It is a mistaken belief that you should do everything on your
own. You need to seek feedback and use it. Unlike course work,
the PhD program doesn't provide regular contact and communication with lecturers and tutors. It is often up to you to organise meetings with your supervisor and to ensure that you get regular feedback on your work.
Seeing your supervisor in passing, or even for longer periods
in the lab, or having a polite conversation is not enough.
Nor is it a good strategy to assume that, if the supervisor doesn't
quiz you on your work, he or she is happy with it.
What you need is regular, dedicated time with your supervisor
when your work is the focus and when you come with the agenda
for the meeting.
At different times throughout your PhD, you will focus on different issues:
- at the beginning stages you will want to discuss your
ideas, to 'try them on', to see if they will work, are feasible,
etc. Here you need the experience of your supervisor and therefore his or her serious feedback on your proposals.
- during the middle years you will need to discuss the
results you are beginning to get, what they mean, what is the
best way to analyse them, and how you use this evidence for your
argument. It is also the time when you are likely to discover
that some things are not working and you need help to explore
ways of overcoming the obstacles.
- at all stages of writing feedback is vital. No matter
how many discussions you have had with your supervisor and how well you think everything is going, it is only through your written work that you and your supervisor can judge the progress and quality of your research.
Strategies for getting the best feedback possible
- Be prepared. Go to each meeting with things to report,
even if you are reporting not much progress, and particular issues
you want to discuss and questions you want to ask.
- Know what you want. When you are handing in a draft
of anything you've written, decide at what level you're seeking
feedback. You could specify that you need feedback on:
- general structure;
- the quality of the evidence you are using;
- the general flow of ideas;
- the appropriateness of writing style;
- the best arrangement of your data in tabular or graphic form.
This won't guarantee that you will get what you want. But it
does give your supervisor or other reader something to focus on
and is more likely to meet your needs.
- Ask questions. The better the questions you ask, the
better the feedback you get. For example, it is better to ask
"Do you think the discussion of x fits better in section
a or b?", rather than "Would you look at my writing?"
Or you could say to your reader, "Don't bother at this stage
with sentence structure, but tell me if the argument is logical
and convincing."
- Seek feedback from as many sources as possible. Your
supervisor is not your only possible source of feedback. You
could ask fellow students for specific feedback (and of course
reciprocate when asked). You could also ask other scholars - although courtesy and common sense say you need to mention this to your supervisor.
Overcoming reluctance to seek feedback
Reluctance to seek feedback can stem from several reasons:
- Imposition on the supervisor. You may think that you
are imposing on your supervisor because he or she is always very
busy, is eminent in the field, or that you shouldn't bother him
or her. The first step to overcoming this is to realise that
providing supervision for you is part of their role and what they
have agreed to do. If you are prepared and know what you want,
you are making it easier for yourself and for them and 'imposing'
less.
- Absence of supervisor. You may get sick and tired
of trying to find mutually acceptable times and give up trying.
If you're really convinced that you've made enough efforts, you
either seek your feedback somewhere else or, if the situation
gets really difficult, discuss it with your head of department.
- Doubts and insecurity about quality of your own work.
This is a normal feeling with any creative work. Even if your
most dreadful suspicions about your work are true, it is better
to discover this right away. Accept that, to get the job done
well, you have to deal with discussion of the weaknesses as well
as the strengths of what you've done or are yet to do.
- Protecting yourself. Unfortunately, some people give
only negative feedback and never mention what is good. Of course, they may assume you already know what is good and there is no need to talk about it. If you feel strong enough, you could try
saying something like "O.K., we've talked about the problems with my work. Are there some good points you're happy with?"
Otherwise, you'll have to search wider for more balanced feedback.
- Worthless feedback. If everything you do or write
yields just a nod or a tick, then you need to ask specific questions
to elicit more useful comments.
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