The transition from undergrad to postgrad

You’ve toiled for three (or more) years. You’ve studied for exams and essays. You’ve loved summer holidays and drowned under textbooks. And finally, you’ve got your BSc. Well done! This is a huge achievement.

What’s next? If you’ve decided to carry on studying and move into the mysterious world of postgraduate work (whether that’s as a master’s student or a PhD), you might be wondering what this new life holds for you.

Fortunately, PGPR is here to help. Here are some of the challenges you might encounter when you transition from undergrad to postgrad work, as well as a few ways we can make that journey smoother for you.

Transition to solo learning and decision-making

Although undergrad studies are a big step on from GCSEs and A-Levels, they are still, to a large extent, tutor-led. You go to lectures and seminars where the agenda has been set by the teacher who is standing at the front of the room. You can pick which essay to write from a list of titles, but those titles are set by someone else. You’ll have a reading list and a revision timetable, term dates and reading weeks.

Things get a little different once you’re doing postgrad work. As a master’s or PhD student, it’s your job to set the script. You will be the one deciding what you need to read and when. You’ll be making decisions about where your research should go. This might feel daunting at first, but when you get used to it, the freedom can be liberating and inspiring.

Of course, you won’t be flying entirely solo, as you will have a supervisor who is experienced in your topic area and can mentor and guide you…

A woman wearing a graduation hat and sitting on a black tiger statue holds an uncorked and flowing champagne bottle in the air in a celebratory fashion.Undergrad work is a step up from A-levels, but postgrad studies can feel like a big leap into the unknown!

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Relationship with supervisor

The relationship you have with your postgrad supervisor is unique. Ideally, they will be experts in either the methodology you’re using for your research project or the topic area of your research question – or both, if you’re lucky. Your supervisor’s job is to guide you through the postgrad process, helping you to identify and overcome challenges, and giving you advice about your research and writing.

You should have regular research meetings with your supervisor and be able to email or call them with questions when they arise. Eventually, you and your supervisor are likely to co-author peer-reviewed papers together. It’s common for supervisors to take an interest in and help the careers of their students for a long time after the postgrad course has ended (I benefitted hugely from my supervisor Jonathan A Smith’s mentorship long after my PhD had ended), so it’s worth staying in their good books!

It is not your supervisor’s job to give you a grade, as you will have been used to up until this point, to rewrite your work or give you ‘the answers’. Something to bear in mind is that supervisors are often busy, stressed-out members of university staff, so they might not be able to stick to the deadlines that have been originally set or give you as much feedback as you want.

Of course, if you’re doing a qualitative social sciences project and would like more feedback than your supervisor can give you, you can always book a VC or some written feedback with PGPR. Our friendly team of experts is always happy to help.

A black and white photo of a schoolteacher from the 1970s explaining optical calculationsThey might be vastly different from your teacher at school but your supervisor should be on hand to guide you through the postgrad process.

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One big project

Undergrad courses are made up of lots of modules, essays, exams and projects. In contrast, a postgrad course tends to be one big research project, based on a single research question. While an undergrad degree is about getting a good grounding in all aspects of your discipline, postgrad work is about becoming an expert in the specific area that interests you the most.

This means it’s worth thinking carefully about what you want to research for your postgrad work. Is your potential topic something that genuinely fascinates you? Postgrad work can be gruelling and lonely, so if you’re working on a project you find boring, it might be hard to stick with it. Your postgrad findings are likely to set the stage for your academic career, if that’s the direction you decide to go in.

Your outputs will be your thesis plus the research papers and conference presentations you create based on your findings. If you need proofreading help with any of these pieces, we’re here for you.

Presenting at conferences and publishing papers

Some undergrads disseminate the findings from their research projects, but this is rare. However, once you become a postgrad student, turning your findings into papers and presentation conferences is par for the course. We’ve got some helpful blogs about writing up papers which you can find here, here, here, here, and here.

Sharing your findings with the world is exciting but can also feel scary at first. You are likely to encounter rejections and tricky feedback from reviewers, which can feel upsetting when this is work you’ve poured your heart and soul into. It’s OK to find this difficult, but it might be useful to remember that every single academic has faced the same problem. I’ve been publishing papers for many years now (you can see my Google Scholar page here) and I still get tough reviews. These days, they bother me a lot less as I know I can either action the suggestions that have been made to genuinely improve the paper, or make a convincing argument for why I disagree.

If you’re struggling to turn your lovely, detailed findings section into a shorter research paper, you can contact PGPR for some feedback, proofreading and/or word reduction help.

A person on stage throws their hands up in the air in a celebratory way, encouraging the audience to do the same.Presenting your findings can be nerve-wracking! But it’s all worth it in the end, we promise!

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Changes to deadlines

Something that can be hard to get used to when you transition from undergrad to postgrad is that deadlines become a lot more flexible. When you’re studying for a BSc, exam days, essay deadlines and term dates are set in stone. It’s not like that when you’re a postgrad. Sure, the university will be closed over Christmas, but otherwise you’re unlikely to be taking long breaks from your work. (However, you can decide to set your own holiday dates, which is a big bonus.)

You also might have a beautiful timetable written out for exactly when you plan to recruit your participants, do your interviews, analyse your data and get feedback from your supervisor – but real life doesn’t tend to pan out so beautifully. It might take longer to get ethics approval than you’d hoped. Your supervisor might go off sick and take longer to get back to you than initially planned. You have to learn to roll with these punches.

This flexibility in postgrad deadlines is why we don’t book clients’ work in advance – we have learned from experience that students often struggle to meet the deadlines we have worked out between us. That’s absolutely fine and as it should be. Once your work is ready for proofreading and/or feedback, send it over to us and we’ll work on it and get it back to you as soon as we can.

Contact PGPR

If you need help with feedback, proofreading or word reduction, get in touch with us via the box below to ask any questions or book a service.

Five tips for staying on top of your references

Ask any seasoned researcher if they’ve ever got into a muddle with references, and they will have a war story or two to tell. Whilst references are an essential part of any scientific piece of writing, they are undeniably a massive pain in the you-know-what.

It all makes sense. You’re writing your beloved thesis, the mind-blowing ideas and ground-breaking theories flowing from your fingers. You know the literature, you know where your research question came from and how it’s added to our knowledge. You’re in Csikszentmihalyi’s magical state of flow (Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1993) (that, my friends, is an example of a reference) and you’re not going to break that off for a tiny little detail like who wrote the paper proving that positive mindset is the key to everything. You’ll come back to that! So instead, you insert something like (positive mindset paper, pink folder????, come back later) and carry on writing.

That’s fine if this is your strategy for one or two references.

It’s really not so fine if this is your strategy for the 500 or so which make up an entire PhD!

Fear not – here are PGPR’s five top tips for staying on top of your references from the outset.

An old painting of an intense battle scene with knights riding horses and dust clouds obscuring the background.
Ask any researcher about references and they’ll be certain to share their war stories…

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1. Start an account with a referencing software

This is essential. I know the software might seem alien and off-putting at first, and sometimes these systems are pretty clunky, but hand on heart, I think the best move I ever made as a researcher was to get to grips with EndNote from month one of my PhD.

Think of your referencing software as an online library where you store all the details of the reading you’ll do over the course of your thesis/paper/project. Most of them are simple to use once you’ve got used to them. Google and YouTube are also crammed full of helpful tips and videos for working these programs, or you can book an appointment with your uni librarian, who will walk you through it.

As stated, I use (and am a fan of) EndNote Web, which is free, but there are plenty of other choices out there, including the paid version of Endnote, Zotero and Mendeley.

Reading some of these blogs might help you to decide which to use. Or ask your PhD supervisor which they would recommend.

2. During the lit review, record each reference, with notes, as you go

One of the first steps of any research project, big or small, will be doing a lit review. This is good as it means you can get to grips with your new software early in the process and become confident with it. Every time you read a paper, chapter or web page, import or record its details in your software and make some notes. These notes will help you remember which paper is which when you come back to them in a few months. You can also keep different reference records in different folders for different projects, which will help you locate that finding you know you read somewhere at a later date.

Top tip: If you’re unsure what details you need to record, look for the paper in question in Google Scholar and then click the ‘cite’ button. This will tell you all the details you need to know (for journal articles, this will be title, authors, year and doi as well as publication name, volume, edition and page numbers), which you can then either import or copy and paste into your software.

3. Use your software system as you write

Now that all your references are neatly filed in your software, do ensure that you use that software to insert the in-text references as you write. If you use EndNote, you need to install a plug-in which then shows up in Word. Click ‘insert citation’ each time you need to do just that, and EndNote will format the in-text citation for you and put the full reference at the end of the document.

Writing references needn’t make you glum if you’ve got the right tools for the job.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

Inevitably, as you write, you will need to look for more references as questions arise, or to respond to feedback from your supervisor or peer reviewers. By this point, you will be confident with your software, so just keep adding to it as you go, being disciplined about recording all those details and notes with every paper you need. Then use the software to insert the new reference as you write.

4. Find out which referencing system you need to use for this piece and set that in your software

There are several systems for citing references in scientific papers, which include APA, Harvard, Vancouver and so on. These all differ slightly from each other and, to make matters even more confusing, differ within themselves as well. Harvard referencing, for example, is an umbrella term which is interpreted differently depending on which institution you’re at, while APA has 7 versions.

The intricate differences in these systems can lead to further confusion if you haven’t been staying on top of your references throughout the process. But this is where referencing software is so handy. If all the references in your thesis are linked to your software, you can change which referencing system the software uses to present those references, switching from APA7 to Vancouver at the touch of a button. This job would take days and days by hand and runs the risk of you throwing your laptop out the window in frustration.

5. Contact PGPR for help

If you’re reading this blog thinking, well, that’s all very useful but I’m already two years into my thesis and it’s all too late, don’t worry! PGPR can help. Our expert reference checkers can ensure that every in-text and full-length reference is formatted correctly for the system you’re using, locate any missing details and even cross-check your thesis to ensure that every in-text citation appears in the bibliography and vice versa. We even have some crazy people on our team (Hannah and Shannon) who enjoy this work! So just hand it over to us and you can get back to uncovering more thrilling new findings.

We’re always happy to help. Just get in touch via the form below.

 

Seven ways PGPR can help you complete your qualitative project

Completing postgrad qualitative research is an adventure. It can be thrilling, enriching and rewarding… but it can also be arduous, stressful and exhausting.

Here at PGPR, we can help you through every step of your journey. Here are seven services we think will benefit you as you progress through your project.

The PGPR team is on hand to help you every step of the way!

Photo by Khiet Tam on Unsplash

1. Interview schedule check

Collecting your data is so important. Asking participants the right questions can unlock access to the rich, lovely data which will underpin your entire study. We can look at your interview schedule and talk it over in a video consultation, giving you pointers for ensuring your questions are open, comprehensive and ordered in a way that is likely to generate rapport.

2. Feedback on analysis

Analysis can feel fun and fascinating – and it can feel overwhelming! Trying to conduct analysis without many qualitative colleagues or at a university without many qualitative experts can feel especially lonely and daunting. Fortunately, the PGPR team loves analysis, so we’re always excited when a client asks for feedback at this stage. We can offer written feedback or feedback via one of our video consultations. We’ll look at whether your data truly supports your conclusions, if there are areas where you can dig deeper, and whether your analysis fits in with your chosen methodology.

3. Feedback on word length and structure

Once you start putting the chapters of your thesis together, you might find that you’re several thousand words over your university’s word limit. Don’t panic – this is a common problem and is something we can help with. We’ll read your chapters and offer feedback which will help you tighten up your structure and delete those unnecessary words.

Feeling overwhelmed? We hear you!

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4. Correcting your spelling and grammar

While we love giving feedback, we’re also all huge word nerds here at PGPR, so you can come to us if you need any sections of your thesis proof-read. We’ll correct any spelling and grammar issues, ensure that you’ve used terminology consistently and offer suggestions to make your sentences read as smoothly as possible.

5. Checking references

Reference sections: can’t get by without them – but you CAN offload them to us! When you’re immersed in analysing your beautiful data or wrangling with that tricky discussion section, ensuring that your reference list is also perfect can feel incredibly onerous. Don’t worry; we’re here to help. Our proof-readers Hannah and Shannon particularly enjoy checking reference lists, so it’s likely that one of these two superstars will undertake this job for you. They find it soothing – clearly, we need to clone them!

Enjoy more time to relax while we proof-read your reference list for you!

Photo by Cam Browne on Unsplash

6. Formatting

Word has lots of features that can help you present your thesis in a professional manner; unfortunately, it often feels like you need a degree in IT to be able to get them all to work. We have several Word experts on the team who will be more than happy to create tables of contents, ensure that your headings are consistent and caption all your figures for you.

7. Conference check package

Once your research is complete, it’s time to share it with the wider world. If you have a conference coming up, PGPR can offer feedback on your slides and give you an opportunity to practice your presentation via video for a friendly audience. Just get in touch to find out more.

We look forward to hearing from you – just fill in the contact form below and we’ll get back to you ASAP.

New PGPR team members

Exciting times here at PGPR… our team has doubled in size over the past few months. We now have more staff members who can help you with all your proof-reading and feedback needs. Additionally, our new staff are bringing new expertise to the fold, so it could be that we can now help you or your colleagues with areas you hadn’t previously considered contacting us about.

While PGPR has traditionally helped qualitative psychology students, most of whom are using IPA or thematic analysis, we can now also help criminology, humanities, history and musicology students as well as students who are using quantitative analysis, mixed methods, ethnography and discourse or framework analysis.

Hurrah – we can help more students than ever!

Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash

Here’s a rundown of our new stellar staff members.

Claire M has a BSc in psychology and criminology, an MSc in psychology of health and wellbeing and a PhD from Keele University. She is another discourse analysis expert who can offer feedback and video consultations in this area, as well as transcription. She has also edited the PsyPAG Quarterly Journal for two years and worked as an editor on the QMiP Bulletin since 2016. She believes it’s important to give encouraging feedback that doesn’t make students physically cringe and hide away for a week.

Claire R is a mixed-methods health psychology and health services researcher with a keen interest in digital health, long-term conditions and implementation science. She can offer proof-reading and feedback for students working with thematic analysis, framework analysis, ethnography and mixed methods. She has worked and studied at a variety of universities in the UK and completed her PhD in improvement science at the University of Southampton. She is currently based at the University of Oxford but lives in Southampton.

Talking your research over with one of our experts can lead to a breakthrough.

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Josie has been working as a lecturer in psychology, teaching BSc and MSc Psychology, for the last 12 years. She’s currently working as a teaching fellow at King’s College London. She can help you with proof-reading and feedback for thematic analysis, IPA and quantitative work as well as video consultations. She has taught research methods in psychology (both qualitative and quantitative), biological psychology, cognitive psychology, mental health, and the psychology of sleep and dreaming. She has also supervised many research projects for final year BSc psychology students, using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods and has written a popular book on the psychology of dreaming.

Nick can help you with any proof-reading needs. He has an undergraduate degree and a master’s in history and became an English language teacher after taking a CELTA course. He has also taught academic English and critical thinking skills to university-level students. Now based in Malaysia, Nick combines proof-reading and editing with tutoring. He has worked with a wide variety of texts, including journal articles for publication, dissertations, academic theses, corporate documents and university papers, while his proof-reading experience covers engineering, hospitality, political science and management.

The PGPR team are addicted to reading

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Shannon is another proof-reading whizz with expertise in quantitative methods. She also offers transcription. She completed a Bachelor of Business Science and a Master of Commerce in economics at the University of KwaZulu Natal. During her time there, she also worked as an economics tutor and an academic coordinator. She has assisted in various quantitative research projects, primarily working with econometric and statistical models. Working in research led Shannon to the role of proof-reader and editor for research papers, prior to their submission for publication. She also proof-read postgraduate dissertations in a variety of business-related subjects.

And last but certainly not least is Steph, a musicologist and early modern music book historian who can offer proof-reading and feedback. With a master’s degree in early music editing from Hull and a PhD in seventeenth-century music publishing from Manchester, she is now an Associate Researcher at Newcastle. She works on music in early modern England, particularly within the broader cultural contexts of print, book history and economic trade. She’s also the editor for the Northamptonshire Victoria County History Trust, meaning she is used to working with historians from a broad range of backgrounds.

The PGPR team have more degrees than you could throw your cap at

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If you or any of your colleagues would like to book one of our new team members to look at your work, please just get in touch via the box below – we’ll be happy to help.

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How transcription works with PGPR

If you’re a qualitative researcher, the chances are you will be conducting interviews. This means that at some point, all that lovely data will have to be transformed from audio files into documents that you can annotate and analyse.

Of course, in an ideal world, we would all transcribe our own interviews as it does get us that step closer to the data. In the real world, however, researchers often don’t have time for this laborious job. If you’re trying to recruit participants and work on your analysis whilst also looking after a family and working in a part-time job, the thought of sitting hunched over Word and VLC for days at a time trying to work out whether a participant said ‘pathology’ or ‘potatoes’ might be enough to make you weep.

Is transcription making you want to tear your hair out?

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Well, fear not, because PGPR now offers transcription alongside proof-reading and feedback. In this blog, we’ll explain exactly what happens if you decide to use PGPR to transcribe your precious data.

Step one… send us your audio file

We use the secure service Tresorit to transfer files. Tresorit is based in Switzerland and is one of the most secure services of its kind. All files are encrypted at source and the company has no way of accessing documents you upload or send through their service. They take security and GDPR compliance seriously, meaning your precious data is safe. You can send files of up to 5GB in this way.

You upload your file to Tresorit and send it to us. We will ensure that the link gets to the team member who is transcribing your audio. They will then download the file.

We guard your data carefully

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Step two… we transcribe the data

Since our team members are either qualitative researchers themselves or are editors who specialise in working on qualitative pieces, we understand how important it is to get every word and line of your interview exactly right. If you want, we can include hesitations, repetitions, ums and ahs, laughter and sighs. We can also anonymise all identifying data, such as names or locations, as we work.

Transcription is serious business

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Step three… we check that our work is accurate

We always listen to your interview twice over to ensure that our transcription is both accurate and thorough.

Step four… we send the interview back to you

Once the transcript is ready, we will password protect it and email the document back to you. You will then receive a text message from Layla or Johanna telling you what the password for your interview is. In this way, we are ensuring security. We can send your work back within 24 hours, 48 hours or five working days from the time you sent it to us.

That feeling you get when you don’t have to worry about transcribing your interviews…

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Step five… we delete your audio file

Again, this ensures that your confidential data doesn’t make it into the wrong hands.

If you’d like to use our transcription service, just get in touch via the form below, we’ll be happy to help.

How to sail through your postgrad viva

It seems like only five minutes ago that you were a trembling new student, going along to your first supervisory meeting with your knees knocking. But somehow, through a flurry of ethics reviews, recruitment and analysis, plus some blood, sweat and sobs… here you are. Your thesis is submitted, you’ve selected your examiners and the final hurdle is in sight.

The postgrad viva voce is truly a rite of passage. For those who don’t know, this is the final exam for a postgrad project. It takes different forms in different countries. For example, in the US doctoral defense, the supervisory committee also grill the student. In the European system, students have to defend their work in front of a public audience. Here in the UK, the viva involves sitting in a room with two examiners (one from the candidate’s university and one from another institution) for two, three, four or more hours, answering questions about your thesis.


It’s normal to feel nervous before your viva
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Most students feel nervous about their vivas. However, if handled correctly, they can be a fulfilling, rather than frightening, experience.

1. Take a break from the thesis

This is an important first step. Once you’ve had that thesis bound and put the obligatory smiling selfies on Instagram, put it down and don’t look at it for a few weeks. For a start, you deserve a break. But just as importantly, giving yourself space from your masterpiece will allow you to look at it with fresh eyes, so that you can spot areas to be discussed more easily. I’d also suggest using this downtime to buy yourself a lovely notebook that you can use for your prep. After all, stationery that makes your heart sing is never a bad thing.

2. Start by thinking about your strengths

…And why not? After all, you’ve written an entire thesis. This is amazing! If you start this process by remembering what you love about your research, that will set you up for a happier viva. What are the strongest findings of your thesis? Which aspects make you feel proud? Can you summarise the thesis in 300 words or so? Write all these points down in your notebook and get ready to shout them to the rooftops.


You wrote a thesis? That’s worth celebrating
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

3. And then think about the challenges

The next step is to use those newly objective eyes to look for any weaknesses in the thesis. There almost certainly will be some, and that’s just fine. The point of a viva is not to prove that you’ve conducted a perfect series of studies; if such a thing were possible, we wouldn’t need peer-review. You’ll be better off demonstrating that you’re aware of things you might do differently next time, or which you might be able to address in your amendments. Write your ideas down in your notebook, along with some thoughts about challenges you overcame during the research. Additionally, if there are any theoretical areas you’re shaky on, re-read the literature and try explaining those concepts to other people.

4. Think about your examiners

You should already know your examiners and their work by this point. It’s important to remember that, while those examiners will (hopefully!) be as fair as they can be, vivas are run by humans and are therefore a subjective experience. Try to get inside the heads of your examiners by reading their publications. How does their work interact with yours? Can you think of what these particular people might want to ask you about your research?


Your examiners will have their own take on your thesis. Can you try to predict what that might be?
Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

5. Think about questions you might be asked

In addition to the list of questions the examiners might ask, re-read your thesis and think about the questions anyone would ask. Make lists of those questions. Write down your answers. If there’s anything you’re unsure about, make another list (who doesn’t love a good list?) and book in a time to talk those areas through with your supervisor, who is there to support you. If you’ve had any papers published from your thesis, think about the points your reviewers made. Might those points come up again?  

6. Keep reading

Yep, there’s a lot of reading involved in viva prep. Once you’ve finished re-reading the thesis, you might also want to re-read the papers you cite most often. Plus, when did you write your lit review? It might have been a couple of years ago now. Have a look on Google Scholar and see if there are any papers which have come out since then that you need to know about for the big day.


As a postgrad, the reading never stops
Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

7. Practice, practice, practice

One of the things many postgrad students feel most nervous about – especially here in the socially awkward UK – is having to say their ideas out loud, rather than being able to hide behind the safety of a keyboard. The best way to beat those nerves is to practice. You might feel a bit silly, but ask your supervisor, friends, mum, partner, even your pet parrot to quiz you. Try explaining your ideas to people who don’t know anything about your subject. If they understand you, anyone will. The more you do this, the more confident you will feel, and the higher the chance that you might actually enjoy the viva. Trust me, unbelievable as that might feel from this side of the event, many people report genuinely enjoying this experience. After all, you’re getting to talk about your passion, the thing you know more about than anyone else in the world, to two experts you’ve hand-picked. This could be the stuff dreams are made of! 


What do Dr Beaky and her colleagues think about your epistemology?
Photo by Sid Balachandran on Unsplash

8. Book a Skype session with PGPR

We offer hour-long video chat sessions which are perfect for students who are about to take their viva. While we obviously can’t read your entire thesis and quiz you on it, we will spend an hour looking at your notes and ideas beforehand. We can then talk through any concerns and worries you have, ask you some practice questions, and give you some friendly support. Get in touch via the form below to book your session.

Three challenges dyslexic post-grad students may face – and how PGPR can help

Written by PGPR admin assistant Layla

Did you know that around five per cent of university students in the UK are dyslexic?

Dyslexic students can struggle with things other students may take for granted, such as understanding textbook materials, spelling and grammar, note-taking, and organising and expressing their ideas on paper.

Undertaking a PhD is a big commitment and a lot of work. If you’re a PhD student with dyslexia, this can make things all the more difficult.

However, with the right support in place, it can also be a rewarding experience that not only looks great on your CV but can enhance your future career prospects.

Here are three challenges that PhD students with dyslexia might face and ways that PGPR can help:

  • Spelling and grammar

The standard of writing expected from a PhD is high. If you are a dyslexic student, you might find negative comments or feedback in this area demotivating, especially when you have spent hours diligently checking your finished paper. Text-to-speech software and grammar checkers can be useful for common spelling and grammatical errors, but quite often they miss details that can only be spotted by an eagle-eyed professional proof-reader.

Our basic proof-reading service is designed to spot those typos and punctuation errors, checking each line, suggesting alternative word choices and highlighting areas of text that are difficult to understand. You get two copies of your work back – one clean edit and one tracked, so you can easily and quickly spot what changes have been made.

PGPR can help you put the right letters together

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  • Organising your ideas

Being able to manage your time effectively whilst working on a PhD is essential. Many dyslexic students can find it difficult to organise their thoughts on paper or find they need to spend longer re-reading academic texts to ensure they fully understand what is being discussed.

It is easy to become overwhelmed with the workload involved in a PhD even with additional support from your university. PGPR’s feedback service can help you to successfully organise your ideas so they are the best they can be.

One of the team will go through your work and provide expert advice and feedback to help improve your structure, methodology, findings and discussion sections. We also offer a service that combines basic proof-reading with feedback for students who feel their English or academic writing skills could use an extra boost.

Feeling overwhelmed? We can help

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  • Lack of visible support

Students with dyslexia often comment on how their experiences of studying at a post-grad level are vastly different from an undergraduate degree.

Universities often have a good support system in place for undergraduates, such as extra time for exams or a project deadline, trained on-site support staff and specialist equipment to help dyslexic students. Embarking on a PhD, however, means a lot of working on your own, and getting extra time to plan or write your thesis can be difficult.

If you feel that you need more support, consider discussing this with your supervisor. Many supervisors will be able to work with you on a plan to guide you through your PhD. Others may be dyslexic themselves or have previously worked with dyslexic students.

You may also benefit from PGPR’s popular one-to-one Skype sessions, which are designed to allow you to discuss your work with one of our experts. These one-off or regular sessions provide support, guidance and deeper insight into your work and can help assuage any worries or fears you may be experiencing.

Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time

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Get in touch with The Post-Graduate Proof-Reader

The team at PGPR offer a wide range of services designed to help you achieve your personal best. Whether you need your lecture notes transcribed into a clear and readable format in a dyslexia-friendly font, or a dry-run of your ground-breaking presentation via Skype to help you practise speaking in public, we are here to help.

There are also unlimited resources for students with dyslexia online. Some of our favourites include The British Dyslexia Association and The International Dyslexia Association.

Still not sure if we can help you? Get in touch and let us know the details, and we will do our best to support you in your studies.

Six steps to the perfect discussion section

You’ve passed ethics, recruited participants, collected your data, analysed and written up your findings – phew! What a marathon. The hard work is basically over, right?

Well, sadly not, because there is one more hurdle to jump; the dreaded discussion section.

This is where you compare your work to the existing literature. Sounds simple, but this can be the hardest chapter to write. I have a theory (entirely untested, I should point out) that these chapters are especially hard for women, who have generally been socialised not to brag about their achievements, something you definitely need to do here.

Read on for six tips on how to leap over this final hurdle and write a devastating discussion.

1. Read around your findings

You will already have done plenty of reading for your lit review, but before you start writing, do some more, especially if you are doing qualitative work. In quantitative research, you shouldn’t discuss any papers you haven’t already bought up in your intro, but this is not the case for qualitative explorations, where the researcher will have been expecting the unexpected. Now that you have your unexpected findings, search for similar papers and make notes on the relevant points.

I find it helpful to start a new document listing each of my key findings, and to make notes of any existing findings which confirm, contradict or add to my own, along with a note of which paper the new findings have come from. Include the key findings from the key papers from your intro or lit review on this list as well. You might want to highlight findings which back yours up in one colour and those which don’t in another. This list document comes in really handy once you start to write.

Immerse yourself in the relevant reading

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Look for work from the same or similar methodologies to you, as well as work from other areas. Find and read papers that are cited in useful studies.

Top tip: if your university doesn’t have access to a paper you need, email the author, or look for them on ResearchGate or Twitter. They will probably be happy to share their work with you. (I am always happy to share my papers, just get in touch via the form below to ask.)

2. Think about format

The format of your discussion section should mirror that of your findings. This helps your reader to logically follow your train of thought; especially vital if your reader is a PhD examiner, for whom you want to make life as easy as possible.

Start with your first finding. Briefly recap it. A common problem I see with PGPR clients is that they spend too much time reminding the reader of findings. The findings chapter is the one before the discussion; try to trust that your work is interesting enough that the reader won’t have forgotten it already.

Think carefully about your format before you start writing
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Here is an example of a recap from a discussion section in my PhD, which was about the experience of living with and being treated for renal failure:

Seven of the participants talked about the impact that ill health made on their lives. Some found that ill health was a wearing intrusion, dragging them down and restricting them. Others had found ways to come to terms with living with their chronic conditions.

Following this, you might want write a brief summary of the existing literature, after which you can start comparing your work to what’s out there already.

3. Look for areas where your research confirms other findings

The next step is to demonstrate how your findings concur with existing work (if they do). This is where the list document you made earlier will come in useful. Look for findings that are similar to yours and tell the reader about those similarities. If you don’t have anything on your document which backs up your findings, have another look, just to be sure. However, don’t force similarities if they’re not there.


How similar does your work look to existing work?

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4. Look for areas where your research builds on existing work

This step is similar to the previous one but can be trickier. Your work might appear to contradict existing work. Novice researchers may panic that this means their findings are ‘wrong’. However, is there a reason your findings are different from Professor Big-Brain’s? Did you speak to different participants? Has the political climate shifted? Perhaps participants reacted differently to you – an Asian female – than to Professor Big-Brain – a white male. If further research would be beneficial, point that out.

Perhaps your findings add a new dimension to a model or set of guidelines. If so, clearly demonstrate this and give yourself a gold star.

You might have an entirely novel finding – something no-one has found before. Again, check the literature carefully so that you can be confident you’ve not missed anything, but if so, use clear language to tell your reader that you have found something new and important. Don’t be shy about this! These are the kinds of findings you might include in bullet points about ‘what this adds to existing research’ when you’re submitting papers for publication.


Don’t let your brilliant new ideas sink without trace  

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5. Think carefully about what your reader needs to know

PGPR clients’ discussion sections are often overly long. We don’t need every detail of the papers you’re comparing your work to. Consider your examiners or the reviewers of your paper as you write. These people tend to be overworked as it is – and reviewing/thesis examination is extra work which they have to fit into their busy day. Do they really need to know exactly how many people Dr Finickity interviewed, or do they just need to know what those participants experienced?

Here is another example from my PhD, demonstrating a succinct comparison:

Several participants talked about a loss of freedom via the restrictions placed on them by their illness, either in terms of being too fatigued to live life to the full, or in terms of more practical concerns such as diet restrictions. Authors of previous qualitative work on ill-health have found similar themes. The restricting impact of ill health in terms of both social life and diet spoken about by Charlotte is reflected in findings by King et al. (2002), in which dietary restrictions and ill health were both found to have a major impact on the diabetic renal patients.

6. Ask PGPR for feedback

Discussion sections are difficult – but the PGPR team has plenty of experience writing, marking and examining these chapters. We are happy to offer feedback on how to get your discussion chapter just right, so fill in the form below if you would like some extra support.

Five tips for looking after your mental health as a postgrad


Postgraduate work is rewarding and can advance your career. But it can also be hard, lonely and scary. When your brain is full of ethics forms, analysis and recruitment, it can be hard to take care of yourself. Looking after your mental health is always essential but is especially important when you’re so busy you feel you don’t have the time. As the Zen proverb says:

‘You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour’.

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Here are five tips for maintaining your sanity while completing your master’s or PhD.

1. Fight isolation

Postgrad work is often groundbreaking. This is exciting, of course. But the problem with breaking new ground is that there might not be anyone else breaking that ground with you. This means you can end up feeling isolated.

Is there anyone else at your university doing similar research to you? If so, drop them an email, see if they fancy lunch. If not, have a look online for groups of people doing similar work to you. Lots of PGPR clients are conducting qualitative research using interpretative phenomenological analysis; if you’re one of those people, check out the IPA groups.io gang, which is a supportive place to ask questions and make contacts. Despite its reputation for being toxic, Twitter can also be a friendly space for academics. You might want to start out by following @AcademicChatter, @PhDVoice and PGPR’s account @DrJohannaSpiers for some interesting online conversations.


Postgrad work can be lonely
Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Unsplash

 

2. Take breaks

When you’re drowning in deadlines, it can feel tempting to keep working on into the night, only stopping to cram crisps into your mouth every now and then. But we all know this is a bad idea, right?

Make sure you work regular breaks into your days. Does your uni have a gym? Go for a yoga class or a game of squash. Are you working from home? Go outside, sit in the sun, read a chapter of a novel. Is it Sunday and you’ve been working for 15 days straight? Stop it! Watch some Ozark and put your feet up. You’ll feel much better, and you’ll be more productive when you do get back to your desk.

3. Ask for support if you need it

There’s no escaping it; doing a master’s or a PhD is tough. You’re leading your own research, which is unpredictable and has many elements outside of your control. You’re probably skint. You’re watching your friends and family fill their evenings with fun while you’re conducting analysis and writing discussion sections. And you might be juggling family responsibilities while doing all this. If you need help, ask for it. Many universities have free counselling services which are quick to access. Your personal tutor is there for you to talk to. Asking for help is a sign of strength, so don’t be scared to reach out.


We all need a helping hand from time to time
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4. Celebrate the wins

If you’ve read this far, you might be forgiven for thinking postgrad work is nothing but doom and gloom. However, there are many triumphs along the way: getting accepted onto the course, passing your status upgrade, getting ethics approval, recruiting your first participants, writing your first paper, presenting at your first conference. These are all amazing achievements – remember to enjoy them!


Celebrate your postgrad wins whenever you can
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5. Contact PGPR for extra help

If you’re feeling stuck with spelling, tense about tenses or grouchy over grammar as you’re writing up your findings, get in touch for proof-reading help. We can also offer written and video-based feedback for qualitative social science work or help with your interview schedules and conference presentations. Just fill in the form below to find out more.

What you can expect from PGPR’s different levels of service

If you’re reading this blog, you’re either a PGPR client or you’re thinking about becoming one. Either way – welcome! We hope we’ll get the chance to read some of your research soon.

We offer four levels of service here at PGPR. This is a blog to explain what you’ll get when you book each of those services.

1. Basic proof-reading

First and foremost, proof-reading is about ensuring that your spelling and grammar are correct. You probably realised that, but PGPR proof-readers also look out for and help you with more than just those factors. Those extra areas include:

  • Tightening your writing by cutting down overly long sentences
  • Clarifying confusing text
  • Ensuring consistency of formatting, terminology, punctuation and so on
  • Checking your in-text references and, for a small extra charge, your reference list

We’ll amend your piece using Word’s track changes feature and send you back two copies: one with the changes still marked and one clean copy. It might be that we also include some comments to ensure we haven’t changed your meaning or that you agree with any suggested re-formatting.


The PGPR team really love reading

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Who should use our basic proof-reading service? Clients who are happy with the structure and meaning of their work, but who struggle with English or academic writing.


Read more about why you should work with a proof-reader here.  

2. Feedback only

The PGPR team includes a wealth of qualitative experts. As such, we can offer feedback on your structure, methodology, findings and discussion sections. We might ask whether you could dig a bit deeper with a certain interpretation, or if you can find links between certain themes. We may also suggest papers which would be useful to read, point out methodological errors or highlight sections of your thesis which your examiners might question you about.

We can also offer feedback on earlier stages of analysis, such as tables of themes or transcripts. It might be helpful for you to consider a Skype session with one of our experts if you’re at this earlier stage – more on those below.

If you book feedback only, you’ll get a single copy of your work back, marked up with helpful comments from one of our team. Read more about our brilliant team here.


The PGPR team will tell you what’s working and what needs more polishing

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Who should use our feedback only service? If you are confident that your writing is strong, but you feel less sure about whether your analysis or methodology are as robust as they can be, this is the service for you.

3. Proof-reading plus feedback

This is our deluxe service and is fairly self-explanatory! If you book this service, we’ll combine all the elements of basic proof-reading and feedback. This means you’ll get two copies of your work back: one with the tracked changes still there for you to look at and one clean copy. Both copies will include the feedback comments.


PGPR clients are great; we genuinely enjoy giving you feedback
 
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Who should book proof-reading plus feedback? If you’re feeling unsure about your English or academic writing skills and need some extra assistance with your analysis, book this service.

4. Video consultations

The PGPR team now offers video consultations for its qualitative clients. These are an ideal opportunity to talk through difficulties you’re having at any stage of your research project with one of our team of experts.

Once you’ve booked a session and been paired with a team member, you can send some examples of your work for your expert to look over. They will then spend up to an hour discussing the work with you via a video chat. Note it’s fine to turn the video function off if you feel shy – you’ll still be able to hear our advice and questions.

You can read more about the benefits of our video consultations here.


Use one of our friendly Skype sessions to steer you in the right direction
 
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Who should book a video consultation? Anyone who is feeling stuck with any stage of their qualitative research project.

If any of these services sound like they might be helpful for you, get in touch via the form below and have a chat with us about what we can offer.