Just keep reading

just keep reading

Throughout my studies so far there have been plenty of times where I feel lost, feel like nothing is progressing and even feel like the literature I am looking for just isn't out there. in my last post, I talked about feeling overwhelmed and how it was an irrational feeling that I could resolve. 

When I have felt stuck in my research I have always tried to talk this through with friends or family and most of the time, if they haven't done in-depth research then they don't really understand the angst and frustration that comes with feeling lost. They are always encouraging and try to motivate me to continue and I try my best not to lose patience with them as I know that they are only trying to help.

Reaching out to academic connections to vent about being stuck or lost or confused or all of the above, they often listen and nod as they understand my current situation and then they always offer the same advice.

KEEP READING!

and then I feel pissed off. as at that moment in time, I don't feel that reading is helping and I don't feel like reading as I cant focus on where I want to go moving forward. But as much as it hurts me to say this, they are right. Keeping reading helps get you out of that slump and before you know it you find an article, a book chapter and its like a eureka moment where everything makes sense and you suddenly love your research again.

My advice surrounding keep reading would be to identify an article or section of a book that last made sense to you and that felt aligned to your research focus. Go back to that piece of work and re-read it. It aligns with your views so you will feel comfortable reading it. Look for citations in the piece of work and try to find these original works to read. They will provide further information and views on the subject area that you will align with or perhaps disagree with. Focus on these new pieces of literature and identify citations where you can search the original pieces of work and read those.


Another suggestion is to use control F or command F function to seek out specific words, phrases or terms within an article and this can help you to scan articles quickly for particular information that you are seeking.

I am currently looking at neoliberalism and how this is affecting higher education and I wasn't having much luck when searching for journals using the keywords "higher education neoliberalism" but I did find that when I used control F or command F within journals and books that I could find useful information much quicker.

When it comes to keeping reading, if you're not managing to get out of your strop and still feel stressed, then take some time out. have some time off your studies and relax. go back to your studies another day with a fresh perspective and you may find you're in the right mindset to get out of your rut.

Lastly, you could always turn to twitter and ask for reading recommendations and include hashtags in your post such as #phd #phdchat #phdlife and you would be surprised how generous people are with their suggestions and offerings.

When someone tells you to just keep reading they really do mean it in the nicest possible way.

How do you get yourself motivated to continue reading?

Location: Bristol, UK

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