Laura McLay's advice to student researchers
Virginia Commonwealth University
lamclay [insert at here] vcu.edu
Grad school is like one long, awkward transition. Expectations are unclear and confusing. When you finally figure it out, it is time to graduate. This advice attempts to clarify expectations and guide you through the research process.
This is the basic research formula for success:
Good research manners + hard work + persistence is your best formula for long-term success. To explain the details, I composed a list of research advice. Some of this advice reads like a Miss Manners column. That is no accident. Good
manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them. A good relationship with your advisor is built on respect and good manners (This is definitely a two way street). I stress this point because
the open atmosphere of academia leaves many students with the impression that anything goes. This is not the case. Anything that damages the relationship with your advisor ultimately postpones your graduation.
Meetings- Be on time for all meetings.
- Be prepared--complete the work that I asked you to do before the meeting.
- Bring your write-ups, modeling, code output, tables, and figures with you to meetings so I can understand what you've done. This is critical for your success. If I don't see what you've actually been working on, we can't put it together into a polished final product. It is hard for many students to show me their unfinished and unpolished work in progress, but I can't help or offer useful feedback until I see what you are doing. Don't wait until you have "finished" something. It is hard for me to understand your research unless I can see it (See this PhD comic for a student talking to his confused advisor. I feel like this a lot. Summarizing your research results using tables and figures is the best way to communicate).
- Let me know ahead of time if you can't make it, but don't wait until the last minute.
- If you really want to knock my socks off, bring a list of things that you will complete by the following meeting. This ensures that we are both on the same page.
- Summarize what we've decided to do at the end of each meeting so we are both on the same page. This is important, because it often feels like students and faculty speak two different languages.
Crawl before you Walk- You have to learn how to do research--there is a learning curve.
- Things are hard before they are easy. You do a lot of new things when doing research, and most things will be hard at first. I'm here to help.
- We do this research together. You don't need to go it alone, and if you are, you're making things too hard. Ask questions, ask for help, and tell me when you don't understand what I've asked you to do.
- When you think you're 80% done with a paper, you're more like 20% done. So you have a marathon to the finish line, not a sprint to the finish line. Persistence will help you follow through until you are finished.
- When aiming for a deadline (like finishing your thesis), aim to complete everything about a month ahead of time to allow for my suggested changes as well as unexpected administrative problems. Many things on the thesis checklist need to be done sequentially, so any unexpected problems will delay your graduation.
Working and Results- Avoid long research binges when you work on only one thing. This is inefficient and will drag things out. Working in smaller chunks of time and getting regular feedback will help you make progress faster.
- Regularly share your results with me. I don't read minds yet.
- Explain your research progress using data, tables, and figures. This is the best way for me to understand what has been going on.
- Bring hard copies of the most critical data, tables, and figures to meetings with important parts labeled and highlighted. It's hard to decipher and navigate large spreadsheets of someone else's research, no matter how well organized.
- Don't feel embarrassed about sharing work that is incomplete and not polished (it should be legible!). That is what research is all about.
Writing- Write regularly. Daily is best.
- I am hands on when it comes to writing, so be prepared for a lot of feedback. If your advisor isn't hands on with writing, find a friend to help give you regular feedback.
- Technical writing is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. You won't learn if you procrastinate.
- Give me at least one week to read a paper or thesis draft and provide
results. Keep in mind that many iterations are needed before the final
product.
- Expect me to provide three major revisions and several less detailed minor revisions for each paper.
Theses and dissertations
- The best way to write a thesis (or dissertation) is to first write a few papers and then combine them at the end. It will take a week or two to write your thesis this way.
- If you write your thesis all at once, finish it at least a semester before you plan to graduate. Your final product will look very rough to your committee, and there will be many changes to make. Don't panic, you will get there.
- Taking classes is a series of sprints, writing a thesis is a marathon. Your classes will not prepare you with what to expect with regards to the amount of work required and the timeline of the research. This is tough!
- Set little research goals along the way so that you reach several milestones before the big thesis at the end.
Failing- You won't be a successful graduate student unless you fail frequently.
- Research is iterative, and our first ideas are rarely our best. But they are necessary to figure out how to succeed.
- Embrace failure: View failure as the first step to success rather than failure.
Think about YOU- Tell me your goals so I can help you meet them. I know I don't read minds, so don't be shy.
- Tell me when you expect to graduate so we can routinely go over what you need to accomplish to graduate on time. It takes longer than you may realize to wrap up all the loose ends, so start thinking about what you need to do to graduate about a semester before you finish.
- Do
not wait until the last minute to get work done--I may be busy and
can't help you make the deadline. In general, research items need to
be completed well before deadlines so we have a few weeks to tie up
loose ends.
My Goals for You- Graduate quickly.
- Produce highest quality research.
- Publish papers.
- Present results at conferences.
- Win awards.
- Have a rewarding personal life.
Graduate Student guides onlineOther Advice(c) 2009
Laura McLay
