1. Research – a survival guide
…and some of the sociology that goes with it…
Bruce Bassett - AIMS/SAAO/UCT
2. Caveat Emptor
♦ This is a very personal view of a complex
issue
♦ I recommend getting lots of other views by
searching the web and talking to people
♦ An overview like this is always incomplete
and oversimplified. Please read it looking
for the holes!
B. Bassett
3. Outline
♦ What is research?
♦ Types of research
♦ Big decisions
– Supervisor
– Topic
♦ Attitudes and Expectations
♦ Good skills to develop…
5. “Research is a human activity based on
intellectual investigation and aimed at
discovering, interpreting, and revising human
knowledge on different aspects of the world.”
So research is about breaking new ground…
“It will be hard at first, but then, everything is
hard at first…” - Miyamoto Musashi
So research is always hard…should you do it?
6. Should you do the PhD?
♦ The PhD and a career in research is not for
everyone…
♦ …and not doing research is no shame,
despite how it may feel!
B. Bassett
7. Reasons you might not want to do the PhD:
1) You don’t want to have to move around
afterwards
2) You don’t want to wait until you are 25-30 to
get a real salary and to 30-35 to have a
permanent job
3) You want to make real money…have a house
and a family…to settle down
9. Work according to Mark Twain
If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the
writer of this book, he would now have
comprehended that Work consists of whatever a
body is OBLIGED to do, and that Play consists of
whatever a body is not obliged to do.
♦ The beauty of research is that, although you have
to produce something (paper/thesis etc…) what
subject you work on and how you produce it is up
to you (depending on how strict your supervisor
is!). So it can feel like play…
♦ It is the joy of flexibility and freedom…
10. Little joys…
♦ Working with people who want to know the
truth…
♦ Being passionate about what you are
working on…
♦ Being able to sleep late*
♦ Being able to take time off easily*
♦ You get to address deep problems…
* At least when you are a student or post-doc
12. Types of publishable research
♦ A new idea, with consequences worked out (at least
partially)
♦ Analysis of new data, or new combinations of data to
address an interesting question
♦ A new theoretical study of a problem
♦ Presentation and characterisation of new data (either
observational or numerical)
♦ Presentation of a new tool (instrument, code etc…)
13. Research as a bicycle race
♦ “The greatest glory in living lies not in never
falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson
Mandela
♦ Research is a full of this glory!
♦ It is like a bicycle race – you have to cycle uphill
to experience the exhilarating downhills…
♦ You will hit the wall over and over and you will
feel bad…so expect it…The key is get back up as
quickly as possible…
15. But lots of students don’t have this
experience…they appear to sail through
without problem…what do they do?
16. ♦ Two people see a lion. One bends down and
starts doing up their shoe laces, prompting
the other to say “why are you doing that?
You can’t outrun the lion!”
“I don’t need to outrun the lion…” says the
first…“I just need to outrun you!”
17. In the same way…
♦ Everyone gets knocked down and
depressed about the difficulties of
research…
♦ This cannot be avoided…why?
♦ It is how quickly you can pick yourself up
that counts…you only need to do that better
than the people around you (and in your
cohort world-wide) to be successful…
18. Why research is hard for
everyone
♦ At zero order, research is equally hard for
everyone. Why?
♦ Because we all adapt to a similar
“Goldilocks” or biting point – we all want
to do research that is neither too hard nor
too easy for us.
♦ We change problems until we get the right
kind of fit…
B. Bassett
19. Moral of the story so far…
♦ Make sure you want to do research
- it is not the right choice for everyone
♦ Expect to feel bad…
- Research is hard. Just because you
struggle doesn’t mean you are failing.
20. Choosing your supervisor…
♦ Personality…do you get on? Are they friendly, hands-on,
approachable? Are they formal? What would you like?
♦ Will they let you choose your thesis topic or simply give
you one?
♦ How often do you want to meet? Some supervisors only
want to meet once a month, others every day. What do you
want?
♦ Have they published in your thesis area in the last 5 years?
If not, how are you going to? This is crucial for the PhD. Is
their work recognised internationally?
21. ♦ Do they have lots of overseas collaborators? This is
important if you want a job overseas or want to travel…
♦ Do they have travel funds? Do they think MSc/PhD
students should travel?
♦ Do they work on subjects that you are interested in? Do
you admire their work?
♦ Speak to their current/past students! (but bear in mind that
it is a two-way street.)
♦ Changing supervisors is not the end of the world…don’t
go down with a sinking ship…it is your life after all!
22. Choosing a thesis topic
♦ This is tough and will, with your choice of
supervisor, have a profound impact on your
career
♦ Questions to think about:
1. Where on the risk-reward curve do you want to
be?
2. Do you want to work alone or in a group?
3. What split in terms of theory/data/numerics/
observing do you want?
4. What are the future prospects for this subject?
23. Moral of the story…
1) KNOW WHAT YOU WANT – Only you
can answer that
2) TAKE RESPONSIBILITY – Your
choices have a big impact now
3) DO YOUR HOMEWORK
25. Good skills to develop
♦ Work smarter. Don’t accept “half-understandings”. Make
sure you really understand. Ask lots of stupid questions.
♦ Refine your “soft” skills – time management, project
management, team building, leadership etc…
♦ Think of yourself as a brand – what is your stock price?
Always have three people who will write really nice letters
of reference for you. If you don’t have this, get cracking!
♦ Be curious. Play as well as “working”
26. ♦ Develop “multiple personalities”: critic, creative
and dreamer and bring them out when appropriate
♦ Find ways of picking yourself up quicker and
motivating yourself better after a difficult period.
Manage your expectations
♦ Hang out with and learn from people who are
smarter and do things better than you.
♦ Become a better coder. Moore’s Law means that
computers are only going to get more important.
27. Good skills to develop
♦ Work on learning how to learn
♦ Regularly consider your career alternatives.
♦ Have a portfolio of problems you are thinking
about, from straight-forward to very difficult.
Keep a log-book or blog of your ideas and
thoughts.
♦ Come up with your own ideas…even if only on
the side…creativity takes practice.
28. ♦ Be a good team player. Build collaborations.
Being smart is only one piece of the pie…accept
that there are smarter people out there than you.
♦ Network, make friends, not enemies – the
community is small and not going anywhere…
♦ Learn to write good scientific English and to speak
well! It isn’t fair but people do judge your science
by your English language and presentation skills.
29. ♦ Have a life! Treat yourself well and find great
ways to relax and de-stress…otherwise you will
burn out from the hard work
♦ “The first principle is that you must not fool
yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool.” -
Feynman
♦ Realise that everyone has their own special skills.
Be generous and work with those who
complement your skill set.
30. Good skills to develop
♦ Don’t reinvent the wheel. What you need has probably
been done somewhere already…
♦ When you get depressed, talk to people. It makes a big
difference.
♦ Learn time management! Watch the Randy Pausch video
on it.
♦ Realise that to good approximation the only real
currency in academia is published papers. Everything
else is secondary (although potentially valuable)…ignore
this at your peril!
