Selecting and developing the Research Topic 3 | Student Study Abroad Australia

Selecting and Developing The Research Topic

The first real evidence that we are succeeding with a student is the occasion when, without being prompted, he asks his first seminar. Another great step forward is the first occasion when a student is prepared to criticize, during discussion, the work of other people. After this has happened we become aware that the student is a fully-fledged member of our postgraduate and research community.

It is also important to master the art of asking questions and joining in discussions in a less formal setting than a seminar. In order to make full use of the facilities of the university, you need to ask questions, ask for information, ask for help. Start by asking questions of other students, then of the departmental secretary, then of library staff and lab technicians. Here is the advice of a senior postgraduate to new students on how to find their way around a strange lab:

In an unfamiliar laboratory finding and knowing where/how to obtain chemicals, glassware, frequently difficult. Rather than learning things the hard way i.e. by experience, not knowing to order things etc., try and find out which person in the lab/dept knows where everything is and if not, how to get it (by hook or by crook!). Then rather than spend fruitless hours searching for stuff, simply go and ask this person (usually a younger technician with a few years experience in the lab; older ones tend, generally, to be less helpful) for advice.

So the main Strategies are: observe, practise, And participate. As we have stressed in a number of places, these three strategies provide a sound basis for successful study in a foreign culture - not merely for participating in seminars but for writing papers and theses well.