Sweating the Contribution Already

rice_crispy

Long story short, ive just started my phd and already im worrying about results and contribution?l I'm wondering if this is a concern all phd students have and if it's something you just have to accept and walk blindly into the project hoping you can succeed in making a valid contribution to the field, or am I missing something?

The topic I have picked have very little previous research and the area does need to be investigated, but I;m just terrified that after 4 years when I present for viva someone could turn around and say 'so what?' and that essentially I'll come up with nothing?

jelly&icecream

I think all but the the most insanely self assured phd students worry about this. I know for my first year really I had this nagging voice in the back of my head going "What if you don't think of anything???!!". Most other students I've spoken to go through this uncertainty at some stage.

Eventually though you gain a better understanding of your area and with the help of your supervisor you settle or fall into a niche that needs tackling.

The most important thing as far as I'm concerned is that you're with the right supervisor. With hard work and a bit of intuition the rest should slowly fall into place. Is your supervisor someone you can work with for 3/4 years? Are their other students who are at a later stage than you progressing well and publishing? Does he/she make time for his/her students? Does he/she have the knowledge and experience that the field requires?

rice_crispy

Thank god its not just me then! I wasn't sure if I should be thinking that far ahead considering I'm only in month one of a 4 year journey but at the same time I kept thinking that it might be a sign that I've picked the wrong area to study.
Thankfully based on my previous experience and the testimony or others, I'm pretty confident I've the 2 best supervisors possible. Both are fantastic academics with a real broad knowledge of many topics and I also get on with both of them on a personal level and would never hesitate to contact either with a problem! I know the pain of not hitting it off with your supervisor as this happened with my MSc and it sucked!
I suppose the best thing is to keep digging deeper with the topic and worry about this around the 2 year mark! Gladly one of my supervisors is of the opinion that there is always something new to find out about everything, its only a matter of asking the right questions!

Max001

Hey

For what its worth......am starting a Phd in Jan and my potential supervisor gave me a piece of advice which I thought was quite sound. I'm also looking at an area, seemingly without a lot of recent research activity. He suggested when I read up on the literature to date, I track the roadmap of the research (my words) to work out where the research is likely to go in the next few years. Looking at papers still in progress is also useful in this respect. Obviously a bit of detective work required

Apologies if I'm stating the obvious here. Just completing a research masters but I'm rapidly getting the impression that a Phd is significantly more work! (understatement)