support • Departmental support (socialization, resources) • Institutional support

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Doctoral process • Workload & time pressure • Assessments & deadlines • Concerns about feedback • High academic standards • Writing skills & procrastination

Self-care and lifestyle Support network • Leisure activities • Relationships people • Physical exercise outside academia • Mental techniques • Pursuing non-academic • Organization & time man. interests • Nutrition • Sleep • View PhD as learning process & self-efficacy • Meaning within the PhD Fig. 7.6 Overview of factors influencing student mental health

-

Student concerns • Doubts about ability • Lack of preparedness • Uncertainty (re progress, funding) • Hide vulnerability • Lack of motivation

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make up the doctoral process, the personal situation of the Ph.D. student (including demographics), and the constraints of the academic setting in which the student works. Positive factors are the self-care and lifestyle of the Ph.D. student, the quality of their support network outside academia, and support from the academic community. Not surprisingly, the supervisor (and, in more general terms: the academic community in which the student works) shows up as both a potential negative and positive factor, in line with the statement in Sect. 3.2 that the supervisor relationship can be both a major cause of and remedy for stress. The same applies to the research environment. It can be supportive by generously sharing expertise and experiences, offering helpful hands and brains, and providing shoulders to lean on or ears willing to listen. But academic environments can also be more hostile, with excessive workloads, a culture of long working hours, conflicting management demands, pressure to generate more and faster output of still high quality, and isolation instead of support.13 Because health is a precious balance, in practice it is usually not a single factor causing health problems but a multitude of factors resulting in too much stress for too long. As the health balance can tip either way, the literature reports a dichotomy in doctoral student experiences: a positive journey with intellectual and personal growth contributing to student well-being and a negative experience resulting in anxiety and emotional exhaustion.14 Nevertheless, most studies into Ph.D. health report alarming results and confirm that an easy solution is absent. Many academic researchers are passionate about their work, and they see it as a vocation, not just as a job.15 They do what they love to do, making it hard to change the work culture, which is based on deeply rooted internalized values. Multiple studies show that academic researchers experience considerably higher levels of perceived stress than the general population,16 other highly educated employees, or higher education students.17 Among Ph.D. students, mental health is even worse for female and transgender students.18 Given the likelihood of stress during a Ph.D. journey, it is important to develop effective coping skills to prevent or reduce the likelihood of experiencing emotional exhaustion. Many of the practices and recommendations discussed both in Chap. 6 on time management and in this chapter are 13

Kinman and Wray (2013). Hunter and Devine (2016). 15 What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In (2020). 16 Barry et al. (2018), Evans et al. (2018). 17 Levecque et al. (2017). 18 Evans et al. (2018). 14

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Anticipate stress

Share concerns

Focus on progress

Monitor health

Coping with PhD stress

Stress is common

Fig. 7.7 Effective strategies to cope with Ph.D. stress

helpful. To conclude, Fig. 7.7 adds five more items to cope with the inevitable Ph.D. stress. Anticipate stress Doctoral studies are highly challenging, and avoiding stress seems almost impossible. Realize this before starting your Ph.D. journey. Anticipate stress by analyzing the factors influencing stress (see Fig. 7.6) and assessing which are (or could become) relevant in your case. And act before stress kicks in, e.g., reserve and safeguard time to recharge your battery, build a support network, and become aware of your personal early warning indicators of stress. What signals does your body produce to tell you that you are reaching your limits? Monitor your health Monitor and prioritize your mental, emotional, and physical health. Many students keep going for too long and face reality only after collapsing. Schedule a meeting with yourself every two or three months to check on your health. Do you get enough sleep? Do you feel guilty about not working evenings or weekends? How easy is it to switch off work? Do you exercise? Do you eat healthy? Do you have a social life? How often do you see (nonacademic) friends? How about relaxing activities? These can be dedicated ones, such as yoga, meditation, or mindfulness, or hobbies, such as reading,

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playing music, painting, dancing, or walking in nature. Recognize the importance of staying healthy, and when monitoring your health identifies negative signals, take action. Stress is common Any Ph.D. student experiences stress. It is not just you, everyone has it. You may think you are special (and you are), but each student experiences stress and struggles to cope with it. In this sense, you are not special. Just realizing this can make a difference, it is not you who fails. Focus on your progress It is tempting to compare yourself to others. But that is not wise. Another student may look even more brilliant than you because they managed to publish in a top journal, but maybe they were just more lucky with their research, supervisor or reviewers. You do not know. A realistic yardstick to judge your work is by using your past self as a benchmark of comparison. As the growth mindset (see Sect. 1.7) indicates, it is about making progress. When you make progress, you are on the right track, and just accept that progress sometimes comes slow and sometimes fast. Measure progress in a way you can influence: you can develop a great design for your field study but not influence its outcome. You can influence the quality of the paper you write, not whether a journal accepts it. Share your concerns Do not hide, but share your worries, experiences, hope, and despair with others. Sharing may not always solve problems, but it can make them feel less challenging by having the opportunity to blow off steam. Join peer communities, such as Ph.D. associations, or socialize with other Ph.D. students. When it is really getting too much, seek help. If it feels safe, discuss health issues with your supervisor during a strategy meeting (see Sect. 3.2). Otherwise, meet with a Confidential Advisor, coach or therapist, and use the well-being programs and counseling services of your institution. It is not only in the interest of you, but also of your supervisor and your institution that problems are noticed and solved as soon as possible. Reaching out to others and seeking help sound obvious but may not be easy when in a culture of acceptance of mental health issues or when this is considered an ‘admission of defeat’.19 Stigmatization increases the barriers to seeking help but ignores that deteriorating mental health is not only

19

Anonymous Academic (2014).

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found among students who are struggling with their studies. Although lowperforming students report higher stress levels than those on schedule, the same is true for high-achieving candidates.20

References Anonymous Academic (2014), There is a culture of acceptance around mental health issues in academia, The Guardian, 1 March, www.theguardian.com/higher-edu cation-network/blog/2014/mar/01/mental-health-issue-phd-research-university. This blog was followed by multiple others, e.g., Dark thoughts: why mental illness is on the rise in academia (https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-net work/2014/mar/06/mental-health-academics-growing-problem-pressure-univer sity), and How Cambridge University almost killed me (https://www.theguardian. com/education/2014/oct/06/cambridge-university-student-depression-eating-dis orders). Barry, K. M., M. Woods, E. Warnecke, C. Stirling & A. Martin (2018), Psychological health of doctoral candidates, study-related challenges and perceived performance, Higher Education Research & Development, 37, 3, 468-483, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1425979. Brooks, Robert (2004), The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in Your Life, McGraw Hill. Clear, James (2018), Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results, Penguin Random House, New York, NY. Evans, Teresa M., Lindsay Bira, Jazmin Beltran Gastelum, L. Todd Weiss, and Nathan L. Vanderford (2018), Evidence for a mental health crisis in graduate education, Nature Biotechnology, 36 (3), 282–284. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/ nbt.4089. Freidman, Stewart (2014), Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life, Harvard Business Review Press. Hazell, Cassie M., Laura Chapman, Sophie F. Valeix, Paul Roberts, Jeremy E. Nevin, and Clio Berry (2020), Understanding the Mental Health of Doctoral Researchers: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review with Meta -Analysis and MetaSynthesis, Systematic Reviews, 9: 197, doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-02001443-1. Hunter, Karen H. and Kay Devine (2016), Doctoral students’ emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave academia, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11, 35–61. Jackman, Patricia C., Lisa Jacobs, Rebecca M. Hawkins, and Kelly Sisson (2022), Mental health and psychological wellbeing in the early stages of doctoral study: a

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systematic review, European Journal of Higher Education, 12, 3, 293–313, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2021.1939752. Kinman, Gail, and Siobhan Wray (2013), Higher stress: A survey of stress and well-being among staff in higher education, University and College Union, UK. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/5911/Higher-stress-a-survey-of-stress-and-wellbeing-among-staff-in-higher-education-Jul-13/pdf/HE_stress_report_July_2013. pdf. Langer, Ellen (2014), Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity, Harvard Business Review, March, p. 68–73 (Quote: 71). Levecque, Katia, Frederik Anseel, Alain De Beucklaer, Johan Van de Heyden, and Lydia Gisle (2017), Work organization and mental health problems in Ph.D. students, Research Policy, 46, 868–879, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.res pol.2017.02.008. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (2016), Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, Basic Books. van Rooij, E., M. Fokkens-Bruinsma, and E. Jansen (2021), Factors that influence Ph.D. candidates’ success: the importance of Ph.D. project characteristics, Studies in Continuing Education, 43, 1, 48–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/015 8037X.2019.1652158. Sverdlik, Anna, Nathan C. Hall, Lynn McAlpine, and Kyle Hubbard (2018), The Ph.D. Experience: A Review of the Factors Influencing Doctoral Students’ Completion, Achievement, and Well-Being, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 13, 361–388. doi: https://doi.org/10.28945/4113. Villa, David (2021), The Power Of Resilience, And How To Develop It, Forbes, March 26, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/03/ 26/the-power-of-resilience-and-how-to-develop-it/. What Researchers Think About the Culture They Work In (2020), Shift Learning and Wellcome Trust, London, UK. https://wellcome.org/sites/default/files/whatresearchers-think-about-the-culture-they-work-in.pdf.

8 Making It Work

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Tony Robbins (1960-).

Abstract Developing a personal Academic Development Plan starts with identifying the skills to be improved, followed by formulating a specific improvement goal and determining its timing. The next step concerns deciding how to improve a skill. Various effective methods are discussed, from reading and watching, studying excellent examples to collaborating with senior researchers. The final step is assessing which feedback signals whether you have reached your goal. Going beyond a Ph.D. project, the chapter describes the practices that differentiate successful people, the Ikigai concept to explore what type of job fits you, and the areas that determine long-term health and success (mental, physical, social, financial and professional). The book ends by discussing the pros and cons of three types of goals you could formulate for your life.

The previous chapters addressed the various skills you need to succeed in academia. This chapter focuses on how to realize the desired skills improvements. A personal Academic Development Plan is a useful tool to keep track of your intended and realized improvements. Chapter 1 briefly introduced this plan, and Sect. 8.1 discusses the five steps of designing such a plan, while the following four sections dive deeper into the various elements. Selecting

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the skills you intend to improve is the topic of Sect. 8.2. Section 8.3 discusses the factors that determine the timing of these improvements. As you can improve skills in many ways, Sect. 8.4 provides an overview of effective methods to grow skills. Growing skills should lead to observable changes in behavior, and Sect. 8.5 discusses how you or others can assess whether you have improved your skills. The following two sections extend the discussion beyond completing the Ph.D. project. Section 8.6 lists the practices that differentiate successful people from other people, and Sect. 8.7 describes how to lead a good life after the Ph.D. by discussing a method to analyze which job fits the person you are (Sect. 8.7.1) and the requirements for a healthy and successful life (Sect. 8.7.2). The final Sect. 8.8 concludes this book by maintaining that skills development is not a project but a never-ending process. There is always room for humans to grow further, provided that we develop and maintain the right attitude.

8.1

Designing Your Academic Development Plan

An Academic Development Plan is a written statement of what, when, and how you want to improve a particular skill, and which feedback will show you (or others) that the desired progress has been realized. Figure 8.1 shows the stages of the iterative process for designing such a plan. The process starts with identifying the skills to be improved . As stressed in Chap. 1, the goal is not to become perfect in a certain skill, the objective is to become ‘good enough’ for your project. In most cases, researchers identify multiple skills that require improvement. As it is not wise to try to improve too many skills at the same time, you need to prioritize the improvement steps you aim for. Which ones are most important? The second step concerns formulating a specific skills improvement goal . What exactly do you want to be able to do? The more specific you define the desired progress, the easier to determine whether you have reached your goal. The third step deals with the timing of the improvement. Match the timing with your project plan to assure that you have the skills when you need them. If you want to master a complex statistical data analysis method because that is crucial to your project, but it will take another year before you have collected the data, it is better to first focus on improving another skill.

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1. What skill?

5. Feedback: How to recognize?

Personal academic development plan

4. How to achieve?

2. What improvement goal?

3. When improved?

Fig. 8.1 Toward developing a personal Academic Development Plan

The fourth step concerns determining how to improve your skills. In some cases, it is just a matter of practicing (learning by doing), but in other cases, you may need to consult a coach, study a book, or take a course. Skills can be improved in many different ways, determine which one(s) are most appropriate for the intended skills improvement. Finally, which feedback tells you that you have reached your skills improvement goal? Assess what type of feedback will allow you or others to recognize that the goal specified in step 2 has been realized. This is a vital step because it either provides a good reason to celebrate or signals that the chosen learning method has not been adequate and that further action is needed. Although the steps are presented as a sequence, various iterations are usually necessary before reaching your final personal Academic Development Plan. Begin by listing the skills you would like to improve, and then prioritize them. Priorities depend not only on the importance of skills, consider your project plan too and assign a higher priority to skills you need sooner. The chosen learning method may also make you reconsider the timing of the skills improvements. For example, if you decide to participate in a training workshop that is run only once a year, you may have to adjust your prioritization to be able to do the workshop in time for your project. Sometimes, a next iteration is needed when, while formulating the feedback that shows the skills improvement, you find out that an improvement was not defined specifically enough. So, at multiple steps in the process of designing your personal Academic Development Plan, you may need to return to a previous stage.

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Fig. 8.2 Personal Academic Development Plan

Ultimately, you can fill out your personal Academic Development Plan, as displayed in Fig. 8.2. The plan provides a clear overview of the skills you need to develop in order to complete your project. Return to the plan from time to time, to review your development, to revise your prioritization, to understand which learning approaches work best for you, and to enjoy the progress you have already made.

8.2

What Ph.D. Skills to Improve?

Developing an Academic Development Plan starts with identifying the skills you want to improve and prioritizing them. Figure 8.3 lists four criteria for assessing which skills to improve. The first criterion is whether you currently lack a skill that is needed for your project. If you are not able to perform an activity necessary for your project, then you obviously have a candidate skill for improvement. Since humans are not perfect and a Ph.D. project is a learning project, you may identify quite a few skills you could improve. This implies that you need to prioritize them and be selective, as you may not be able to improve all of them. The next three criteria are helpful for making these decisions. First, how important is a skill for your project? Is it crucial or ‘nice to have’? What are

Currently lacking?

How important for project?

What skills to improve? When needed for project?

Possible workarounds?

Fig. 8.3 Criteria for assessing which skills to improve

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the consequences of completing your project if you do not have a particular skill? Second, when do you need a particular skill for your project? This enables you to distribute skills improvements over the timeline of your project. First needed, first served. Finally, consider possible workarounds. Is it possible to complete your project without a particular skill by doing the project in a different way, collaborating with someone who has the necessary skills, or hiring assistance? The essence of teamwork is to collaborate with individuals who have complementary skills or resources, see Sect. 3.3. If they have the skills you lack, you may not need to develop them yourself. And if you still want to, consider asking them to be your mentor in developing these skills. For each desired skills improvement, specify clearly what improvement you intend to realize. In line with the growth mindset, see Sect. 1.7, define intended improvements as one step forward. Once accomplished, you can prepare yourself for the next step. Score your current skill on a 1–10 scale, in which 1 reflects completely lacking a skill and 10 reflects that you can easily do a task (not: ‘perfect’ or ‘best in the world’). After assessing your current position on this scale, what would scoring one point higher mean? If your current position is a 4, what would scoring a 5 imply? What is it that you are then able to do? Define that as your improvement goal. Formulate goals in a positive way, as achievements that you want to reach, and not in terms of stopping counterproductive behavior. Being less nervous when presenting is not a good goal, being more confident when presenting is.

8.3

When to Improve Your Ph.D. Skills?

Most skills improvements do not come by themselves, meaning that you have to plan them. Figure 8.4 shows the three most important aspects regarding the timing of skills improvements: the match with your research project, whether their scheduling is doable, and starting with low-hanging fruit. The first aspect is related to your project plan. Which activities are scheduled when, and which skills do you need for these activities? The second aspect concerns defining realistic steps. Intended improvements should be doable. Therefore, define steps and not jumps in improving your skills. When currently scoring a 5 for a skill (on a 1–10 scale) while an 8 is needed for your project, aim first at reaching 6 and not immediately at 8. Break the required skills improvement down into multiple feasible steps.

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Match project plan

Scheduling skills improvements Lowhanging fruit

Realistic steps

Fig. 8.4 Three aspects to consider when scheduling skills improvements

Defining realistic steps also implies limiting the number of simultaneous improvements. You can aim for multiple improvement goals in the same time period, but this also depends on how challenging the goals are, how much support you can arrange, and the opportunities to practice. Finally, consider practical limitations regarding how to improve a skill and needed resources, e.g., in terms of the timing of courses you want to take or conferences to participate in. If a skills improvement includes the involvement of others, check whether your schedule is doable for them. The third aspect regarding the timing of skills improvements is that it is wise to start with low-hanging fruit . These are goals well within your reach and requiring only a short time period to finalize. They guarantee quick success, and because nothing is more motivating than success, they will boost your energy and confidence.

8.4

How to Improve Your Ph.D. Skills?

After having determined specific skills improvements, the next step is to assess how to realize the intended growth. As skills can be developed in many different ways, it makes sense to think about which learning strategy would be easy and effective. Figure 8.5 identifies eight methods to improve skills. 1. Read and watch Reading and watching are easy, quick, and cheap methods that you can fully do by yourself. Regarding almost any topic, you can find informative blogs, presentations, or videos on the internet. Alternatively, search the library for

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1. Read & watch 2. Attend academic events 3. Identify & study excellent examples

8 Methods to Improve Skills

4. Discuss with supervisor & colleagues 5. Participate in doctoral colloquia 6. Collaborate with senior researchers 7. Learning by doing 8. Participate in training events

Fig. 8.5 Eight methods to improve skills

specific articles and books about the skill that you intend to improve. Often, you can benefit a lot from what other people have learned through a timeconsuming and painful process of trial and error. 2. Attend academic events Academic events, such as talks, seminars and conferences, provide an easy option to learn about your field, research methods, potential data sources, presentation methods, or collaboration partners. Be active and attend as many events as you can. Even when a topic is not directly related to your own research, you can learn just by observing how other researchers present their work, explain important design choices, formulate contributions, and engage in the discussion. 3. Identify and study excellent examples Some people are excellent at the skills you want to acquire. By identifying and studying (e.g., listening, reading, or watching) impressive examples, you can learn from the experts. Identify individuals or papers that you consider excellent regarding the skill you intend to improve and study them in detail by focusing on their excellent skill. If you want to become a better presenter, ignore the contents of their presentation, just focus on how they deliver it. How do they build their story? How do they engage the audience? How do they use pauses, gestures, and slides? If you think observing is not sufficient, ask the person afterward. Remember that most people love to talk about what

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they are good at. When it is about an excellent article, study its structure and writing style. Why is it a well-structured and easy to read article? How are methods, results, and conclusions formulated? How does the article present links to prior research and suggestions for future research? Sometimes it is helpful to do the opposite and study bad cases. Before I designed my first online workshop, I attended several webinars and other online workshops, from which I learned a lot about what to avoid in my own online events. 4. Discuss with your supervisor and colleagues Do not reinvent what others have already discovered. Be open about your weaknesses and worries, and discuss them with informed others, such as your supervisor, colleagues, or senior researchers you meet at academic events. Seize the opportunity to get advice and learn from more experienced researchers or fellow Ph.D. students. They have been (or are) in similar struggles and will recognize the process you are in. 5. Participate in doctoral colloquia A doctoral colloquium (Ph.D. Colloquium or Ph.D. lab) is an event attended by Ph.D. students and a few senior researchers with the aim of helping students make progress in their project, see Sect. 5.6. Being able to ask for advice, discuss your project with experienced researchers, and listen to and join discussions regarding other projects are great opportunities to improve your skills. The same applies to joining a paper development workshop or presenting your work at internal seminar series or conferences. 6. Collaborate with senior researchers Much academic knowledge is so-called tacit knowledge, see Sect. 4.4. This is knowledge that is not easily explicated and transferred. You acquire it by collaborating with individuals who possess the knowledge. Identify researchers from whom you can expect to learn a lot and explore opportunities to collaborate. 7. Learning by doing A major part of Ph.D. projects involves learning by doing. It is a simple and effective approach when you do not have much to lose. If you can easily repair

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things when they go wrong, then ‘just do it’. If it is more difficult to correct, check with your supervisor before acting to confirm that your intended action is the right one. 8. Participate in training events Regarding almost any topic, you can find courses, workshops, seminars, trainings, or coaches that help you develop specific skills. Inform yourself about the opportunities your institution offers, many universities have a Graduate School providing such services. Check with fellow Ph.D. students or online reviews to find out about their quality and contents. If these are sufficiently tied to your needs, they could offer an effective way of improving your skills. Selecting a learning strategy To realize intended skills improvements, you can select one or more of the above methods. It makes sense to start with a method that is easy, quick, and cheap, and if that turns out to be insufficient, complement it with another method. Also, consider what methods were effective for you in the past. Maybe the method you used to reach your current skill level can also be applied for the next level. Another option is to ask how others (senior colleagues or fellow Ph.D. students) acquired a particular skill. Applying a learning strategy As any learning strategy requires action, define specific actions for the following three learning elements. First, what practice would you like to experiment with or adopt? What are best practices regarding the skill that you intend to improve? Which of them looks promising, considering you and your project? Second, formulate actions regarding practicing. The focus is on increasing skills, not just your understanding. This implies that you need to move from knowing to doing. What are good opportunities to practice a skill? Third, think about what would be effective feedback. As discussed in the next section, effective feedback does not always travel by itself, so think about how you can get useful feedback quickly. Involving others Doing a Ph.D. involves many different types of collaboration, including for skills improvement. Other researchers can help with learning in various ways. They can give advice or direct you to useful resources. They can suggest and assist in arranging opportunities to practice. Finally, you can involve them by

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asking for performance feedback. So, think about how others can be of help in growing your skills: who and how?

8.5

How to Assess Your Ph.D. Skills Improvement?

‘Eating is the proof of the pudding’ is a well-known saying, but it is only true if you know how to taste. In other words, you need an opportunity to practice, receive performance feedback, and have a yardstick to determine whether the intended skills improvement has been realized. Practicing is important as it enables you to fully understand best practices, experience what works for you, internalize effective lessons, and get useful feedback. It also marks the difference between passive and active learnings, whereby passive learning centers around reading, listening, and watching, while active learning includes participating and doing. Figure 8.6 shows how you can improve a skill through deliberate practice. 1. Skills improvement goal As discussed in the previous sections, skills improvement starts with defining an explicit goal. By formulating goals in a SMART way, it becomes easier to achieve your objectives within a certain time frame. SMART is an acronym 1. Skills improvement goal

5. Adjust behavior

4. Getting feedback

Deliberate Practice to Improve Skills

3. Deliberate practice Fig. 8.6 Improving skills by deliberate practice

2. Opportunities to practice

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Specific

Time-bound

Measurable

Formulating SMART goals

Relevant

Achievable

Fig. 8.7 Formulating goals in a SMART way

that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound, see Fig. 8.7. Specific refers to clearly formulating what goal you intend to accomplish (see Sect. 8.2), how you intend to achieve it (see Sect. 8.4), what steps you will take, who is involved, what resources, etc. Measurable concerns how to establish whether you have achieved a goal. What kind of feedback will provide this information? How can you or others notice that you have achieved a goal? The SMART literature stresses the use of numbers, but that is often not realistic for skills improvement goals. The various types of useful feedback are discussed below. Achievable means that a good goal is challenging but should also be within your reach. It stretches your abilities, pushes you outside your comfort zone into the learning zone (see Sect. 1.1), but not too far, not into your panic zone, in order to remain feasible. Relevant indicates that you should benefit from achieving your goal: improving skills should increase the quality of your deliverables and/or speed up project completion. Time-bound implies that the goal includes a deadline. A clear end-date indicates when the skills improvement has to be realized (see Sect. 8.3). Formulating goals in a SMART way helps clarify what skills improvements you intend to achieve, provides focus to your learning efforts, uses your time and other resources effectively, and increases the probability of achieving what you want to achieve.

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2. Opportunities to practice Many opportunities to practice skills arise naturally in your project because Ph.D. projects are learning projects. To complete your project, you need to define interesting research questions, and design and execute a research project that is feasible and according to the standards in the field. You need to collaborate, manage time, present your work at conferences, and write papers for academic journals. These are all natural opportunities to practice skills. However, such opportunities can also be arranged on purpose, e.g., giving a lecture for bachelor students to experience talking to an audience, or even be designed on purpose, e.g., presenting for your research group before participating in a conference. In general, match the learning and practicing setting, and sometimes it is better to first practice in a safe setting. 3. Deliberate practice Skills improvement requires deliberate practice, which involves focused attention and is aimed at improving performance, see Sect. 1.7. The old adage ‘practice, practice, practice’ is true, but should not be understood as just repeating an action. Deliberate practice is purposeful and systematic practice involving tasks in your learning zone (see Sect. 1.1).1 4. Getting feedback Feedback that allows monitoring of performance is essential for deliberate practice to result in skills improvement. It refers to the M of Measurable in the SMART acronym. The more explicitly you defined the skills improvement, the easier it is to define what measures are appropriate performance indicators. Although SMART encourages (quantitative) measurement, skills are often hard to measure directly. Because skills enable us to do something, useful feedback often comes in terms of that ‘something’ or of the way toward that ‘something’. The former is called result feedback and the latter in-process feedback. When writing an article, result feedback is whether your supervisor considers the paper good enough to submit. In-process feedback is when your supervisor tells you that the current version has significantly improved on issues where the previous version was weak. Feedback can be internal or external. Internal feedback is assessed by yourself and could be an observation (‘My supervisor was very positive about

1

See also: Ericsson and Pool (2016).

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the latest version of my paper’) or a feeling (‘I felt relaxed and comfortable during the Q&A session after my presentation’). External feedback is provided by others. In terms of the previous examples: an explicit statement of your supervisor about the progress of your paper writing and the impression you make on a colleague during the Q&A session. Internal feedback is how you recognize that you have achieved your goal. External feedback is how others recognize that you have done so. When relying on internal feedback, do not be too harsh on yourself and realize that the goal is to improve, so each step forward is an achievement. Usually, the better feedback does not come by itself, you have to organize it: approach knowledgeable people and ask them to comment on your performance. In the above examples, ask your supervisor explicitly to compare the current draft with the previous version of your paper, and ask in advance a colleague who will attend your presentation to pay attention to your behavior during the Q&A session. Ask for constructive feedback that is specific, both positive and negative, and based on clear examples. Feedback becomes even more useful if you get it from multiple perspectives and about multiple issues. When presenting, you could ask both your supervisor and a fellow Ph.D. student for feedback. You can also explicitly ask for feedback regarding the structure of your talk, the clarity of the slides, and your speed of talking. When receiving feedback, never respond defensively, even if you do not like what they say. It is their opinion, and if you do not want to hear it, you should not have asked for it. Always thank the feedback givers for their insightful comments, it is up to you what to do with the feedback. 5. Adjust behavior Feedback signals performance. If you have not fully reached your goal yet, the next step is to further adjust your behavior. The effect of feedback should not be trying harder but doing differently. This requires the translation of feedback into adjusted action. Again, the more specific the feedback, the easier it is to adjust behavior. When presentation feedback indicates that slides 3 and 5 contain too much text, consider removing less relevant text from these slides. In other cases, it is less clear what changes in behavior could help, and you may need to return to the overview of learning methods (see Sect. 8.4) for inspiration. If this does not help (fast enough), you may consider involving someone to act as your coach or mentor. Such a person may provide more useful feedback and better suggestions for improved behavior.

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1. Get specific 2. Seize the moment to act 3. Know how far still to go 4. Be a realistic optimist

9 Things Successful People Do Differently

5. Focus on getting better 6. Have grit 7. Build your willpower muscle 8. Do not tempt fate 9. Focus on what you will do

Fig. 8.8 What successful people do differently

8.6

How Do Successful People Do It?

Near the end of this book, I have included two sections that go beyond completing a Ph.D. project. This section describes what differentiates successful people from other people, the following one is about how to lead a good life after the Ph.D. Heidi Grant Halvorson maintains that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but mostly because of what they do. Although her book aims at a general audience, the strategies are applicable to academia as well and are very much in line with this and the preceding chapters. Figure 8.8 contains the nine practices she describes.2 1. Get specific As discussed in this chapter, formulate your goals as specifically as possible. Know your goal, the obstacles you may face, and the actions needed to reach your goal.

2

Halvorson (2011).

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2. Seize the moment to act To seize the moment, decide in advance when and where you will take what action. This prevents you from missing opportunities. Again, be specific. If you want to write for at least an hour per day, decide in advance at what time and in what setting you will write. 3. Know how far still to go Monitoring progress provides the feedback necessary to stay motivated. Determine when you will monitor progress (mark it in your calendar) and what information you will use to assess progress. 4. Be a realistic optimist Believe in yourself, be optimistic about your abilities to succeed, but remain realistic. Being realistic ensures not only that your goal is within your reach, but it also makes you understand that success will not come by itself. Success requires planning, effort, and persistence. You can anticipate the hard work ahead by visualizing how to overcome obstacles. 5. Focus on getting better It is good to believe in your ability to succeed, but it is equally important to believe that you can acquire that ability. This belief is similar to the growth mindset, see Sect. 1.7. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Realize that the Ph.D. process is a learning process and that making mistakes is inevitable for growing skills. Do not be too hard on yourself when you do not succeed the first time. 6. Have grit Grit is the willingness to commit to long-term goals and to persist, even when facing challenges. Completing an ambitious project and growing skills

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take time, effort, creativity, and overcoming obstacles. When facing problems, realize that these were to be expected, you just did not know which and when. The question is: what will you do next? 7. Build your willpower muscle The comparison of willpower with a muscle suggests that your willpower becomes weaker when you do not use it and stronger when you give it a regular workout. Use your self-control muscle to resist temptations and overcome difficulties, that will not only move your project forward but make your willpower stronger too. It underscores the importance of celebrating successes, as these make you aware that ‘you did it!’. But also realize that you need to be in the right mood to use your willpower. When feeling tired, it is not the right moment to start a difficult conversation or write a paper, you had better wait until the next morning. 8. Do not tempt fate It is good to believe in yourself, but do not take on too many challenging tasks at the same time. Make your way by taking one step at a time. 9. Focus on what you will do Focus your efforts on what you want to do, not on what you do not want to do. If you do not want to be distracted by social media messages all day long, formulate a goal of what you want to do. For example, I want to read social media messages twice a day. To make it more specific, you could mention two specific time slots or that you will reserve two 20-min time slots in your daily schedule.

8.7

Toward a Good Life After the Ph.D.

This book is about growing the skills that enable you to successfully reach the Ph.D. finish line. But life does not end after the Ph.D. So, let us look further into the future and address how to thrive both in your future professional and personal lives. At some point in the second half of your Ph.D., you need to think about your next job, and Sect. 8.7.1 discusses how to explore what type of job fits you, based on the Japanese Ikigai concept. Sect. 8.7.2 identifies the various areas of your life that determine long-term health and success.

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What you love

What you are good at

Ikigai

What the world needs

What you can be paid for Fig. 8.9 Ikigai concept for finding a job that matches the person you are

8.7.1 Ikigai: Which Job Fits You? The Japanese concept Ikigai, pronounced ‘ee-key-guy’, translates into ‘a reason for being’.3 It refers to what gives you a sense of purpose in your life. The concept has long existed in Japanese culture but was recently popularized and Westernized as a helpful model for finding your calling. Ikigai can be helpful in finding a job that fits the person you are because your ideal job should not only pay your bills but also bring pleasure and fulfillment. Add to it that you should have the skills for this ideal job, and then we have all four elements of Ikigai, see Fig. 8.9.4 What you love The first element is what you love. What is it that you would be willing to do even if you did not get paid for it? Which activities give you energy, make you lose track of time, and bring you into a state of ‘flow’? This refers to activities that you can fully immerse yourself in and do just for the fun they bring. Therefore, the answers do not necessarily have to be linked with work tasks, and they could also relate to a hobby or anything else you are passionate about.

3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai. For more information: World Economic Forum (2017). Eatough (2021). García and Miralles (2017).

4

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What the world needs Doing meaningful work is an important element of the ‘right’ job. We spend a large part of our lives at work, and what we do in all those hours should matter to others. Does a job contribute to solving important social, economic, or environmental problems? In what job can you make a difference for other people? What is needed most by the community you live in? A more practical approach to answering the question is to look at the future prospects of a job or profession: will society need (more of ) it in the future? The more it is needed, the easier it is to develop a career in this direction. What you can be paid for Making a living implies that you need to get an income out of what you do. What kinds of jobs can you find vacancies for? How well are they paid? For what jobs are there shortages (to be expected in the future)? Can you identify people with the same interests as you who have managed to make a living from their passion? What you are good at What can you do better than many other people? What is it that others compliment you on? For what kinds of activities do other people turn to you? Every job requires competencies, and the more you have the skills and talents that will allow you to thrive in a job, the better the job suits you. Your calling, or dream career, is where all four elements overlap. The Ikigai philosophy suggests that you start small and move stepwise in the right direction. Be present in the moment, realize what and why you do the things you do. Return to the four questions from time to time, both to reassess your calling and to determine whether you are still making progress in the right direction, implying that the four Ikigai elements converge.

8.7.2 Long-Term Health and Success Work is just one area of your life, maintaining a good balance among all important areas of your life is necessary for long-term health and success. Figure 8.10 shows the five basic areas of human life that jointly contribute to long-term health and success.

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Financial Health

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Mental Health

Physical Health Social Health

Fig. 8.10

Various elements of long-term health and success

Mental health Maintaining good mental health is an important issue for Ph.D. students, given the often high stress levels and the likelihood of emotional exhaustion, see Sect. 7.5. Our brains need time to rest, to focus on other issues than work, and to recharge our mental battery. Many activities help maintain mental health, from sleep to meditation and yoga, playing with your children, spending time in nature, listening to music, going out with friends, and hobbies from cooking to gardening. It includes any activity that is a source of enjoyment and relaxation for you. Mental health can also come from spiritual activities related to religion or philosophy, which involve a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves. Such activities can offer a purpose in life and a feeling of inner peace. It can even be as simple as counting your blessings. Do not take ordinary things for granted, treat them as special (maybe one day they will be), be grateful, and thank for them. Physical health The three most important activities contributing to physical health are sleeping, eating, and exercising. Get enough hours of sleep, preferably at regular times. Eat healthy food in limited quantities, also preferably at regular times. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adults should do at least 150–300 min of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity a week.5 You can go to the gym, but walking, biking, dancing, swimming, and 5

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/337001/9789240014886-eng.pdf.

Accessed

25

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mowing the lawn also help. Exercising works best if you turn it into a habit, e.g., walking or biking to work, and going to the gym on a set day. Get off public transport one stop earlier and walk the last stretch to home or work. If you come by car, select a parking lot further away from the building you work in. If you go to the bathroom, use one on another floor. Once in a while, go to the coffee corner in a different building. Social health Social health refers to our relationships with other people. These include relationships with a partner, children, relatives, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc. Healthy relationships are important for happy, long, and satisfying lives, and they can increase our sense of worth and belonging, keep us from being lonely, bring joy, and provide support in rough times. Financial health People vary strongly in terms of how important they consider money. Poor people are obsessed with money for good reasons, rich people for bad reasons. Regardless of how you value money, we all need to pay bills, and it is wise to have savings for rainy days or retirement. Professional health As discussed in the previous subsection, it would be great if you could find a job that you love, is meaningful, you are good at, and offers an attractive pay. According to self-determination theory, we remain motivated and grow optimally if three basic psychological needs are satisfied in our work, namely autonomy (feeling to have choice), competence (being effective and experiencing mastery), and relatedness (feeling connected and a sense of belongingness with others).6 Although discussed separately, the five areas are strongly related. Poor mental health can manifest itself in physical problems, while good social health helps overcome physical health issues. Also, many activities contribute to multiple health areas. Dancing with friends, for example, contributes to physical, mental, and social health. When applying the concept of various areas of health, first define and describe what each area means for you. This could result in splitting areas, e.g., social health can be divided into family, friends, and community. Next, set goals for both the short and long term in each area and schedule regular September 2023. 6 Deci and Ryan (1985). Ryan and Deci (2000).

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Enjoy?

Flexible goals?

Reviewing Health Areas

Diverse?

Learn?

Fig. 8.11

Important questions when reviewing your health in various life areas

appointments with yourself to review them. I do this every six months to ensure that I do not lose sight of other important areas of my life just because I am so focused on one area. When reviewing each of your health areas, do not just check whether you have achieved the goals set during the previous review, but also address the four questions summarized in Fig. 8.11.7 Do you enjoy the activities? Even though your main reason for going to the gym or having a job may not be to have fun, activities that make you experience positive energy are much easier to sustain. They make you feel optimistic, boost energy and self-confidence, help overcome hurdles, add to a meaningful life, and may even inspire others. If you do not enjoy activities anymore, it is time for a change. Do the activities increase your biodiversity? Biodiversity refers to experiencing different things in your life. Variety is a value in itself, whether it concerns what you read, watch, eat, or do. Read different types of books, meet different types of people, have multiple hobbies, visit different museums, and try out new holiday destinations. For many years, I had a quote on my office door: ‘Do one novel thing every day’. It prevents us from living a mindless life. Do the activities offer learning experiences? Learning brings new insights and skills, fosters self-confidence and pride, increases understanding of the world, and has positive health effects, including preventing Alzheimer’s disease. The saying ‘resting is rusting’ is true both mentally and physically, so keep moving. While commuting, I listen to TED Talks or podcasts that I select more or 7

Derived from: Schweitzer (2014).

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less at random. Read informative books and blogs, watch documentaries, and experience art. Are you flexible with goals? This book has stressed the importance of goal setting multiple times, the topic also returned when discussing how successful people do it in Sect. 8.6. Specific goals enable monitoring progress. But you should not treat goals as set in stone, be flexible with them. It is good to eat healthy, but an occasional piece of chocolate cake does not hurt. Daily exercise is a great habit, but sometimes other things are more important. Such deviations are not bad, as long as you keep the ultimate goal in mind, leading a healthy life. Also, life does not follow a straight line, some things you dearly wish for do not materialize. Flexibility in goal setting then implies switching gears. Trust that if one door closes, another will open for you.

8.8

Personal Growth as an Ongoing Process

This book is about growing crucial Ph.D. skills by increasing your understanding and self-confidence, with the underlying aim of increasing Ph.D. success rates and improving the mental health of Ph.D. students. The reasons for non-completion of Ph.D. projects include factors such as financial problems, family building, illness, and other life-changing events, which are mostly unpredictable and uncontrollable. However, as the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes wrote, ‘a prepared man has half-fought the battle’. Realizing the skills you need to reach the finish line will help prepare you for the challenge you have taken on. Personal growth does not only require learning, equally important is to reflect from time to time on the path you have traveled. Consider distance, speed, and direction. Distance refers to the skills you have developed until now. What have you learned and what additional skills do you need in order to achieve your (next) goals? Speed refers to the pace of learning. It could be time to add new tasks to your basket to explore new growth opportunities. If you think progress comes too slowly, ask yourself whether you do not want too much too fast. Maybe you should be more lenient with yourself and aim for smaller steps. Do not get discouraged by slow progress too soon, growth is hardly ever linear, and sometimes the initial steps come slowly but are followed by jumps after a breakthrough. If you still consider progress to be too slow, reconsider your learning approach, see Sect. 8.4.

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Fig. 8.12

I want to become a full professor

I want to become an expert in my area

I want to keep on developing myself

Point goal

Arrow goal

Movement goal

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Three different types of goals you could formulating

Direction, finally, refers to the goals you are aiming for. Are they still in line with your aspirations and the stage of your project? Both your project and you are works in progress, adjust your goals when the circumstances change. You can also apply the approaches described in this book to formulate different types of goals for your professional career or other life areas, as illustrated in Fig. 8.12. Point goals define precisely where you want to end up. Attach a date, and then it becomes a SMART goal. Such goals are useful for short-term-oriented targets about which you are quite certain that you can reach them. Arrow goals formulate a specific direction, but leave it open to where exactly you want to end up. They are less suitable for a SMART approach but can be more satisfying and can make you a potentially happier person. They can be useful for longer term objectives that you can only partially influence yourself (who knows what the job market will be like in ten years?) and/ or for which you are not fully certain (yet) that they are within reach of your capabilities. The third category is movement goals. Such goals focus on making continuous progress. They may seem like the least ambitious category at first glance, but they can be essential for a healthy and happy life. It is great to have achieved your goal of becoming a full professor, but hardly anyone remains happy for long just because they became a full professor. People who feel stuck in their job or in another life area are neither happy nor healthy, no matter what goals they have achieved in the past. Movement goals stress that it is about the journey, not the destination. Growing skills is not a project but a process. It is an ongoing process that does not stop after your Ph.D. With the right attitude, the willingness to take on new challenges and experiment with new approaches, you will never stop learning. Continuously growing your skills is essential both for your professional and personal health. I wish you good luck!

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References Deci, Edward L. and Richard M. Ryan (1985), Intrinsic Motivation and SelfDetermination in Human Behavior, Plenum, New York. Eatough, Erin (2021), What is ikigai and how can it change my life?, May 7, https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-ikigai. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life, https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/2022/03/ikigai_japanese_secret_to_ a_joyful_life.html Ericsson, Anders, and Robert Pool (2016), Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, Mariner Books. García, Héctor and Francesc Miralles (2017), Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Penguin Life. Heidi Grant Halvorson (2011), Nine Things Successful People Do Differently, Harvard Business Review Press. Ryan, Richard M., and Edward L. Deci (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being, American Psychologist, 55, 1, 68-78. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68. Derived from: Schweitzer, Roeland (2014), 6 tips om je leven lang scherp te blijven, 21 July, https://www.intermediair.nl/persoonlijke-groei/persoonlijke-ont wikkeling/6-tips-om-je-leven-lang-scherp-te-blijven World Economic Forum (2017), Is this Japanese concept the secret to a long, happy, meaningful life?, August 9, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/is-this-jap anese-concept-the-secret-to-a-long-life/

Index

A

Academic activities 8, 9 Academic career 8, 10, 12, 68, 74 Academic community 27, 41, 42, 44, 56–59, 145 Academic conference, see Conference Academic development plan 1, 151–154 designing 152 Academic dialogue 68 Academic journals, see journals Academic network 53 Academic paper, see paper Academic performance score 68 Academic standards 127, 133 Academic writing, see writing skills Activity-on-arrow diagram 120 Ad hoc supervisor meetings 49 Administrative support 48 Administrative tasks 1, 10 Advisor, see supervisor Advisor confidential 147 Ambition 127, 129, 133, 140, 165, 173 Analysis 21–23, 31

Anticipate stress 146 Anxiety 143, 145 Approval getting 41 Arial font 89 Arrow goals 173 Article, see paper Asana 119 Audience presentation 83–88, 90, 91, 94–96, 98, 100 Autoresponse message 141

B

Bad stress 103, 112 Bard 80 Baskerville font 89 Behavior successful people 163 Biodiversity 171 Blog 62, 63, 66 Body language presentation 83, 84, 94 Book 62, 63 Bored 113 Breaks 105, 111, 115, 116, 118, 122, 123

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 E. K. R. E. Huizingh, Unlocking PhD Success, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40651-5

175

176

Index

Broken telephone 54 Burn out 112, 143

C

Calculated risks 5 Calibri font 89 Calling your 167, 168 Celebrate success 137 Challenges 3, 5, 6, 12, 14, 17, 138 Chatbot 80 ChatGPT 80 Chinese whispers 54 Clarity in writing 77 Clarivate 64 Clickbait 66 Clickup 119 Co-authors 74 Collaboration 1, 3, 8, 12–15 aims 42 pitch 41, 42, 52 skills 15, 41 to learn 157 Colors in slides 89–91, 93 Comfort zone 3, 5, 6 Communication effective 23, 54, 55 skills 15 Community of practice 59 Concise writing 70 Conference 62, 65, 73, 74, 80, 81 academic 83–85, 99, 100 attending 83, 84 plan visit 83, 101 presenting 83–85, 100 submission 57 Confidential advisor 147 Constructive feedback 163 Contractual supervisors 46 Contribution 28, 30, 34, 61, 68, 71, 72, 75–78 Counseling services 147 Courier New font 89 Coursework PhD 106

Critical inquiry 21, 22 Critical path method 103, 104, 119, 120 Culture research 22, 32, 33

D

Deadline 105, 106, 116, 125 Delay 121 Deliberate practice 18, 160, 162 Deliverables PhD project 103, 108 Delivering presentation 91–94 Demand oriented 13 Depression 143 Directorial supervisors 46 Dissertation, see Ph.D. Doctoral colloquium 86, 99, 100, 158 Dream career 168

E

Eat 169, 171, 172 Eat-the-Frog-First method 116 Editor 65, 73, 75, 76, 80, 81 Editorial 73 Effectiveness personal 114, 138 habits 141 Eisenhower Matrix 103, 104, 110, 119, 123–125 EndNote 27 English pronunciation 92 Environment research 21, 22, 32, 33 social 22, 32, 33 Ethical standards 12, 29–31 Evidence 61, 70, 71, 76 Exercise 172 Exhaustion 145 Explicit writing 71 Expression 21–23 External feedback 163

Index F

Facebook 66 Failure 136, 137, 142 Failure rates 2 Feedback 8, 15, 17, 18, 65, 67, 74, 75, 77, 80, 151–153, 159–163, 165 constructive 163 external 163 in-process 162 internal 162, 163 result 162 Feelings express 55 Final slide 90, 99 Financial health 170 Fixed mindset 16, 17 Font 90, 91, 96 Font size 89–91 Formal requirements PhD 63, 106 Formal writing 70 Freedom 119

G

Gantt chart 103, 104, 118–120 Gap in literature 26, 34, 36 Georgia font 89 Goal setting 172 arrow goals 173 flexibility 172 movement goals 173 point goals 173 Good stress 103, 112 Grants, see Research grants Graph in presentation 89, 90 Grit 165 Growing skills 3–5, 16, 17, 152, 160, 165, 173 current skill 155, 159 direction 3, 13 methods 150 practicing 160 select skill 149, 150 practicing 162

177

steps 4 Growth mindset 3, 16, 17

H

Habits 132, 142 Health 127, 132, 143, 145–147 financial 170 mental 169, 170, 172 monitor 146, 147 physical 169, 170 professional 170, 173 reviewing 171 social 170 Helvetica font 89 Howjsay.com 92

I

Icon in presentation 89 Ideal supervisor 41, 45 Ikigai 151, 166–168 Impersonal writing 70 Important tasks 109, 111, 112, 115, 116, 124 Impostor syndrome 129 Independent judgment 21, 22 In-process feedback 162 Instagram 66 Intellectual discussions 27 Intellectual support 48 Interest oriented 13 Internal feedback 162, 163 International experience 1, 10 Interruptions 109, 115 Introduction section 79

J

Jargon 66, 70 Journal impact factor 64 Journals 41–43, 45, 56, 58, 59, 61–65, 68, 70, 72–76, 78–80

178

Index

editor 65, 73, 76 predator 65 ranking 64 review 64 special issue 65 Judgment independent 21, 22

Messenger game 54 Meta-analysis 25 Mindfulness 146 Mindset fixed 16, 17 growth 3, 16, 17 Movement goals 151, 173 Multiple supervisors 48 Multi-tasking 109, 123, 141

K

Keep It Simple & Stupid 12, 90 Key message presentation 83, 86–88 KISS principle 12, 90 Knowledge claims 22, 23, 29, 30, 75, 76

L

Laissez-faire supervisors 46 Learning 1–3, 5–8, 13, 14, 17, 18 methods 153, 163 strategy 14, 17 zone 5, 6 LeechBlock 119 Lifestyle PhD student 145 LinkedIn 66 Listening 55, 56 Literature 21, 23–27, 34, 36 gap 26, 34, 36 Locus of control 17 Low-hanging fruit 155, 156

M

Meaningfulness project 134 Meditation 146, 169 Meetings effective 51 preparation 50 with supervisor 50 Meet-the-editors session 73 Mendeley 27 Mental health 128, 129, 143–145, 147, 169, 170, 172

N

Negative beliefs 129, 130 Networking 53, 59, 85, 99, 101 Newspaper 66, 71 Non-symmetrical research question 37 Nonverbal cues 56 Notes presentation 83, 84, 90, 92, 94, 96 Number of slides 90 Nutrition 146

O

Objective writing 64 Organized writing 71

P

Panic zone 6 Paper publishable 80 reasons for writing 66, 67 reviewer evaluation 68, 75, 131 structure 62, 71, 75, 77, 79 writing process 61, 79 Passion 9, 11–13, 15, 46, 53, 140 Pastoral supervisors 46 Peak performance 113 Peer community 147 Peer review 69 Peer support 144 Perfectionism 129, 142

Index

Performance evaluation 18 Persistence skills 16, 139 Personal academic development plan 1, 3, 7, 8, 152, 154–156, 160 Personal growth 172 Personal interests 22, 37 Personal life 127, 128, 130, 138, 139, 141, 142 Personal support 48 PhD challenges 3, 16, 127 community of practice 59 coursework 106 critical skills 15 deliverables 103, 107, 117 failure rates 2 formal requirements 106 performance 45, 50 programs 10, 14 stress 104, 114 support network 145 thesis 62, 63, 68 PhD Colloquium, see Doctoral colloquium PhD lab, see Doctoral colloquium Photo in presentation 89 Physical exercise 138 Physical health 169, 170 Picture in presentation 88, 89 Pitch collaboration 41, 42, 52 Plagiarism 80 Planned meetings 49 Point goals 151, 173 Policy document 63, 66 Pomodoro technique 103, 104, 119, 122, 123, 125 Practice deliberate 18 Practice skills 162 Practitioners collaborate 42, 44 Predator journals 65 Preparation meetings 50 Preparing presentation 86

179

Presentation body language 83, 84, 94 delivering 91–94 notes 83, 84, 90, 92, 94, 96 preparing 86 questions & answers 83, 84, 90, 91, 97, 98, 100, 163 rehearsing 90 skills 9, 15, 17 slides 83–85, 88, 89, 92, 97 speaking to an audience 95, 96 structure 83, 87 time management 83, 94 Press release 63, 66 Principal Investigator (PI), see supervisor Priorities 109, 115, 116, 124, 125 Procrastination 115, 116 Productivity 111 Professional associations 41, 45, 56–58 Professional health 170 Progress 130, 143, 147 Progress meetings 49–51 Project management 48, 103, 106, 120 Project plan 152, 153, 155 Project planning 103, 104, 117, 118 iterative 117 slack resources 109 Pronunciation English 92 Publication strategy 74 Publishing 1, 8, 12, 61–63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 72–74 academic audience 62 social impact 62 Purpose research 22, 29, 31, 35

Q

Questions & answers 83, 84, 90, 91, 97, 98, 100, 168

180

Index

R

Radio 66 Reading 24–26, 62, 67, 68, 72 analyze articles 26 strategy 25 Reference management software 27 Rehearsing presentation 90 Relaxation 138, 169 Replication 31 Reputation 63, 65, 68, 74 Required skills 2, 4 RescueTime 119 Research 1–4, 8–12, 14–16 competences 21 academic 21 methodological 21 culture 22, 32, 33 environment 21, 22, 32, 33, 145 ethics 31 grants 1, 10 high-quality 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32 planning 22, 29 process 22, 24, 29, 30, 35 purpose 22, 35 question 21, 22, 26, 30, 35–38 report 66 resources 22, 32, 33 rigor 61, 76 skills 14 Research-in-progress track 100 Resources 22, 29, 30, 32–34, 37, 103–107, 109, 110, 113, 117, 121 Result feedback 162 Review, see peer review Review articles 25 Reviewing health areas 171

S

Sans serif font 89 Scientific conference, see conference SCImago 64

Scopus 64 Self-compassion 142 Self-plagiarism 81 Serif font 89 Setback overcome 127, 134, 135 respond to 128, 130 Skill development 5 Skills improvement goal 152, 153, 160, 161 Slack resources 109 Sleep 143, 146, 169 Slides presentation 83–85, 88, 92, 97 final slide 90 number 92 SMART goal 173 Social environment 22, 32, 33 Social health 170 Social media 63, 66, 111, 112, 115, 116, 125 Software time management 119 Solution strategy 136 Speaking to an audience 95, 96 Special Interest Group (SIG) 57, 58 Special issue 65 Spiritual activities 169 State-of-the-art knowledge 21, 22, 24, 28, 29 Stepping stone 68 Stepwise content slide 90 Storytelling 61, 62, 69, 71, 88, 90 Strategy meeting 50, 51 Strengths oriented 13 Stress 128, 131, 132, 139, 140, 143, 145–148 cope with 146 good & bad 114 researchers 147 Structure paper 77 Structure presentation 83 Student organization 59 Study purpose 29, 31 Supervising 1, 9

Index

Supervisor 41–53, 58, 158, 159, 162, 163 collaboration process 46, 47 ideal 41, 45, 52 meetings 41, 49, 50 multiple 48 relationship 145 support types 41, 47 Supervisory styles 46 Support supervisor 47 Support network 137, 145, 146 Symbol in presentation 89 Symmetrical research question 37 Systematic literature review 25 T

Teaching 1, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15 Technical support 46, 47 Thesis, see Ph.D. Thesis Time management personal life 138, 141 tools 103, 115, 118 Time management presentation 83, 94 Time management skills 15, 103 Times New Roman font 89 Timing skills improvement 153, 155, 156 To-do list 110, 115, 116, 123, 125 Top academics 1, 11, 12 Trade journal 63, 66 Training 153, 159 Trello 119 TV station 66 Twitter 66

181

V

Verdana font 89 Visibility 11 Vision 12

W

Watson box 37 Well-being program 147 Willpower 166 Win-win situation 42, 43, 53, 136 Workarounds 155 Work attitude 46 Working groups 41, 42, 56, 58, 59 Working style 103, 104, 110, 112 Work-in-progress research 65 Work-life balance 139 Work-life integration 139 Workload 132, 145 Workzone 119 Writing 1, 11, 15 Writing process 61, 62, 69, 79, 80 Writing skills 61, 62, 69 academic storytelling 69 improve 69, 77

X

X 66

Y

Yerkes–Dodson law 112, 113 Yoga 146, 169

Z U

Urgent tasks 119, 123–125

Zone of Proximal Development 5 Zotero 27