Research Year Tips

[AP]

So, I am going to the field next year. Everything until now has been about exams and prospectus. We don't really know much of the ins and bits of what we are supposed to be doing next, how to organize information, how to start writing, etc. Hence, I am asking a *lot* of people about this: other grads, former grads, professors, and you guys out there. 

Any tips?

 

AP

 

[rising_star]

How have you not learned about this already? Your program is doing you a serious disservice by not giving you this training! How you organize the year depends in part on where you are in data collection. In general though, you'll want to have a set schedule for work which maximizes time in the archives or interviewing or whatever. You'll also want to set aside an hour or so a day to stay up to date on what's being published in your area (so recent journal articles or books). But, like I said before, a lot is project-specific.

[AP]

16 hours ago, rising_star said:

How have you not learned about this already? Your program is doing you a serious disservice by not giving you this training! How you organize the year depends in part on where you are in data collection. In general though, you'll want to have a set schedule for work which maximizes time in the archives or interviewing or whatever. You'll also want to set aside an hour or so a day to stay up to date on what's being published in your area (so recent journal articles or books). But, like I said before, a lot is project-specific.

Mmmm, I have not expressed myself clearly. 

I know how the schedule is going to be (both yearly and daily, I had to prepare grant applications) and I have read/am reading the latest in my field (comps + prospectus do the trick). I am asking for more day-to-day advice. A year before taking the comps we organized a panel with students that had sat for them. They provided things that worked for them and didn't work regarding note-taking, organization, time management, etc. We are organizing something similar later in the semester, but I want to hear (read) what other people have to say about it. For example, how did you organize your notes? Did you start drafting paragraphs as you also did research? Did you use any particular software? (I have my preferences, but I have discovered some new ones recently...). 

 

AP

[rising_star]

This is all too personal and project specific, imo. Some people like to take notes on documents and put those in Zotero as they go. Others prefer to use EndNote to keep notes as they go. I use tons of notebooks because I prefer to work on paper. I like to have a separate notebook/file where I keep track of ideas that I come up with as I read or collect data, just to see if they become common enough to be a pattern I can write about later. Personally, I don't like to write as I go but that's because of the kind of data I collect and work with. 

BTW, a bunch of the stuff earlier was about the day-to-day. Read scholarship 5 days a week for 30-60 minutes so you stay up to date on the field and can make sure you're addressing the most recent/relevant scholarship in your dissertation and future publications. Setting aside dedicated time for writing once you hit that stage is also something which should be done daily. And then making time to pursue your hobbies/interests, which can be hard if you have to relocate for your research, but which is also necessary to maintain your sanity.

[TMP]

Like Rising_star said, I've learned that a lot of the day-to-day is so individualized.  It's up to the person doing it and do it the best way s/he knows how and is most comfortable with.  If you liked the process that you did when you wrote your undergrad/MA thesis, by all means continue.  The comps prep was also supposed to help you learn how to organize your notes and readings.

So I'm just... going to throw up a deck of cards and just put them together....however I want to.

[AP]

Yes! I do want to know about the individual experience. This is great, although I see you might think "personal" is not good for giving advice. @TMP Did you travel abroad for research?  

[TMP]

1 hour ago, AP said:

Yes! I do want to know about the individual experience. This is great, although I see you might think "personal" is not good for giving advice. @TMP Did you travel abroad for research?  

I literally have no choice but to travel in the US and abroad (mainly Europe)  

[kotov]

I spent 5-8 hours a day 4-5 days a week at the library looking at microfilm and translating/taking notes and made a few trips to DC to the Holocaust Museum. I picked up some stuff from the Romanian National Archives in Bucharest and did some research in the German-language secondary literature while I was living in Europe but most of the real work was in the library snuggling with the microfilm reader.

As far as taking notes goes, I did it by hand on a legal pad and/or index cards and kept them in file folders. I kinda wrote as I went, which in retrospect I wouldn't do.

Edited February 15, 2016 by kotov

[random_grad]

I'm gathering all sorts of advice too, so this post is great! It's nice to hear what people do so as to know what's possible, and then pick whatever fits the way you work.

Advice I've heard which I found interesting and which may be relevant to you too:

- if you go to an archive, try to find out who in your field works there too. Google their photo, read their most recent book and introduce yourself if you happen to see them. People tend to be friendly and very happy to meet young researchers.

- when you get access to a material, take photos if that's something potentially relevant for your work on the first try. you may not get access a second time. therefore: always have all your tools with you.

- backup your stuff!

Looking forward to hearing more advice of even the most basic nature from people who've been there, done that

[Riotbeard]

I have a couple of tips.

Depending on the type of documents you are using, spreadsheets can be a great device, because they allow for great search-ability and sorting documents in potentially interesting ways. I use word documents and spreadsheets.  I personally don't like a lot of the notetaking software, but that is me.

Back up in the cloud and with a harddrive.  I lost twenty pages of notes when my hard-drive crashed a week in.  Luckily I still had the photos, and was able to go back and retake my notes.

I would suggest behaving/dressing professionally.  You have to get archivists on your side, so first impressions do matter.  In addition to them helping you find great sources (and sometimes one that you weren't even looking for), archivists can be your introduction into the local academic community, and can be great advocates of your work. You have to be efficient with your time, but I tended to go to the archive when they opened and leave 15 minutes before they close.  Start packing up around fifteen minutes before they close.  Don't keep the archivists at work late!

View your time in the field like your time at a conference. This is a great opportunity to build your professional network.  Go to talks.  E-mail professors in the local departments.  Ask them for an opportunity to pick their brain, and introduce you to some of their grad students.  This is great for professional reasons, but also can help alleviate the inherent loneliness you will have battle moving into a new city every month or two.  My research year I went to 8 different cities.  When I went back for follow up research, it was so exciting that I got to see all my friends.

If the archive has a sign in sheet, see who else is there doing research.  Go up to big name professor x from Yale, and ask them what they are looking at. Ask them if they have time that week for lunch and if you can pick their brain.  I did this, and that person continues to give me great advice, and at our big conference, we meet every year for coffee, etc.

 

[TMP]

For research abroad (This is from Western-Central European archives)

Be prepared to pay dearly for copying fees.  Make sure that you allow for plenty of money in your budget.   Most archives in Germany still insist on 1) You pay them for copies or 2) You take notes, no photography or scanning yourself.  British archives vary but I'd be prepared to pay up for photography or copying fees.

Dress professionally as you would to a conference-- Europeans dress up.  No jeans or sweatshirts (those scream "AMERICAN!!!!").  Dresses, skirts, slacks, button-downs, nice shirts, etc.  Be well-groomed.

If there is a language barrier- DO NOT PANIC.  Find a common language-- English, French, German, Spanish... If you need to, write down your requests.  It's okay to speak in broken sentences-- archivists used to it and they also will speak in broken English.

Have your adviser's letter of introduction ready.  Advisers usually do this on a regular basis.  If the passport people are giving you a hard time about entering, just pull it out and boom, you will be granted entry.  Not all archives require it but it's helpful-- makes you look more legit.

Back up, back up, back up.  Definitely use the cloud.

When the archives are closed or you can't go for some reason, GO AND HAVE FUN!  You don't know when you'll be back so play tourist!  You won't regret it, I promise.  Try to spoil yourself with amazing food/drink/culture.

Coffee as Americans know it is primarily available at Starbucks and McDonalds.  Otherwise, get used to espressos and tea, or sweets (sugar is even less but sugar is sugar).

And.... have plenty of converters on hand for all of your devices.  You'll need to hunt for them a bit but they're not difficult to find as in the US as British and various parts of EU do not use the same plug.

[kotov]

I've never run into an issue as far as German librarians, etc. letting me photograph things, but I was also working mostly in libraries and not government archives. Thankfully, as a student, I was paying the copy fees as set for students rather than what they might be for an independent researcher, but I've heard those can be quite steep.

[KLZ]

I think this thread as moved away from the OP's original (broad) question to a thread on researching in the archives. With that said, I would like to contribute to this great discussion on visiting archives!

Expect the unexpected! I did research in southern Africa a few years ago. I reserved a hotel that I thought was across the street from a particular archive (according to the archive's stated location on its website). When I arrived, I found out that the archive had moved two years prior to my visit. And no, they did not update their website to reflect the change. I started emailing historians that I knew worked in this archive in the recent past, and none of them knew anything about the move! Fortunately, I learned that they only move a few miles down the street so I didn't miss out on the opportunity to visit during my short stay. 

I've heard other stories about people planning day trips to archives only to find them closed for unknown holidays, infrastructure issues, no personnel, etc. Some archives in my region are windowless buildings without proper storage of documents. Boxes tend to be damaged by weather and pests. Traveling for research can be pretty exciting stuff--if not completely anxiety inducing. I love it!

[AP]

And now that I'm done, I can give in some tips myself!

[maelia8]

This is a really, really helpful thread, folks! I'll be leaving for a research year in September and am still pretty unsure about how I want to manage my time and my documents, and, in addition, have some concerns about self-motivation/regimentation in a place without any colleagues or graduate students monitoring me or working with me regularly. Some of you have touched on this, but how did you motivate yourself to work when no one was watching, and keep to a set schedule with less appointments or performative aspects than usual? As an extremely social person in a grad department that facilitates frequent colloquia and panels, and encourages grad students to work together in a shared space on campus, how did you get used to working alone and setting your own schedule (without getting lethargic, unmotivated, or even depressed)? This is one of my biggest research year fears, as it was a problem for me when I did summer research a year ago.

[AP]

Ok, I've finished editing my own list for my past self and other researchers going into the field. This is specific for archival research (it doesn't include interviews).

1) Have a broad monthly calendar and what you want to achieve each month. Keep in mind this can change, so adjust it accordingly.

2) Have weekly mini-aims, things that you definitely need to get done. It can be research related or not, such as going for three runs. 

3) I cannot stress this enough: keep many copies of your files in a cloud, an external drive, another cloud, another external drive, whatever. Be paranoid about this. Things happen and you don't want to delay your research because you need to go back to an archive because you lost everything. 

4) Sync periodically. 

5) Take your time to have your files organized. This takes time and energy, so plan accordingly. What I do is each day get home, download all the photos into a Dropbox folder, create PDFs of each document I saw (depending how they are organized), then upload the PDF to Dropbox and another cloud, and I have a online database with everything I have seen, reproduced, PDFed, and taken notes of. 

6) Write often. This was great advice that I got but I want to clarify something: writing means writing anything. At first I was bummed because all my writing was note taking from files. But then these notes turned into thoughts and then into paragraphs. It takes time, but writing needs to happen. 

My two cents!

[TMP]

On 5/11/2017 at 11:49 AM, maelia8 said:

This is a really, really helpful thread, folks! I'll be leaving for a research year in September and am still pretty unsure about how I want to manage my time and my documents, and, in addition, have some concerns about self-motivation/regimentation in a place without any colleagues or graduate students monitoring me or working with me regularly. Some of you have touched on this, but how did you motivate yourself to work when no one was watching, and keep to a set schedule with less appointments or performative aspects than usual? As an extremely social person in a grad department that facilitates frequent colloquia and panels, and encourages grad students to work together in a shared space on campus, how did you get used to working alone and setting your own schedule (without getting lethargic, unmotivated, or even depressed)? This is one of my biggest research year fears, as it was a problem for me when I did summer research a year ago.

My MA program was like this!  It was a lonely when I moved into my PhD program where for my own field/interests there weren't going on on a weekly basis (more like semester basis).  I struggled a lot to stay motivated with my studying etc.  Depending on your relationships with your professors and other students, you can set up some kind of "accountability" schedule with one or two people.  With my exam studying, I insisted that my adviser met with me at least monthly rather than 6-8 weeks she originally wanted.  E-mailing with her regularly has kept me motivated.  Sometimes I'll drop an e-mail to someone who might be able to answer a question I've been thinking about and at least some kind of conversation starts.  Does your department graduate students have a private Facebook page?  If not, you could start one up to keep everyone connected.

You'll meet people in the archives (especially smaller ones) along the way who will want to learn about  your work and you'll have plenty of chances to talk about your findings.  You'll want to keep writing down your thoughts as you go along so you remember what you've found.

But yeah, the time difference between the US and Germany will be... a bit rough. Your mornings will be unbelievably quiet but that's the best time to be totally focused in the archives before your friends start pinging you  

I'm most nervous about being in Australia for 4 months.  While I'll have few colleagues there to talk with, the overall communication won't be the same. 

@kotov, precisely.  i was working in governmental institutions and Institut für Zeitgeschichte München.  However, I've just learned that Staatsarchiv Bremen is relatively lax with photography. w00t!