- Willingness to read widely, to explore the field broadly beyond their specific topic, to try things out, and to generally take part in the academic community.
- Enthusiasm to develop their interest in some area, and then ask for advice on how that interest can be turned into a thesis project.
- Ability and persistence to undertake a detailed (and even gruelling) investigation of a specific facet of a larger topic.
- Take the initiative in terms of what needs to be done and how to present it, and gradually assume responsibility for all aspects of the research.
- Systematic and organized, and understand the need for rigour, discipline, stringency, quality, and high standards.
- Actively reflect on habits and working practices, and seek to improve themselves and overcome their limitations and knowledge gaps.
- Make work looks plausible; it has the form and feel of high-quality published papers.
- Have the strength to keep working despite some significant failed or unsuccessful activity; in a PhD, loss of months of work is not unusual.
- Note that neither "brilliance" nor "genius" is in this list.
For completing a successful PhD below things are very important.
- Formation of a precise question aka the aim of the research.
- Development of a detailed understanding: Literature Review/ Related work - reading and critical analysis of scientific literature and other resources.
- Gathering of evidence related to the question, through experiment, analysis, or theory.
- Linking of the question and evidence with an argument, that is, a chain of reasoning.
- Description of the work in a publication.
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Experienced scientists aiming to write a paper on a research subject tend to be fairly focused: they quickly design a series of experiments or theoretical goals, investigate the relevant literature, and set deadlines.
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Larger research program such as a PhD, there are
- short-term goals: Include the current specific explorations, which may be intended to lead to an initial research paper; short-term research goals gives shape to a research program.
- long-term goals: are the wider investigation that will eventually form the basis of the student's thesis.
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Typical research project (PhD) has just one deadline: completion! There might be few administrative requirements such as submission of a project outline or a progress report, but many students (and advisors) do not take these milestones seriously.
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A thesis (or dissertation) is how research students present their work for examination.
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PhD Thesis is the only part which is assessed. It is a mistake, for example, to implement a complete system rather than ask what code is needed to explore the research questions. explicitly consider what is needed at the end, then reason backwards.
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The final thing required is the write-up in the form of a thesis, paper, or report; so plan in terms of the steps necessary to produce the write-up. The write-up is likely to involve a background review, explanations of previous and new algorithms, descriptions of experiments, and analysis of outcomes. Completion of each of these elements is a milestone.
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The questions that examiners respond to are much the same as those a referee would ask of a paper.
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A thesis passes (or fails) on the strength of your demonstration of competence; even if good results are not achieved, the thesis should pass if the ability to undertake high-quality research is shown. Questions that examiners might be asked to address include
- whether you have demonstrated command of the fundamentals of the discipline,
- whether you have the ability to correctly interpret results, and
- whether you have sufficiently strong communication skills.
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In a paper, the primary element is the contribution: whether the research is novel, interesting, and correct.
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In a thesis, the primary element is the competence: whether the student has demonstrated that they are capable of undertaking independent research.
Scientific publications can be of different types:
- Book
- Thesis
- Journal Article: Typically an end product of the research process,
- A Paper or extended abstract (detail of work is omitted) in a conference or workshop proceedings, or a manuscript: Can be an end-product, but mostly work in progress.
The inclusion of several people as authors means that, in principle, all these people contributed in some significant way to the intellectual content of the paper. In many cases, it also means that the task of writing was shared.
In cases where researchers are working more or less as equals,
- One strategy is to brainstorm the contents of the paper, then for each author to write a designated section.
- Second strategy is to take turns. One person writes a draft, the next revises and extends, and so on, with each person holding an exclusive lock on the paper while amending it.
- Is your proposed topic clearly a research activity? Is it consistent with the aims and purposes of research?
- How is your project different from, say, software development, essay writing, or data analysis?
- In the context of your project, what are the area, topic, and research question? (How are these concepts distinct from each other?)
- Is the project of appropriate scale, with challenges that are a match to your skills and interests? Is the question narrow enough to give you confidence that the project is achievable?
- Is the project distinct from other active projects in your research group? Is it clear that the anticipated outcomes are interesting enough to justify the work?
- Is it clear what skills and contributions you bring to the project, and what will be contributed by your advisor? What skills do you need to develop?
- What resources are required and how will you obtain them?
- What are the likely obstacles to completion, or the greatest difficulties? Do you know how these will be addressed?
- Can you write down a road map, with milestones, that provides a clear path to the anticipated research outcomes?
- Do you and your advisor have an agreed method for working together, with a defined schedule of meetings?
Ensure that the answer to the above questions are well-defined. The sooner the better for the PhD.