HOW TO BE A GOOD GRADUATE STUDENT

HowtoBeaGoodGraduateStudent1．whygotograduateschoolatall?TheusualreasonsgivenarethataPh.D.isrequiredorpreferredforsomejobs,especiallyresearchandacademicpositions;thatitgivesyouachancetolearnagreatdealaboutaspecificarea;andthatitprovidesanopportunitytodevelopideasandperformoriginalresearch.Wantingtodelayyourjobhuntisprobablynotagoodenoughreason.Overthepastdecade,researchandacademicpositionshavebecomemoredifficulttofind,andmanyrecentPh.D.sendup“killingtime”inaseriesofpostdoctoralpositions,ortakingnon-researchjob.HavingaPh.D.isnotaguaranteeoffindingabetterjobinandofitself!Inaddition,graduateschoolisalotofworkandrequiresstrongmotivationandfocus.Youhavetoreallywanttobetheretomakeitthrough.①究竟为什么要读研呢？人们给出的一些常见的理由是有些工作要求或青睐博士学位，尤其是研究或学术类的职位；读研使你有机会深入学习某个领域；为你提供一个开发思想以及从事独创研究的机会。希望通过读研延迟找工作或许不是一个足够好的理由。在过去十年间，研究或学术类的职位变得更难找了，现在的博士们最终都从事了一系列消磨时间的博士后工作，或者非研究类工作。拥有一个博士学位本身已经不在是找到好工作的保障了。另外，读研需要投入大量的精力，并且需要强大的动力和明确的方向。你必须发自内心地想读才能够完成学业。2．Ithelpstohaveagoodideaofwhatareayouwanttospecializein,andpreferablyacoupleofparticularresearchprojectsyoumightliketoworkon,althoughmangresearchstudentschangetheirmindsaboutresearchprojectsandevenspecializationfieldaftertheystartschool.Lookforbooksandcurrentjournalsandconferenceproceedingsinyourarea,andreadthroughthemtogetanideaofwho'sdoingwhatwhere.(You'llbedoingaLOTofreadingonceyoustartgraduateschool,soyoumightaswellgetusedtoit.)Thisiswhereadvisorsfirstenterthescene:facultymembersoughttobewillingtotalktoundergraduatesandhelpthemfindoutmoreaboutresearchareasandgraduateschools.Trytogetinvolvedinresearch:askprofessorsandTAswhethertheyneedsomeonetoworkonanongoingproject,orstartanindependentresearchproject,withguidancefromafacultymember.②对自己打算研究的领域有所了解会有帮助，有几项你特别愿意从事的研究项目会更有帮助，尽管许多研究生在开始学业后改变了他们对研究项目甚至专业领域的看法。查阅本研究领域的专著、期刊、会议论文集，了解专业领域的最新研究动态。（一旦开始读研，你将会进行大量的阅读,因此你不妨习惯这一点）。这是指导老师最先介入的环节：教师应该乐于和本科生讨论，帮助他们了解更多的研究领域和研究生院校。尽量参与一些研究：询问教授和助教他们正在进行的项目是否需要助手，或者在一位老师的指导下开展一个独立的研究项目。3．Formanynewgraduatestudents,graduateschoolisunlikeanythingelsethey’vedone.Sometimesit’shardtoknowexactlywhatitisyou’resuposedtobelearning.Yes,youhavetocompleteadissertation,buthowdoyoustart?Whatshouldyouspendyourtimedoing?③对于许多新研究生来说，研究生院与他们所做的任何事情都不同。有时很难知道到底什么是你应该去学习的。是的，你必须完成一个论文但是你怎么开始呢？你应该把你的时间花在做什么？4．Graduateschoolisaveryunstructuredenvironmentinmostcases.Graduatestudentstypicallytakefewerhoursofcourseworkpersemesterthanundergraduatestudents,especiallyafterthesecondyear.Formany,thethirdyear--aftercourseworkislargelyfinishedandpreliminaryexamshavebeencompleted--isaverydifficultandstressfulperiod.Thisiswhenyou'resupposedtofindathesistopic,ifyou'renotoneoftheluckyfewwhohasalreadyfoundone.Onceyoudofindatopic,youcanexpecttwoormoreyearsuntilcompletion,withveryfewlandmarksormilestonesinsight.④在大多数情形下，研究生院的环境十分松散。典型的是研究生每学期选修的学时一般比本科生少，进入研二的学习更是这样。对许多研究生来说，大部分学时和初步的考核完成以后的研三是一个辛苦而充满压力的时期。此时，你若不是为数不多的已经确定论题的幸运儿之一，你就应该为论文确定题目。一旦你确定好论题，你要做好心理准备，在论文完成前的两年乃至更长的时间内，你几乎看不见什么突破性的路标或里程碑。5．Beingagoodresearcherinvolvesmorethan“merely”comingupwithbrilliantideasandimplementingthem.Mostresearchersspendthemajorityoftheirtimereadingpapers,discussingideaswithcolleagues,writingandrevisingpapers,staringblanklyintospace--and,ofcourse,havingbrilliantideasandimplementingthem.⑤要成为一个好的研究者，仅仅提出新颖的想法并付诸实现还是不够的。大多数研究者花费大量的时间阅读论文、与同事讨论想法、进行论文的写作和修改工作、发呆，当然你还需要新颖的想法并付诸实现。6．Keepingajournalofyourresearchactivitiesandideasisveryuseful.Writedownspeculations,interestingproblems,possiblesolutions,randomideas,referencestolookup,notesonpapersyou'veread,outlinesofpaperstowrite,andinterestingquotes.Readbackthroughitperiodically.You'llnoticethatthebitsofrandomthoughtsstarttocometogetherandformapattern,oftenturningintoaresearchprojectorevenathesistopic.Iwassurprised,lookingbackthroughmyjournalasIwasfinishingupmythesis,howearlyandoftensimilarideashadcroppedupinmythinking,andhowtheygraduallyevolvedintoadissertation.⑥用日记记录与研究有关的活动和想法将非常有用。记录你的猜想、有兴趣的问题、可能的解答、零散的想法、需要查阅的参考文献、已阅读的论文的摘记，拟写的论文的提纲以及感兴趣的引文并定期地翻看。你会发现一些零碎的思想碎片聚集在一起形成一个整体之后，经常会成为研究的项目甚至是学位论文的专题。我很惊讶，当我完成论文的时候，回过头来看我的日记，我的思维中出现了多么早的、类似的想法，以及它们是如何逐渐演变成一篇论文的。7．You'llhavetoreadalotoftechnicalpaperstobecomefamiliarwithanyfield,andtostaycurrentonceyou'vecaughtup.Youmayfindyourselfspendingoverhalfofyourtimereading,especiallyatthebeginning.Thisisnormal.It'salsonormaltobeoverwhelmedbytheamountofreadingyouthinkyou“should”do.Trytorememberthatit'simpossibletoreadeverythingthatmightberelevant:instead,readselectively.Whenyoufirststartreadinguponanewfield,askyouradvisororafellowstudentwhatthemostusefuljournalsandconferenceproceedingsareinyourfield,andaskforalistofseminalor“classic”papersthatyoushoulddefinitelyread.⑦要熟悉任何一个领域，你需要阅读很多专业类的论文，一旦熟悉了这一领域，你还要保持及时更新。你或许会察觉到，尤其是刚开始的时候，在阅读方面将花费超过一半的时间。这很常见，还有一个常见的想法是认为自己会被应该阅读的书所淹没。你要记住，阅读每一个可能相关的材料是不可行的；相反，要有选择地进行阅读。当你首次涉足一个新领域时，咨询你的导师或者同学，在你选择的领域中哪些期刊杂志及研讨记录是最有用的。另外，索要一份必须要阅读的核心或者经典论文的清单。8．BeforebotheringtoreadANYpaper,makesureit'sworthit.Scanthetitle,thentheabstract,then--ifyouhaven'tcompletelylostinterestalready--glanceattheintroductionandconclusions.(Ofcourse,ifyouradvisortell