The PhD Process: Five years of banging on about the same thing
I initially became a student at the university way back in 2014, starting my BA in Media Production and Creative Writing; before then, I had held the belief that I had zero academic potential. Three years later, I had a First-Class degree and was pleased to have been proven wrong. It goes without saying that the first obvious step was continuing my education through a Masters, which I did, gaining an MA in Contemporary Literature at a Merit. I was burnt out at that stage. I knew I needed to take some time out from academia. So, I focused on my marketing career, developing and learning more about that.
Then Covid. It seems weird that the thing that put me back onto the research path was such a massive event; it impacted so many people in so many ways. For some, this impact was a heartbreaking loss or the struggle between distance and isolation. For me, I was made redundant – there was no need to market when the market was shut.
But redundancy was the catalyst. After some encouragement from my husband, I started drafting my research proposal. I already knew what topic I wanted to explore, so expanding that was easy…almost. It had been over two years since I had read critically and deliberately. But it was like slipping on an old, favourite jumper. In October 2020, I started my PhD.
I was unprepared for the next handful of years; I had committed to a part-time course, which meant 6 years. Tens of thousands of words in 6 years sounds straightforward at the start. In practice? Not so straightforward. But I was persistent – taking on the familiar adage which was repeated to me by every PhDer and numerous staff members – “it’s a marathon not a sprint”. Some years were more productive than others, it took me the whole of 2021 to get my literature review drafted, but in 2024 I drafted two of my analytical chapters. 2025 is off to a slow start, with me putting it on the back burn as work and personal situations took up more of my time. But I am looking at the finish line. It’s a year or so in front of me but within touching distance.
I was told that if I didn’t hate my subject by the end, I was doing the PhD wrong. This is meant to comfort people who have lost that passion. Spending half a decade with one topic is exhausting, particularly when the project’s scope has changed from what you initially plotted out.
My friends, I am pleased to say I am doing it wrong. I am still as fascinated by my subject as I was 5 years ago. But I am incredibly fortunate to have the time to do this, albeit squeezing it in the evenings and weekends or my lunch breaks if I have a deadline looming. My key lesson from nearly 5 years as a PhD student is that 5 years is not at all as long as I thought. I was the one who first thought about the project, shaped it, grew with it, changed
it, and I will be the one to complete it. I want to enjoy it. So, I have done everything I can to make this thesis the thing I still get excited about after all this time. I make pretty notes. I reward myself with lil treats when I finish a chapter draft, or do well in a supervisor meeting. But mostly, I don’t punish myself if I lag behind slightly or need more revisions – and yes this is what I am passionate about and I want to do well with. But we cannot be at 100%, 100% of the time.
So to anyone starting a PhD, or in the middle of one, or head-in-hand-just-had-enough of this thesis. Just take a breath and remember: it’s your project. You’re doing it!
Blog post written by: Bethany McTrustery
Claire’s Adventures in PhDland
It took me two years to get to my actual research question and to feel like I knew what I was trying to investigate. There were the obvious things of life – work, family, health, money – but I felt like I was wading in academic treacle to get anywhere. I went down what felt like thousands of rabbit holes, trying out different perspectives around my theme, and created a plethora of conceptual models (once I had figured out what one was). I read. A LOT. It felt very tangled and messy and, looking back on it, I needed all that time to get my head around what I was actually doing.
As I was working out what I was actually looking at, I talked to many many people. My supervisors, of course, held me accountable in academic terms to the level and quality of PhD research, even if they haven’t necessarily understood exactly what I was exploring at the time. My family often look at me as if I have finally lost it, particularly when I get excited about a bit of analysis that gives an interesting insight, but they also ask questions which make me think from a different perspective and bring me coffee too! My industry network is a fantastic sounding board, making sure that my research is grounded in practice and generating insight that is applicable and impactful for the events industry.
At various points through the process, new collaborators have emerged, offering opportunities to explore new areas or engage industry in my research in a different way. These have been, and are, incredibly exciting and perhaps a little distracting. It has led to me being part of a national network and now leading on their industry research activities, and I am part of a team developing AI-driven experiential learning to apply the findings of my research. However, all of this has taken a lot of time and energy and, at times, has torn me away from focusing on my research and prioritising it.
There is something wonderful about people being interested in one’s research and creating something that has value and impact on the industry that I love being part of. Inadvertently, I seem to have built a new reputation and profile for myself that is based on my brain and insights, less so on my event management skills and capabilities. Not having yet completed my PhD, I feel somewhat an imposter but I am taking a moment in this blog to realise how far I have come from those first months of nervous excitement and confusion as I started, through developing my question, to collecting data and now to analysis and writing up.
I know I still have a long way to go to complete my PhD but I know how I’m going to get there, which is more than I started with! To anyone else who feels a bit lost and overwhelmed with it, hang on in there, get support, lean on your support network, stay curious and focus on the goal whether it’s hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or in a lifetime.
Blog post written by: Claire Drakeley
DEADLINE EXTENDED: Images of Research 2025
All researchers (staff and research students) at the University of Northampton are invited to participate as the Call for Images is open. Create a unique image – a painting or a photograph – that captures the essence of your research or captures an element of it in an artistic way. Include a catchy title and a 150 word summary and your entry for Images of Research will be ready for submission. You can find more information on how to apply in the IoR 2024-25 Rules and Guidelines.
As in previous years, this year’s IoR will consist of two parts – viewers can vote for their top three favourites and a ‘guest’ judge will pick their top three as well. All you need to do is make sure that your entries follow the Rules and Guidelines linked above and submit your image via this form by the close date of May 31.
The Graduate School launched its first Images of Research in 2013. Justin Lance, then Head of Corporate Programmes at NBS said of it “this is such a wonderfully simple, yet powerful, concept to showcase the diversity and flamboyance of research across the University.” Indeed, this is a perfect opportunity for you to express your creativity and engage a broader audience with your research. Every year, Images of Research are displayed around campus and selected images find their way into different University publications.
Browse through the Images of Research 2024 Brochure to take a look at last year’s entries.
If you are a researcher we invite you to participate in our 13th Images of Research. If you have any questions please contact Lina in the Graduate School.
We look forward to your entries!
Café Scientifique: Harnessing or intuitive cues, for better or worse
Thursday 27 February, 5 – 6.30pm
The Bee Hive, Harborough Road, Northampton NN2 8LR
The first Café Scientifque of 2025 is presented by Robin SturmanCoombs, a qualified Social Worker and Senior Lecturer in Social Welfare, University of Northampton. Robin’s passion for Social Work has led to an emerging interest in how HEIs prepare Students to practice Intuitive Reasoning in Social Work Practice. This talk offers the opportunity to discuss and examine the findings from Robin’s Doctoral studies which explores an important area of the Social Work curriculum. Robin considers how academics construct and teach intuitive reasoning to Social Work Students. Enablers and barriers to this process are considered along with recommendations for teaching and practice.
Refreshments available to purchase on the evening.
To attend June’s Café Scientifique register at bit.ly/CafeSciCues2025
Images of Research 2023-24: Results!
Dr Cathy Smith, Dean of Research & Knowledge Exchange, announced the winners of the 2023-2024 Images of Research competition at the in person day of the Annual Research Conference on 25th June.
Out of a collection of 23 fabulous research images from across the University of Northampton, Lewis Collins and Sonika Divakar et al was chosen by guest judges, Dr Cathy Smith and Lorna Jowett, Professor of Media and Culture, as the overall winners of this year’s Images of Research with their image entitled ‘Interstitial Forms’. The Runner Up was Karen Anthony with her image entitled ‘How do you like your eggs in the morning?’.
A public vote where 115 members of the UON community voted for their favourite images saw Adil Farooq take home the People’s Choice award with his image titled ‘The Roots of Sustainability: Nurturing a Greener Future’.
IoR showcases research in a unique way – researchers produce an original image, which can be a photograph or artwork, and write a short, engaging summary describing how the image links to their research. This results in an exciting exhibition, showcasing UONs research diversity.
We would like to thank everyone who participated by sending us an image, and extend a massive congratulations to the winners!
All images and abstracts can be seen in the catalogue below.
UON Researchers showcase inspirational research at Annual Research Conference
UON’s Annual Research Conference 2024, “Strength in Diversity”, held on June 25th and 26th, featured a diverse range of inspirational and impactful research, showcased over a 2-day event. The first day, in-person at Waterside, kicked off with a research artefacts exhibition where people were encouraged to touch the exhibits; play games, wear scarves, look into microscopes and read a range of books authored by our researchers. Dr Cathy Smith, Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange, opened the conference and announced the winners of the annual Images of Research Competition. Lewis Collins & Sonika Divakar won the Judge’s Vote, with a runner up place to Karen Anthony. The Public Vote competition was won by Postgraduate Researcher, Adil Farooq.
Read the rest of this entryImages of Research 2024: voting now open!
The Graduate School’s 2024 Images of Research (IoR) is now open for ‘People’s Choice’ voting. This year we have a collection of 23 fabulous research images from across the university. IoR showcases research in a unique way – researchers produce an original image, which can be a photograph or artwork, and write a short, engaging summary describing how the image links to their research. This results in an exciting exhibition, showcasing UON’s research diversity.
To vote for your favourites, view the Images of Research Brochure, (you can download the file at the bottom of this news item), then choose your favourite two in the IoR 2024 Voting Form. Please vote for your favourite two in no particular order, taking into account BOTH the image and the abstract. As a guide, a winning image would be one that:
* Is visually appealing AND
* Has an accompanying abstract which is well written, clearly connects with the image and ensures viewers, who know nothing about the research topic, will understand and find interest in the research presented.
The People’s Choice closes on June 20th at midnight. Please note that there is only one entry allowed per person.
Read the rest of this entryGraduate School Update Day 2024 – Research Culture and Community at UON
Our Graduate School Update Day will run on Tuesday 4th June from 9:30-3:30pm. This annual event is for postgraduate researchers and their supervisors to come together to discuss topics of interest. This year we will be discussing the importance of developing and maintaining a strong research culture and community at UON – in supervision, in PGR development and in our research degree support across the university. Dr Neil Radford from the University of Derby is joining us for these discussions – Neil is the external examiner for UON’s Supervisor Development Programme.
The day will also include a session on research degree policy changes, an introduction to Images of Research 2024, which will be open for voting, and an overview of the upcoming Annual Research Conference later in June.
Lunch vouchers will be available for a free lunch for all attendees. You can attend for all or just part of the day. Please see the schedule below for full information and go to Gateway for booking your place.
EMDoc PGR Conference 2024: Call for abstracts from PGRs
The call for abstracts is open for the 2024 EMDoc PGR conference. If you are studying for a doctorate at UON you are eligible to apply. EMDoc consists of nine Midlands universities who are keen to work collaboratively to share best practice, resources and insights into doctoral research across all disciplines. The EMDoc Conference is a great opportunity for PGRs to discuss and promote their research as well as network with other researchers from across the East Midlands.
This year’s conference will be hosted online by the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, and will take place online on 25th September 2024. UON PGRs are invited to submit abstracts for the conference (submission deadline Monday 10th June).
The theme for the 2024 EMDoc conference is ‘Collaborations, Connections and Positive Change: Imagining Possible Futures Through Research’. This event seeks to support cross-disciplinary
and cross-institutional dialogue and collaboration, inviting contributions from PGRs working across subject areas.
Come along to the 2024 Postgraduate Researcher Poster Competition!
The Graduate School would like to invite you to their 17th Annual Postgraduate Researcher Poster Competition on Thursday 23rd May 2024, 11am to 2pm, in the Owl’s Nest on the ground floor of the Learning Hub, Waterside campus. The poster competition is a development opportunity for doctoral research students, who present their research on a research poster, giving short 1-1 verbal presentations alongside. Come along to meet some of our PGRs and learn about their research!
Read the rest of this entry
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