One of the key suggestions that I often make to many of my friends and colleagues is to read and explore areas of research that do not match your core area of specialisation. We tend to limit ourselves to reading in areas that are directly linked to our research work or to our primary disciplinary…
Academic writing is somewhat different from writing a blog or an article. In this blog post I will talk about writing a thesis, a journal article and writing for an academic magazine. Use Formal Language The first and foremost rule for any formal writing is to use correct language. Whichever language you choose to write…
In an earlier blog post I had emphasised the need to start writing immediately. This holds true as much for the fieldwork that you have undertaken as to the reading material you go through. At the end of the research work, you will be getting a doctorate which certifies that you are an expert in…
I have noticed that many a times this is an area that most researchers tend to struggle with. When you are doing a full time research, there is this feeling of having all the time for research and therefore the tendency to procrastinate. If you are juggling with a job, there is the difficulty to…
PhD progresses through many stages. And writing is considered to be the last of it. Often proposal writing is so exhausting that we tend to procrastinate before we take up writing again. If you are like me, and love to read, you would also revel in the lovely time that a quiet library can offer….
Your supervisor will play a very significant role in your research work. This starts at the time of preparing your PhD proposal and continues till the time of viva. I was lucky to have a supervisor who builds a strong emotional connect and supports you unconditionally. Do not take this as a given. It is…
How to finish your PhD. Tip #1 – Love your work I have often been asked for tips on how to finish a PhD on time. I submitted my PhD in 2013 in a little less than four years of registering for it. I studied along with a full time job. Since then, I have never…
Many Lives, Many MastersBrian Weiss1988New DelhiPiatkus (Hachette India)p. 218Many Lives, Many Masters, is supposedly a factual account of the events that unfolded through the interaction of author, psychiatrist Weiss and his patient, Catherine. While Weiss claims to have concealed the identities of his patients, he has shared the details of his sessions in which the…
Chromosome Six Robin Cook 1997 p. 575 Pan Publications A classic Cook style fictional narrative, Chromosome Six is the tale of two doctors who are embroiled in a controversial medical breakthrough that involves crime warlords. Replete with instances of ethical dilemmas in medicine and research, the book is engaging for all researchers. It fills you…
Chronicle of a Corpse BearerCyrus Mistry2012p. 245Aleph Mistry’s fictional autobiography of a Parsi corpse bearer is a tale marked by the many dimensions of what is often considered to be a mundane life. Struggles to survive in pitiful job circumstances, face constant discrimination, and live an ordinary life as a son, a husband and a…
