The Realities of Completing a PhD

How to Plan for Success

Nicholas Rowe

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9780367677626
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000343038
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The Realities of Completing a PhD gives a balanced and evidence-based view of the realities of PhD life. Full of practical tips and including a checklist to complete before sending an application, the book helps prospective PhD students prepare for the realities of taking on a PhD from an informed basis and offers guidance on submitting a well-planned application.

This is the first book of its kind to bring together a range of international data that helps to paint a more balanced picture of the PhD process. The book outlines different types of PhD, how to select a topic for a PhD, how to write a robust research proposal and application, and the realities of PhD study in relation to student wellbeing, social commitments and employment prospects. By considering the issues raised in this book, students are less likely to be overwhelmed by the PhD process, and better equipped to complete their award.

The book will be invaluable for potential doctoral students as well as those already embarking on a PhD. It will also enable university mentors and supervisors to consider how the application phase is key to managing student expectations, and how they can further promote a healthy and productive PhD experience.

Part 1

The realities of doing a PhD

Issues affecting student dropout, completion, employment and wellbeing

1 What is a PhD and why do one?

Unlike the taught (with or without research) programmes of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, a PhD or other doctoral award is awarded to students who complete an original thesis that offers a significant new contribution to their field of knowledge. It is commonly seen as being the highest award that may be conferred by a university.

Although many PhD programmes have a mandatory study requirement (where you have to complete a certain amount of study units or credits), the main element of a PhD is your final thesis or dissertation, based on independent research. Universities usually provide taught courses to students to give them the skills and knowledge that will help them in their research, but the main focus is on accessing and completing study units, and not achieving a high grade. Although some countries grade a final thesis (for example, Finland), most simply award a PASS or FAIL judgement based on the thesis evaluation and meeting programme and examination panel requirements – either you get it, or you don’t.

In a PhD, you produce high-level original research of your own, so being a good independent researcher is far more important than simply being a good student. This aspect is examined even before you are enrolled on a programme, and you will be expected to have either formulated your own specific research plan (perhaps investigating a new topic or problem in your field), or to demonstrate your ability or potential to investigate part of an existing project. Depending on your field and the institution you apply to, your chances of acceptance depend on the number of places available and also on the quality of the other applications they receive. A recent US study (American Psychological Association 2016) showed acceptance rates of between 6% and 31% across subfields, with an overall acceptance rate of 13%. Many institutions now require that you find a potential supervisor prior to applying, so as well as locating them and establishing contact, you will have to convince them of the benefit of your proposed research, and also of your potential to see it through. Having a good bachelor’s or master’s degree classification in a related field is only one element of this (many of those competing for the same position will have similar or better qualifications), so your research proposal is of vital importance. If you do not have a clear idea of what you want to do, why it is important and how you aim to do it, you are unlikely to be accepted. Perhaps worse, if you start a PhD without this initial framework in place, you are going to find the PhD process exceptionally challenging.

The data universities publish on PhD performance tends to focus on the numbers of doctorates they award, and there is very little data that shows how many people drop out or fail to complete. As an indicator of this, the term ‘ABD’ (all but dissertation) has now become commonplace on CVs where people show that they have completed their PhD-level coursework but have not gone on to complete the award (i.e. complete an examined thesis), and are therefore not entitled to the title of ‘doctor’ or to claim a doctoral degree. So being accepted and doing well on coursework will not be enough to achieve a PhD. Recognizing a PhD for what it is (the independent completion of an original thesis that offers a significant new contribution to the field of knowledge), and not simply as a high-level study degree, is the first thing you need to be aware of before thinking of making a PhD application (see Figure 1.1 for the traits that motivate a good PhD application).

Figure 1.1 Required traits that motivate a good PhD application.

Why do a PhD?

Everyone has their own idea of why they want to do a PhD. However, being able to describe your motivations for doing a PhD to yourself and others will not only influence your chances of being accepted onto a programme, but also improve your chances of completing it and enjoying your overall PhD experience.

Published data shows that a PhD is an earned research degree that takes years to complete, often at considerable financial and personal sacrifice – there are no shortcuts or easy ways to complete it. The return for your commitment and effort is firstly the award of a degree that acknowledges your achievement. But secondly, the research and study you do should also have concrete outcomes in terms of what it does for you (e.g. in career and life enhancement), and what it does for others (scientific advancement, societal development, etc.). These two things are not mutually exclusive, and it is not unreasonable to expect some personal reward for your efforts. But the strongest PhD students tend to be driven by their work, and not because they want to ‘become a doctor’. All too often PhD aspirants say ‘I want to do a PhD’, but without a clearly thought-out research plan (or at least a comprehensive idea of one), this sort of statement says you are looking at a PhD mainly as a credential and have not really thought about what a PhD is or what you will have to do to earn the degree. Research is a field where planning and vision are vital, so being able to clearly describe why you want to do a PhD will be a good indicator as to whether you will be able to identify a specific topic to examine, ask the right questions during your research, analyse the answers and draw the right conclusions (that’s research!). Simply ‘wanting to do a PhD’ is not a good enough reason to apply for a PhD position.

How skilled and ‘expert’ do I have to be before I apply?

You are not expected to have all the answers and skills when you start your PhD programme as you gather these things along the way. But you will need a basic idea of what you want to do, why you want to do it, why it is needed and an idea of how you might go about it. Very few PhDs go strictly according to plan, and your focus and direction will most likely change as your research reveals new challenges and information. But your initial motivation for doing a PhD will indicate how you will be able to adapt to challenging circumstances, your potential to master new methods and approaches as needed and your potential to produce a credible thesis at the end – in essence, your chances of success.

As recognized by the European Commission (2015, p8) and other agencies, ‘There is a lack of systematic knowledge, data and indicators on study success in Europe’. While such information can be found, it is seldom in a form that equips potential students to make an informed decision about whether they should commit to doing a PhD. So, a good starting point for your PhD journey is to think about why you want to do a PhD.

Good reasons to do a PhD

Ideally you will have noticed some issue or problem that exists in a certain field, and based on your previous experience or studies, you will give the university a reason to believe that you can investigate it (either alone or as part of a research group) to find an answer or solution. You must be able to show your potential to complete the research not only in terms of academic potential, but also through personal attributes such as commitment, discipline, maturity, professionalism and self-awareness. You will also be able to show a baseline knowledge of what has been done in the field so far and how your planned work fits into it, and without this knowledge, you will likely be unable to justify a need for your research. On a personal level, you will have an idea of what doing the PhD will achieve for you in terms of your career goals and life aspirations (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1 Positive motivations for doing a PhD

1.	You have a cutting-edge idea for research you want to pursue, and doing a PhD will allow you to do so. You want to achieve something significant.	Intellectual curiosity
2.	There is an area of research that attracts you, and you feel you may be able to contribute to it.
3.	You want to become an expert in a particular field, with an aim to pursue a related career. You want to discover or learn something new.
4.	You enjoy the academic environment and wish to challenge yourself academically. You believe you can do it.	Academic and career improvement
5.	You have the opportunity to study for a PhD and want to invest in yourself.
6.	You want to develop transferable skills that will help you in your career/life course.

However, there are also some bad motivations for doing a PhD, and these are all too common and perhaps contribute to the high dropout rates seen around the world.

Bad motivations for doing a PhD

Seeing a PhD as a marker of how ‘smart’ you are

To complete a PhD you have to be ‘smart’, but the degree represents only what you have done in that instance and does not always extend to other areas of life. During your journey you will meet lots of PhD holders who are not so expert in certain areas (i.e. different disciplinary approaches, inter-personal communication, teaching skills, etc.), despite being demonstrable experts in their research field. Because you’ve done quite well in your undergraduate and master’s studies, you may feel that doing a PhD will just be the next step up the academic ladder. But although we often talk of ‘PhD study’ and ‘PhD students’, your PhD depends mainly on independent research and learning, so it is entirely different from a taught university programme. Indeed, you will find a PhD difficult if you expect to be ‘taught’ t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Glossary
• Introduction
• Part 1: The realities of doing a PhD
• Part 2: Preparing your PhD application
• Your PhD checklist
• References and resources
• Index