Planning for PhD abroad?
Are you planning for your PhD abroad? Struggling to figure out how to prepare and what to do? Then this article will be a very good start for you. It is based on my experience of entering into a good University for my PhD. I tried to cover most of the aspects, starting from preparation a year before, to joining the University. If you want to understand in-depth, then you can visit separate pages provided in the end. Let's start the journey.
First and the foremost thing is to read research papers from the domain you are interested in. You should have a clear reason to pursue your PhD. Your reason cannot be to get a PhD degree or to put Dr in front of your name. There should be concrete the problem statement in front of you. That something should be so important in your life that you are ready to spend days and night preparing for it. Mind it, Preparation and completing a PhD, going to cost you a lot, apart from the money. Therefore, you should have enough reason to venture into it.
Once you have strong problem statement with you then, prepare your first draft to put all thoughts on paper. There is nothing called 'in mind' while doing a PhD. Everything has to be on paper. Even though its a draft make sure that it is well structured and clearly articulated. Next step is to refine those writings, by referring a few research papers and books. Mention the referencing at the appropriate places and add those as a reference in the end. It is essential because it will be paving your way to PhD admissions.
After this initial draft, you need to continue the literature review. It would help if you kept improvising your keywords during the search every time. Talk to people who work in the same domain. They may give you domain terms to explain your thoughts. Use them to refine your search and get access to the most relevant work. You should get something which will speak what you were trying to say for years. Such 'wow' moments are the indication that you are moving in the right direction, but still away from your destination. It is time to read that work done by various researchers. Go to the references mentioned in that paper. It will take you nearer to destination. You must reach that 'Wow' moment at least five times during your literature review phase then you only you will reach closer to your actual subject. Don't forget to keep writing during this journey.
Remember... More the clarity, higher the chances that you will get admission in the excellent University.