I believe there were many things that I did not have in order prior to starting my PhD program. If you are considering getting a doctorate, here are some fundamental things to do before taking that leap.
In a previous post, I share the top three questions to ask yourself before pursuing a doctorate. If you have not read that post, do so now. It will offer some clarity prior to reading this post.
It is assumed that you have some kind of idea of what you would like to study going into your intended program. These tips provide action steps towards your doctorate goals. The following tips will also help you become a better candidate when applying to PhD programs. Additionally, these are things I wish I did more of so that I was better suited to excel in my program.
Read
Read any and everything, particularly if you are certain about your intended research topic. The caveat to this is that your research topic can change. I thought I was going to study school readiness for children when I started my program. After reading some of the literature, I knew that I could not stick with said topic. It is important to choose a topic that will keep you engaged because the amount of reading you are gearing up to do will have to keep you interested. To keep all your readings organized, create a document of annotations. This will come in handy when you need to refer back to articles that you have read when it is time to write your dissertation or publish.
I would also suggest creating a Google Scholar alert for either your intended topic or population. For example, my research centers Black women. I have a Google Scholar alert to notify me of all published works featuring Black women. This keeps me abreast of the new happenings within the field.
Write
Writing has always been a rather simple task for me. However, being in a doc program has revealed that there is always room for improvement. Writing can definitely be compared to a muscle. It has to be exercised and regularly. Even if you don’t write for anyone else, be sure to write constantly. It is truly one of the only ways to get “better” at it. Writing is so subjective that there is no good or bad, but you do want to have your own academic voice. Writing will help you determine that. I understand that I don’t like using complicated words that are easily understandable for the average person in finding and determining my academic voice. As a result, I am intentional on the tone and language in my writing because there’s nothing worse than having profound thoughts that no one can understand. Both, reading and writing, helped me determine that.
Publish
I have yet to publish so I am no expert, but I wish I had published something before going into my PhD program. As a master’s student or graduate, you are qualified to submit to journals and conferences. Do it! I encourage publishing prior to being a doctorate program because it prepares you greatly for doctoral writing. Educational journals, generally, follow the same model — abstract, background, methods, results/findings, discussion. This is the outline of the most basic dissertation. Publishing will definitely prepare you for the rejection that is likely to come from submitting as well. From my understanding, publishing is very competitive. Might as well develop your tough skin early!
Network
If you decide to do nothing else that I have suggested please network! It is important to create connections with other people in your field. They can help you excel within all previous tips. For example, I have joined a PhD writing group and have collaborated with other women in the group to publish work (hoping it gets approved). Networking is a great way for collaborating on projects, such as conferences. I was able to meet some awesome people at the last AERA conference. We exchanged Instagram accounts and they are now my accountability partners. We check on each other to see how writing is going. Create your own tribe.
These are all things I wish I would have done before going into my program. Now that I am in my program, I make it a point to ensure that I am getting it done because I know it will be so important when I am PhinisheD.
