The London HUB is offering the following Good Practice Workshop from the UK GRAD Programme of Delivering Researcher Development designed for practitioners and others who support the development of researchers. Places are limited – Apply now by email to Kay Dorelli at londonhub@grad.ac.uk.

From Fieldwork to Completion Good Practice Workshop: helping students to make the transition from the middle to the end stages of PhD work
A one-day workshop for all those who are involved in supporting PhD students in the post-upgrading and post-fieldwork period of their work.

Many PhD research students find that they experience great difficulties in imposing a manageable framework onto the research project cycle. HEIs often respond to this by formulating regulations which specify clear milestones within the cycle so that research students can work out a critical path that they need to follow. Examples of these can include:
1. Preparing an initial research proposal
2. Upgrading: submitting draft chapters & viva
3. Planning/preparing for fieldwork
4. Fieldwork data collection
5. Returning from fieldwork/re-assessing the project
6. Writing up & submitting final chapters
7. Final viva
8. Dissemination events

For many HEIs, and supervisors and trainers, the biggest challenges to effective supervision are offered by the mid stages (3,4 and 5). The result is that many students find it hard to integrate the fieldwork cycle into the overall cycle and can experience a range of problems connected with this period of their research including:
• Failing to plan for funding & other forms of support during the months spent doing fieldwork
• Lack of continuity between the initial ‘upgrading year’ & fieldwork
• Isolation & disconnection from the HEI during fieldwork
• Failure to continue writing during the fieldwork period
• Losing sight of original aims and intended project plan as a result of the data collection exercise
• Collection of unmanageable amounts of data
• De-motivation after the excitement of the data collection period
• The return to the UK and the effects of ‘reverse culture shock’.
• The return to writing & the problem of connecting earlier and later chapters within the final PhD thesis.
• Achieving an acceptable work-life balance during the final stages

We invite you to join in the discussion of these issues so that we may be able to (a) clarify the major problem areas associated with this phase of PhD work and (b) discuss some possible practical solutions. You will be able to register for this workshop on line at www.grad.ac.uk/londonhub or if you prefer to do this via e mail contact londonhub@grad.ac.uk for a Word version of the registration form. Please note there is no charge for attendance.

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

Yes