July, 2015 - PhD Thesis Bangalore

Who Is a Perfect Advisor?

It Is Very Difficult to Define a Perfect Advisor. However, Very Informally I Can Categorize Advisors into Two Categories: The One who manages more: How can I define an over ambitious advisor. Perhaps someone who is young, highly enthusiastic and has the energy and the inclination to simultaneously contribute towards each and every effort and … Continue reading “Who Is a Perfect Advisor?”

It Is Very Difficult to Define a Perfect Advisor. However, Very Informally I Can Categorize Advisors into Two Categories:

The One who manages more: How can I define an over ambitious advisor. Perhaps someone who is young, highly enthusiastic and has the energy and the inclination to simultaneously contribute towards each and every effort and work that you do. He has the capacity to work extra hours and be involved whole heartedly in all your endeavours. The downside if having an advisor like this is that like the way he works insane hours, his expectations from you also remain the same. With an advisor like this, he may want publish early and so pressurize you also to work towards early publication. With an advisor like this, you would surely graduate with an outstanding profile.

The one who manages less: An advisor who falls in this category is older and has a lot of commitments that go beyond his work periphery. He may have obligations that could be family related social or even administrative within the university. This kind of advisor would give you your space and time to work without actually showing up your presence on everyday basis. With the experience that he has earned over the years, he has the belief that a PhD is all about self-discovery and a researcher is always motivated and self-disciplined to excel.

There are more categories of advisors that could be extremes on either side of the continuum or a combination category of advisors. However, I am sure you would be able place your advisor in either of these two categories and it is very difficult to conclude who would be a perfect manager. As a scholar, it depends what matches with your style of working. For me, I think I would work better with a more active one, though at the same time I hold a lot of respect for the under mangers.

You need to be cautious of your physical and mental health when you work with the first category because the kind of pressure it would create can overwhelm you

Secrets for Negotiating an Academic Job Offer

The academic job market is not easy and people struggle with jobs here. You may get a job offer but you have to always negotiate it. Not everyone would agree with me, as there would be people saying that one should always accept a good offer and not explore negotiating opportunities as it may lead … Continue reading “Secrets for Negotiating an Academic Job Offer”

The academic job market is not easy and people struggle with jobs here. You may get a job offer but you have to always negotiate it. Not everyone would agree with me, as there would be people saying that one should always accept a good offer and not explore negotiating opportunities as it may lead to losing the offer altogether. But here I would give you a few tips that would help you to negotiate better.

In my first job offer I did not have the skill as well as the courage to negotiate. Though I had heard from the more experienced bunch that negotiation is always advisable, but, because it was my first time, I did not have any clue about from where to start so I consented on whatever the chair had to offer to me. I give myself the explanation that since it was my first academic job and I was any which ways very happy to have a job in the first place that not negotiating for a better package seemed quite justified.

If I may take the liberty to add some statistics here, only nine per cent of women negotiate on having a job offer as compared a much greater percentage of 60 men out of 100.

It took me a long time to realise that my salary was nowhere near to the competitive packages being offered in the market and the only way to get a raise was now to jump into the market to find another suitable job offer. In the process of getting my new job I got an opportunity to negotiate on a great number of perks that had been actually missing from my then current position all these years. It seemed like such exploitation.

I specifically asked for more resources in these categories, particularly:

Basic salary
Funds for research
Funds for attending seminar and conferences
Development fund
Moving allowance
Housing fund

I can tell you with experience that for each thing I demanded, I had to keep a justification ready and that helped. In you negotiation stage as well, keep a list of categories you believe you would negotiate upon and have a valid reason for each one. That makes your case stronger. Have a explanation ready for why you need research funds. Get a critical perspective on the justifications by few experienced people. That surely helps. I did not get all things I asked for but from the list, the chair did consent on some of my demands. Eventually I moved with a feeling of satisfaction and happiness that I could negotiate well and was switching some gains that I felt I was deprived off for a long time. The important lesson here is that you never know what you will get if you ask, but you can be sure that if you don’t ask, you won’t get anything.

Dilemma Between Whether to Do or Not to Do Online Research?

Online research is being used widely, across the globe; however, I have been in dilemma about its application and use, particularly in comparison to offline research which is more personalised. In my recent tryst with online research, I found something amiss and that was the completeness that comes with a personal interaction. It may be a conservative perspective, but I have always been of the belief that an unthreatening environment and the research methods are two essential requisites of any good research, particularly when I talk of qualitative research. The difference between online and offline research is same as the difference between a virtual meeting and meeting in flesh and blood. Given a choice we would always prefer to have an offline meeting with the ones we want to , vis a vis a virtual one.

One of the key challenges of online research is to keep the respondent engaged and involved without being able to accurately decipher the signals that the tone and body language can give. In an offline interview, a lot can be achieved and controlled by the means of posture and eye contact. This lack of control is not just in the case of behaviour and engagement but also spreads over to the research environment. The lighting, seating arrangement, air circulation and other such factors become completely out of control of the researcher when the interview or interaction is being done in an online mode. Qualitative research is not just understanding the respondent but also taking cues from his or her environment and deciphering information from the cues that the environment offers. In the light of my arguments presented above, the efficacy of the online research can be in question. Though it is convenient and at times the only solution but its use should only be limited to where I feel offline research cannot be reached. A judicious and wise use of online research is acceptable but I disagree with it becoming a replacement for offline research tool.

Hazards in Data Collection

It’s an uphill climb so it has to has its share of pitfalls. The journey of research is such. However, it is better to take it step by step, one thing at a time. Let me take the chance today to explain to you the hazards and pitfalls of data collection. The most common mistakes … Continue reading “Hazards in Data Collection”

No impetus in the questionnaire: At the time of choosing the problem, as a researcher do not limit your vision to yourself. Broaden your vision and look towards whether the problem you wish to research upon is going to generate new insight in the phenomenon. The answers that you would seek from your research should be targeting more real rather than hypothetical problems.

Pursuing Fads: There are certain topics of research that remain popular in the market for a short duration. These are called as fads. Abstain as a researcher to get carried away towards these fads as your area of research. They have a short lived shelf life and they may die their own death before you even get to complete your research. Spend some time over choosing topics that have more time worthiness and can be of value over years to come.

Visionless data mining: Though the collection of data is a very minute step in the entire research process. But before commencing data collection, you have to ensure to undertake proper planning so as to avoid getting into a soup. All the data collection that is done without any proper planning may lead to imperfect, irrelevant and imperfect data which is wastage of time and effort. Knot up the key that abundance in data is not a substitute for quality in data.

Are You in the Procrastination Club?

Are you a member of the procrastination club? If you are reading this blog, I believe you are. I find people in that time of the year, all in the same boat, running around frantically for grants, fellowship, publications , event organising, essays. A great amount of stress is found floating around in the research community. I find almost all research scholars admitting it, cracking jokes about it and what not. By and large, no qualms about admitting that we all procrastinate in our doctoral journey. I wanted to research within my research that why does this word associate itself so prudently with research scholars.

I found that as scholars, most of them found themselves doing things that were not related to my research but refused to embrace the fact that we did so only because we wanted to do it. There is nobody who forces us to do this, like how nobody has forced us to do this PhD. Does procrastination have an effect on research? Well, that is another grave question of concern. To answer this , again I would say that there are largely two kinds pf people doing research. The one kind of people have a very methodical approach to research and create great and inspiring pieces of work with gradual and consistent approach towards work. The other categories of people need to have some pressure upon them in order to work. Their energy levels shoot up just before the deadline. I am the procrastinating type and I work like this. Performance under pressure. Does that actually mean that if I procrastinate, I only think of my PhD when under pressure and otherwise I lack focus. When I talk of myself, it may not be true. Yes, my way is to procrastinate working but my brain does not stop thinking of my PhD while I am involved into work beyond my desk.

I can keep going on and on defending the procrastinating approach but that would make this post lengthy and beyond the designated word limit. But I would surely want to trigger the thoughts through this blog that do you procrastinate? Are you guilty of doing so? Do you work around trying to combat the approach? Well friends, this is life and allow yourself some fun, allow yourself a life.