How To Do Doctoral Research? - Tips for PhD Students

Prepare for a lonely journey, which at times, might make you want to quit. The PhD is a quintessentially a lonely endeavor.

1. The best dissertation is a finished dissertation.
2. Establish a study group.
3. Plan to have a few conference and sufficient journal publications before graduation.
4. Meet regularly with your research guide and keep her/him apprised as to your progress and the status of your research efforts. Communication is key.
5. Figure out the main contribution of your thesis and try to express this concisely in one paragraph. Everything else builds around this. Share it with colleagues, your adviser and committee members for feedback.
6. Try to think about your problem all the time (and may be explain what you have done recently to one of your friends). This will make you get involved in your work and you may also get some new ideas.
7. Remember that novelty need not lie in a single great idea, but also in collection of small ideas. This is what research is. So don't wait for that single moment to come.
8. Your thesis doesn't have to change the world. It just has to get you your PhD. Don't gets the two mixed up or you may never graduate.
9. You have to be ready, willing, and able to multi-task. You'll be working on several projects for your adviser, several of your own ideas, teaching classes, taking classes, and dealing with your personal affairs. A multitasking ability is necessary.
10. Beware of Copy Right Acts and avoid plagiarism.
11. If you want to leave the PhD program, don't broadcast it. People talk way too much. If you get a job elsewhere-in industry perhaps, leave after giving the shortest ethical and legal notice.
12. Don't be afraid to ask for help. You are not a one-man or one-woman army. It'll prevent you from "reinventing the wheel" and much unneeded effort. It will also improve you in the area of humility!
13. Have regular deliverables and share deliverables with your adviser and committee as you go. The more you share, the less likely there are to be unpleasant surprises at the end.
14. Separate yourself from your PhD. It's a collection of thoughts on a piece of paper. It's not you. Keep things in perspective.
15. Take some time out for your self and family.
16. Be an intellectual craftsman. Maintain a research notebook.
17. Learn from your peers. Use what works and avoid what does not.
18. Be ethical. The world of academia is small, and the word gets around soon enough!
19. Remember the 80/20 rule. What you hear about the dissertation process is only 20%. Be observant.
20. To start with Ph.D, first conduct a thorough review of existing literature. This will help in identifying the research gap.
21. Understand that there is a lot of tacit knowledge surrounding the PhD (vs. formal, coded knowledge) about professors, about the process, about resources, and about pitfalls. Be aware of this and constantly try to learn by asking experts and observing those around you, especially students at a more advanced stage.
22. The road to acquiring your PhD is often bumpy. Prepare yourself for the travel and stick to your focus.
23. Don't be tempted by opportunities for money that may come up. Your wife or husband will definitely nag but just focus. Your friends may not understand what you are doing and may complain you don't have time for them anymore. Explain to them what you are doing but some may not understand. Don't just mind their comments.
24. Remember that a research notebook can be anything you want it to be. The obvious thing is a record of results of your work, but it can also serve as a way of constructively 'talking to yourself.

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