{"id":60002,"date":"2021-10-26T03:47:37","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T07:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=60002"},"modified":"2021-10-26T03:47:37","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T07:47:37","slug":"whats-all-this-reading-about-then-starting-the-phd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/whats-all-this-reading-about-then-starting-the-phd\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s all this reading about then \u2013 starting the PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sickofreading.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"453\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-60003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sickofreading.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sickofreading-250x167.jpeg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><br \/>\nWhen you begin the PhD you will be told to read, and read a lot. But you\u2019ll find not any old approach to reading will do. It\u2019s a particular kind of reading that\u2019s expected. So it\u2019s important to get a grip on the complex task that you are being asked to do. In the first instance your reading helps you to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Scope the field or fields that you are in, so that you understand what is relevant to your topic, and what is not. You also need to get clear on the \u201ccore\u201d of your discipline(s) and its threshold concepts \u2013 the ideas that anybody doing any topic in the discipline, including you, need to take account of. Knowing them also means you can understand and join in the conversations in your disciplinary community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Map the field in relation to your particular topic so you can see key themes, major players, and the big debates that will frame your work. Some of these key texts and ideas will become building blocks for your research, but some may become blocks that you want to challenge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Focus in on the literatures that are most germane to your topic. You are not expected to know all of the literatures in depth, only the texts that are most germane to your topic. These are texts that will help you refine your question or hypothesis, will provide you with \u201cstuff\u2019 that you can use \u2013 be this conceptual and\/or theoretical ideas or analysed material. Focusing in on texts relevant to your research interest also helps you to spell out the warrant for your research, to consider how best to research it, and to establish what your research will contribute to existing understandings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019ve written a lot about reading and literatures work over the years, expanding on these three aspects of reading. Here\u2019s a selection of posts that might get you started off. They are geared to supporting you to form a clear idea of the purposes of reading and the evaluative attitude you might adopt. There\u2019s some early reading strategies too.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2015\/08\/21\/working-with-literatures-phdknowhow\/\">Working with literatures<\/a>\u2013 understanding what is meant when we talk about \u201cliterature\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2013\/07\/01\/working-with-literatures-you-have-to-love-the-uncertainty\/\">Love the uncertainty<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 discusses the time necessary for understanding the field and what\u2019s relevant to your topic<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2019\/08\/26\/orientations-to-reading-think-of-the-literatures-as-a-resource\/\">Thinking about literature as a resource<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 understanding your reading as a support for your own work<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2020\/08\/03\/how-to-start-on-a-literature-review\/\">How to start your literature review<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 outlines three alternative strategies to get you going<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2020\/06\/15\/reading-against-the-literatures-litreview\/\">Reading against the literature<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 offers some strategies for critically assessing the field and its omissions and emphases<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2017\/08\/31\/working-with-literatures-hands-on-hips-stance\/\">Working with literatures<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 take a hands on hips stance. Explains the need to stand back to evaluate what you are reading, not simply take the text at face value<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2020\/01\/13\/getting-to-grips-with-new-literatures\/\">Getting to grips with new literatures<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Asking questions of the text avoids reading without focus \u2013 questions are always related to your topic, but here\u2019s an example of what it looks like. Also see<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2015\/11\/30\/starting-the-phd-finding-the-literatures-you-need\/\">Finding the literatures you need<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 strategies to get started.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2013\/11\/28\/a-questions-approach-to-the-literature-review\/\">A questions approach to the literature review<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 an alternate version of how to focus in while reading a paper<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2019\/12\/09\/keeping-up-with-the-literatures-preliminary-sorting-is-key\/\">Preliminary sorting\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the importance of categorising literatures into things you need to read, and things you just need to know exist<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2016\/04\/04\/mapping-your-literatures\/\">Mapping your literatures<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 discusses types of maps and how you might approach making a map. Read this in conjunction with<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2012\/09\/21\/how-to-readnot-read-pierre-bayard-and-the-literature-review\/\">A literature review as collective and inner library<\/a>. Pierre Bayard explains why you don\u2019t have to read everything<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/?page_id=14951\">Thinking about patterns and groups<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 discusses what\u2019s really going on when we \u201creview\u201d literature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2012\/02\/26\/beginning-the-literature-review-the-art-of-scan-reading\/\">The art of scan reading<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 how it\u2019s possible to get through a volume of stuff and not feel overwhelmed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patthomson.net\/2013\/08\/19\/the-literature-review-how-old-are-the-sources\/\">How old are the sources<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 addresses the question that many people have about recency versus history of the field<\/p>\n<p>Of course, reading also means taking notes and storing the information. And I\u2019ll get to that in just a minute or so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you begin the PhD you will be told to read, and read a lot. But you\u2019ll find not any old approach to reading will do. It\u2019s a particular kind of reading that\u2019s expected. So it\u2019s important to get a grip on the complex task that you are being asked to do. In the first [&hellip;]\n&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/whats-all-this-reading-about-then-starting-the-phd\/\" class=\"more\">learn more&rarr;<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[11664],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-60002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-reading-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What\u2019s all this reading about then \u2013 starting the PhD - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/whats-all-this-reading-about-then-starting-the-phd\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What\u2019s all this reading about then \u2013 starting the PhD - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you begin the PhD you will be told to read, and read a lot. 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