The challenges, experiences and everyday stuff of PhD life
In this week's post, PhD student Steven Harvie tells us about his placement at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, continuing our series on working while doing a PhD. Steven tells us about the serendipity of the archives and the great pleasure of actually going into an office (especially one as beautiful as the … Continue reading Exploring the Depths: Working with Archives at the National Library of Scotland
This week's guest post is from Andy Porter, who is currently SGSAH's Digital Curator. In his role, he sees a lot of PhD students giving the 'elevator pitch' version of their research and today, he reflects on how he developed his research tagline and how you might think about developing yours. In the early stages … Continue reading Communicating Your Research: Titles, Taglines and Elevator Pitches
This week, PhD researcher and events intern Emily Hay continues our series on working while undertaking a PhD. In this post, she considers how the different roles she's had (professionally and academically) have affected her own self-perception and identity as a researcher. As PhD researchers we can wear many different hats, and we often switch … Continue reading Breaking the Fourth Wall: Working in Researcher Development as a PhD Student
As part of our ongoing series on working while undertaking a PhD, guest writer Liam Alastair Crouse brings us into his world as a PhD student and researcher/caseworker for a Member of Scottish Parliament. How much do the worlds of folklore and politics have in common? More than you might think, Liam says. It’s all … Continue reading The Place Between Folklore and Politics
This week, Blogger Vesna Curlic grapples with what makes a good PhD routine and her journey towards finding a routine that works for her (for now, at least). Make sure to read until the end for some exciting happenings over on our SGSAH Instagram page! One of the best and most challenging part of doing … Continue reading Strict but Compassionate: Finding a Routine as a PhD Student
In this week’s post, blogger Vesna Curlic welcomes you back to the blog with a post about New Year’s Resolutions. If you’re still pondering yours or wanting to revise your existing list (January 1st is a silly date to pick to start anyway), this post will guide you through some possible resolutions! People in the … Continue reading New Year’s Resolutions for PhD Students
Today, blogger Vesna Curlic reflects on the mad dash known as Academic Writing Month. She reflects on her goal to write 10,000 words and what she learned about the practise of writing. Spoiler alert: it is harder than you think. It’s nearing the end of November, which means that Academic Writing Month is coming to … Continue reading How to Write 10,000 Words in a Month
Today, Katherine Burns, a third year History PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, tells us about her SGSAH internship experience with the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This post kicks off a new series about the value and challenges of doing an internship or residency during the PhD. If you are interested in doing an … Continue reading Beyond the Books: A Doctoral Internship Experience at the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Sometime in early 2020, when it sunk in for everyone that the pandemic was not just going to be a weeks-long affair, many PhD students and ECRs were suddenly scrambling to replicate some semblance of the office environment. I’m one of those people. I love the office environment. Pre-pandemic, I loved going into the office … Continue reading An Ode to Virtual Writing Groups
Why do we do what we do? I ask myself this question with some regularity. When I’m stuck at my desk, fiddling with the same sentence for hours until my eyes cross or despairing at the state of the academic job market, I find myself asking why on earth anyone would want to do a … Continue reading Academic Delights: Thoughts on Gratitude
SGSAH Blog 