Susana M's List: useful / tools

• • Research into anything is like putting out to sea without a chart or compass,  and only a vague idea of where you wish to go. This means that what you initially  selected as an area of interest or topic to examine may start to appear less  interesting or relevant and your topic may start to change. Even data  availability, or lack thereof, can alter your direction of research. This  is normal and should not be a cause for worry. If the change seems to be  major, you should discuss it with your advisor before making radical changes  of direction. There are bits of paper on file that specify what you are doing  and if you do something else, problems may arise, especially for you! 
  •   Your aim is not to write the world's greatest thesis on your chosen topic,  but to prepare one that is good enough to pass and which does not offer any  loose ends that examiners can seize on to fail you, or refer it for rewriting  and resubmission. The world's greatest doctoral thesis in your area might  take you ten years, but one decent enough to allow you to pass might take  only three years. After getting your doctorate, you can always use the seven  years that you have saved to develop the thesis into a great book. In the  meantime you are "Doctor X", and are qualified to get better jobs and start  to earn real money! 
  •   Many grad students find loneliness a problem. The undergraduates have heaps  of friends from the courses they are taking, but research can be a solitary  pursuit. There may be few other graduate students around working on things  that interest you. In a small university there may be few postgrads of any  description. In addition, many universities have structures in place that  take care of undergrads and other structures to take care of staff, but have  relatively little organized ways of looking after the interests of postgraduates.  Sadly, they often fall in between.
• If you feel lonely, do not get depressed. Get out and try to make friends,  and maybe join a society or two. Join the post graduate society if there  is one. If there isn't, perhaps you could consider setting one up to look  after the interests of these important but often overlooked members of the  university. There may be sports clubs and the like where you can at least  find a human being to talk to, after spending hours cooped up in a lab or  hunched over a computer. You might well need to seek out human contact.
• • Liaise closely with your advisor. Different advisors have different preferences.  Taking my own experience as an example, as a rule of thumb, you can expect  to see him or her perhaps once or twice a month in your early days and also  towards the end when you are writing up. In the middle period, when you are  engaged in gathering data and materials, you may find that you barely need  to see your advisor at all. 
  •   If you are working away from your own university, perhaps in order to gather  data, a letter or lengthy Email message from you every month is a good idea:  you keep in touch, and s/he remembers you (faculty staff have plenty to do  and often several graduate students to supervise - it is easy for them to  overlook you should you go off for a year!) 
  •   Your relationship with your advisor is important. Mostly it works out fine,  but if you find that can never get to see your advisor, or s/he is persistently  unhelpful, you might have to consider finding a different one. This is not  something to undertake lightly, as it can be difficult finding someone else  suitable to take you on. An additional issue is that your name might become  known and you develop a reputation as a troublesome person. If this happens,  it may become hard to find anyone willing to take you on. However, if things  really are not working out between the pair of you, then at least try talking  to another staff member and investigate the possibility of a switch. 
  •   Joint supervision, where you have two or more supervisors, can involve specific  difficulties. If they are in totally separate disciplines, then you may have  few if any problems, e.g., I once happily supervised the economics side of  an energy dissertation along with a scientist who did the physics side and  we got along famously with the student and each other. If, however, you have  two political scientists you will probably find they have three opinions  and if they disagree with one another about what you should be doing, or  how you should be tackling an issue, then you will be in a no-win situation.  Whatever you do will displease one of them.
•  

   

    I knew a student like this in England who was eventually institutionalized  for mental problems, which I personally believe had been intensified by the  conflicting advice of two supervisors. There was no way he could satisfy  both, and I still recall his depression after he had spent several weeks  following a certain path that supervisor A suggested, only to be told by  supervisor B that it was a total waste of time even to think about that avenue.  If you find yourself in a similar situation, I suggest you go and talk to  someone in power, like the head of department or dean of faculty, and seek  their advice on changing one of your supervisors. Prepare your case carefully,  for s/he will not automatically enjoy hearing two members of their staff  being criticized. Be cautious also in the way you present your criticisms  - make them, but do it as nicely as you can.
• • When you are searching journals or newspapers, say 1990-99, you should start  with the latest year and read that; then work backwards to 1998 and read  through it. Never start with the earliest year and work forward, as this  will waste a lot of your valuable time. It can cause you follow too many  threads that lead nowhere; you can spend too much time on details that later  turn out not to be needed; and a later article may render out of date an  earlier one. It is sensible within a year to work forwards, as the mind seems  to prefer this. 
  •   Start to write really early! Writing improves with practice, so the earlier  you start, the better you will get. More importantly, after you have accumulated  information on one section of a chapter, it helps to write up what you think  the information means, including its significance, its weaknesses, questions  it raises but does not answer, and implications for other ideas or theories.  Later, when you come to start writing your draft chapters, it will help you  a lot if you have earlier written something about the material you have gathered.  It is a bad thing to keep reading, taking notes and accumulating more and  more facts and details, then filing them away. Several drawers of a filing  cabinet full of undigested notes are very off-putting!!
• Your career as a graduate student tends to fall into three sections. 
   
  •   The first section is the beginning, when you find a working title and supervisor,  get an idea of what you will be looking for, how you will tackle the subject,  do your literature survey and decide on the methodology you will adopt. It  varies, but for Ph.D. a minimum of two and a maximum of six months should  suffice for section one. The MA degree will usually require less time. 
  •   Section two is when you go and find the information and data you need. This  might involve using the library and Internet, running experiments in your  university laboratory, or perhaps doing something like going to live in a  new area or abroad to study the local flora and fauna. For a Ph.D., this  whole section might take a year or more. 
  •   Section three is when you analyse the data and write up. I suggest above  that you analyse and start writing as your data comes in (i.e. in section  two) and not wait until you have a mountain of stuff on paper or in computer  files. In section three, you write a draft of each chapter and submit it  to your supervisor for comments and approval. It is usually best to do this  chapter at a time unless your supervisor asks for something different. Section  three will take longer than you expect! Some Ph.D. students think it will  be a six month job, but my experience indicates a year or more is common.  If you have six chapters to write and must prepare a draft of each, then  a final version, and if you take only a month a chapter, you need a year.  And for many students, a month is not long for a draft chapter. MA these  might be written up in six months.
• What might your chapter organization look like? Theses vary in the way the  chapters are laid out. Much depends on your discipline, actual topic, and  approach selected, but in some disciplines a sensible chapter layout might  look like this: 
   
  •   Chapter 1: Introduction, justification for the title and thesis, why the  subject is important, how little is known about it and so on. 
  •   Chapter 2: Methodology and literature search results. 
  •   Chapters 3 -5 or more: "the meat" part - what you have discovered. This must  be presented in fashion which is logical for your discipline and thesis title.  For example, in a history thesis it might be Chapter 3, The arguments for  and against the issue; Chapter 4, The early years and policy introductions;  Chapter 5, the later years and policy changes in response to experience and  any emerging problems, followed by the results. Your knowledge of your  discipline, and the example of other theses already written about similar  topics, should help you. 
  •   Chapter 6: Conclusions and recommendations. This is usually a relatively  short chapter, that sums up your findings.
• • It is a good idea to try to keep the length of your chapters roughly similar.  If you find chapter 5 is three times the length of any other chapter, then  it cries out to be split up into two or maybe three chapters, rather than  left as one. Naturally, your introductory chapter is often shorter than the  others, and the literature/methodology chapter might also be a little shorter,  but this is by no means always the case. 
  •   Write your chapters in a sensible order, which is not necessarily 1, 2,….7.  For many students the best chapter to start with is the first "meat" one,  followed by the other "meat" ones in sensible order, then the literature  search/methodology one, and finally the first and last chapters. Generally  it pays to write the draft first chapter and final chapter last, to ensure  that they do not contradict, and you clearly demonstrate that you have done  what you set out to do. Whatever you feel comfortable with is probably good  for you. Just remember that you do not have to write the chapters in the  order of the final thesis. 
  •   Many advisors prefer to see your draft chapters one at a time, then hand  them back with comments. You then rewrite the chapter. After that you put  in another draft chapter and the process continues. In this case, your advisor  may wish to see all the final drafts together, i.e. your thesis as a whole  for a last look over. 
  •   Other advisors may prefer to see your thesis as a complete draft, and hand  it back with comments for you to write the final version. You are better  off following the preferences of your advisor. You do not wish to annoy him  or her, you have to work together, and at the end you may need a reference  from the person. 
  •   As a graduate student, you will almost certainly have more free time at your  disposal than you will ever have in the rest of your working life. Try to  use this time sensibly, profitably, and enjoyably! And good luck with that  research!

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• • A small notebook to carry at all times and note down any sudden ideas you  get about your research topic, possible questions, possible sources, anything  at all…! Ideas can come when you least expect them. Make sure you have  pen and paper by your bed, as you might wake up with a brilliant thought.  Always write any ideas down at once: that way you can relax and get back  to sleep if it happens to be 3 in the morning. 
  •   You must have access to a computer - preferably your own - with a word processing  program. You will need a printer too, but your university probably has a  computer room that allows you to print up stuff. Notebook computers are  convenient and fun, but expensive for what they are. They are also more likely  to be stolen, or else bumped and banged into oblivion, when compared with  a desktop model. Unless you are wealthy, or have generous wealthy parents,  a sturdy desk model is best. 
  •   Your own computer is really useful: you do not have to wait for set times  when you are allowed to use a computer room, or hang about in the room waiting  for someone to get up and leave. Nor will you have to stop suddenly and leave  if the room has been booked for a classroom teaching session. And you can  work at 11 at night on your own computer, should you wish, whereas the university  ones may be closed. 
  •   You do not need the latest, fastest, greatest computer that just became available  yesterday. Anything that will run your basic software will do. If you know  someone who insists on upgrading and replacing all the time, that person  can be a great source of a cheap computer. Buying anything secondhand can  be tricky, but if you know the person is a genuine geek, and they will  demonstrate it for you, then you can save an awful lot over buying new. The  price of used computers tend to drop like a stone, as technology advances  so quickly. 
  •   You will probably find access to the internet essential. There is much  information out there. But Murphy's Law insists that you have to do a lot  of searching among mountains of dross to find a valuable nugget. The internet  can easily start to use up a lot of your valuable time. You can collaborate  with others working in your area by email, as well as search for materials  of value.
• • You will need pens, pencils, liquid paper, a ruler, a small notebook and  a larger notepad, unless you write directly onto a computer. 
  •   Get hold of a copy of the rules and regulations that apply to your research,  and notice things such as what length of thesis is specified, how many years  you have, and what sort of layout is expected. I know they are boring, but  you will have to follow those rules eventually. 
  •   Early on, it is a good idea to chose a Working Title and then draft out a  Contents Page for your thesis. Don't worry about sticking to it - you will  find it alters as your research proceeds but you need an outline to try to  work to. Otherwise you can waste months, even years, reading too widely and  without discipline or direction. I know - I did this, under a poor supervisor,  when I started!
• • Have a look at a few theses in your university library and see how they are  laid out and organised. When you have read the summary and contents pages  of four or five theses you will probably start to observe there is something  of a standard pattern. Universities and disciplines vary, but generally you  might expect to find somewhere between 5 and 9 chapters is normal, with perhaps  6-7 being typical. 
  •   Check your library's holdings of Ph.D. and MA theses that might be relevant  to your topic and glance over them to see if they contain information that  you can use. You might get some ideas about organization from them too. 
  •   Make a list of all the journals that may contain articles that will be relevant  to your needs. A computer search is a good idea, but first talk to the library  staff and pick their brains about how best to search, where to search, and  which search engines or journals in your particular library will allow you  free access and free printing up of relevant articles. 
  •   Many university libraries have CD Roms of reference material. Again talk  to the librarians and see what they have that you can use. 
  •   Do a literature search for all articles and books that refer to your topic.  Usually, the books you find will cover more general issues, but the articles  will be more specifically devoted to a smaller and more specific part of  what you seek. 
  •   You also need to consider methodology, which means how you intend to tackle  the issue and what approach you will adopt. If you have no training in this,  read a book about scientific method; notice that we try to refute not confirm  ideas, and consider for yourself what constitutes a valid test, and what  kind of statistical tests may be available for your discipline and the particular  topic you are researching.

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• General

   

  Find answers to all kinds of questions through these sites.

   
   
  1. InfoPlease: Visitors to this site will be treated to an almanac, atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and much more, which should be more than enough to find information on just about anything you’d need.
   
  2. Ask Deb: Professional researchers and writers answer questions on various subjects, including dating, careers, personal finance, and beauty.
   
  3. About.com: This site provides articles on a huge variety of subjects, many of which provide useful information or can link you to sites that have what you’re looking for.
   
  4. Refdesk.com: Billed as a "fact check for the Internet," this site provides a range of resources that make it easy to search the web, check an encyclopedia or dictionary, read the news and much more.
   
  5. Reference.com: Part of the Dictionary.com site, this online resource provides access to many encyclopedia articles, as well as the accompanying dictionary and thesaurus.
   
  6. Answers.com: Answers.com provides visitors with access to articles from sites and journals all over the Web.
   
  7. Factbites: Called a cross between a search engine and an encyclopedia, this site is designed to make searching for information easier by filtering out information and only giving you the most relevant results.

• Library and Reference

   

  Search through library archives and do academic research on these sites.

   
   
  8. Oxford Journals: Look through all the journals published by Oxford and find many articles that are free to read and download.
   
  9. eBrary: Many libraries give full access to eBrary’s collections, but if you don’t have one near to you that does, you can use this page and still enjoy looking through loads of books and journals.
   
  10. ibiblio: This site is full of public domain information including maps, books, pictures and much more that you can use in your next research project.
   
  11. LibrarySpot: Find a myriad of library resources on this site as well as links to other authoritative sites and encyclopedias online.
   
  12. WorldCat: Save yourself a trip to the library and find out if a library has the information you need before you go. This site allows users to find libraries in their area that have the books and materials they need.
   
  13. Internet Public Library: This site puts together a great repository of links to authoritative sites all over the Web on topics like history, law, computers and more.

• Social Studies

   

  These reference sites deal with social studies and historical issues.

   
   
  47. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Find the names of many philosophers and their ideas in this helpful encyclopedia from Stanford University.
   
  48. glbtq: Look up information about the gay, lesbian, transgender and queer culture in this encyclopedia.
   
  49. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Here you can find everything you ever wanted to know about philosophy in one easy to search place.
   
  50. Encyclopedia of Psychology: Learn all about mental illnesses, famous psychologists and theories through this online resource.
   
  51. HyperHistory: This site attempts to cover 3,000 years of world history. Browse by people, places or events to find what you need.
   
  52. LookLex: Formerly known as the Encyclopedia of the Orient, this resource specializes in information from North Africa and the Middle East.
   
  53. Perseus: Find all you ever wanted to know about Greek history and Mythology on this site, loaded with articles and pictures.

• Fine Art

   

  Find information on all kinds of art through these sites.

   
   
  54. The Artchive: This site provides an easy way to find out about numerous artists, their work and their time period as well as to browse images.
   
  55. Oxford Music Online: This site provides a gateway into music research and a place to get new and forthcoming Oxford music reference articles.
   
  56. Artcyclopedia: Search for a particular artist, painting, period and much more on this helpful and informative site.
   
  57. Instrument Encyclopedia: Find out more about any kind of instrument on this University of Michigan site.
   
  58. Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Learn about music from all over the world through the information provided by this reference site.
   
  59. ArtLex: Find out the meaning behind any art related word in this art dictionary.
   
  60. DancePedia: Here you’ll be able to access all kinds of information on different styles of dance and famous dancers.
   
  61. Musicals101: Lovers of musicals will appreciate this reference site, with hundreds of entries on stage and movie musicals.
   
  62. Improv Encyclopedia: If you’re into improv yourself or just want to find out more about it, you’ll find games, a reference resource and an online glossary here.
   
  63. Internet Movie Database: This site is the ultimate resource for those looking for information on anyone in the film business from directors to stunt doubles.
   
  64. All Music Guide: Learn about new and old bands as well as information on all kinds of music-related issues on this site.

• Language and Literature

   

  Whether you need to know what a word means or want to look up a work of literature, you’ll find help with these links.

   
   
  65. WordReference: Look up words in English, Spanish, Italian and French using this great online site.
   
  66. Bartleby: This site provides loads of books to students and researchers with information on poetry, fiction and nonfiction at your fingertips.
   
  67. AskOxford: Based off the Oxford English Dictionary, this site provides reference material as well as tips to improve writing and a chance to ask questions of experts.
   
  68. BrainyQuote: Find out where those famous quotes came from with this great online quotation resource.
   
  69. Merriam Webster: Look up just about any word in this free online dictionary.
   
  70. Dictionary.com: This easy-to-use dictionary can help you find the meaning or spelling of any word. As a bonus you’ll get access to a crossword dictionary and fun games as well.
   
  71. Urban Dictionary: Keep up with the slang the kids are using these days with this site which provides an easy reference point for looking up words.
   
  72. Visual Thesaurus: Get a visual map of synonyms and antonyms using this different take on the thesaurus.
   
  73. BookRags: Get study help and information on literature with the study guides, summaries, essays and biographies from this site.
   
  74. Encyclopedia Mythica: If something has been written about mythology, religion or folklore, you’ll be able to find it here with this helpful online search engine and resource collection.

• Technology

   

  Tech jargon can be confusing, but you can find help through these sites.

   
   
  75. WhatIs.com: Find definitions of thousands of technology and computer terms here, as well as helpful glossaries and cheat sheets.
   
  76. TechEncylopedia: Find definitions and help on over 20,000 IT related terms on this TechWeb site.
   
  77. Webopedia: Use this site the next time you’re feeling clueless as to what all those techie abbreviations mean.
   
  78. Internet Archive: Learn about the history of the Internet and much more on this informative site.
   
  79. WebReference: Web dwellers will enjoy the reference material from this site, which provides archives of news, advice and how-to articles.

• Question and Answer

   

  If you have a question that needs answering, you can ask it and get help on these sites.

   
   
  80. Yahoo! Answers: Ask any question that comes to mind and get answers from others online using this Yahoo! sponsored site.
   
  81. AllExperts: Ask your questions that need the help of an expert on this site.
   
  82. The Straight Dope: Cecil Adams answers a weekly question on this site with topics that range from the reasons for hiccups to reality TV show inquiries.
   
  83. wiseGEEK: This site provides a place to ask your tech related questions and find answers from over 24,000 articles.
   
  84. Answerbag: Find answers to questions on social, medical, local and shopping questions on this user contributed site.
   
  85. Microsoft Live QnA: Here you can ask any question, serious or silly, and get answers from other users.
   
  86. Yedda: Yedda allows users to ask a question on any topic and "get personalized answers from relevant people."
   
  87. Wondir: Ask questions and get the answers you need from other users on this site.
   
  88. Askville: Sponsored by Amazon, this site allows users to ask a question on any topic and get and give answers to others.
   
  89. Cornbrain: If you have a few bucks to spare, you can get researched and professional answers from this site.
   
  90. Ask a Librarian: Have a question on research, literature or anything else a librarian could help you with? Find the answers you need using this site.

• Miscellaneous

   

  These sites are full of all kinds of information to help you.

   
   
  91. Acronym Finder: Not sure what all those letters stand for? Figure it out using the information on this site.
   
  92. eHow: Learn how to do just about anything on this instructive site from sewing in a zipper to putting up wallpaper.
   
  93. FreeAdvice: If you’ve got a legal problem you need help with and want a little information first, you can find loads of it at this site.
   
  94. Snopes: Find out whether or not that email your aunt sent you was for real or unravel a host of other urban legends through the information you’ll find here.
   
  95. timeanddate: Want to know what happened today in history? Check out this site for information.
   
  96. Symbols.com: Find information about thousands of symbols from their history to uses today through this informative site.
   
  97. Catholic Encyclopedia: This site provides visitors with a wealth of information on the Catholic religion.
   
  98. The Educator’s Reference Desk: Teachers can find thousands of reference materials here to help them plan lessons, manage classes and much more.
   
  99. Physician’s Desktop Reference: This reference site will help you to find information on a wide range of medial conditions, medications and illnesses.
   
  100. Baseball Reference: Find all kinds of baseball stats and historical information for players, teams and the sport as a whole using this reference.

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