PhD Research and Write-Up During COVID-19: Georgia Crossland

In this short piece I will discuss my PhD journey during COVID-19, highlighting some of the issues I faced, how I overcame these and providing recommendations to help others in the same position. Of course, first and foremost, the COVID-19 crisis is a global health crisis, and people have been put in much worse situations than their PhD research being delayed. I was fortunate that the EPSRC granted me an extension for my research, a great benefit that was not extended to many other PhD students from different disciplines. However, social distancing has been essential to minimise the spread of COVID and for many researchers this represented, and still does, a change in fieldwork methods, write-up strategy, as well as changing the way we interact with our cohort and supervisors.  

1) Field Work

When we went into the first lockdown in March 2020, I had just found an organisation (a global law firm) willing to let me conduct my research with their employees. The plan was to spend a few days a week for a few months at their different office sites around the UK.

This plan was swiftly thwarted. After a lot of **panic**, and with help from my supervisor, I came up with a new plan to get the research done. The solution was to do online interviews and focus groups. I was initially worried about this , especially with how online methods might impact my ability to build rapport with participants. So, I started Google Scholaring (a new term for PhD students that replaces googling) the efficaciousness of such techniques.

I discovered online interviewing to be a widely used method, backed up by breadth of research evidence demonstrating its effectiveness, and I found such research evidence helpful to read through to both gain technique and confidence in the method. Moreover, there were a few research papers suggesting a number of ways researchers can build rapport with participants online. One of the main factors that fostered rapport in one study was good quality video. There are also some potential benefits of online interviews. One paper has suggested that participants can feel an increased sense of ease online, as the physical absence of the researcher reduces the risk of exposure or embarrassment. Others highlight the opportunity presented for a geographical spread of participants in a timely and affordable way.

For further advice and resources on interviews and focus groups, and other social research methods, there is an extremely useful crowd sourced document, initiated by Prof. Deborah Lupton, available online. This document provides many papers and resources for social researchers and I have found it extremely useful, link here.

However, the research was still heavily delayed, and I did not start the field work until July 2020, finishing in October 2020.

2) Supervision

Throughout the past few years, I have also felt increasingly isolated, especially from my supervisor and cohort. I found it difficult to manage my workload, understand what was expected of me, and to take ownership of my project. Especially when my interviews and focus groups were constantly being rescheduled due to issues relating to remote working, returning to the office, and other pandemic related matters.

To work through these issues, I made sure to schedule regular calls with my PhD supervisor and began to set myself manageable deadlines and goals. It is often hard to manage your own progress expectations within a PhD, especially during the confusion of a pandemic and when you compare yourself to other PhD students not doing field work. However, when I spoke to my supervisor, I was reassured that the small steps I was making still counted as progress and that certain tasks do often just take time. My supervisor also made sure I felt I was able to reach out to them with any issue, big or small, which greatly helped me feel able to ask for help when I needed it.

When my own research was slowed by issues outside of my control, I also got involved in other projects, such as research outside of the PhD, internships, writing papers with my supervisor and helping others with aspects of their work. The 3-month internship I completed at Meta was extremely helpful for me, giving me a break from, and perspective on, my thesis. One of the projects I am most proud of during this time, is a piece of research I did with colleague Amy Ertan for the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security, entitled Remote Working and (In)Security. This helped me remember that a PhD is not all about your thesis, but everything that you are able to experience during these years.

I was also able to apply for an extension during this time and was awarded one by the EPSRC. This was very much a saving grace for me, without this, I would not be completing my PhD within my funded deadline. I am very grateful to my supervisor and the CDT who supported me throughout this application process.

3) Write-Up

From November 2020 to present, I conducted the analysis of my findings, and am now in the final stages of my thesis write-up. Despite the fact we are now coming out of the pandemic, or now the UK is reducing restriction pertaining to the pandemic, I have found this time to be the most challenging. Writing up and editing your thesis is very gruelling, and probably the loneliest time of the PhD journey (or at least, this has been my experience). It is hard to know where to start, and what tasks to complete when, and I often found myself jumping between writing sections, feeling as though I had completed none of them. Although campus is now open, it still might not feel safe to everyone to be travelling every day if it is not totally necessary. I have found myself doing almost all my write-up therefore by myself in my flat, or in nearby libraries. One of my colleagues wrote a blog about looking after your mental health while working remotely, so for more on this read here.

To combat this, I set up many writing sessions and bootcamps with a few other members of my cohort to foster mutual write-up support. During these sessions we would use The Pomodoro Technique for writing, chatting between ourselves during the allotted breaks. I am not sure I would have a completed the first draft now if it was not for these meetings. They helped engender a feeling of solidarity and support, both academic and emotional, and I would highly recommend this to anyone in the final stages of their PhD.

Some Advice!

a) Your PhD will not always turn out the way you planned, and this is okay!

My PhD took many unexpected twists, for example, it now includes research regarding cyber security during the pandemic; something I could never have anticipated. However, this has allowed me to contribute and add value to other research areas. Your PhD is meant to be informed by your PhD journey, embrace changes, and lean on those around you.

b) Work with your supervisor.

Your supervisor wants to support you, but they might not always know how best they can do this. It is important to have an open conversation about how often, when and where you need support.

c) Manage expectations of yourself.

Set yourself realistic goals, and work on these with your supervisor, so you are on the same page about what is expected of you.

d) Celebrate small achievements.

Make sure to enjoy the little things and do something fun when you do. After I finished my methods chapter, I took a day (or two) off to celebrate and recover. These small things help your wellbeing during this process. When writing up, The Pomodoro Technique is your friend, celebrate 25 minutes of writing with a 5-minute break!

e) Get involved!

Some of the best experiences I had during my PhD were not directly linked to my thesis. Go to conferences, collaborate on papers, take on internships or consultancy work and get involved in competitions. This will all benefit your PhD experience, and you might find these experiences help your thesis and future career post-PhD.

But… also know when to say no, don’t feel pressured to do something you don’t want to do.

f) Help others.

All PhD students will struggle at some point, whether someone needs your expert knowledge on a topic or someone to sense-check their paper, it is always good to get involved. Not only are you helping that person and adding value to research, but you might also need help at some point, and it is good to have people you can rely on.