PhD research ideas occur at a strange time-while brushing teeth, watching a movie or doing something unrelated to the course. The wise student will immediately write down and file each idea that seems remotely worthwhile. A scholar will commonly have research ideas while reading journal articles or listening to their talks. Alternative research plans also come while when reading research results the topic is the result of the discussion made in a journal article, this should be carefully referenced so that the reference will not have to be searched a second time. All of these ideas can be easily captured, stored and classified in the PhD Planner for future use. Every few months, ideas can be organised into a skeleton outline, known as topic analysis form. This outline form indicates the general topic or the hypothesis, the importance of the topic, the theory base, the general methodology, the possible outcome, and the contribution to the knowledge. The purpose of putting the ideas in this form is to start thinking about the dissertation topics in an organised way. However, the main thing is to build a file of interesting topics. Investigation and selection can be done later.
Pre PhD Activities to build Writing and Software competence
Focus especially on the use of a style manual mentioned and explained in Planner and word processing software features for a manuscript. Select a style manual and use it in all for the papers. Obtain and use citation management for recording reference data for all books, articles, etc. You should use the citation style specified in the style manual you chose for the entries and file you create with your citation management software. Start to use the advanced manuscript features of your processing software in the writing papers in order to gain experience before you begin the dissertation.
Pre PhD research activities to build your network of research colleagues
One of your goals should be to get acquainted with researchers who do research in areas or on topics that interest you. If your department has a regular workshop with faculty, doctoral students, and academic visitors from other schools, these events can provide you with insight into current research and how researchers deal with difficulties in their research projects these workshops provide an opportunity for you to start building a network of people who do research on topics that interest you. You can invite them to send you the papers for comment. When you attend research conferences, do not just talk with people you know. Attend presentations by people you do not know but who are doing things of interest and become acquainted with them. From this network of colleagues, you can get ideas on research that needs to be done. You can get help on problems you may encounter in doing research or doing analysis. You may discover data sets that are available and relevant for your research. You may also be able to help others with comments and suggestions.
Pre Thesis collaboration on research and writing
Opportunities may come to collaborate with professors on a research project. In many cases, you may have an appointment as a research assistant. Many times this work is helpful to a professor or lead researcher, and you may or may not be mentioned in articles that are written. In cases where you demonstrate high research and competence in your supportive role, you may be invited to participate in writing a report or article in the research. The experience is preparing you for being a good researcher and doing a good dissertation. If you are listed as one of the authors in an article,it is a nice plus, but the main benefit during the pre-dissertation period is the experience.
Pre Thesis activities with a mid-career doctorate
Much of the advice in the chapter assumes that the doctoral student has had limited experience. The scholar may have had very little time in positions outside the University before embarking on a doctoral program. Doctoral candidates in a mid-career program may have done the research , written and presented scholarly papers, and demonstrated good scholarly abilities. Some universities in India accommodate mid-career doctoral students; some do not. The systematic approach presented in this group was first developed and tested in South India with a mixture of entry-level and mid-career doctorates. The fundamentals of systematic approach work for both entry-level and mid-career doctorates, even though some ideas may be more relevant to the entry-level doctorate.