Hi
I’m in my first year of PhD. My research is regarding culturing of Leishmania donovani parasites and testing the efficacy of plant extract for its anti leishmanial activities. I am facing a lot of problems in culturing the parasite. As I am the only research scholar under my guide, I am really frustrated as I have to manage everything. From ordering new chemicals to maintenance of the lab, propagation of cells and now the parasites. Apart from this, I have to take out time for study as well as study for my research. My guide also asks me to help him with presentations regarding the classes he needs to take. Amidst so much workload and stress, it is my practical work that is suffering. I am unable to devote sufficient time to my wet lab practices. I am finding it extremely difficult to maintain the cell lines and parasite cultures. My passages are not successful. Either there is some fungal infection or the cells die (due to some reason that I am unable to fathom). This is further irritating my guide, as he is losing faith in me. I am unable to manage the cell lines and it also a huge financial burden. (the cells are costly to procure. Further the instruments and equipments required for handling them are costly and need to be discarded after a single use. So my resources are getting wasted too). Kindly help me with some advice on successful culturing cell lines and parasites as would be help me a lot.
Updates from January, 2018 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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kumarivarsha802
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wilson349
Sources for doctoral funding in UK
Hi. Can you please refer me a few organizations in UK from where i can seek funding for my PhD? I belong to Dubai and recently moved here in London for pursuing PhD in English literature. So, please share the links or any other resource through I can visit organizations to obtain PhD funding. Thank you so much.
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Laura Betcher
What to do when my research findings do not match up with the literature review?
My thesis is due next month, and I have been stuck here with my thesis! The findings of my research are totally different what I expected them to be. My literature review and the objectives of the study were aimed to study something else, but now I realize that it wasn’t what I expected. My research has gone awry! If I promised to study ABC, my data analysis gave me the answer xyz of another question which I didn’t even think about. How can it be completely opposite! I guess the questionnaire is to be blamed for this for I didn’t check its reliability before-hand. What shall I do now? If I change the objectives and literature review of my thesis, won’t my proposal would be questioned which submitted to the committee? I have no idea what to do. In such a short time, I could not re-analyze my data!! No idea guys, please advise!
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kelly451
How to write PhD motivational letter for PhD admission?
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.
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Dr. Stuart
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.
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Marie
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.
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Kristina
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.
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Joseph
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.
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Anil. S
How to find research conferences to attend?
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?
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Mitchel
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.
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Hannah
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.
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Caroline
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!
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Samayra
How to mentor research students?
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?
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Caroline
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.
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Anna Hughes
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.
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Lauren
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.
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Ryan
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
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wilson349
Inadequate Supervision! Need Help!
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.-
Tony
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.
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Laura Betcher
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.
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Caroline
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.
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Ryan
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.
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Samayra
How to write PhD CV?
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.
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joseph664
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.
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sierra4328
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. -
Cynthia
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.
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Jessica
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.
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yenohsha
Should I disclose respondent’s company name?
Hi, my school wants me to attach the list of the respondent’s company name, but i am hesitating because i told them that it is againts the research ethics. Before i conduct survey, i wrote them that it will be confidential and anonymous and that i willl not gather company names and email. Please tell me what should i do?
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Tony
If your respondents are not comfortable in disclosing their organisations’ names, then you just cannot share either this or any sort of information with your committee. As per the ethical rules, I guess you must have sent a ‘consent to participate’ form to all of your respondents, which ensures that the information shared by each of them will be kept confidential. If the names are disclosed then that will raise an ethical issue, which is also not acceptable. Try to convince your school or the authority that it must be kept confidential, you may also show that consent form (if already signed by the respondents )to them in justification.
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lucas446
How can I formulate my research objective?
Hey everyone. I am pursuing my PhD and stuck in the very beginning. I am finding it quite challenging to write research objectives. I very well know about what I am going to research and what are the problems of my research but the real struggle comes with the writing. How should I write various objectives of my research?
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danny54460
You are quite right in the context of research objectives. It is sometimes difficult to write what you already know. I suggest you to provide accurate description of the specific actions you will take in order to reach this aim.
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kelly2368
You remind me of my own PhD days. From my experience I can tell you that it is not as difficult to formulate research objective as it looks. You can start with making a draft of your research objectives and then formulate sentences for each one of them.
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addison2017
Use action verbs such as to identify, establish, describe, assess, determine, estimate, develop, compare, analyse, collect.
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Alisa Louis
The objectives should cover different aspects of the problem and its contributing factors in a coherent way.
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Molly
You can always consult your supervisors. Do not hesitate because writing the research objective is an important part of your thesis and should be well written.
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Dr. Stuart is discussing. 
Caroline and 
Mitchel are discussing. 
Laura Betcher, and 
Tony are discussing. 
Jessica, 
Cynthia, 
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