Mastering Your PhD

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Choosing a Research Group: Pluses and Pitfalls

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 1-10

3. Getting Started

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 11-15

4. Setting Goals and Objectives

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 17-26

5. How to Think Like a Scientist

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 27-34

6. Designing Good Experiments

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 35-44

7. Charting Your Progress Month by Month

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 45-51

8. Dealing with Setbacks

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 53-60

9. Mentors, Leadership, and Community

   • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

   Pages 61-66

10. How to Get Along with Your Lab Mates, et al.

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 67-83

11. Group Dynamics: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 85-90

12. The Art of Good Communication

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 91-103

13. Mastering Presentations and Group Meetings

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 105-118

14. Searching the Scientific Literature

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 119-124

15. Your First International Conference

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 125-135

16. From Data to Manuscript: Writing Scientific Papers That Shine

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 137-147

17. Celebrate Your Success

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 149-153

18. How to Make the Best of Your Annual Evaluation

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 155-163

19. The Final Year: Countdown to Your Thesis Defence

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 165-176

20. Writing Your Doctoral Thesis with Style

    • Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam

    Pages 177-188

"Mastering Your PhD: Survival and Success in the Doctoral Years and Beyond" helps guide PhD students through their graduate student years. Filled with practical advice on getting started, communicating with your supervisor, staying the course, and planning for the future, this book is a handy guide for graduate students who need that extra bit of help getting started and making it through. While mainly directed at PhD students in the sciences, the book's scope is broad enough to encompass the obstacles and hurdles that almost all PhD students face during their doctoral training. Who should read this book? Students of the physical and life sciences, computer science, math, and medicine who are thinking about entering a PhD program; doctoral students at the beginning of their research; and any graduate student who is feeling frustrated and stuck. It's never too early -- or too late! This second edition contains a variety of new material, including additional chapters on how to communicate better with your supervisor, dealing with difficult people, how to find a mentor, and new chapters on your next career step, once you have your coveted doctoral degree in hand.

• Graduate school
• Graduate student guide
• Organizing PhD work
• PhD guide
• PhD student
• Planning a PhD thesis
• Social networking

Some book reviews on 1st edition: "A must for any student in natural sciences that is doing or is considering doing a PhD. Also, I strongly recommend PhD supervisors to read this book -- they will learn a lot." Henrik Stapelfeldt, Professor of Chemistry, Arhus Denmark "At last, a book about graduate study that paints the big picture and that recognizes PhD work as a real job involving many of the same relationship and business issues that will be important to students throughout their careers. Outstanding!" Lou Bloomfield, Professor of Physics, University of Virginia, USA "Mastering Your PhD is a wonderful book and a pleasure to read. It helps PhD students prepare for the road ahead and provides a wealth of handy tips!" Aletta Wubben, Trainer and coach for scientists, The Netherlands

• European Neuromuscular Centre, Baarn, Netherlands

  Patricia Gosling

• Physics (AMOLF), FOM Institute for Atomic & Molecular, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  Lambertus D. Noordam

Dr. Patricia Gosling has worked in several science-related fields since earning her PhD in Organic Chemistry, including medical publishing and medical communications. She currently works in the Scientific Affairs department of a leading biotechnology company. Prof. Dr. Bart Noordam is Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam. As Professor of Physics he supervised several PhD students. He has also worked for McKinsey & Compnany, a Regional Audit Organization, and in the semiconductor industry.

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