Hi,
I have recently started PhD for which I did not have to write a research proposal because it is a part of a bigger, fully funded project.
I received a short documentation re what is the PhD about and I had one meeting with my supervisor. However, despite the short meeting with my supervisor, I am still feeling lost. I'm not sure where and how to start. I have asked my supervisor for an advise but received none.
How did you start?
Thanks,
A.

Yeah, I know the feeling, I felt like that for about a year into my PhD.

I did the things my supervisors asked me to without really understanding why.

The more you read, write and listen, the more you will eventually understand. I wouldn't worry about it at this stage!

If you really can't start anything, and you can't ask others in your group, then you need to go back to your supervisor and ask for more help. If you don't, you are only making it harder for yourself in the long run. It's a lot easier to have that conversation at 1 month in than at 6 months in...

Thanks TreeeofLife. I appreciate your answer. It is really good to hear that I am not the only one who feels isolation and struggles.
I guess I will try to talk to my supervisor again and hopefully it will help.
Thanks again,
A.

Hi AgaK

Experiences such as yours is what motivated me to complete 20 presentations on YouTube that aim to offer people in your shoes a big picture road map to help them understand what the PHD thesis is about. It has a social sciences focus, but is mostly relevant for qualitative research in other fields as such as health sciences. These presentation are far from perfect, but I think they fill a gap.

My experiences with the doctoral thesis motivated me to make this very small contribution to the field of doctoral studies. Many candidates have excellent supervisors that offer a proactive, supportive, purposefully structured approach to PhD supervision - you are lucky if you get this.

Too often the PhD process works like this. Meeting 1: supervisor says "go away and look at what other PhD theses have done and write your literature review". For each chapter you submit (e.g. methods) there is no proactive purposeful coaching only a cosmetic reactive band-aid approach that highlights some things you need to change, based on what they saw in that chapter. If they are busy that month, the feedback may be minor. Cycle repeats each month for 4 years. Few academics have formally studied adult education.

This band-aid style reactive advice given by most supervisors is usually accurate, but it may mean that it takes a candidate two years of thesis writing before they see the big picture of what is needed to write a PhD. Meanwhile the clock is ticking.

Postgrad seminars may be hit-and-miss. Usually a nominated student presents their progress, which might be semester 1 year 1 or final semester prior to submission. The advice offered relates mostly to that student. It might take a couple of years of attending these sessions to work out what is required for your thesis.

I don't mean to be negative. Joining this forum early is a good sign that you are being proactive and really want to do well - and you will.

This forum is a very good place to learn.
Jay

Do you have a link to these videos Jay?

All the best. Every resource I list in all presentations are open-access (free).

Thank you!

Hi Jay,
Thank you for your advise and for the links to your tutorials.
I feel a slightly better now, however, still struggle a little. I have managed to talk to one of my supervisors and clarified some aspects of my PhD program.
Thanks again and best wishes.
AgaK

Hi AgaK.
A lot of people feel lost at the start. With time things do usually improve. For me - I felt like quitting until like 3 months in but didn't quit, and now I'm so glad I didn't as I would have regretted it.
All the best.
Tudor