Learning to Relax: Post PhD Submission Life

After six years of studying I am slowly learning what life looks like without a thesis to dominate every waking hour. 

Don’t get me wrong, I know it is not over and there is still a large task remaining with both the viva and any possible re-writes facing me but it is clear that the thesis is entering a new phase.  And I am preparing for the viva, practicing the arguments that I will need to use. 

Much of the last three weeks, however, I have spent time relaxing, forgetting the thesis and trying to work out how to fill me time: catching up with friends and family that I have not seen in a while; catching up on theatre, music and box sets that have not been possible; catching up on sleep. 

But, throughout, there is that nagging feeling that I should be doing something, that I am not doing enough.  As several people have pointed out, I should allow myself time to relax and knowingly take some time off.  However, this is surprisingly hard and I am wondering what element the PhD has to play in all of that. 

PhDs require a certain type of person who is willing to keep being busy, who is prepared to sacrifice their personal time and who has the project management skills in order to complete the work on time.  These skills are by no means exclusive to those with doctorates.  However, the individual nature of a PhD contrasts significantly with a lot of current jobs which are based on collaboration and team working.  The assessment of the PhD via thesis and viva is designed to ensure the individual can stand alone and justify their place amongst other acacemics. 

And this is part of why it is so hard to switch off from a PhD.  It is your work and your work alone.  There is no-one to share the load with.  The individual student or researcher is the one who has to complete and defend the work. 

So perhaps, I need to relish the fact that I cannot switch off rather than being guilty about it; perhaps this is a fundamental part of becoming a researcher.  For now, though, I will also relish the opportunity to re-connect with those around me and prepare for the challenges that still await me on this journey to being a Doctor.  

Job List

So this is the first blog from the new IPad and basically it is a job list of what I have been working on at the moment and what needs to be done by mid June!

Data Collection, Presentation & Analysis
- Sorting the analysis of the questionnaires.
- Arrange interviews based on questionnaires.
- Planning the data presentation and analysis chapters.
- Interviews & arrange transcription.

Methods Chapter
- Reading more up to date materials on methods.
- Finalise the data from the pilot questionnaires.
- Re-writing the methodology chapter given the above.

MPhil/PhD Upgrade
- Writing a presentation based on the questionnaire data for the upgrade process.
- Writing an abstract for that presentation.
- 3000 word review of PhD to date.
- Prep for interview.
- Annual Review Document.

All of this, as usual, has taken more time than I expected but very soon there should be some concrete data to discuss on here!

Europe – In, Out or Just Shaken All About?

There’s the old children’s game of hokey-cokey where various limbs are put in and out of a circle and then shaken all about.  And really the entire thing is a good metaphor for what has been happening in Brussels and in the UK over the last few weeks. 

It’s rather easy (and simplistic) to reduce the arguments in Brussels over the future of the European Union to a child’s game but in many ways the showing off, the whole “whose my friend” and, at times, down right bullying does have resonances with the playground.  Politics has often been like this but when the stakes are so high it becomes even more incongruous with the issues being discussed.  Britain has thrown its weight around in the past – like when Thatcher renegotiated how much we got back – so none of this is new.  Yet we live in very different times and although the City is 10% or so of the UK’s economy, there is much discussion on the extent to which the proposed treaty would have endangered London’s financial operation.  But still the UK’s presence in Europe is desired and various leaders have been emphasising this since the conference.  Perhaps the UK is not whole-heartedly “in” Europe but certainly a major player and economic power aligned to it. 

What this whole spat comes down to is Britain’s position on the edge of Europe – as has been said before the geography is reflective of a mind-set.  Our political parties are divided and, indeed, as is our government.  There is no real political refuge in the UK for those in favour of closer ties with Europe so those in favour of closer ties to Europe are very much “out” of things. 

The UK is often portrayed as the only country to have these issues but remember that the Czech Republic and Hungary wavered over the idea of a treaty, Sweden has deliberately kept itself outside the Euro and Iceland is heavily divided on whether it should join in. Divisions are not uncommon across Europe and Ireland, the Netherlands and France have all wobbled at times. 

But at a time when everything is being shaken all about so much through the economic crisis many see it as necessary to lean together and support each other.  And this is the fundamental problem that with much of UK politics (of all colours) and international relations, individuals are too focussed on themselves and forget neighbours (be they actual people or other nation states).  The lack of commitment to a wider society with responsibilities to each other is one of the reasons that policies from the Big Society to European Relations stumble.  Until all groups are committed to greater, communal projects and not just looking to national leaders or, more specifically, Germany to fund the European Union then this crisis is going to continue.  The social divisions at neighbourhood level are just magnified at national level. 

This is of fundamental importance to my research: I am assessing one of the education policies of the European Union and seeing if its social intentions are working.  When I started the research the future of the Euro and the EU seemed clear and certain; today it seems less so.   Yet, the European Union should not be assessed simply on the economic decisions it makes but also on the social and cultural impacts that it has.  In many ways whether certain groups or nations are “in or out” does not matter as with all the shaking all about due to a lack of hard commitment the entire Union may not exist in the same way for too much longer. 

Revising Research Questions: Academically not Personally Challenging

I spend a lot of my time revising research proposals, making sure that questions are realistic and correctly framed.  I find myself regularly saying they are too large or too grand or too many.  Questions need to be realistic, acheivable and engaging.  So, I can hand out the advice but when it comes to my own for the PhD it has not been as easy. 

I had 6 of them which included reviewing far too much literature and to be frank were full or jargon.  Leading by example, as you can see. 

And yet, we had a very painful tutorial back in November on how they need reframing and I have spend a lot of time revising them.  I also added some definitions of the terms which I am using.  All good but I found the whole thing incredably personal and challenging: I now know how my academics feel but I need to learn that it is my argument being attacked and not me. 

Writing a Literature Review

This week I submitted my first draft of the literature review.  It wasn’t easy, I have to say and what I initially thought to be a lot of reading has turned out to be quite thin.  I divided it into about 6 sections, each with their own discussion point, all trying to justify my research questions and all trying to feed into the over-arching theme of the chapter and thesis. 

All of this might seem quite reasonable; I might have covered all the major arguments & authors in the fields.  I somewhat doubt it and  I certainly lack confidence in it.  And it made me suddenly realise that I am still quite a way off completing the PhD.  A significant part of the PhD is not what you know or what you uncover but how you argue it.  Now, I am relatively confident & able to argue my point in discussion, when looking at applications or in politics.  However, this confidence does not extend to my research.  So the level of work needed and engagement needs to continue.  But there will be a day – hopefully in the not too distant future – when I will be able to do this.  Then I will be confident I can add some letters before and after my name. 

Waiting and Working

Submitted my methodology chapter a week ago today and am now awaiting for the outcome. It is a little odd waiting for the reply and the outcome. Will they like it? Am I still miles off?
In the mean time, this weekend I am working on a draft of the Literature Review to be submitted by 2nd October. Not easy to know how much it should contain, what I should be saying in it and whether it is analytical enough. I am trying to weave the theories of social capital and soft power through but in such a way that the entire chapter builds to the discussion (and adoption) of these standpoints but without overlooking or rushing other arguments. This really is a little harder than I would have expected.
It is also about adapting a style that, for me, both tells a story and guides the reader simply through (like journalism) but also allows for discussion. I am aiming for the style of Peter Scott - himself a former journalist - in his writing about Higher Education. Some academics are said to be 'hard to read' or 'challengin'; whilst not wanting to reduce academic levels, what is the point in not trying to make sure the writing can be accessible and thought-provoking for as many as possible.
So whilst waiting for the feedback on the one chapter, working on another, it is clear that there is a long way to go in terms of being a confident, accessible and engaging academic writer.