DWLresearch

Over the last two weeks we've been at all the College inductions for new PhD students. Here's some of the top tips shared by current PhD students and supervisors at those events: Surviving and making the most of your first year Concentrate on finding a good research question - your initial research question may change over time. Investigate and make use of training opportunities available (though don't go to things just to tick boxes). Go on Word for Long Documents training . Use reference management/bibliographic software . You have lots of flexibility, but this can be daunting so set mini goals and plan your time. Things will and do go wrong with your research - don't panic! While you are waiting for things to happen use the time for other tasks e.g. training or reading. it is your project and research - show initiative and make plans for where you want to take the research. Talk to lots of people from different departments. Make use of opportunities avai...

Many of you have been working on the final version of your thesis over the summer and are thinking about submitting. One question we have been asked recently is: what should the text of my thesis look like? What fonts and formatting should be used? The first answer is to check the university's guide to formatting PhD theses . Note the special rules on margins you need to observe. Then check with your department's guidelines and ask your supervisor. There may be subject specific requirements you need to observe.  If you are still not sure, the following are some general principles to follow:   Readability The two most important readers of your thesis are the examiners. They want to concentrate on understanding your arguments and assessing your evidence. They don’t want to be distracted by strange layouts, or frustrated by small fonts .  To help them, choose a serif font like Times New Roman or Georgia . Don’t pick a sans-serif font like Calibri or ...