Can you please guide me for writing a commendable phd motivational letter for UK universities? I’m good at writing but barely know what information about my academic background is required. I did a lot of Google search, but there is no to-the-point information available attested by the university. Please advise.
Can you please tell me if there is any specific APA format for referencing unpublished manuscript? I want to cite a research paper of my senior which is not formally published in any journal till now. He has submitted it in ELK Asia Pacific Journal for a month now but the publication is still under process. So, is there any way by which I can cite it? Because it is unpublished, what would I fill out in the Year section?
Hi. I’m a PhD student of Stanford university having epidemiological and behavioral studies as my research area. I need to present my research paper in any conference within the two months. But I don’t know where and how would I find the information about the upcoming conferences and proceedings at various institutes? I keep on searching for it online but only get the handful of those and that too turns out to be fake. Tell me please what should I do?
Well, check out http://www.phdevents.org. On this website, you’ll find all the recent events happening/occurring nearby and updates about different universities. This will save time and you will get to know different events under one roof.
Okay, so that sounds like a serious problem. You can subscribe to the newsletter of various universities. They will keep you updated with the upcoming events/conferences occurring in a year or in a particular month. This will definitely solve your problem.
Hey there! I can feel for you. To be frank, I cannot suggest you anything regarding epidemiological and behavioral studies, but you can check out this link – https://www.findaphd.com/events/ . They usually come up with interesting events. Hope it helps!
Hi. I am neither a PhD nor Masters student but a PhD graduate so I don’t know if I should really be posting my query here or not. I’m a newbie to the research supervision at Cornell university where I’m given the responsibility of guiding two Masters’ students from my research area only. Because I do not have any prior experience of handling research students, I’m not confident if I would be able to answer their queries, helping out with the research process, and evaluating theses. I’ve fixed the meeting with them next week but I don’t know what shall I do, how to begin, nothing at all. University has given me a handbook of supervision of graduate students, but there is a lot of difference in reading and implementing those advices in real life. I’m anxious how to get started. Any suggestions please?
As a PhD student, I am writing this answer. I hope it would help you out. I have observed my supervisor guiding me. Usually, supervisors tend to become lax and indifferent. But, mine is super passionate about research in Biomedical Sciences. All thanks to him, my research is going on successfully. So, primarily, keep tabs on your student’s’ progress. Initially, you can give them few small projects to be finished within a given time period. You need to encourage them that they should treat their Phd like any other 9 to 5 job. They should carry on with utmost diligence and commitment if they wish to make significant progress. Secondly, you can ask them to attend various national and international conferences or group seminars so that their presentation skills get honed.
Hey! first of all, I’d wish you luck. You are right in assuming that this forum is slightly unsuitable for this question. But, fortunately you will get a first hand advice from a fellow supervisor. I currently teach at the Indiana Wesleyan University and very often supervise PhD students researching on Nursing and Public Health. I usually visit this forum 3-4 times a week so that I can get an insight into PhD students’ problems. What I have learned from my experience is that constant communication is what a PhD student craves for the most. Make sure, you provide constant support to your students. During the first year, they would be dependent upon you largely. You should not discourage that. However, after a year you should let them become independent researchers. Apart from that, for channelising their research in the right direction you can have a lot of activities like regular reading sessions where you could read published PhD dissertations. In this way, your students will get acquainted to various academic writing styles at an early stage. Also, during the third year you can make these students train the newcomers. It will enhance their knowledge and inculcate professionalism into them.
Give a little introductory task in the initial year with a particular deadline. This will help you in detecting issues and coming up with solutions to help the students understand their area of weakness. Ensure supervisee know about the professional guidelines of published work by suggesting them to read good PhD dissertation and frequently perform review literature and organising reading groups. Hope you do well in the orientation program.
You can guide them by citing examples of your own experiences you faced during your PhD graduation phase. For example, make them aware about the common mistakes committed by a masters or a PhD candidate. Make your students comfortable, so that they do not hesitate in asking questions. Best of luck
Hi guys! I am pursuing my PhD in management and my research is based on novice entrepreneurs.
Initially, I was highly passionate about my research, but now I am loosing interest in it. The reason being
that I’m experiencing inadequate support from my supervisors. During the past one year, my supervisor
has been changed for the third time. The first one got retired, the second one has migrated to some
European university and the third one is unfortunately hard – to – catch. He was assigned to me two
months back and I have hardly seen him once, that too at the time of introduction. It was a short
introduction of merely 5 – 10 mins. I am constantly trying to reach him through emails, phone calls and
even Whatsapp. But, he never reverts back. I am getting demotivated day by day. I have started to think of
dropping my PhD. What do I do? Please help! I am unable to decide.
Hi. In my opinion, you should not drop your PhD due to the negligence from the university’s part. In fact, if your advisor doesn’t turn up, you can always report it to the authorities. The board of graduate studies of every university has the power to look into the matter like why he is not responding to you.Unless there are some issues which cannot be resolved by you and your advisor yourself, then they have to help you out. I mean, they have changed your supervisors because it’s the university’s responsibility to make the assistance available to you. Go through your university’s website or your head of faculty. I’m sure you will figure out how to deal with your supervisor rather giving up on your PhD.
I do not deny the fact that you are in dire need of research supervision but when things just don’t go the way it should be, you should get your own ways. One of the students like you shared his/her instance of bad supervision in this blog post. https://thesiswhisperer.com/2014/08/27/when-good-supervisors-go-bad/ .Go through it as well as the comments along. There are plenty of advice; perhaps a single one can work in your case.
Don’t lose hope, because this is not the end. You may face even more difficulties in your life in future. Infact, this is just a beginning. In my opinion, try out help from online tutor. http://www.dissertationtutors.co.uk, you can take consultation from them. They provide the best PhD assistance right from research proposal to the conclusion. Go through their website, I’m confident that you’ll figure out a way to deal with your research instead of giving up on your PhD.
This behaviour towards your research at this stage is natural. Since you are not getting the right guidance from your university and especially from your guide. I would support your idea of discontinuing your research. And focus on something else, or change your topic selection and opt for different guide. I know it may sound negative, but i guess this is the only option left with you. Anyway, I wish you all the luck and best wishes.
What are the reliable ways through which I can collect research data online? I thought creating online surveys and sending personalized emails to the respondents would do the job best, but then I really don’t know how to do it. Also, I wanted to get it clarified if online data collection is even ethical? Because the authenticity of data is seen vulnerable in online data collection in many cases, I’m doubtful. Please advise something. Thanks pals in advance!
I am hoping that you intend to send personalized emails to those respondents with whom you are acquainted very well. Otherwise, there is a little hope that you will be successful. Nowadays, identity theft is on the rise and majority of the people (including me) prefer not to reveal much on a cyberspace. I guess a paper and pencil method would produce better results where you get to meet your respondents in person.
As far as I believe it would be considered unreliable than unethical. You cannot be sure about the authenticity of the data collected because sometimes the people can be insecure to divulge certain personal information on the internet solely for a research purpose. Moreover, I can give you a good tip. You should try to keep your questions extremely precise. Respondents usually don’t take online surveys seriously and there can be a high dropout rate when faced with tricky questions. So, make it convenient for them. Good luck!
The idea of collecting data online is actually good. This way you can get to connect with large number of audience and you can save time and money. Keep one thing in mind, do not connect with the wrong audience.Choose your target audience wisely and the one from where you can get 80%response. All the best with your research.
My advice would be, do not include personal questions. Because sometimes people refrain from providing personal information. Try to design your questionnaire in such a way that it doesn’t lack the core essence of your research. Also, there are many online services available which provides tools to conduct surveys via emails and other modes. You can consult them as well. As they have a vast network, so they can provide you with the correct audience from whom you can the positive results.This way, it will be easier for you to articulate your results.
Hi all. I’m a PhD student of Teaching English to Speakers of other languages (TESOL) and this year, I will graduate. Currently, I have started searching for a job of research assistant in any industry or institute. But before I approach one, I must have an influential cv which I have no idea how to prepare. Are there any formatting guidelines or something to write PhD cv? Do I need to give reference to my published research work? If yes, then how? Please advise.
What actually happens is that whosoever receives your CV would skim through it. They don’t actually read it word by word. So, make sure all your strong points are highlighted. It should sufficiently draw attention. One of my friends who is M.A. in French used to put the URL of her website on top of the CV. Her website was professionally designed and developed and worked as an interactive CV. She even had a separate blog section with huge number of followers. This was highly appreciated by her hiring managers. If you too have a professionally built website of your own, then you can definitely take advantage. Here is a link https://www.360websitedesign.in/. These guys can help you with developing a website if you don’t have it and are interested in having one.
I really don't know much, but one thing I can be sure of that at this stage of your career, your CV has become an official representation of your qualifications. So, keep it formal. No need to add any extra – co -curricular activities into it. That would be considered irrelevant. If you want, do precisely mention your accomplishments in the area of your research. If there is a specific area of research which you are interested in, do mention that. As far as your published works are concerned, you should mention that. They would increase your worth exponentially. Even if you have co-authored some work, you should mention it. Don't forget – You sell yourself
(your skills) through a CV. So, anything which increases your merit and make you stand apart from others, should be included.
A curriculum vitae reflects the achievements and developments in a student’s career, and therefore should be prepared with precision. When you are applying for a job, make sure your cv is updated and error free. Since you do not have any idea about how to prepare an influential cv, i will guide you in that. First of all, your cv should include your name and contact information(phone number and email address), your academic and related employment information(especially teaching, editorial), your published research work(research projects, conference papers and publications), your community service. You can also include reference list on a separate page or as part of you cv. These are some of the points you have to work upon because they an essential part of you cv. In the end, make sure your cv is impressive and appealing.
Greetings from my side. To prepare an effective CV, one of the most important points to remember is that there is no standard format. A decent CV is one that underscores the points that are considered to be most critical in your discipline and fits in with the standard protocol within your discipline. Make sure you highlight your strongest points on the top. For example, do mention about you published research work, about your accomplishments and achievements. Highlighting these points will give you an edge, since you have enough knowledge about it. It will be easy to prepare for the interview for those area of subjects in which you have done research. I hope i was able to answer your query and all the best.
Dr. Stuart is discussing. 
Caroline and 
Mitchel are discussing. 
Laura Betcher, and 
Tony are discussing. 
Robin are discussing. 
Jessica, 
Cynthia, 
Discuss your Dissertation 
Dr. Stuart 4:36 am on September 29, 2017 Permalink |
Speak about your research goals. Mention why you are fit for this PhD candidature. You should mention how your study can make a difference to your area of research or the society on a large basis.
Marie 11:36 am on October 2, 2017 Permalink |
You letter should not be longer than one page. One thing what the admissions committee is not at all looking forward to is things like “it has been my childhood dream”. Instead of sounding pompous, give them an insight as to why this area of research interests you. Also, don’t give any false information about any of your achievements.
Kristina 12:33 pm on October 4, 2017 Permalink |
Well, the purpose of a motivational letter is to help the admission committee to distinguish between outstanding students and excellent students. It is important that you should stress on your intellectual interests for the PhD course and the area of field you plan to study and about your previous research experience. Also, focus on keeping a serious and professional tone but at the same time, be positive and energetic.
Joseph 5:34 am on October 7, 2017 Permalink |
I will focus on the points that you should avoid while preparing a motivational letter. Do not state false facts about your achievements and you should not try to make exaggeration or make use of imperious metaphors. The staff from the admission committee will find out whether a motivation letter is genuine or fake. Do not praise the university too much and also avoid to mention statement like “I have always been fascinated by scientific research”, It was my childhood dream” etc.