Thread by @Meg_Whitehouse0

As I am about to start the 2nd year of my PhD I thought it may be helpful to create a short thread of hints and tips for any incoming PhDs. I'm doing a PhD in Education but hopefully, this will be useful to other subject areas too! 🧵
#PGR #PhD

1. Get a diary – note down every webinar, event, conference, or training course that you attend. This will help when it comes to annual review time but it’s also nice to reflect on how far you have come at the end of the year

2. Present at at least one conference – it can be a small internal PGR event, or a larger event if you feel more comfortable. Either way, presenting at conferences is a great way to build confidence and get feedback on your work.

3. Talk to your supervisors – if you’re struggling with something, ask! That’s what they’re there for and they should be willing to answer any questions you may have

4. Start thinking about ethics early – some institutions process ethics applications very quickly, others not so much. It can take months so plan for this delay to avoid being caught out!

5. Seek out other PGRs or create your own study group – it’s so important to talk to people who can understand what you’re experiencing, but also joining a writing group or book club is a great way to keep on track. Try @ThePhDPlace !

6. Find out what your funder will pay for – if you’re fortunate enough to be funded, your funder may pay for additional training. Make use of this!

7. Set up Google Scholar alerts – this is a great way to stay up to date with the literature in your field

8. Use connectedpapers.com – this is a really useful tool for informing your literature review

9. Set up a reference manager – I prefer to use Zotero but there are many available. It’s a great way of keeping track of what you have read and the notes you have made

10. Remember to rest – the unstructured nature of a PhD can make it easy to fall into a trap of working all of the time. But please take at least one day away from the PhD each week, you deserve it!

11. Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint – if you’re just out of a Masters degree then a PhD can feel like an odd change of pace. You will get there!

12. Most importantly, enjoy yourself! - Doing a PhD can feel overwhelming but it should be an enjoyable process overall. If you're struggling with any aspect, or not enjoying it at all, make sure you speak to someone