I only started my PhD yesterday, and already I have a mountain of papers to read, and most are going straight over my head – which is worrying me greatly. It’s all very daunting. Is anyone else feeling down at the minute, or did anyone else feel like this when they first started their PhD? Perhaps it’s just the shock to the system of stepping up to a new level of difficulty – kind of like the same as the shock of university work after doing college work.
I’m going to stick at and see how it goes.

know how u feel.

Don't panic ! I only started a few weeks ago myself. I struggled to find a relevant paper for the topic I was told to read about, but finally it came through. Everyone feels daunted at the start. I certainly did ! But stick at it. I finally finished properly reading the paper I found yesterday and felt so good that i'd finally understood something. Don't expect to understand everything straight away, just take your time. It is a VERY big shock to the system :)

Do you have good supervisor(s)? Don't be afraid to ask them for help. Mine are all great, fortunately. But that's what they're there for. Don't suffer in silence.

It is normal but do not be over stressed. As time goes on, you will know what to read and what to skip
Best regards

I feel the same I started two and a half weeks ago and I feel bogged down in all the papers, I'm not sure if I am reading the right things or not. I have not seen my supervisor for over a week and as yet he has not answered my email. People in the lab keep asking how I'm getting on but there is not much to tell!

There is an obvious trend here. I have spoken to supervisor and arranged the literature to be read by the next meeting (04/11/05). I have been asked to come up with more refined research question in next meeting. AAAAH. I am still reading the first reference (hope supervisor not reading this) so not making huge progress. Still, we all appear to be in same boat so good luck to the rest of you. (p.s. if i didnt spend as much time on forums lile this i would be making more progress-but i need a break)

hey at least im not the only one! has anyone done anything other than literature review yet?

barry did your supervisor give you a list of papers to read or just an are to read around? I just got to told to read around certain things. I am trying to make notes now on important things I have read and how it applies to my work but its not going so good!

I got told the area to look at and went out and found the stuff to read. But yeah, make notes, read further around. There is no right or wrong way to go about things. It'll be better once you start seeing your supervisor regularly and establish a direction to your research. But don't run before you can walk, it'll take time !

My supervisor has highlighted only about 10 papers to read intially - take it bit by bit.

Yeah you'll soon find you have loads and loads of background knowledge and what you read will make more and more sense. This is what it's all about ! Of course you could just sit and post endlessly on here, eat chocolate and drink coffee...

I started a few weeks ago, and so far I've been in the lab a bit learning all the new techniques, have had a whole pile of reading to do and have to give a 5,000 word report in next month!