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advice prior to meeting potential PhD supervisor

  • 02-06-2010 12:20AM
    #1
    positivenote
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,346 ✭✭✭


    hi all,
    im in the process of finalising an idea for a research based PhD and have contacted a potential supervisor who has said that they are in a position to take on a research student. They said they would meet me on friday for a chat but they would need to know more details on my research question / hyphothesis and the theoretical frameworks I intend to use.
    Should i treat this as a somewhat informal discussion on the potential of my proposed research interest or should i start to study over some of the research thaht i have already done to formulate a structured question? also I was of the mindset that a supervisor at this level could advise me on what theoretical framework i could approach rather than expecting me to be fully aware of one prior to a formal submission.
    If anyone has any advice it would be great.
    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    djpbarry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    positivenote wrote: »
    Should i treat this as a somewhat informal discussion on the potential of my proposed research interest or should i start to study over some of the research thaht i have already done to formulate a structured question? also I was of the mindset that a supervisor at this level could advise me on what theoretical framework i could approach rather than expecting me to be fully aware of one prior to a formal submission.
    The more prepared you are before your meeting, the better. If you go into the meeting and state "Ok, this is what I want to do, this is how I want to do it, this is what I hope to achieve, this is the current state of play in this field", it's going to look far more impressive than "This is sort of what I want to work at, can you fill in the blanks?". Even if there are errors of judgment in your draft proposal/research plan, it will at least demonstrate your initiative and show that you are serious about a career in research. So my suggestion would be, treat it as a formal interview and try and make the best impression possible by preparing as much as you can. It may well turn out to be an informal chat with your potential supervisor providing plenty of guidance, but better to be prepared for some Q&A.


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