Recently I met a new PhD student on a writing retreat, and I started imparting advice (a sure sign I am getting old). These are just little tips and tricks I have found useful on my journey. So, I thought I would note them down and share them. Here are 22 of my top tips for PhD students.
- Join the Jisc mailing lists for your discipline and related areas- including wider areas of interest. These can be an important way to hear about calls for papers, conferences etc.
- Get a SCONUL card and try out different study contexts. If you apply for a SCONUL card you can access most university libraries as a visiting member. I had cards for all of the unis around me and enjoyed the change of scenery on a different campus when the writing got boring. It’s free, you just need to complete a form.
- Take a look at facebook for support networks. WISN (Women in academia support network) and ‘Doctoral mom life’ have been some I have enjoyed over the years through the isolating writing period.
- Start using a citation managing software. I use Mendeley which keeps all of my articles and has a word plug-in so you can cite easily and it will automatically list a bibliography for you- so no more hunting for references etc. I have been building up my Mendeley library since I started my PhD and I’d be lost without it now.
- Attend a summer school if you can. I went to a brilliant one when I was a student in Denmark- a whole week of tuition, feedback, and like-minded people at a very very low price. I have since seen them hosted by universities and even the UN. But it seems to me such things are nearly always for PhD students- so take advantage of them whilst you can. Just google your discipline keywords and ‘summer school’ and see what comes up. This is the narrative summer school I attended which was fab.
- Take part in a conference panel. If you are attending a conference, try to be included in a panel. Subgroups in networks will often organise panels and it means you are more likely to be with people who have similar work and also be able to make useful connections instead of being put with a random selection of papers (resulting in a more generalised audience).
- Use your supervisor’s contacts. If you are going to a conference ask your supervisor to link you up with people they may know. It can be really daunting attending without knowing anyone.
- Cold-email your local unis looking for work. I got my first 2 academic adjunct jobs by cold-emailing the local departments nearby where I lived. It can put you in their mind if they are looking for sickness cover or short notice work. And it will help in the future if you have teaching experience outside of the university you study in.
- Take advantage of fee waivers. Journals sometimes offer an open access fee waiver for PhD students. It is worth asking- as open-access publishing garners more citations because anyone can read them.
- Get free papers directly from writers. Academics will pretty much always send you their papers/chapters for free if you contact them directly and express an interest- mostly just being happy the work is being read!
- Try writing a book review. A good way to start writing for publication is to write a book review for a journal- you get a free copy of the book and also get a chance to publish something to a deadline. Lots of journals will share a list of the books they would like to be reviewed.
- Review articles for journals! I remember when I first started my PhD and an editor asked if I would like them to send me articles. I didn’t respond because I had no idea of what they meant- or the process. But let me say now that journals are crying out for reviewers- so if there is a journal in your discipline then reach out and email an editor outlining your area of interest and give it a go. Articles are always double reviewed and the editor makes the final decision so jump in and learn as you go.
- Sign up for journal alerts- find the key journals in your field, visit their website and you’ll see an option somewhere to sign up for ‘early alerts’ which means you will get emailed when they publish new papers. I do the same with google scholar and receive emails with cutting-edge papers relevant to my work.
- Book blags. If attending a foreign conference then sometimes the book publishers will give their books away at the end of the event(!). Now this is not always the case- but at some I have attended all you needed to do was ask and at the end they gave away their display copies.
- Books on the hidden curriculum. For those who are new to academic life, I can recommend this book– it is an old one and so some contemporary details have changed, but it really helped me to understand ‘the game’ as a complete newbie. Grant, Wyn., Sherrington, Philippa (2006) Managing Your Academic Career. Red Globe Press
- Check out the ‘insider guides’. Another book series that helps you manage the hidden curriculum of academia which I think is really worth a look is the Routledge ‘insider guides’. Topics include managing your mental health and publishing from your doctoral work.
- Request book purchases at your uni library. This may sound obvious, but all academic libraries will have a form on their website (often not in an obvious place) where you can ask them to buy a particular book (often nowadays an e-book). I have never had a request refused and I suspect budgets are often under-spent- so take advantage of it!
- Try some academic podcasts for solidarity. Some of my current faves are ‘The Academic Imperfectionist’, and ‘Academic Aunties’
- Try library atmosphere sounds. This is random, but sometimes I have quite enjoyed pretending I am in an old library when I am writing- you can find lots of atmospheric tracks for writing on YouTube- storms perhaps? Here is the old library on a 2-hour loop
- Try multiple computer screens. I have to say, moving to a docking station with 2 spare screens has been a game changer. You can have the literature open, your doc, and also your referencing software.
- Check out the Patter website. I have found the website of Dr Pat Thompson really helpful over the years- I think there are answers to many writing questions on there for both theses and books.
- Reward yourself! I once saw someone online who wrapped gifts to themselves and wrote messages on such as ‘treat for 1000 words’ or ‘complete chapter’ and so on. Incentivise yourself!
Do you have any more bits of advice that you would add?
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