Using the naive inquirer to politely disagree

When we are studying, we tend to assume that our lecturers and supervisors know more than we do. We are in a junior - lower - power position...

read more "Using the naive inquirer to politely disagree"

A draft-reviewing lens

When doing higher degrees by research (HDR in Australia) we usually get assigned a supervisor, though more modern programmes now term superv...

read more "A draft-reviewing lens"

When people don't see our efforts

Being a woman sometimes really is crap, and it is not necessarily the dismissiveness of men that side-swipes us: it can equally be the views...

read more "When people don't see our efforts"

The PhD and apprenticeship

A decade ago, two PhD students from Aceh province in Indonesia wrote and presented a paper on their PhD 'apprenticeship' process ( H...

read more "The PhD and apprenticeship"

Perfect is the enemy of done or done is better than perfect

I first encountered Inger Mewburn when doing my Masters, and quickly became a big fan. I liked her realism, her ability to talk straight, an...

read more "Perfect is the enemy of done or done is better than perfect"

Ten PhD preparatory tasks

Starting a PhD is scary. It is a huge chunk of our life if we are a young student and able to do this following on from our undergrad degree...

read more "Ten PhD preparatory tasks"

Research transparency, openness, rigour, and replicability

In the words of Tara Brabazon, "research is based on transparency, openness, rigour, and repeatability" (Brabazon, 2021, 28:50). W...

read more "Research transparency, openness, rigour, and replicability"

How to finish a PhD

I watched an interesting vlog by Tara Brabazon (2016), providing ten tips for finishing a PhD, which I thought were quite a useful summary. ...

read more "How to finish a PhD"

Confirmation of candidature

Tara Brabazon from Flinders University in Adelaide runs a weekly video blog, which has been running for four and a half years, packed full...

read more "Confirmation of candidature"

Ten Questions to Circumvent Over-Thinking

Ruminating too much on things can catch us all at times, usually when we are feeling vulnerability due to a change of some sort. To compen...

read more "Ten Questions to Circumvent Over-Thinking"

Five PhD Tips

What follows is the commentary of an email conversation with - nearly Dr - Val O’Reilly, who, despite currently replying to examiner comme...

read more "Five PhD Tips "

Taking Time Out

Recently I read a post on Thesis Whisperer by Phillipa Bellemore called " The tale of 23 Overdue Books ". It was a great post to...

read more "Taking Time Out"

PhD Antidote - what's your athelas?

Kanuka? or Athelas (Kingsfoil) A recent post from a guest writer on the Thesis Whisperer caught my attention. Genevieve Simpson used the...

read more "PhD Antidote - what's your athelas?"

The Slough of Despond... and new beginnings

In February of this year, I was ready to push the "Submit" button on my PhD application for pre-candidature. All I was waiting o...

read more "The Slough of Despond... and new beginnings"

Meta-analysis write up versus the literature review

My students get a bit confused between literature reviews and meta-analyses. A literature review is a " Detailed and justified ana...

read more "Meta-analysis write up versus the literature review"

Literature Review Tips

A couple of months ago Chris Deason posted a question in the LinkedIn higher education training and learning group, calling for hints and ...

read more "Literature Review Tips "