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1、Unit 2 How to Be a Good Graduate Student Mare Dejardns1 Why go to graduate school at all? The usual reasons given are that a Ph.D. is required or preferred for some jobs, especially research and academic positions; that it gives you a chance to learn a great deal about a specific area; and that it p
2、rovides an opportunity to develop ideas and perform original research. Wanting to delay your job hunt is probably not a good enough reason. Graduate school is a lot of work and requires strong motivation and focus. You have to really want to be there to make it through.2 It helps to have a good idea
3、 of what area you want to specialize in, and preferably a couple of particular research projects you might like to work on. Look for books and current journals and conference proceedings in your area, and read through them to get an idea of whos doing what where. (Youll be doing a *lot* of reading o
4、nce you start graduate school, so you might as well get used to it.) This is where advisors first enter the scene: faculty members ought to be willing to talk to undergraduates and help them find out more about research areas and graduate schools. Try to get involved in research: ask professors and
5、TAs whether they need someone to work on an ongoing project, or start an independent research project, with guidance from a faculty member.3 For many new graduate students, graduate school is unlike anything else theyve done. Sometimes its hard to know exactly what it is youre supposed to be learnin
6、g. Yes, you have to complete a dissertation, but how do you start? What should you spend your time doing?4 Graduate school is a very unstructured environment in most cases. Graduate students typically take nine hours or less of coursework per semester, especially after the second year. For many, the
7、 third year - after coursework is largely finished and preliminary exams have been completed - is a very difficult and stressful period. This is when youre supposed to find a thesis topic, if youre not one of the lucky few who has already found one. Once you do find a topic, you can expect two or mo
8、re years until completion, with very few landmarks or milestones in sight.5 Being a good researcher involves more than merely coming up with brilliant ideas and implementing them. Most researchers spend the majority of their time reading papers, discussing ideas with colleagues, writing and revising
9、 papers, staring blankly into space - and, of course, having brilliant ideas and implementing them.6 Keeping a journal of your research activities and ideas is very useful. Write down speculations, interesting problems, possible solutions, random ideas, references to look up, notes on papers youve r
10、ead, outlines of papers to write, and interesting quotes. Read back through it periodically. Youll notice that the bits of random thoughts start to come together and form a pattern, often turning into a research project or even a thesis topic. I was surprised, looking back through my journal as I wa
11、s finishing up my thesis, how early and often similar ideas had cropped up in my thinking, and how they gradually evolved into a dissertation.7 Youll have to read a lot of technical papers to become familiar with any field, and to stay current once youve caught up. You may find yourself spending ove
12、r half of your time reading, especially at the beginning. This is normal. Its also normal to be overwhelmed by the amount of reading you think you should do. Try to remember that its impossible to read everything that might be relevant: instead, read selectively. When you first start reading up on a
13、 new field, ask your advisor or a fellow student what the most useful journals and conference proceedings are in your field, and ask for a list of seminal or classic papers that you should definitely read. Start with these papers and the last few years of journals and proceedings.8 Before bothering
14、to read *any* paper, make sure its worth it. Scan the title, then the abstract, then - if you havent completely lost interest already - glance at the introduction and conclusions. (Of course, if your advisor tells you that this is an important paper, skip this preliminary step and jump right in!) Be
15、fore you try to get all of the nitty-gritty details of the paper, skim the whole thing, and try to get a feel for the most important points. If it still seems worthwhile and relevant, go back and read the whole thing. Many people find it useful to take notes while they read. Even if you dont go back
16、 later and reread them, it helps to focus your attention and forces you to summarize as you read. And if you do need to refresh your memory later, rereading your notes is much easier and faster than reading the whole paper.9 Keep the papers you read filed away so you can find them again later, and set up an online bibliography I find it useful to add extra fields for keywords, the loc
