PATRICIA GOSLING BART NOORDAM Mastering Your PhD SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS IN THE DOCTOR AL YEARS AND BEYOND Third Edition Mastering Your PhD · Patricia Gosling Bart Noordam Mastering Your PhD Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and Beyond Third Edition Patricia Gosling Bart Noordam Zurich, Switzerland ASML (Netherlands) Amsterdam, The Netherlands ISBN 978-3-031-11416-8 ISBN 978-3-031-11417-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11417-5 1st & 2nd editions: © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006, 2011 3rd edition: © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface Why Read a Book About Getting a PhD? PhD students and their supervisors tend to focus only on the content of the research that leads to the doctoral thesis. All other issues are often taken for granted: how to organise your work, give a presentation, work in a team, cope with your supervisor, and manage your time effectively. When asked, former PhD students typically claim that the general experience of being a graduate student, which includes learning how to solve complex problems and work well with others, was of greater value to their careers than the actual content of their thesis. The goal of this book is to apply the communication and organisational skills found to be effective outside the realm of academia to the world of PhD students, and to encourage them to master the non-scientific aspects of getting a PhD. Hopefully, the suggestions and advice included here will help graduate students get the most out of (and fully enjoy!) their PhD years, in addition to offering some much-needed support as they prepare for their post-PhD careers. Sink or Swim After hearing about this project, a professor in the UK had this to say: ‘This book should not be published. Obtaining your PhD is like swimming across a big lake. Some students cannot swim, so they’ll sink. That’s the way the v vi Preface academic system selects those who will win. By providing students with a book on how to swim, they will pass and ruin the system.’ We can’t think of a better endorsement for this book. And we believe, of course, that it is indeed possible to learn to swim—and to survive the course. In fact, we think that mastering certain skills along the way is just as important as getting across the lake to claim the prize—your PhD—on the other side. The Problem: Saving an Old Master Painting from the Ravages of Time To help illustrate some of the principles and suggestions outlined in this book, we’ll be following a team of graduate students as they work together on an important project: saving a priceless Old Master painting from further deteri- oration. The robe of the Virgin Mary in the middle panel of The Coronation of the Virgin by Lorenzo Monaco (ca. 1414) is currently white. Technical examination has shown, however, that the robe was originally a deep pinkish mauve. A restorer can retouch the painting with red paint, but if the robe is still fading, a colour difference will occur; thus, elucidating the correct composition of the original paint, plus understanding the exact nature of the fading process, will be critical for carrying out a proper restoration. Isabel, a chemistry PhD student, will be analysing the chemical compo- sition of the paint. Her challenge will be to apply the analytical techniques currently available to study a sample from the painting, typically a tiny speck that is barely visible to the human eye. Yousef is a PhD student in physics who will be focusing on calculations for the rate of fading in certain paint composites, as well as the important issue of whether it will be possible to reconstruct the original colours in the painting. Another aspect of Yousef’s project will be to develop new analytical techniques for obtaining as much information as possible from the precious samples of paint. Peter is working on his PhD in art history. His project will include the interpretation of the painting based on its use of colour, particularly when the colour is thought to have a religious or symbolic significance. The choice of colour may also be characteristic for this particular artist. The Virgin’s robe, now white, though originally a deep pinkish mauve, for example, could be symbolic of her purity as the mother of Christ, whereas a purple hue would be a symbol of her royal nature as the queen of heaven. In order to solve the problem of the painting’s continuing degradation, the team will have to work together and rely on each other’s data. Communication, planning, and Preface vii cooperation will be key to their success. All three are graduate students at the same university, albeit in separate research departments. Isabel has joined a well-established group run by a senior professor. Yousef works for a world- renowned professor in a large group with many PhD students and several Post-docs. Peter works as one of two PhD students for a young assistant professor. To complete the project successfully, the team will need to draw on many skills they hadn’t counted on using, including good communication, proper planning, and effective time management. Zurich, Switzerland Patricia Gosling Amsterdam, The Netherlands Bart Noordam Authors’ Note More than ten years have passed since the 2011 publication of the second edition of Mastering Your PhD: Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and Beyond . In the meantime, a great deal has changed in the ways we work and communicate with each other. Normally, technical innovations proceed in small steps. Extraordinary events, however, have a way of accel- erating developments in all areas of life. The global COVID-19 pandemic led to rapid advances in biomedicine and communications. Effective vaccines were developed and tested in record time, and remote learning and online communication tools sprang up like dandelions. Although the concept of online learning has been around for two decades or so, overall acceptance of remote teaching, until recently, was low. Traditionally, learning took place in a classroom, and scientists from around the globe gathered at conference venues to share their latest research—despite the substantial investment of time and money involved. When the pandemic brought a halt to most face- to-face interactions, classroom teaching and onsite meetings were abruptly curtailed, and nearly everyone was obliged—seemingly overnight in some cases—to adopt remote communication tools. School teachers had to adapt their lesson plans for online classes, in addition to coping with the peda- gogical and social limitations of remote learning. There was simply no other choice. Some adapted easily to the new tools for remote communication and collaboration, while others struggled with the unfamiliar technology. For the introverts and social-phobics among us, the ability to work or attend classes from home often felt like a blessing in disguise, whereas others struggled to ix x Authors’Note cope with the forced solitude under lockdown conditions, including the lack of in-person meetings and the loss of social connectedness. In this respect, the pandemic acted as a magnifying glass, bringing into focus the many ways of being human, and the different paths each of us took to navigate a global health crisis that—at the time of writing—is still ongoing. As our rapidly changing world and the tools we use to communicate continue to evolve, we were inspired to create a new edition of this book, so we could include tips and advice on using the new learning tools and modes of communication during your PhD journey. To help illustrate some of these ideas, we’ve added a few more episodes to the ‘Saving an Old Master Painting’ storyline to show how Isabel, Yousef, and Peter successfully adapted the suggestions on remote learning and interactions in real-life practice. Even in a non-ideal world— which we have all been struggling through—these new episodes, along with additional tips and advice, illustrate creative ways for adapting our typical behaviours to fit a range of ever-changing circumstances. September 2022 Patricia Gosling Bart Noordam Contents 1 Choosing a Research Group: Pluses and Pitfalls 1 2 Getting Started 9 3 Setting Goals and Objectives 15 4 How to Think Like a Scientist 23 5 Designing Good Experiments 29 6 Charting Your Progress Month by Month 37 7 Dealing with Setbacks 43 8 Mentors, Leadership, and Community 49 9 How to Get Along with Your Labmates, et al. 55 10 Group Dynamics: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues 67 11 The Art of Good Communication 73 12 Mastering Presentations and Group Meetings 83 13 Searching the Scientific Literature 93 14 Your First International Conference 99 15 Remote Collaboration 109 xi