The Arc of a Research Degree 147
technological research projects with applications in medicine), and thus the student
may be highly knowledgeable in aspects of the work but have no background in
other aspects. Some PhD students have experience of research, which however may
be limited to a few months of closely supervised work in a tightly defined project;
others have broader experience, but have never grappled with the difficulties of
undertaking a project independently.
Thus, in the course of the research degree, not only must you undertake research,
but consciously seek to identify where you are weak and design ways of becoming
more competent. You might for example take an undergraduate subject, set yourself
a program of reading in an unfamiliar area, or establish or join a study group. At the
start of your project, as well as developing research questions and getting familiar
with the literature, you may consciously decide to learn basic skills, by for example
working through elementary tasks in the lab, exploring a document archive, or es-
tablishing an effective online working environment.
A part of the learning during research study flows from the kind of activity and
thinking that the doing of research entails. It is an essential part of research that it
involves steps into the unknown, and such steps are often mistakes. Learning to
deal with mistakes, which may have taken months to discover and resolve, is part of
the process. Another part of learning is taking of new responsibilities—specifying
the tasks as well as undertaking them, and working with less hands-on supervision.
Then of course there are all the technicalities of working within your discipline,
including lab work, investigation of primary sources, development of designs and
studies, and so on. In some PhDs, there is a cyclic pattern of starting new investiga-
tions under increasingly light supervision. By the end, a strong student may well be
initiating, designing, evaluating, and reporting a complete investigation, with the
supervisor in the background in a relatively passive role.
I feel as if I have been a little bit sneaky here, because hopefully you have been
led to a new way of thinking about what a PhD or other research degree is. Students
enter a PhD wanting to ‘do research’ or gain a qualification, but in addition a re-
search degree does a great deal more. Arguably, the most important outcome is that
a PhD creates a maturing, independent researcher, one with a sense of what prob-
lems to work on; with good knowledge of their own limitations; with experience
of clear thinking and rigorous argument, systematic organization of ideas, critical
analysis, and communication; who has the skill of separating passion for their work
from objective assessment of its value; and who is ready to lead the research and to
design a process that is intended to settle a question.
The Arc of a Research Degree
A minor thesis may only require a single semester, and completing it is a sprint from
start to finish. Three or four months is not a long time to find and read the key papers
in an area, undertake a study, and produce a polished report on the work. Most stu-
dents find that they have to be highly focused from the first week, with a systematic