A Social Science Student's Guide to Surviving your PhD

The doctorate is an emotional and academic journey, filled with dilemmas and obstacles that are normal for every student. I have offered a new perspective to help navigate and adjust to a new environment and culture of learning. 

Drawing from my personal experience, alongside the stories of other students and graduates, I have illustrated possible solutions to the academic and emotional challenges faced by today’s PhD student.

Key features:

1.   Reflections from contemporary PhD students and graduates.

2.   Comprehensive table of contents including research, proposal writing, avoiding plagiarism, publishing, and preparing for the viva voce.

3.   Accessible and practical approach to the common problems faced by todays doctoral students.

4.   Conversational style for an easy-to-read experience, particularly useful for international students whose first language is not English.

5.   Simplified coverage of the research journey in a logical step-by-step format from pre-application to the final Thesis Defence. 

Essential reading for students and supervisors, ‘A Social Science Student’s Guide to Surviving Your PhD’ will also be of use to international students seeking to gain further insight into the application process and the demands of research degrees in the UK.

Grab your copy from Amazon or any major bookshop in the United Kingdom

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https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/a-social-science-students-guide-to-surviving-your-phd/kohol-shadrach-iornem/paperback/9780335249633.html

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https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/childrens/a-social-science-students-guide-to,kohol-shadrach-iornem-9780335249633

Dr Kohol Shadrach Iornem is a senior lecturer at the International Foundation Group, London, UK, where he teaches Business Management, Organisational Behaviour and Study Skills. He is also the Director of Programmes at London Graduate School.

Culture Shock

In 2009 as a ‘Johnny Just Come’ (someone who is new to a place), a friend invited me to a birthday party. I said “great! I will attend”. Then he added, “the cost of meals (drinks inclusive) per person should be around £20”. Do I have to pay to attend someone’s birthday party?” I exclaimed. He then said that’s how it is done here. Anyway, I did not attend again. 

A couple of years later, I thought I understood this “culture”. On this occasion, some British friends invited me to a dinner party at an exotic restaurant. When they brought the menu, I checked and ordered only what I could afford.

The others were busy ordering and eating everything eatable and drinkable. When the waiter brought the bill, I thought everyone was going to pay for what they ordered. But instead, they asked the waiter to split the bill equally among us.

“Should I begin to explain to them that I do not have enough money or that I will only pay for what I ordered?” I thought to myself.  To avoid stories that touch, I called a friend to transfer some money to my account and I was able to pay the bill.

These “invitations” are different from the one I used to know. Here (in the United Kingdom) it means, “we want your company, but you will be responsible for your bills”. In fact, my friend was almost embarrassed. She sat with a group of friends but refused to eat anything because she did not have any money on her. But when the bill came, they split it equally and included her. She informed me that she was sweating profusely until one person from the group said it was not fair to include her since she did not eat anything.

I hope you have that one friend that you can always call when you are in trouble?

Managing Your Emotions

It was a lovely evening on the 31st of December 2012. My wife said we should go sightseeing at Piccadilly Circus. As we got off the train station walking through the crowd, a young dude (about 14years old) approached me to buy his music CD.  “I’m sorry, I am not interested”, I politely told him. Just as I was about to carry on walking, he pushed me and asked why I was being disrespectful. “I said I am not interested. How is that being disrespectful?” I asked him. But he continued to push me.

Merely looking at this boy, I knew I could beat him black and blue. But before I reacted, I began to process loads of information. My first thought was, if I beat this boy now, tomorrow’s news headline would read “Nigerian man beats teenager”. “No. Not good for my country’s image”, I thought to myself. Then the second thought, “what if I attempt to retaliate and he stabs me or what if he has a gang very close by?” (He appeared confident trying to fight someone bigger than him).  Then another thought of being killed on a New Year’s Eve and putting my family and friends in pain, made me to think twice.

After I processed these thoughts and pictured all the sad endings, I decided it was safest to walk away. The boy kept following us and luckily, we were close to a bus stop so we got on a bus not minding where the bus was headed. That is how I put an end to a story that would have probably ended badly.

Let me share a friend’s testimony at this juncture. In 2015, she was looking for a job and asked her course mate if there were any vacancies at the department where he worked. The course mate helped her secure a job through his supervisor. Well, after the first month of working, her salary was delayed. She then complained to her course mate and in good faith, he enquired from the supervisor if there was a problem. Apparently, the supervisor had asked her to exercise patience as they were working on it. Nevertheless, the supervisor got upset that she was going about complaining to everyone. So, he called and cautioned her. Not sure what got into her, she then turned around and started texting and insulting her course mate, calling him a devil for discussing their conversation with the supervisor. 

Well, to cut the long story short, many years passed. She was out of job, had a baby and the supposed father of the child refused to take responsibility. Things became very tough for her. She then phoned the same course mate to seek financial assistance. From that day, he has been helping her with some money for the baby’s upkeep. She told me that the guy would sometimes jokingly say, “why are you asking the Devil for a favour?”

Well, the gist of these stories is about Emotional Intelligence (EI). The underlying principle of EI is about managing your emotions and those you relate with  in order to get a positive outcome. Of course, there are some people whose upbringing and terrible experiences shape their behaviour, as a result, they care less about being emotionally intelligent. The good news, however, is that emotional intelligence can be learned. This can begin with a positive communication - being able to convey messages, even negative ones, in an optimistic way.

Proverbs (‪14:17) says, “a quick-tempered man acts foolishly…”. So, next time before you (re)act, please pause and reflect on the outcome of your words or behaviour because ‘words spoken [or written] cannot be taken back’. It is only in movies like ‘About Time’ and musical videos like Craig David’s ‘7 Days’ song that you will see them turning back the hands of time to correct mistakes. You and I may not have the opportunity to ‘right’ a ‘wrong’. So, my brothers and sisters, make una ‘Coolu Temper’ just as J Martins and Lagbaja songs dey talk and let’s strive to build positive relationships.

Perfectionism - a BIG timewaster

After completing my SSCE in 1997, I left Benue for Kaduna. While in Kaduna, I heard our WAEC results were out and my dad was to collect mine.

So, when my dad came, I listed all the subjects and the corresponding grades I was expecting. This is because, anytime I am writing an exam, before I submit my script, I always do an imaginary marking based on what I have written (using the marks allotted for each question). This usually helps me to predict my score.

And to his surprise, I got exactly the grades I had calculated except for Physics, which I had put a Question Mark (?) instead. Phew! I didn’t waste my dad’s money after all. Well, I adopted the same strategy for JAMB and by my assessment, I was hoping to score ‘220’ but ended up getting ‘204’. 

I later got admission at ABU to study Metallurgical Engineering (although my 1st choice was Chemical Engineering and 2nd choice, Architecture). When I saw my name in the New Nigerian Newspaper with Metallurgy as the course I was offered, I was not happy. Truth is, I thought it was ‘Meteorology’.

“Chai! Na so I go come take dey tell people whether rain go fall tomorrow or not?” I sarcastically mumbled to myself. It was when I arrived the department that I realised it was Metallurgical Engineering (the study of metals). Thank God! An iron bender seemed a better consolation.

Well, in 100L (first semester), we were expected to take 14 courses. The workload was too much for me to handle. So, I developed a strategy where once I covered over 50% of a specific course, I would quickly move to another subject until I was prepared for all 14 modules.

My usual tactic during exams was to start with the questions I knew the answers very well. I would dissect the question as though I was writing a ‘For Dummies’ textbook in a bid to mesmerise the examiner. Afterwards, I will begin to look at which questions carried more marks and begin to attempt them. My ultimate aim was always to ensure that I got above 50%. That way, even if the invigilator shouted, “TIME’S UP!”, I will be confident of getting a pass.

Eventually, the dreaded first semester results were out.  That’s how we ran straight to department’s notice board. Lo and behold, I got C parallel (all Cs) with a GPA of 3.0. I was very thrilled because I got the result of the effort I had put in.

I applied the same concept for my MBA, MSc and PhD. In fact, during my PhD programme, I ensured my thesis was ‘good enough’ to merit the qualification before I submitted for the viva voce (oral exam). On the other hand, while my peers were busy dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s to ensure their thesis was ‘perfect’, I was busy dressing up for my graduation ceremony.

Going by my experience, I can say that there is no ‘perfect research’. Whatever you submit, it is highly likely that you will receive some corrections/criticisms from your supervisors and examiners. Just make sure it’s ‘good to go’ and use the feedback to make the recommended improvement(s).

Let me reiterate the consequences of perfectionism with this scenario. Imagine two students (A and B) are seated for a paper in an exam hall. A has answered 85% of the questions whereas B has only answered 60%. The invigilator shouts, “PEN DOWN!”. B submits but A carries on writing (in a bid) to score more. As he raises his head, he realises the invigilator is leaving the hall. He is now running to submit but the invigilator refuses to collect his paper. If this scenario were true, then A will score ‘zero’ while B, even if he scores 45%, he will still get a better grade.

Perfectionism can be a BIG timewaster and it is subjective. What is perfect to you may be imperfect to another. Once it’s okay, ‘na Carry Go be dat’. This is how I address perfectionism.

Many people struggle with different timewasters such as unnecessary interruptions, social media, procrastination, or failing to delegate. I would like to know which timewaster you struggled with and how you overcame it.

Your Network Is Your Net Worth

I recall in 2006 when I received my NYSC call-up letter and discovered I was posted to Kebbi State. I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Having spent most of my time in Kaduna, I assumed it wouldn’t be anything different.  Incidentally, I did not have a clue how far Kebbi was from Kaduna. 

“NYSC here I come”, I happily murmured. But on a second thought, we were ‘broke’ that period and the excitement vanished instantly. Popsi gave me N2k and said when things get better, he would send more money.

Well, when I was about to leave for the motor park, popsi phoned Alhaji Shehu, his student in Kebbi State, to inform him that I was deployed to Kebbi. I spoke to Alhaji Shehu and he promised to pick me up from the motor park and take me to the orientation camp.

Let me not bore you with the grisly details of what happened on the journey. But let me just give you a synopsis. The journey took about 8.5hrs. I’m sure most of the passengers did not anticipate an unpleasantly long trip. One lady in the taxi was so hungry that she pleaded with me to share my biscuit with her. In fact, the further away we were from Kaduna, the more it appeared as though we were on our way to Sahara Desert. As we passed Gusau heading to Sokoto, two female corps members from the South Eastern region began to cry as we drove past camels in the scorching heat.

Fast forward to orientation camp. I am usually very picky with food. So, for the first week, I was forming ‘big boy’ and eating only at the Mammy Market until my N2k finished, and the ‘big boy’ finished with it. That’s how I began to join the queue to collect camp food.

Unsurprisingly, angels come in different forms. That’s how Ene Nefisat Agbo, called to congratulate me and asked how I was doing. “Eye red oh”, I replied. From that day, Ene started sending me N1500 MTN recharge card regularly, which I was reselling at N1300 to those ‘business center’ guys. Ene may have forgotten all these good deeds but I have not forgotten. Thank you Ene.

Back to Alhaji Shehu (my dad’s student). Prior to the posting within the state, he asked me where I wanted to do my primary assignment and I told him I wanted to lecture at Waziri Umaru Polytechnic (now Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic). Thankfully, he assisted and I was posted to the Department of Metallurgical Engineering where I taught Material Science and Iron Making to the National Diploma students.

Also, after our passing out ceremony at the end of the three weeks orientation camp, Alhaji Shehu introduced me to his friend, Kunle. Kunle in turn, introduced me to his brother, Williams. I was extremely fortunate. Williams offered me his one-bedroom apartment FREE OF CHARGE for the duration of my NYSC. 

While at William’s apartment, I met Prof Eyene Okpanachi. Prof Okpanachi and I developed strong ties due to our mutual interests and he linked me up with Mr Bala, a lecturer at the polytechnic who was looking for a private tutor for his two kids. Mr Bala employed my services and that’s how I got an additional income.

Service year that I arrived with a meagre N2k, became an interesting sojourn as I began to earn N16.5K per month comprising N5K from private lessons, NYSC allowance of N8.5K (later increased to N9.5K) and my N2k monthly stipend from the polytechnic. This is excluding other financial support from family and friends.

Just like Job in the bible (Job 42:12), our latter days in Kebbi became greater and even more enjoyable than our former days. We became accustomed to the weather and toured the state moving from Birnin Kebbi to Gwandu to Argungu just to visit other corps members.

Let me stop here. If you did not learn any lesson from my story, please remember this: all the contacts and new friends in Kebbi made my stay worthwhile. If not, my experience would have only been better off imagined. 

I don’t know what your NYSC experience is / was, but going forward, please build positive relationships. Your network is important! The more influential people you know, the higher your chances of success.

Dubai Leadership Summit 2016

Don’t Miss It! The 14th Dubai Leadership Summit (December 13-15, 2016) will focus on ‘Emerging Trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)’. This is an unmissable event for Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, Development Directors and Corporate Relationship Managers.

At the end of the summit delegates should be able to:
• identify key CSR elements
• explain how the key CSR elements can be addressed ...
• discuss the field of corporate responsibility, corporate philanthropy, volunteerism and community involvement
• develop more effective CSR strategies for their organizations

For more details, please email directorprogrammes@LondonGS.co.uk

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