Survivng the 2nd year of PhD

Found in draft from 17 Oct 2013

In less than 2 weeks time, the door to the 3rd phase of PhD will be open. It has been 24 months Alhamdulillah; which means another 12 months before the scholarship ends! The journey has been amazing. It has been filled with many challenges, many new friends, a few achievments, loads of personal experience and self satisfaction. I am looking forward for many more to come but the ones I worry most  are the future challenges.

Back to the topic of discussion, how to survive 2nd year? Honestly, I have no smart answer because to me year 2 runs out so fast! I felt like it just started and now it is approaching the end. My 2nd year has been a full year of data collection, data collection and data collection. In between data collection, there were many times I felt confused with my research and wished to start all over again with something totally new. Towards the end of year 2 when I have some data to play with, the fear of interpretation just gets worst and...when I think of deadlines, I wish to shout STOPPPPP and pause the present! At times like this, I think of what my brother, Tarmizi used to say to me during college days 'Expect the worst but hope for the best' - because I used to be obsessed with perfection in my work and got easily agitated when things did not work out as how I planned. Tarmizi calmed me down by saying those words; he is three years younger than I but matured enough to handle his eldest sister. As I entered working life, I learned that being a perfectionist can lead to self destruction - two men taught me this, my dad and Mr Wong Kok Thong, my first boss. So I guess, what helped me survived year 2 was (1) expect the worst while hoping for the best, (2) less of perfection but more of precision and (3) calm down overcome the fear.

Expect the worst but hope for the best

Tool: PhD gantt chart - adjust from monthly to weekly interval

Scenario: More work, More frustrations, Less time (for both, students and supervisors)

If you happen to read the entries on 1st year PhD survival, there was a point I eloborated about expecting the unexpected. I must say this is one of the best advice for PhD students. In one of those series, I also explained about the importance of the PhD gantt chart, and that is too a very important tool in year 2. In year 1, the mile stones were in a monthly interval. That was mainly because longer time was required to accomplish the tasks in year 1 for example - writing a research proposal, doing literature reviews and preparing PhD upgrade report. However, as I approached the 2nd half of year 2, my academic supervisor's advice was to adjust the gantt chart from monthly to weekly interval and this is also related to the urgency of the tasks in year 2 (everything must be done correctly fast, fast, fast in order to follow the timeline!!!) At this point, it is no surprise that the matters we least worry about can the be a major hindrance to our progress.  For example, in my case, the ethical approval for the second project expected in August was dragged all the way to November and therefore, the study will only be initiated in January 2013 instead of September 2012! The effect of a weekly target gantt chart is amazing! It helped me to handle the worst case scenario better, and what was more important, it helped me to give descent time for my supervisors to look into the matter for an exit :)

Less of perfection but more of precision

Tool: PhD journal

Scenario: Same mistakes can not be repeated more than once!

Have a journal and use it to the fullest. In year 2, we go through a high speed of thinking process. Our idea evolved so rapid that there will be many times we doubt our understanding of our very own research. Perfection comes with practice but in PhD we do not have the luxury of time, therefore recording the mistakes that we encounter will be very helpful especially when it comes to writing the final thesis. I learned this from my supervisor Dr YJ - there was once in a supervision meeting that took place 4 months after my first year viva, I asked YJ a question about the research method. She took out her journal and turned to a page full of notes on what my viva examiner commented on that matter! She also kept track on the changes I made to the method - how I wish to photocopythat particular page of her journal! Another example, my data collection form was reformatted 8 times (without changing the original content as approved by the ethics committee). Along with the reformatting, the operational definition for the terminologies used in the form were also changed and improved - all these changes will give a major impact on data interpretation. However, if these changes were not consistently recorded, it would be near impossible for me to explain the development of idea in the thesis (after many-many months!)

And another important thing to share, Do Not keep DATA ENTRY to the end. Do it as you collect them, because we will encounter several trials and error along the way. It is best to learn the mistakes at an early phase rather than later.  

Calm down overcome the fear

Tool: Special skill courses; Present your work

Scenario: Is my work worth doing? Who will be interetsed in my work? OMG!!! How do I do this?

No, it is never too late, please find time to attend the special skill courses and make a point to share your work. No matter how busy we may be in year 2, do not neglect to reflect what courses should we attend to equip ourselves - for me the biostatistics courses and workshops related to my research area. We tend to be in isolation in year 2, and sometimes we are too busy to update ourselves on recent publications. Attebnding courses and seminars (conferences and etc)  is a fun way of being abreast of the knowledge developement and make connection with other researchers. I would also recommend (if possible) to share your preliminary results - this will keep our confidence up and expose ourself to the many kinds of critical questions about our research.