I have just submitted my first milestone document in the PhD program at my University; a document that took many weeks (months actually) to prepare that I doubt will ever be be looked at!
The document is a compliance step, due 6 months into the program. It is the first of two important milestones along the way to moving from being provisionally accepted into the program as a PhD candidate.
My lodged (and I suspect now filed completely unread) document included a
- basic Research Proposal (which has raised more questions with me than it has answered),
- Gantt Chart of how my PhD journey will look (my I have a lot to do),
- Data Management Plan (I can’t tell you how often the message of back up and safe storage has been rammed home. It’s a message I don’t need having nursed my laptop with a failing hard drive to the end of my Honours Program), and
- minimum resources document (the minimum resources the Uni will provide – generally pretty good including unlimited fast internet access on campus, 24/7 IT support and I think the world’s only steam powered desktop – it’s still running Vista!).
The process while procedural provided me with the opportunity to order my thoughts and get feedback from my supervisors. Continue reading