Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PhDadvice
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Advice to PhD candidates searching for positions: After the first screening of 100+ applications for a position in my group, I've seen potential in many, but they often fall short in the application process. Here's some advice to help you stand out.👇 #PhDAdvice #AcademicTwitter
📝Motivation letter: This may be the first (and last) thing we read. Tell YOUR story - what you can contribute, why you're applying, etc. Be honest & engaging; we want to know about YOU. #AcademicTwitter #PhDChat
🔝Motivation letter > CV: A strong letter can make or break your application. Put effort into it, even if you have numerous publications. Prioritize it but don't neglect the rest! #PhDAdvice #PhDChat
Tools & tricks I use to search for scientific information. 🧵 1/n
1. scholar.google.com is the main tool to search for keywords & connections. But it really shines with its browser extension ...⬇️
#AcademicTwitter #physics #Science #academia #PhDAdvice
1. scholar.google.com is the main tool to search for keywords & connections. But it really shines with its browser extension ...⬇️
#AcademicTwitter #physics #Science #academia #PhDAdvice
1...Google Scholar Button automatically picks up the paper you read and provides info on it. That saves a TON of time over the day. Also, "Cite" allows to immediately export the citation in bibtex. Very convenient!
2. unpaywall.org/welcome finds open access copy..⬇️ 2/n
2. unpaywall.org/welcome finds open access copy..⬇️ 2/n
2...of a paper that is linked to the journal page you're currently on. Sometimes it's arXiv, sometimes -- some other open resources. Even when I'm not at the institute, I can always access the papers I need in one click.
⬇️3/n
⬇️3/n
Ok #AcademicTwitter. This month, I'm entering my 3rd year of PhD! yayy🎉
I was looking through my 1st research journal and found these "tips" I had written for myself. I thought I'll share them here.
So, here's a 🧵of #PhDtips for those starting their PhD!
#PhDlife #PhDchat
I was looking through my 1st research journal and found these "tips" I had written for myself. I thought I'll share them here.
So, here's a 🧵of #PhDtips for those starting their PhD!
#PhDlife #PhDchat
1. Maintain a #PhDjournal📒
Experiments, results, failures, meetings w/ guide, seminars, weekly plans, proposal brainstorming, talk prep - everything related to your PhD in one notebook.
(coursework & journal notes can be separate, but I used the same note. 1 note/year for me)
Experiments, results, failures, meetings w/ guide, seminars, weekly plans, proposal brainstorming, talk prep - everything related to your PhD in one notebook.
(coursework & journal notes can be separate, but I used the same note. 1 note/year for me)
2. Read a lot of journal articles. A lot.
It is the best way to take your research forward!
(I wanted to try the #365papersChallenge, but couldn't keep up. I read way fewer papers than I want myself to. This could be my sign from the universe to step up!)
#journalclub
It is the best way to take your research forward!
(I wanted to try the #365papersChallenge, but couldn't keep up. I read way fewer papers than I want myself to. This could be my sign from the universe to step up!)
#journalclub
Ph.D admission decisions are kicking in & many students are going through rounds of interviews. Here are a few tips that I’ve learnt and shared over the years.
Disclaimer: These are based on personal experiences derived from a limited sample. Take it with a grain of salt 😀.
Disclaimer: These are based on personal experiences derived from a limited sample. Take it with a grain of salt 😀.
(1/19) First of all, let’s start off by acknowledging that PhD admission is extremely competitive. You're prolly fighting for an average of 5-30 spots out of hundreds/thousands of applicants. Attempting itself is a win. Kudos !👏🏿
#admissions #Competition #phdpositions #gradschool
#admissions #Competition #phdpositions #gradschool
(2/19) Money is at the stake. What does this mean? Someone out there is willing to take a risk on you & guaranteeing that you’ll be taken care of for 5-6 years. Your tuition, fees, health insurance, & monthly living allowance are all paid for by the dept.
#Funding #MoneyTalks
#Funding #MoneyTalks
I got 4 fully funded PhD offers in the USA
Here is what you can learn from each paragraph of my SOP
Check reply for this #thread....
#AcademicTwitter #phdchat #PhDposition #phdlife #phdvoice #phdadvice #phdpositions #Scholarships #Phdapplications
Here is what you can learn from each paragraph of my SOP
Check reply for this #thread....
#AcademicTwitter #phdchat #PhDposition #phdlife #phdvoice #phdadvice #phdpositions #Scholarships #Phdapplications
Paragraph 1 (P1): Introduction
- Problem you want your career to solve
- Why the problem raises concern
- Why the problem needs to be solved
- Your career statement (may involve your aim to provide solution to the problem)
- Declare your intention to apply for a program
- Problem you want your career to solve
- Why the problem raises concern
- Why the problem needs to be solved
- Your career statement (may involve your aim to provide solution to the problem)
- Declare your intention to apply for a program
P2: Research
- Your research at undergrad and or post-baccalaureate
- Describe problem, approach, result, & significance of your research
- Highlight your role in the success of the research
- State how your research will influence your success in #gradschool
- Your research at undergrad and or post-baccalaureate
- Describe problem, approach, result, & significance of your research
- Highlight your role in the success of the research
- State how your research will influence your success in #gradschool
Hilo sobre maestrías y doctorados en el extranjero + Becas.
He tenido mucha suerte en la vida. Me pude ir hacer una maestría a Londres y luego me gané una beca completa de doctorado en Oxford. Me gustaría retribuir un poquito.
1/4
He tenido mucha suerte en la vida. Me pude ir hacer una maestría a Londres y luego me gané una beca completa de doctorado en Oxford. Me gustaría retribuir un poquito.
1/4
Hice una ronda de preguntas en Instagram y he compilado una serie de tips acerca de cómo encontrar y postular a programas de maestría y doctorado en el extranjero, así como becas para poder estudiarlos.
Toda esta info se encuentra en mis historias destacadas: @reneepereyrae
2/4
Toda esta info se encuentra en mis historias destacadas: @reneepereyrae
2/4
Si conocen a alguien que le podría interesar, por favor retwitteen la info. Traten de que llegue a la mayor cantidad de gente posible, especialmente a quienes tienen potencial, pero por limitaciones económicas ni siquiera se les ha ocurrido la opción de irse fuera.
3/4
3/4
👋 Welcome back to ‘How to Write a Paper’ (pt 4)
✍️This week = ‘How to Write a DISCUSSION’
📜We’ll be using @SohamBGlobal et al.'s excellent @GlobalHealthBMJ paper “Infection and mortality of healthcare workers worldwide from #COVID19" as our exemplar study
🧵Let’s start ⏭️
✍️This week = ‘How to Write a DISCUSSION’
📜We’ll be using @SohamBGlobal et al.'s excellent @GlobalHealthBMJ paper “Infection and mortality of healthcare workers worldwide from #COVID19" as our exemplar study
🧵Let’s start ⏭️
1/ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?
👉To interpret the results - which requires you to commit & be 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱
🔗To link your results to previous studies
☝️To make recommendations
📚To help the reader understand your study strengths & limitations
👉To interpret the results - which requires you to commit & be 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱
🔗To link your results to previous studies
☝️To make recommendations
📚To help the reader understand your study strengths & limitations
2/ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞?
✅Re-state the RQ & how your key findings address it
✅State how & why your findings align/differ from other studies
✅How do your findings contribute to the wider field
✅Strengths/limitations
✅Make recommendations & directions for future work
✅Re-state the RQ & how your key findings address it
✅State how & why your findings align/differ from other studies
✅How do your findings contribute to the wider field
✅Strengths/limitations
✅Make recommendations & directions for future work
Grad students! I want to give you a couple words of advice about finding postdoc positions. (Having just advertised a postdoc position, I am noticing some patterns, and perhaps not everybody is getting the mentoring they need when it comes to finding a postdoc position). Thread..
1) If you are interested in working at a particular lab, you do not need to wait that lab to advertise a postdoc position. Get in touch with the PI, tell them why you are interested, and ask if there are any opportunities at their lab. If they like you, they are likely able to...
...find a way to hire you. Maybe they have some extra funds to support you until you get your own fellowships. Maybe they are willing to help you apply for fellowships. So don't just wait for jobs to be advertised. Be proactive.
1. #phd Vivas are scary, preparation is key. Inspired by a recent pre #viva chat, here are some of the questions I prepped which massively help me during the #Defence, the questions, goal and comments included.
#AcademicTwitter #phdlife #AcademicChatter #phdadvice #phdchat
#AcademicTwitter #phdlife #AcademicChatter #phdadvice #phdchat
2. Who are your examiners? What's their background, field of initial & #doctoral degree? What have they published? Any special notes on their history? (Industry background, Preference for a specific method).
I tabled this for quick reference to frame any specific questions.
I tabled this for quick reference to frame any specific questions.
3. A key question format learned from the amazing @SMARTlab program was the "Swiss Cheese" question. A question looking to talk about a similar but different area of research!
This is common when examiners are from closely related but different fields.
This is common when examiners are from closely related but different fields.
Qualitative research tip (a thread):
1. If you really want to be a stellar qualitative researcher, one of the most important skills you'd have to cultivate and sharpen, especially if you want to work with people, is to learn to listen deeply. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter
1. If you really want to be a stellar qualitative researcher, one of the most important skills you'd have to cultivate and sharpen, especially if you want to work with people, is to learn to listen deeply. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter
2. This means not thinking about the question you will ask next, or how what the person is saying fits with your study or not. It means staying so present that the person knows that for those moments, there is nothing more important in your life than listening to them. #phdlife
3. Forget everything you learned in school, all processes that you read in a textbook. Nothing matters than your genuine presence in bearing witness to a fellow human being's sharing of narratives. This is how you build trust and cultivate a sincere relationship. #highered
PSA for funded #PhD students:
If you blindly throw the numbers from your Form 1098-T into tax software or over to a tax preparer, odds are that you are paying TOO MUCH in income tax.
No #gradstudent can afford to do that!
#AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #gradschool
1/
If you blindly throw the numbers from your Form 1098-T into tax software or over to a tax preparer, odds are that you are paying TOO MUCH in income tax.
No #gradstudent can afford to do that!
#AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter #gradschool
1/
Of course, I can’t say this is true for everyone, but I’ve seen it time and time again for fully funded graduate students, particularly those whose student health fees and insurance premiums are paid on their behalf.
2/
2/
Here’s why:
The IRS allows you to use your “qualified education expenses” (QEEs) e.g., tuition and some fees/expenses, to reduce your tax liability through 1 or 2 education tax benefits.
But what shows up on Form 1098-T in Box 1 is not (necessarily) the sum of your QEEs.
3/
The IRS allows you to use your “qualified education expenses” (QEEs) e.g., tuition and some fees/expenses, to reduce your tax liability through 1 or 2 education tax benefits.
But what shows up on Form 1098-T in Box 1 is not (necessarily) the sum of your QEEs.
3/
As we’re in the middle of academic job hunting season, here’s what I’ve been doing to search & apply for jobs, & handle the stress. Disclaimer: I am a postdoc on the TT job market, so ultimate validation of these strategies is still unclear. Also your mileage WILL vary
More evidence I’m a scientist to my core: I’ve been collecting/analyzing data on total # of jobs posted & jobs I could apply for within several fields (yay interdisciplinarity!) for >3 years. Last year I did a test run, prepared my documents & applied to a few jobs.
This test run helped me immensely to know at least what the process was & start getting my application package together. These documents are like a grant. I spent >100 hours on mine altogether. Then I let them sit & revisited them this June/July. That 5 month break from them
I use interviews as an educational opportunity—for me and a future #UndergradInTheLab. I start each interview by saying, “You’re already qualified for this position-- after all you’re in college.” Then I focus on learning about them.
@NewPI_Slack
#ScienceTwitter
@NewPI_Slack
#ScienceTwitter
@NewPI_Slack My interview goals are to determine
1) If the student is genuinely interested in the available research project
2) If they will likely achieve their goals through the overall experience
#ScienceTwitter #AcademicTwitter
1) If the student is genuinely interested in the available research project
2) If they will likely achieve their goals through the overall experience
#ScienceTwitter #AcademicTwitter
@NewPI_Slack Determining these, however, can be complicated. Often, students don’t have a well-defined goal beyond landing an undergrad research position. Or sometimes they have unrealistic expectations of what research will be like & what they’ll accomplish in a semester.
#ECRChat
#ECRChat
Do you feel anxious about submitting your work to a peer-reviewed journal? Most of us grapple with internal voices that cast doubt on our work. Here’s one of my favorite ways to overcome that fear—hope it helps you! #AcademicTwitter #phdadvice 1
It’s a really simple “staggering” process. You just need two papers that are at different stages of the writing / rewriting process. 2 #AcademicTwitter #phdadvice
Paper 1 should be close to submission. How do you know? Maybe your committee or colleagues have suggested it’s close, or you have hit a wall & can’t figure out next steps (but feel proud of the paper & think there is a real contribution) #AcademicTwitter #phdadvice 3
Why we should walk away from using terms like "giving or capturing voice," in qualitative research. I hope you will read and share. #qualitativeresearch #highered #highereducation #critqual #educolor #decolonial #phdadvice #phdchat #phdlife #languagematters
1. First, the lineage and practices of qualitative research are grounded in western, global north sensibilities. Look at what is being used as dominant texts and who the authors are. Creswell and others rarely ever wrote a word thinking about people who look like me.
2. I've had to unlearn what was understood to be status quo, including the overwhelming amount of agency presumed by the researcher. I wrote about this in a book chapter titled, "Othering Research, Researching the Other (full text in ResearchGate).
SAMPLE SIZE IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
This is a thread on how to address criticism of low sample size in qualitative research. I hope you will read and share. #AcademicTwitter #QualitativeResearch #critqual #phdchat #phdadvice #educolor #PhD #acwri
This is a thread on how to address criticism of low sample size in qualitative research. I hope you will read and share. #AcademicTwitter #QualitativeResearch #critqual #phdchat #phdadvice #educolor #PhD #acwri
1. Any question about sample size must not be answered right away until you understand the context of the question. Otherwise, you will fall into the trap of justifying qualitative research by using the criteria for quantitative research. It's a set up for failure. Avoid.
2. To understand the context of criticism about small sample size, inquire about the concerns first. Is it because the inquirer thinks nothing can be learned from a small sample size, are they asking questions about generalizability, data saturation? What is exactly the concern?
The SER Communications Committee is starting #TwitterTakeovers (approximately monthly), whereby established #epidemiologists will be in charge of the SER twitter handle for the day.
Don't miss this opportunity to ask questions & get advice from the scientists you admire!
Don't miss this opportunity to ask questions & get advice from the scientists you admire!
.@MariaGlymour will kick things off with the #GlymourTwitterTakeover on Thursday, Nov 1.
Dr. Glymour is the Director of the PhD program @UCSF_Epibiostat, and is especially happy to answer questions about applying to #Epidemiology #phd programs.
#phdchat #phdadvice #phdlife
Dr. Glymour is the Director of the PhD program @UCSF_Epibiostat, and is especially happy to answer questions about applying to #Epidemiology #phd programs.
#phdchat #phdadvice #phdlife
Maria also has expertise on #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth, #CausalInference, #DAGs, #SelectionBias, #stroke, #CognitiveAging, & being an #ExcellentMentor (among other areas).
Start preparing your questions now and use #AskMaria & #GlymourTwitterTakeover so we see your questions!
Start preparing your questions now and use #AskMaria & #GlymourTwitterTakeover so we see your questions!
A THREAD ON EPISTEMICIDE IN CRITICAL QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
1. I'm creating this thread to discuss how epistemicide is common in critical qual research, and why we must be vigilant of it.
#critqual #educolor #acaemictwitter #phdchat #phdadvice #qualitativeresearch #highered #phd
1. I'm creating this thread to discuss how epistemicide is common in critical qual research, and why we must be vigilant of it.
#critqual #educolor #acaemictwitter #phdchat #phdadvice #qualitativeresearch #highered #phd
2. First - what is epistemicide? It is the erasure, dismissal of culturally-situated ways of learning and knowing that would otherwise be critical to creating knowledge (in qualitative research). This occurs to center dominant discourses. #academictwitter #highered #phdadvice
3. At a conference, I met an emerging scholar of color, who is working on race and identity from his sociolcultural position, but he was working with theories that had nothing to do with his work (Read: Dead, white French guys). #AcademicTwitter #phdforum #educolor #highered #phd
