depress and need motivation

H

iam 1st year phd studentn will be 2nd year phd studet this autumn... believe it or not, right now i feel that my research is nothing n still confuse with my research title n framework, the originality etc..what should i do..all of sudden it seems like i have to start it all over...(its eventually started when after a year my supervisor ask me what is my originality?)

A

I wouldn't expect you to have much originality after the first year. You will be tripped up by this sort of question all the time - and the trick is to find an answer. After my first year if someone asked my what my research was about, I couldn't really tell them.

I find it very unlikely that you would have to start again. If it is unoriginal - who has done something similar? Look at their work, and what way could yours differ from theirs? These are the answers your supervisor is looking for.

It is just as important to know who has done similar work, as it is do something original. Keep it simple.

I

Everyone will, at some stage of their PhD, get depressed and unmotivated IMHO. I am currently at the end of my 2nd year and I have been quite depressed in recent weeks despite the facts that I did have a clear goal and routines to achieve that. Maybe it's just that you get a little bored because of the narrowness of the topic you are looking into. While a PhD requires us to concentrate to maximise our energy on a single spot, it would still be better to look around at times to avoid the burnt marks that would have appeared on your retina, and to get fresh sights, i.e. ideas.

S

Kindly read this book entitled ''How to Get a PhD: A Handbook for Students and Their Supervisors'' by Phillips & Pugh. Half of ur worries will be gone. U can find a list on concept of originality on Phd thesis and it describes what r considered original work. Whenever d depress feeling shows up, try 2 divert to some other thoughts or get 2 do something. Happy researching, cheers.

A

Originality is a tricky concept. It doenst mean you NEED to develop a new method, you could make a different analysis with an existing method (that is also original), or you could add a small bit to an existing method, or you could prove that an existing method doesnt apply to a particular problem (that expands the knowledge). Originallity means something that never did before, but that could be just an analysis, a discussion of results.

Go to the library and ask for a couple of PhD thesis, then check their contributions, most of them are just general e.g. "provided a better understanding of bla bla bla".... etc

PhD is about learning to do research, not about getting a nobel price. Relax, and you'll see that things will go ok.

S

May I ask, when was the last time you had a chat with your supervisor? You'll probably find that this will clarify a few issues and motivate you to move your PhD forwards. The last thing you need to happen now is to ruminate too much and for your PhD to grind to a halt. After all, your supervisor is there to provide guidance so make use of them.

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