How to PhD - your academic survival guide

We'll be honest, the CV or Resume was the last thing we were worried about when we were doing our PhDs. But doing some very simple, practical things can set you up very nicely for when you need to create that document. In this episode, we've got some really important tips for that document, and it's never too early to start working on these!!

Lockdowns and quarantine rules meant we had to slightly adjust our recording schedule- but we're back (albeit with a slightly makeshift studio!). A special episode to round off the year dedicated to helping you relax and unwind this holiday season. We're back on the 17th January!    So all that's left to say is if you celebrate Christmas- then Merry Christmas!! Otherwise, have a wonderful holiday...

We're not huge fans of the word 'networking', but it is an important thing to learn during your PhD. But you don't have to be the loudest voice or super extroverted to network! No, all you need is to put yourself and your work out there for people to see, and there are many ways to do this.  Here's a guide to all things networking and building your research profile- from your two, relatively intro...

"Being a supervisor?? Wait, but aren't I the one being supervised?" Yes! But don't pass up any opportunities to engage with supervising other Bachelor/Masters students during your PhD! There's so much value in being able to apply what you know from your own PhD experience in teaching and guiding the next generation! In this episode, we'll cover all of the essentials to do with how to be a supervis...

Research proposals can be extremely daunting and it's easy to get lost in the process. Fortunately, we've been there before and we've got an episode packed with practical guidance on writing your own research proposals- both for a future PhD and for those that come after!

PhDs are difficult things! But don’t confuse difficulty with progress. Just because you might be facing challenges does not mean you’re not doing well- quite the opposite in fact! In this episode, we talk about the 5 key challenges we faced in our PhDs and how we went about dealing with them.

Posters are often only thought of in a conference context, but actually they can be so useful at all stages of your PhD. They put you in the right mindset for thinking about your work in a concise and effective way and are a brilliant thing to create before say, a viva or presentation.    This week, we'll give you all the details on how to create a poster, from the first key questions to ask yours...

Have you ever felt lost conducting a literature review? How do you know you've covered enough of the literature? That's exactly what systematic reviews aim to solve by giving you a super structured process to follow. In this episode, we're diving it why you might want to consider systematic reviews and crucially- how do you actually do one! It's time consuming, but it's not too confusing once you...

This is one of the big things in the academic world, but unfortunately there's very little guidance on what exactly it is and how you can get involved. In this episode, we'll take you through everything you need to know about peer review and why it's something that can be very helpful for you!

We're back after our break and we're wrapping up our two-part episode on interview studies. This time we're tackling the practical things you need to consider when actually running your interview studies. 

Hello everyone, a warm welcome to all of our new listeners and of course all of you who have been with us since the early days.  It’s been a long time since we spoke! Firstly, we want to apologise to all of you listening here for not updating you all on what’s happening with the show. We had sent a message out on Twitter and Instagram, but of course, not all of you have access to or use those plat...

Interview studies can give you a huge amount of valuable data- if done correctly! In this first part of a two-part episode, Arun & Julia give you all the details on why you might want to consider doing an interview study and how you go about preparing to do one! In part 2 next week, we'll talk about how you actually run the study and how to go about analysing your data!

It’s so important, not only for your PhD, but for life in general to be able to distinguish good research from bad research. Doing so will allow you to ensure you reference and talk about papers of a good quality. We’re going to give you 3 essential tips to help you in being a regular Sherlock Holmes of the good research world!

Pro tip! Don't just read papers like a book! Reading papers is more of an art form than you think. If you know what to look for, you can save yourself a lot of time and focus on just the bits most relevant to you. In this episode, we're going to give you the full rundown of exactly how to do this, as well as some useful tools to make the whole job easier!

COVID has changed conferences for now, but the tips in this episode are still valid! We remember our first conferences were pretty daunting experiences. There's a lot of new terminology you might not of heard before and you might feel overwhelmed at the number of different sessions in a short space of time. Don't worry! This episode has got you covered. We're going to take you through the conferen...

This is the worst case scenario right? The thing no PhD candidate ever wants to think about, but might end up worrying about it every day! This episode is here to put an end to that kind of thinking. We're going to give you the SIX KEY THINGS you need to demonstrate to not fail your PhD... and you'll see that actually, you're almost definitely hitting all the requirements to NOT fail! This episode...

This can be so hard during your PhD. But in this episode, we’ll take you through things you can do to try and organise your life and make time for all the important aspects of your life. We’ll discuss how to prioritise your jobs and roles, how to take your leave and how to work from home- it’s a big one!!

Does this sound like a long long way off? In this week's episode, we're going to be showing you why it's never too early to start thinking about life after the PhD. There are things you can do right now, that are going to really help you and take the stress off when it comes to the final months. We'll also give you a rundown of the practical things you need to know when it comes to searching for a...

This can be incredibly daunting- especially if your work is novel and there isn't a whole lot of literature out there. We talk about how you can find your research question using different, 'novel' sources and exactly how you can write your own great research question!

Corrections and rejections from journals can be extremely demotivating and can be a major stressor for many PhD candidates. Don't worry, this week we're going to show you why this shouldn't be the case and exactly how you should go about responding to all of the many types of responses you could get. 

It’s a process that’s we’re still learning something new about every time. But with these tips, we’ll give you five essential and practical tips to submit your paper in its best possible form, to its ideal journal! 

Ethics... you might see a lot of people worry about this, or at least complain about it! But actually the process is really important to the research process. Understanding why we do it and what actually is in an ethics application can be really powerful- and this week we'll give you the complete practical rundown on how you can apply for ethics. By the end of this episode, you'll have no worries...

We share some essential tips for managing the actual viva itself, including some useful examples from our own viva experience!

We'll show you why the viva, or defence, is something you don't need to fear! Using our tips, you can be ready and prepped- both mentally and practically!

It’s our fifth and final episode of our Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 series! It’s great to be ambitious, but setting unrealistic expectations of yourself in your head can lead to disappointment and imposter syndrome. Let’s set better goals using a technique we’ve used so many times over!