How to Succeed in Postgraduate Study

Doing Research

by Marie desJardins

Doing Research

For many new postgraduate students, postgraduate study is unlike anything else they've done. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what it is you're supposed to be learning. Yes, you have to complete a dissertation, but how do you start? What should you spend your time doing?

Postgraduate programs are very unstructured in most cases. You're supposed to find a thesis topic, if you're not one of the lucky few who has already found one. Once you do find a topic, you can expect two or more years until completion, with very few landmarks or milestones in sight.

The following sections talk about the day-to-day process of doing research, criticism and feedback, working on the thesis, and financial support for research.