Managing my PhD, MD or MPhil research degree

John Kirby

Graduate School

Faculty of Medical Sciences

Managing my PhD, MD or MPhil research degree

John Kirby

Graduate School

Faculty of Medical Sciences

Managing my supervisor(s)!

What shall I do first?

• First meeting with your supervisor(s)– Discuss the completion of an on-line process for

project approval. This details:• Your proposed project with a timeline and objectives• Any requirements for ethics committee approval• The name of all supervisors• The 2 members of your progress review panel

– The learning agreement

What shall I do first?

• First meeting with your supervisor(s)– Discuss the completion of an on-line process for

project approval. This details:• Your proposed project with a timeline and objectives• Any requirements for ethics committee approval• The name of all supervisors• The 2 members of your progress review panel

– The learning agreement

The learning agreement• Complete at the time of your first formal

meeting

• This on-line document defines– What you can expect of us– What we can expect of you

• Note: the ‘us’ and ‘you’ should blur at this level as we all share an enthusiasm for research

Learning Agreement (it’s more than small print!)

1. Supervisory and Working Arrangementsa. The supervisor/s will explain the respective roles of the academic supervisor and the other member/s of the supervisory team b. The supervisor and student will identify who is responsible for arranging meetings or other formal contact and agree the agenda for these structured interactions.

For fulltime students the formal contact between student and supervisor or supervisory team should be at least 10 structured interactions per year, normally monthly. For part-time students or those studying their programme by distance learning a pro-rata number of formal meeting will be agreed. It should be noted that additional meetings may be initiated if necessary.

c. It is the responsibility of the student to make a record of the formal contact with their supervisor/s in their Research Training Portfolio (RTP), along with a list of any agreed action points.

d. The supervisor/s will ensure that the student is advised of appropriate School/ Faculty/ University health and safety policy and procedures. The student agrees to observe these requirements.

2. Project Planning and Milestone Settinga. The supervisor/s will give guidance about the nature of research and the standards expected, the planning of the research programme, literature and sources,

requisite techniques, and the avoidance of plagiarism. b. The student will accept responsibility for their own research activity and learning under the direction of their supervisor/s. The student will be responsible for

submitting a project proposal within the timescale established by the Faculty and to maintaining the progress of his/her work in accordance with the stages agreed.

c. Any circumstances which might require the mode of study to be modified or for University registration to be extended, suspended or withdrawn should be brought to the attention of the supervisor by the student.

d. The supervisor/s and student will identify who is responsible for obtaining any ethical clearances required by the research project as well as who is responsible for any matters relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

3. Training and Personal Developmenta. It is agreed that the student's specific training needs, both personal and project related, will be identified. b. It is the responsibility of the student to participate in identifying their personal training needs and to attend training programmes provided by School/ Faculty/

University.c. It is the responsibility of the supervisor/s to make the student aware of the importance of continued research training and to identify opportunities for training in

accordance with Faculty guidelines. d. It is the responsibility of the student to keep a record of their skills development in their Research Training Portfolio, via the ePortfolio on-line system, over the

period of the programme. 4. Progression and Monitoringa. The supervisor/s will ensure that the student is made aware of any inadequacy in his/ her progress or standards of work below that generally expected, confirming

this in writing to the student and arranging any supportive action necessary. b. An Annual Progress review is required for all research students in order to continue on the programme. The supervisor/s will ensure that the student is aware of

the requirements for progression including, where appropriate, the procedure for confirming candidature. The supervisor/s and student will agree to participate and fulfil the requirements for progression.

c. The supervisor/s and student will agree any deadlines for submission of written work and the times involved for supervisor feedback. d. The supervisor/s will outline the extent of assistance that will be given for students to prepare reports, presentations and the responsibility they will have to report

annually on the student's progress. 5. Submission and Completiona. The student will be responsible for submitting their completed thesis within the timescale agreed with the supervisor/s in their project plan and in accordance with

the terms of their individual programme candidature. b. The supervisor/s will ensure that the student is aware of the procedures for submitting the completed thesis and the deadline for this in accordance with the

regulations of the programme. 6. Collaborating and Sponsoring Organisationsa. Both the student and supervisory team agree to fulfil their responsibility to any collaborating or sponsoring organisation, including compliance with any necessary

confidentiality agreements.

We confirm that we have reached agreement on our roles and responsibilities as supervisor/s and student in accordance with the above summary.Student: This was recorded as having been signed on the 5th November 2010. Supervisor: This was recorded as having been signed on behalf of Newcastle University on the 5th November 2010.

What shall I do first?

• First meeting with your supervisor(s)– Need to complete a form detailing your

• Research proposal (what you will do)• Research plan (when you will do it)• This may need to be approved by your assessors

– The learning agreement

– Remember, this is not your last meeting!

You and your supervisor?

How many supervisors do I need?

• You have a supervisory team– 1 lead supervisor– 1 or more co-supervisors

• You must meet your lead supervisor formally at least 10 times per year.

• You must meet your co-supervisors formally at least 3 times per year.

Formal meetings

• What is a ‘formal’ meeting?– You pass your supervisor in the corridor and

(s)he says ‘is everything OK?’ – You politely answer ‘Yes’

• Nice, but NOT a formal meeting

Formal meetings

• What is a ‘formal’ meeting?– You are working in the lab/office/field next to

one of your supervisors – He or she asks how the work you are doing

today is progressing and offers advice

• Should happen, but NOT a formal meeting

Formal meetings - 1

• Formal meetings are the most vital part of your project

• Frequency– Often more common at the start than at the

end of your project– In this Faculty should not be more than two

months apart (or less than 10 per year)– You can initiate meetings

• make an appointment (perhaps even book a quiet room – no phone)

• Invite all appropriate members of supervisory team

Formal meetings - 2

• What happens at the meeting?– You take all your results and interesting

papers and discuss these in detail

• Make plans

• Discuss problems

• Ensure the project is more than a series of small experiments– Your thesis will ultimately tell a story

Formal meetings - 3• During the meeting

– You take notes– Arrange a date for the next meeting

• After the meeting– You write minutes of the meeting with lists of

what was agreed (can be done on-line in your e-portfolio)

It is now mandatory to record supervisory meetings

• Meeting records in ePortfolio, and any associated notes and documents, are shared and easily accessible to you and your supervisor(s).

• Adding notes and/or uploading minutes provide the team with a useful record of progress, a record of agreed actions for both students and supervisors

• Can act as an aide-mémoire to guide future action• Helps prepare for future professional practice

(minuting of meetings, and reviewing written reports are normal practice in

most professions and organisations).

How to Record a Meeting

Prof Fred Smith

Please ensure that you record the attendees

Formal meetings - 3• During the meeting

– You take notes

• After the meeting– You write minutes of the meeting with lists of

what was agreed (can be done on-line in your e-portfolio)

– Circulate these to all supervisors for additional comment

– Bring the minutes to the next meeting

• Next meeting– Don’t worry if your experiments didn’t go as

planned!

Managing your supervisor• Be organised• Be honest (don’t try to disguise what you think to

be failure)• Discuss any difficulties

– If you don’t know ask!

• Show your enthusiasm• Don’t be surprised when you start to know more

than your supervisor• Meet deadlines• Don’t ignore advice

What am I doing here?

• Preparing a thesis!• Candidates for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

are expected to conduct original investigations, to test ideas, whether their own or others, and to understand the relationship of their work and its themes to a wider field of knowledge. A doctoral thesis should be a piece of work which a capable, well qualified and diligent student who is properly supported and supervised can produce in 3-years of full-time study. It should exhibit substantial evidence of original scholarship and contain material worthy of publication.

Planning your work

• Long-term plans– To complete my higher degree and earn some

money!

• Medium-term– By the end of the year I will have done …

• Short-term– Before the next formal meeting I will …..

• Immediate plan– By the end of the week I will …– Today I will ...

Keep a diary

• Don’t set up something and leave it to ‘cook’ for three days whilst doing nothing else– ‘Dovetail’ your work together to optimise time

• Don’t set us a 24 hour experiment on Friday if you are not planning to be in over the weekend!– But do set up a 72 hour experiment on Friday to

complete the following Monday (if its not a bank holiday!)

Work-life balance

• Research degrees in the UK are completed more quickly than almost anywhere else in the world (but have equivalent global status)

• You must work pretty hard!– Try to adopt a basic 9 to 5 day (minimum)– Be prepared to work late and during weekends

• But, when out of hours you must adopt appropriate safety procedures

• Discuss with your safety officer/supervisor

Holidays

• You are no longer an undergraduate so don’t go away for the summer!

• The Graduate School states:– not more than 40 days including annual

shutdown over the Christmas period

• Discuss holidays with your supervisors

• Don’t go AWOL (absent without leave)!

Your notebooks

• Hard back with numbered pages• Enter the date• Complete as you are working

– Do not need to be spotless or neat– Enter raw data, observations and calculations– Detail all problems and errors (be honest – we’re all

human!)

• Your review panel will ask to see these• Your examiner might also ask to see them!

Research governance

• You may have read of ‘scientific fraud’

• We must manage our raw data to provide evidence in the case of disputed findings

• Do not erase text of cut pages from your lab book

• Use pen (rather than pencil)

• Remember lab books also protect us (you) if you discover anything that can be patented!

Plagiarism – what is this?

Plagiarism – what is this?

Please try this program!

Use of computers

• Backup regularly

• Backup regularly

• Backup regularly

• Loss of results due to theft, disk failure, virus infection etc is not considered a viable excuse for delayed completion of your project

Literature references

• Read around your subject (don’t simply print copies of papers)

• Not all journals are equal (impact factor)

• Your examiners will test your knowledge of current “related science”

• Use a reliable reference database– Training will be given (Endnote)

• Useful to have an ideas book– Make notes of good ideas as you have them

Write up as you go• Not always possible, but:

– Always prepare high quality graphics output when you derive the data

• this takes time when you are writing your thesis – good if you can simply cut and paste figures into your thesis

• If a figure isn’t good enough for presentation have another go – don’t assume you will return to the problem later

– Write up methods as you develop them– Make notes when you read good papers

• don’t assume you will remember everything

Keeping everyone on track is complex!

A full-time PhD (regulation a) must be submitted within 4 YEARS

A full/part time PhD (regulation b) must be submitted within 5 YEARS

A part-time PhD (regulation c) must be submitted within 7 YEARS

A full-time MD/DDS (regulation a) must be submitted within 3 YEARS

A full/part time MD (regulation b) must be submitted within 4 YEARS

A part-time MD (regulation c) must be submitted within 5 YEARS

A full-time MPHIL (regulation a) must be submitted within 2 YEARS*

A part-time MPHIL (regulation b) must be submitted within 4 YEARS*

Progress review

• You will be examined by 2 reviewers– Experts in your field– Not part of your supervisory team

• You will submit appropriate written work before the review (electronically)

• You and your supervisor(s) will receive formal feedback after the review

• It’s good to gain experience of oral examination before the ‘big one’!

Monitoring progress

Degree programme and period of registration

1st review Intermediate reviews(s)

Finalreview

PhD 3 years full-time (including short period JRA & staff)

8 months 12 months after 1st assessment 6 months before the end of registration

PhD 4 years full-time 8 months Every 12 months after 1st review until final year

PhD 1 year full-time + 3 years part-time (including JRA & staff normal period)

PhD 6 years part-time 12 months

MD 2 years full-time 8 months Not needed

MD 1 year full-time + 2 years part time

8 months 12 months after 1st review

MD 4 years part-time 12 months Every 12 months after 1st review until final year

MPhil 2 year part-time 12 months Not required

MPhil 1 year full-time 6 months Not required

Monitoring progress

Degree programme and period of registration

1st assessment Intermediate assessment(s)

Finalassessment

PhD 3 years full-time (including short period JRA & staff)

8 months 12 months after 1st assessment 6 months before the end of registration

PhD 4 years full-time 8 months Every 12 months after 1st assessment until final year

PhD 1 year full-time + 3 years part-time (including JRA & staff normal period)

PhD 6 years part-time 12 months

MD 2 years full-time 8 months Not needed

MD 1 year full-time + 2 years part time

8 months 12 months after 1st assessment

MD 4 years part-time 12 months Every 12 months after 1st assessment until final year

MPhil 2 year part-time 12 months Not required

MPhil 1 year full-time 6 months Not required

First review We recommend the following structure for your report:• Table of contents• A literature review• A clear statement of the aims of your project• A summary of the methods developed and results

obtained to date• A discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of your

work to date• An outline of your future work

In order to stop students from submitting over-long mini-theses, the Graduate School suggests a maximum word limit for this report (excluding references and figures) of 7,500 words (or 3,000 for MPhil)

Progress review and your CV

The role of FOXP3 in regulating the metastatic potential of breast cancer

Stephen Douglass062991212

Supervisor team: Prof. John A KirbyProf. Simi AliDr. Annette MeesonMr. David Browell

Institute of Cellular Medicine PhD 1st Year report

If you have a(ny) problem

• Seek help as soon as you can– Supervisors want your project to succeed as

much as you do!– Postgraduate co-ordinators– Reviewers– Me through the Graduate School or directly (

j.a.kirby@ncl.ac.uk; telephone x7057)– The Dean, Prof Barry Hirst (through the

Graduate School)