Getting 'Scooped'

Nicola is a PhD student investigating the genetic basis of breast cancer, with an interest for enhancing science communication, a passion for writing, and a desire to spread awareness and advice of academic life. Nicola is the creator of Fresh Science, a blog discussing the newest scientific news and making it accessible to those with a range of science (or non-science) backgrounds, as well as documenting some of her research journey. This post addresses the topic of being ‘scooped’ and having your research novelty threatened, something many academic have to deal with and adapt to.  Follow Nicola on Twitter at @fresh_science, and check out the Fresh Science blog at http://freshscience-nicola.blogspot.co.uk/.

An eternal fear of many researchers, particularly inexperienced PhD students, is being ‘scooped’. In case you’re unsure, this means another research group or lab publishing data that is on a very similar topic, or threatens the novelty of your work, before you. Imagine that? Those long hours and hard work, months, maybe even years, and then someone gets there first publishing and wowing everyone in your field. All your work is pointless now right? Wrong!

Getting scooped is tough, and demoralising, but it’s not the end of the world. Despite the importance and pressure of high-impact work, your academic career isn’t over and you are not a failure. In fact, it happens to a lot of people and can be dealt with. There are a few things you should remember or think about if this ever happens to you.

Firstly, getting scooped doesn’t mean it’s time to hang up your lab coat, and quit. I personally feel like the first thing to remember is that this clearly means that your work is a ‘hot topic’ and/or a prevalent issue that needs exploring or solving – i.e. your work will actually be useful and your ideas must have been good and generally on the right track!

Secondly, their paper may even help your research – they may have used a different method or even validated your findings and that is also pretty great. Just because they published first, it doesn’t mean it is better or more valid than your work, so try to build on it. Talk to your supervisor as well, the chances are this has also happened to them, and they may have some comforting advice or even an action plan if this happens.

This is where adaptability and creativity comes in, and is something that every researcher needs to be good at. Sometimes things go a different way to what you were expecting, and you must be able to mix things up a bit when it looks like the path is steering in a different direction. Maybe this published work has lacked an important detail or could be improved by using another technique? Use your critical thinking to move forward from their study and improve your own, and think about what you can learn from them. Alternatively, get in touch! This could be a great way to collaborate if that is an option you and your supervisor is willing to take.

Also, this doesn’t say anything about how good you are as a researcher at all, and doesn’t make you a bad researcher. You may have had logistical issues along the way holding you up, or may be a smaller group requiring more time to generate publishable work. And really, ‘you are a small cog in a very big machine’ - your individual paper may not be ground-breaking, but it is how this can eventually shape future research.

Finally, this will not affect your chances of employment after your PhD. If your research is strong, this will be reflected in your work and your CV. So don’t worry, this one blip will not lead to exile from your research community. These things happen, and don’t let the pressure get to you.

Of course, there are a few small preventative measures you can take, but unfortunately, competition is unavoidable. Try to stay on top of the literature as you possibly can, and make connections – it is very useful to know who is doing what. Also, although communication is great, try to keep your work disclosed until some of your work is complete and nearly ready for publishing, as this could avoid someone from nabbing ideas during a friendly chat at a conference, for example.

The take home message is to not be discouraged if this happens to you. Sometimes it can be unavoidable and it is not your fault. It does not discredit how great your ideas and work has been, and will not limit future opportunities.

why PhDs and perfectionism doesn't mix

Heidi Gardner is a 2^nd year PhD student at the University of Aberdeen’s Health Services Research Unit. Her research is part of a wider initiative called Trial Forge, which is an evidence-based approach to designing, running, analysing and reporting clinical trials. Currently her work focusses on improving strategies to recruit participants into clinical trials. As well as participant recruitment, Heidi is interested in research waste, reporting of science and health-related topics in the media, and public engagement.

To find out more about Heidi’s research and her thoughts on doing a PhD, head over to her blog: www.heidirgardner.wordpress.com, and follow her on Twitter: @heidirgardner.

Every PhD project is different, and every PhD student tackles a project in their own unique way. In my experience though, PhD students tend to have one thing in common; they’re high achievers.

When I was younger, I was always that kid that loved school. I was clearing out my old bedroom a few months ago and found diaries that we had to write at school when I was about seven years old. I’d written numerous times, ‘I had fun in Maths today’, ‘I did work at school, I like work’, or the line that makes me cringe the most, ‘I love work, work is easy.’ Please bear in mind I was 7 years old! I’m not that unbearable now at the age of 25, I promise.

I got good GCSE grades, and later on my A-level results got me into the University of Aberdeen to study Pharmacology. I worked hard to convert my Undergraduate BSc degree into an MSci when I took a year away from university for an industrial placement. In the end I graduated with a first class degree and won an academic prize for my final year dissertation; the results of which were then published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica and I was a named author.

I started my PhD in July 2015 and realised quickly that my usual high-achieving track-record wasn’t going to get me through this like it’d got me through exams and assessments before. I’ve always been a perfectionist, whether that’s manifested itself in redrafting and editing essays over and over again, or revising the same topic two or three times before an exam. That attitude simply does not work when you’re doing a PhD; realising that and having to adapt my mentality and working practices was difficult, and I think lots of other PhD students have experienced this too.

| WHY BEING A PERFECTIONIST SIMPLY DOES NOT WORK |

A PhD is not an exam or assessment you can write in an evening and then forget about, it’s a really long process that involves literally years of work. If you try and make every single part of that process perfect, you’ll never, ever finish it. You’ll also likely hate the process, and your family and friends will want to strangle you because you’ll be no fun to be around.

| LETTING GO OF BEING A HIGH ACHIEVER |

After I’d started my PhD I learned pretty quickly that I couldn’t be the best at it. I’d get frustrated when I couldn’t do something, and my Supervisor would regularly remind me, ‘a PhD is a training degree, you’re not expected to know everything – you wouldn’t be here if you did’. That helped, and after repeating that to myself a few hundred times, it started to sink in. 

I find it difficult to ask for help, and often I don’t find it easy to try new things; there’s a fear in me that I won’t be good at it so I’d rather not try than deal with the feeling of failure. (Side note – this is the reason why I can’t ride a bike…).

If you’re like me, I have some bad news for you. You are going to have to get used to dealing with perceived failures over the course of a PhD. Failures in PhD-land are common. Losing your memory stick with at least one month’s work on (I’m still not over this and it happened a year ago), software crashing and corrupting documents you’ve been working on for the entire day, missing out on funding, and not having abstracts accepted for conferences; it will all happen. You have to get used to it, learn to get over your defeats quickly and learn from them, otherwise you’ll drive yourself mad. 

| THE INTELLIGENCE MYTH |

When telling people that I’m doing a PhD, more often than not I get the response ‘OMG you must be SO clever!’. I know this isn’t intentional, but it adds pressure. Every time someone says that, I feel a bit more stupid – know what I mean? Really though, a PhD isn’t about being smart. It’s about consistently learning from your mistakes, dusting yourself off and trying again. It’s a test of tenacity rather than intelligence.

Being able to let my perfectionist side ease off a little has undoubtedly made me a better student. I’m no longer afraid to ask questions, no matter how daft they might have seemed at first, and weirdly, I look forward to getting edits and comments back on my work because I know that’s just helping to improve it. Research is a big collaborative effort, we work in big teams across multiple projects at once, and making everything perfect is impossible. It’s also worth noting, if you’re the guy that wants everything to be ‘just right’, you’re probably a nightmare to work with.

Give yourself a break, and let yourself make mistakes – screwing up during your PhD is a really safe space to do so as well, you’ve got a supervisor who can help to get you out of sticky situations after all!

Let's Talk Productivity: a gentle reminder

Confession time: sometimes I spend more time thinking about being productive, rather than actually being productive.

Before bed, I’ll write lists after lists after lists in preparation for my early awakening the next morning, in the hope that I’m going to have the most productive day ever.

And… sh**t, it’s already evening again and I’ve done a big f**ck all. Out comes the list again, no tick at the end of each task in sight, and solid evidence of how unproductive I’ve actually been in my ‘most productive day ever’. I almost feel like even the to-do list is staring at me, judging, as I for one am certainly judging myself. Not one single task ticked off. Arghhhhh!!

Does this mean I’m lazy? Does it mean I’m not cut out for academia? But I work long hours some days, and I sometimes even make myself endure 4am starts so that there are more hours in the day – I can’t be that lazy, can I? I clearly have the drive to work and work hard? 

The negative self-talk swiftly creeps in…

Sometimes I can frustrate myself so much. I will go weeks/months with such a solid work ethic, making the most of each day as humanely possible and just generally getting shit done. I thrive off work, and most importantly, I thrive off working hard. If I feel like I’m not putting the hours in, then I feel like I’m not worthy enough to get the grades I want. After all, the more you put in the more you get out, right? You can’t expect to get the grades you want if you’re not willing to work for them. But then at such crucial times, when deadlines are fast approaching and I have no time to waste, my body just seems to flat out refuse to work! I can go 2 weeks without getting anything hardly done at all. I know it’s normal to have the odd unproductive day, but my ‘unproductive day’ quite literally turns into unproductive weeks, and it's so disconcerting. I want to work, but I just can’t seem to focus or get into the zone. Sound familiar to anyone? 

I’ve been trying really hard to tackle these ‘dwindling periods’, as I like to call them, head on. Because like I say, when the unproductive spell hits me, it always hits me for way longer than a mere day or two – to the extent where I genuinely forget what it feels like to actually work for longer than three hours  –  which is so inconvenient, especially when I have no time to waste and need to get work done. When I’m in these dwindling periods, I really do feel unbelievably rubbish about myself which, in a way, I’ve realised makes me more unproductive. I get myself into such a panicked state which makes me avoid work even more, as my brain tends to go to jelly! It’s as if I get myself into a cycle of working unproductively, which I then have to work really hard to snap out of. It’s a mindset situation, as with any situation for that matter.

After talking to others about these 'dwindling periods' I realised that I wasn't alone, and that others too can go through periods of feeling super unproductive and unmotivated. I realised it's normal to just have a couple of weeks (or longer) where your creativity, ideas, inspiration and work ethic just seem to hit a dead end for a bit of time. We're only human after all, and sometimes we just have to hit the reset button. So, here are a couple of things that I’ve personally learnt triggers unproductivity that can last longer than a day, and what can be done about it: 

1) Burnout. Oh, it’s this word again. It comes in different forms and guises. I mentioned it in a post first term, as I felt like I burnt the candle out at both ends, and I did it again last term too. This is the main cause of my unproductivity (why can’t I learn my lesson?) If you’re feeling like your brain has quite literally been fried and every time you attempt to work none of the words you read no longer make sense, then you’re probably burnt out and *need* to take a break. If not, you will never get out of this downward spiral of unproductivity, as I learnt the hard way. 

2) This leads onto my next point which is to never put too much pressure on yourself to work a certain amount of hours per day every day. One of the biggest and probably most important lessons I’ve learnt last term about productivity, is that you don’t have to work 13 hours a day to be productive and get lots done. For some reason, I built up in my head that if I don’t work longer than 10 hours in a day then I’ve not been ‘productive’. Why is it that we feel like we have to work inhumane hours to feel productive? All around social media there’s a barrage of ‘who has time for sleep when you’re hustling?’ posts, which tricks you into thinking that if you’re not quite literally making the most of so many hours in a day then your work ethic is "LAZY AF".  Erm, no. I realised that this wasn’t the case when I did work those type of hours and then, as consequence of doing that, burnt myself out the following week for days because I was just SO god damn tired. I can remember thinking ‘why am I THIS tired?’ and then I remembered the amount of hours I just worked in the 7 days prior and was like ‘oh’… 

Let’s get one thing straight. Working long hours doesn’t mean you’re more productive. In actual fact, I found that some of the best work I produced was in the days I worked far less hours, but I made those hours count. I noticed when I had planned to work more hours in the day, I would find it easier to procrastinate and not use those hours effectively. Perhaps less is more? Maybe it’s time to banish this idealised view that working 12/13 hours a day makes you more productive, because that’s not always the case. You can be much more productive if you work 5 hours in a day because of the mere fact that you’ll actually be able to focus and not be as drained from relentless hours of work on end. 

3) In a high-pressurised environment, like academia, it’s just so important to be kind to yourself. Are you finding it difficult to get in the mode and write those paragraphs that need to be written? Or are you struggling for the life of you to get those journal articles read? Then just take a little break away from it all and don’t punish yourself for it. Sometimes just accepting that the day isn’t going as productive as you want it to be and doing something else is the best thing you can possibly do. Give yourself a bit of self-care instead and do something for you. I read a quote recently which really resonated with me when I was feeling so unbelievably tired and unproductive:

‘You can’t pour out of an empty cup. Take care of yourself first, everything else second’

Ultimately, without being kind to yourself and allowing yourself to have regular breaks, the work you will produce will more than likely not be your best work. You can’t work if you’re not feeling the best version of you and if you feel burnt out and tired. Go out for the day and don’t think about work, catch up on sleep, binge watch Netflix and get yourself feeling refreshed –  just take a solid few days off guilt-free. Cut yourself some slack in this game, because you’ve only got you to rely on. 

To make this post a little different, I asked a couple of PhD students the question, ‘how do you have a more productive day?’, to showcase some further insight on this wonderful topic of productivity from other people’s experiences. 

PhD student, Emily Gibbs answered:

“ I try to set myself little goals, even really small ones like answering an email, and make a list either before I go to bed or first thing and then I just try to go through and check everything off. I like to feel like I have achieved lots of little things rather than setting myself one big goal and feeling bad about not completing it. I think in general having a tidy work space and putting motivational music (usually video-game related) helps me to stay focused and inspires me to keep working! I also generally try to put myself in the frame of mind that what I am doing is fun! Although writing essays, answering endless emails, and reading can feel tedious and sometimes it feels like you don’t enjoy what you do anymore – I just always try to remind myself why I am doing it in the first place and re-read fun/interesting things I have written myself/recently read and remember that although its “work” it’s still mine, and it’s fun(ish)! I think lastly and most importantly its super important not to punish yourself if you just can’t feel productive. Sometimes you are desperate to work and you just can’t produce anything and it’s forced, I think it’s important to recognise you aren’t a robot, you’re only human and it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing – just take a break and come back to it later – I always have my best ideas when I’m not trying to have them ” 


PhD student, Rosie Mutton answered: 

“ First of all, I find a quiet environment where I know I won’t be disturbed by lots of noise or crowds of people. I listen to motivating film soundtracks on low volume, as I can enjoy the music without distracting myself by singing along. (I also find that Spanish pop music works just as well – it is quite upbeat to listen to, but as I don’t speak Spanish I can’t sing along. It can sometimes be a bit more interesting and motivating than listening to the same few soundtracks on repeat). I find that making a ‘to-do’ list helps because I can visualise what I need to get done that day, and how much time I need to (realistically) spend on each task. It also makes me feel as though I have achieved something when I can tick off a task – small achievements help me to feel that I am making progress. Although it is really important to remember to take regular breaks, sometimes I find I am most productive when I immerse myself in longer periods of intense working (say around 2-2 ½ hours at a time), interspersed throughout the day with a long walk or longer break time. This helps me as I have time to fully concentrate on the task I am trying to complete, knowing that once I have finished it, I have a long break to look forward to. While these are the three things that I find help me to have a more productive day, I have found in the past that some days are just more productive than others, and when I have tried to replicate what happened on a productive day, it hasn’t worked out as well. Sometimes I seem to be my most productive when I go with where the day takes me, without worrying too much about making and sticking to a plan ”



If you've read this and have been able to relate to it, or if you've read it and got something out of it generally, I hope it's helped in some way and been a gentle reminder that we all go through phases of feeling uninspired and unproductive. Accept the dwindling periods, they will pass, and until they do ensure you keep rested. 

Em x 

PS. Want to get to know me a little better? Follow me on Twitter and say hi!  @EmilyJLynn 

'That thing we all hate talking about'...

Kirsten Dutton is a 3rd Year PhD student in the Geosciences group at Newcastle University. Her thesis title is: ‘From sediment to rock: the role of microbes in the early lithification of sabkha sediments’. In today's blog post, Kirsten opens up dialogue about mental health in academia, and shares her own advice about how to make the PhD process slightly easier when dealing with mental health issues. Follow her on Twitter at: @KirstenDutton 

Mental health, particularly in academia, is never an easy conversation… but it should be. So, let’s start a conversation.

Academia is rife with mental health issues whether it be because most people, staff and student, are constantly juggling all their life, research, teaching, admin responsibilities with the pressures of getting and staying funded or because the brain that lends itself to academia can also be the brain which is susceptible to mental health issues. This isn’t a secret, yet quite frankly, I don’t see much being done about it, particularly at a university level.

I am one of the people within academia with mental health issues. I came in to my PhD with diagnosed anxiety and depression which began to present themselves during the later years of my undergraduate degree and got progressively worse as time went on.

It hasn’t been an easy road, it still isn’t. I’m a perfectionist and I always want to know all the answers and it infuriates me when I don’t. This leads to an almost constant case of ‘imposter syndrome’. Honestly, there have been days where getting out of bed was the only win of the day.  

I can’t say I’m doing great much of the time but I can say I’m doing alright most of the time, which is certainly a heck of a lot more of the time than I used to be able to. This is something that is going to always be part of my life but I’m learning to manage it, learning to talk about it and most of all, I’m learning to let people help me. I won’t give up and I do truly believe, that despite all my issues, I will get my PhD.

A PhD is never going to be easy. Let’s face it, it would be pointless if it was. However, here are some things that can be done in various combinations to help when it all gets a bit much:

Disclaimer: I’m still figuring this all out for myself and I’ve tried many of these. Not all have worked for me but they’ve all helped me learn something about myself and figure out what can help me. Experiment and find what works for you.

Breathe – Try a meditation or breathing based yoga class or app – believe me, they work even if it feels a bit bizarre to begin with.

Keep a journal of your mood/feelings – it’ll help you spot patterns of negativity. This journal concept I’ve found through the new-fangled trend of ‘Bullet Journaling’ – where you track your life through a series of self-drawn, very pretty pages in a notebook. It’s great for keeping track but the perfectionist in me has had to learn that all those pages don’t have to look as pretty as the ones featured on Instagram…

Cut yourself some slack when you find it hard to keep on top of everything – this is the bit I struggle the most with. ‘I’m doing a PhD, I got this far, I should just be able to cope…’’ Ha, if only it was that easy. Just remember that you got this far, you deserve to be there!

Get a hobby or go back to an old one – hobbies are the first thing I dropped when I wasn’t feeling great but they are what can help the most. I have recently gone back to swimming after a long hiatus. It has helped establish a degree of normalcy back in to my life and whilst cliche, the whole release of the all-important endorphins does wonders.

Talk to your family and friends – they might be going through or have gone through something similar and have some advice or can just offer moral support as you find a way to get through it.

Talk to your supervisors or other academic staff – I am very lucky to be surrounded by a supportive supervisory team both on an academic and personal level. They sit with me when I’m crying (again…) and offer guidance when and where I need it. They help me more than I think they will ever possibly know.

University Counselling – this service is great for short term issues, particularly for undergraduates.  There tends to be a limit to a small number of sessions per year due to demand so it might not be the best approach if you have a longer-term issue. It is, however, a great start when looking for help, they can offer advice on the options open to you. It’s also great if you are starting to recognise early signs of mental health issues and they can help nip it in the bud.

See your GP for a referral to your local Counselling/Therapy network – seeing a counsellor or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) specialist is all about talking through the feelings which prompt your behaviour and thoughts. There is often a bit of a waiting list for these services because this part of the NHS is massively underfunded, however, they may ask or you can offer (if you are willing) to see a trainee. Some people are scared by this concept but they have the necessary training they are just in the process of completing the practical portion of their qualification.

Private therapy – Personally I do psychotherapy via this route having tried the above counselling options and it’s what has helped me the most. I’ve found the therapist who is the right fit for me (vitally important when pursuing therapy) and we’ve been working together for nearly 18 months now.

Group counselling – check out the university services, posters around campus, the local library and gyms.

I can’t stress enough the importance of talking. Please speak up if you are having issues with your mental health during your PhD or at any time. There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. You are experiencing one of life’s much harder moments and you might find if you speak up there is a whole community around you, many with their own mental health experiences, who want to support you.