Dal PhDer

Physwimic makes some really great points. Myself, I think it's a great idea. I am reminded of another thread on here about difficult academic readings ()...I think something like this could help students out if they are unsure of an article. It's almost like an additional study aid. It doesn't sounds like the students are suggesting to use each others work as their own, but simply lift some of the burden that reading and synthesizing several articles is...also, if you chose to take on one specific article, it's almost like that one person could spearhead/facilitate the discussion in class about it. I think if used as something to help eachother along, it's good...I wouldn't use it as your only source of information. If this something you have to participate in? If not, why not just say you're not interested? Also, I don't see grad school as a place where you are competing with your classmates (in class...for grants and such it is)...class time is essentially a place where you go, collaborate, share ideas and learn from others. You providing your summaries to your fellow classmates is probably a great opportunity for them to learn from you...and you from them! You never know, their summaries might be pretty extensive and help you with the readings and discussions a lot. I wouldn't go in to it thinking it's necessarily a bad thing where people will steal your ideas/thoughts...but an opportunity to become part of a team and learn from eachother!!

wildviolet has some really great advice- make friends with a couple of your classmates. You're feeling what most students feel. UG to grad is a BIG change. The expectations, how things are taught, and what you're expected to bring is completely different. You have to think differently, read differently, and present what you know differently. Graduate school IS hard- if it weren't, it wouldn't be such a pain to get into and everyone would do it! But it's important to know that most, if not all, students feel this way. All you can do is work hard, try your best, and find students to be in misery with!

I learned early on that I don't know everything! I also learned early that I tend to have verbal diarrhoea...for example, during my MA defence, [my topic was on physical activity accessibility] and my external said "do you think you're making the assumption that if it's in their neighbourhood they'll use it? Do you not need to test that relationship" ...without summarizing what I said, I ended up making reference to living next to a liquor store and still not being an alcoholic.I got laughs, but thinking back, probably not my best choice of words...hehe I think it's human nature to make mistakes and/or say something stupid. You have to not let it drag you down or define you. Also, it's great when you finally realize that it's okay not to know an answer, and just say it. There was a question in my defence where I had to answer "That's a great question and something I should know, but I do not. All I can say is that you've brought attention to an area in which I need to give further focus to. I will email you next week and give my answer to that question". They were pleased! I didn't try to BS my way around something that it was obvious that I didn't know! You're only in your first year of grad school- give yourself a break! You're allowed to be wrong or say something silly! You, me, the students in your class and everyone on here have already, or will at some point, done it! Don't be so hard on yourself! You've got to be pretty smart to have gotten into grad school!

I am in my third year, and every day I struggle with feeling like I don't know enough or am not smart enough. I was reading a blog the other day by a TT professor- she said that no matter what, when she starts a project she always feels stupid and like she can't complete it because she isn't smart enough...then she gets over a hump and feels fine. So I think this is a feeling we all have and constantly have to deal with. One day you will be talking about something and realize, "wow! I know my stuff! and I am smart!" ...it's hard to accept it, and really overwhelming (i am thinking about when I first started and I cried when i returned home after my first day), but everyone feels like it, and I bet when you speak and contribute to the discussions- other people say to themselves "I wish I was as smart as that student!" As for the peer review...I have several comments on this. Firstly, I think a lot of students do not know how to give constructive feedback (even professors). I find that some students can take the opportunity to review someone's work as a way for them to bully them down and make themselves feel better. With that said, you also have to realize (and it took me awhile), that feedback is a lot of personal choice and writing style. What one person likes, another person might not. I also preface my editing with - this is just my style of writing, it doesn't mean that it's right or wrong! It's hard to do, but try to ignore on some level the negative feedback, and focus on the positive. This doesn't mean not to consider what other people are saying and their critique because it can be useful...but try not to dwell on it, and look at the good things that have been said about it. I have found a labmate who isn't in my degree or field. We always exchange pieces of writing with each other before we hand them in. I know (as does she) that she will give my writing a really critical eye and tell me straight up how it is- and I do the same for her. My suggestion is that if you are worried about your writing, try and find someone that you can exchange it with- and if you can't, take it to the writing center! They're really great at my school and a resource a lot of students forget to use! I am not in my courses anymore, but how I structured my day was to read all the course material (or skim) so I had the best understanding of the theory/methods/etc. for class. I would also make notes and review them ahead of time- the notes were mostly margin notes, or particular points that I wanted to potentially bring up during discussion. I made sure I made time to read what was given to me, and on occasion some of the recommended reading (this was when I felt I wasn't too sure what was going on with that particular weekly topic). It's hard to read all the material or find time to do it, so pick and choose what you want to skim through, and what you might want to spend time taking a second look over! As for being an expert in your field- heck! I am still trying to figure that out myself

I would disagree with this on some levels : mostly, I am offended that you think my family- who is lower class- and myself would make poor choices because we are poor, or that I am automatically assumed to be privileged because I am where I am. However, I would agree on some level that external circumstances such as household income, neighbourhood SES, and parental education may influence a child's accessibility to higher education. I think generalizing such a statement can lead to mixed messages and ill formed statements. Hi *wave*, you've met one now! To the OP, I don't think you can generalize to say "all" or "most" ...there are so many different cases and situations that can lead someone to choosing to pursue higher education. Yes, if we look at the social determinants, income generally will determine what you have access too. Whether this if through monetary accessibility, or through family perspectives/experiences that make it inaccessible...but you can't generalize. I come from a single parent low income home. I am the first in all my family to pursue any type of education past highschool. My family has never encouraged me or discouraged me in pursuing a degree...I was always taught that you should, above being self-sufficient, achieve in life what makes you happy. My mother wanted to contributed what she could to my tuition, but I wanted to pay for it myself and did. This does not mean that I haven't also been able to travel to Europe (with her), travel across North America, or sacrifice what I want because of money...if I want my sun-dried stuffed olives, dammit, I am going to have them. I am not trying to stand on a soap box and lecture or get sympathy...but I personally find it insulting that someone would assume I was handed or helped in some way to get where I've gotten. I have worked everyday since I was 16 to make sure I could afford and still afford to do what I love doing. I also work hard to excel at what I do and be able to have the support of funding. To think that I am where I am because of someone other than me, well...I don't like that. Mind you, I won't disagree that some students are handed everything and get where they are because of their family...but that doesn't mean we're all like that.

Hehehehehe!! I still have that fear! I am not sure it ever goes away! Just get comfort that everyone else in that room has the same fear!

My bags are packed and I'm ready to leave! Gonna get myself a koala!

Ok, so why was this data originally collected? Has the data already been partially analyzed? What type of interview format was it? structured or unstructured? I would say that the best case is one where the data has already been partially combed through and emerging themes have been identified...then you can take one of the themes and go into more thematic analyses with it. However, knowing that your data is qualitative, I think with a bit of adjusting your question is fine. I would reword it in a way that suggests your are using a qualitative perspective- right now I would say the way you're presenting your question it sounds like you are taking a quantitative approach. Here is a pdf of a chapter from a great book by Creswell and it outlines how to propose questions for quant vs. qual research (http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/22782_Chapter_7.pdf)

A good research question has clearly defined variables and population of interest. For an UG thesis, I would recommend having 1 clearly defined independent variable and 1 clearly defined dependent variable. 'What is the effect the commodification of (harvested product omitted) on economic restructuring in (village name omitted)'? What effect does commodification of (product) have on the economic restructuring in (village)? The biggest thing for me is what do you mean by "economic restructuring"? This seems like a big and broad concept with multiple measures...I would narrow down that concept first to 1 measurable variable.. Also, I am going on the assumption that the data you collected is quant in nature...is this the case? or did you do interviews?

Hi there, I don't think that's a bad research question...but I do question the scope of it for an undergraduate thesis. I think it's actually too big for even a PhD project. I think this is a good question, and you can bring it to your advisor for some direction as it does show where your interests are, but I would consider narrowing it down into something that you could complete within a year. Is there data already collected, or would you have to collect your own data? This is a major thing to think about, as data collection takes a LONG time (not to mention your REB application needs to be approved)...that doesn't mean that UGs can't do it, it just means that you have to consider your timeline, especially if you're looking to travel somewhere to do it- which I have not heard being done for UG. **If you are going to travel, you also have to think about funding and expenses, and additional time**. If you're really interested in pursuing this question and further research work, perhaps doing a literature review around this topic would be better. You could get a really great foundational document that could supplement a graduate project.

I have recently dug out my magic bullet machine that I got several years ago for christmas (and never used).....I am now in love with breakfast smoothies!! They are so cheap! I get a couple bundles of banana's at Costco for super cheap and freeze them...then I mix in anything from soy milk, peanut butter, frozen fruit, juices, spinach, almonds, yogurt, flax seed, apples, watermelon...the list goes on! You can make really quick (easy traveling) smoothies for such a cheap price! I think this is now a staple for me!!

You can get lots of different types of sausages. They are safe to eat and easy to cook, but don't tend to be the healthiest. But they're awesome in moderation. I really like turkey sausages! ...mmmm....late night turkey sausage craving!

Hi there! Firstly, you're master's material! If you weren't, you wouldn't be there. Second, most students find it difficult to transfer from UG text to graduate level reading. There's still papers I don't understand. In fact, there's a paper on research paradigms by Guba and Lincoln that I have read about 7 times, and there are parts where I am like "what the hell are they trying to say!". I always found that reading an article and then discussing it with fellow students was really helpful. You might find that others have difficulties with it too. Is this most of the readings for the class, or just the assigned readings for the class that you have to facilitate? If it is most of the readings, I would suggest trying to rally together some other students in the class and have weekly sessions where you work together to on understanding the readings and trying to answer eachother's classes. You might want to go directly to the professor if there's a particular reading you're having trouble with. Perhaps they can offer some advice to you and point you in a direction to different readings. You may also want to find pervious students who took the class, and maybe ask them for some help. I don't know if there's tutors at this level, but perhaps you can ask them to act like one for this specific class. Also, I would hit up the reading/writing/library center. I know with our library they offer writing services and also classwork services. These things are like: planning homework progression, getting through tutorials, how to write notes, and how to read scientific articles. They might be able to help you with specific skills to make reading these texts easier, and if there are specific readings, they might be able to go through them with you as well. I know we have an ESL center at my school. One of my friends use to work there and I know she would help students with their work all the time, so there might be that option too. However, I would start by giving yourself more credit than you are. I am sure these readings are difficult for most of the students and are meant to challenge you. With the Guba article, I opened the class discussion with "I'm sorry, but I read this thing 7 times, and I still don't know what they're saying! Especially when they talk about... [insert example]" ...the class and professor laughed and agreed. I don't know the dynamics of your class, but I don't think it's wrong to admit that you've had difficulty understanding a higher level text!

If I am in this "well-liked" clique, does that make me a minority? Anyone? Humour? No? 1Q84...I dunno...I think you are taking someone disagreeing with you quite personally. You're on a forum with graduate students who are going to have strong opinions- that's just who we are. Just because someone has a different point of view and others agree with them (lots of people agreed with you and disagreed with me), doesn't mean you're not liked. And to comment on confusedgradadmit, I would have to say that I have experienced the same thing at my school. There is a strong presence international students! This also means that our city if VERY diverse and multi-cultural. At a young age you're exposed to a variety of cultures. With all that said, it still doesn't diminish or colourblind the situation. I fully believe in a social ecological perspective that there are many external factors influencing an individual's life. However, I can't continue to stress that in this thread that it's not solely about ethnicity- there are many cases of sexism, classism, agism, and LGBT discrimination that goes on everyday for students. I would also like to think the grad cafe is a place where everyone is equal and treated as such...and I think we all try to do that too!

Every time I go on campus and see an undergrad that's showing WAY too much, I think of you girls!! haha!

Pretty! I love the romantic look! I'm bit into white linen/lace shirts and a nice cardi! I love this idea of pearl earrings! Very collegial! I'm totally one of the sweatpant people/yoga pants girl. Sometimes it's just easier to go gross from the gym into the lab/library on a day when you know you won't be seen! haha

I made this promise to myself as well!

Interesting! I was thinking about this the other day. I am in a very clinical and applied research program. I work with humans, and like you, before I begin ANY bits of my experience, I need to read read read read read. I have a group of friends in biochemistry who just don't get what I do. They think I don't do ANYTHING. They spend HOURS every day at their lab doing things that I can only imagine looking like this: While I'm at home or a coffee shop reading and writing. They just don't get what I do. And I guess on some level I don't get what they do. They don't go through ethics, they don't pilot test, their data is completely different, and even what and how they write is completely different. I mention a literature synthesis to them one day, and they were like: what? You have to do that? ...my mouth was on the floor. I am like you sometimes, I do feel like I am some kind of slacker because I am not in a lab 24/7, or I haven't tried a step in my experiment and figured out if it's a go or not. I just remind myself that in good time, I am going to be wishing I had the freedom that I do now..because once REB is approved and data collection begins, I am sure we're both going to be up to our ears in dissertation tasks! Also, I am in much the same boat as you...constantly reading and learning can seem like you're not doing anything. I often worry about not having something concrete to show my advisor for all the work that I am doing. So I started working on some chapters for my dissertation. There's some writing I can do without starting my actual data collection. Even outside my dissertation, there's background writing I can do for my REB, dissertation proposal, potential papers. So I try to read and write! Maybe try that, it might make you feel better having some kind of document to show for all of your hard work! Good luck, and stay strong!!!!

I think you've gotten really great advice. I have known students to get B's and B+'s on projects and/or final classes. They've turned out to be REALLY successful students in that same program. I wouldn't say that the grade is a subtle way of getting you to leave the program, I would say (and from your comments above about the paper) that sometimes a student's work quality deserves that grade. I would go to the professor and ask what you could have done to get a better mark. I wouldn't ask them to change it, but I would show that you're not pleased with yourself for attaining such a mark, and want to improve your skills/ability so you can produce A+ quality material in the future. I believe grad school is all about learning, and showing the motivation to change and improve. It can't be expected that every student will enter the program as an A+ student. You will have learning curves and bad days. Showing that you can pick yourself up and handle the criticism is a great skill that professors like to see. I wouldn't worry about this being a means of trying to get you to leave the program, I would look at this as an opportunity to show your program that you want to stay and improve by learning.

Quote from article "Although a doctorate is designed as training for a job in academia, the number of PhD positions is unrelated to the number of job openings. Meanwhile, business leaders complain about shortages of high-level skills, suggesting PhDs are not teaching the right things." This can't be said enough to students: Yes, if you ONLY do dissertation requirements and ONLY set yourself towards a TT position, then you will most likely experience an upward climb for a TT position. HOWEVER, pigeon holing yourself into 1 type of career path isn't appropriate- and, much like other degree based careers (e.g., teachers, nursing), within this economy it is difficult to find a job. One can hope that as the baby boomer generation eases into retirement, a wealth of position will become open. In the mean time, all PhD students should be looking at collecting a wide range of marketable skills that can be applied to a variety of employment situations. They should also be actively browsing potential job openings outside of academia to see what skills/experiences they should be collecting. I truly believe there is a rich employment pool outside of the University for PhD students. The issue may not be that there is no jobs for students but yet there is no university jobs. So why am I doing my PhD? To open up doors for me outside of a TT position (which I would ideally like). My PhD experience has allowed me to gain valuable skills, experiences and networks that I can apply to a variety of job opportunities after graduation.

I dunno...I know there are times when I think about what I've said on here and wish I was a little bit more 'mysterious'. I think if you're going to host it on your school's server, it won't be as anonymous as you might want it to be. I also think that if you're looking to de-construct academics and think that what you say in the blog might come back to hurt you, maybe keep it anonymous. I do think people are going to have to start considering their internet presence more (and when I say people, I am included). I don't normally think of my internet doings impacting my 'real life' ...so with that said, even though I don't do it, I might keep it anonymous.

Sorry to hear that! Yeah, the writing process is certainly an experience...one that is a lot less straight forward than I thought! Hopefully it will work out for you!

I agree! That and crop tops...who brought crop tops back!!? I saw a girl in high waisted short shorts and a crop top on. Even with the highwaisted shorts on, the crop top was so tiny that you still saw her mid-drift!! I just don't get it! I wear a V-neck and I feel like I am exposed!!!! I am all for leggings and colour! I think they're cute...but spandex hot pink leggings with a yellow bra top is a bit much for me!! That's like midnight club attire!!!! EDIT: I sound like my mom...dear god....

This is a bit off topic...but since the campus is now crawling with undergrads, I can tell you what NOT to wear: -lycra (especially when it's leggings of bright colours) - crop tops - baggy tank tops with no bras - knee high stocking with a miniskirt - heels you can't walk in - bras as tops. I feel like an old woman, but what are kids wearing these days!?!!? As for departmental dress- I think it depends (1) the season, and (2) the department. My home department is filled with hippies that wear shorts, linen skirts (not reserved just for females), fleece (lots of fleece in the winter) and jeans. Other departments I walk through have people in suit jackets and dressing like their about to rock a serious VP meeting. I would stick to the basics. Comfortable, casual but business. Think a drink afterwork with a potential date. Dark jeans and a cute top with a bit of jewellery! I am a bad person to ask for advice...I am going into my third year and have come to the realization that I can wear gym attire to the lab with no repercussions. That's bad...

I think there are so many variables that can impact the answers to these questions. You have to consider how far along you are with your project, why you're leaving your current supervisor, the relationship between your current and potential supervisor...etc. In general, students do change supervisors, it's more common than most think (or at least I thought!)...it can be done in a very respectful and pleasant way so that not bridges are burned and there are no repercussions. If you are thinking of changing advisors I would start off talking to your graduate coordinator or the person in your department who helps guide students. They can let you know what they suggest and can help with how it might impact you in your department. Also, before you make any big changes, I would research who you might want to work with, and even talk to them about coming onto your committee as a mentor or co-supervisor. In the end, you have to do what's best for you!