Sonam | 100 Academic Resources

Are you planning to pursue PhD? Then, it is very much essential for you to know the qualities that a research candidate must have to cope up with the pressure of acquiring doctorate. Here are few of those qualities mentioned below:

Self-motivated- an ideal research candidate should be self-motivated. When a candidate is self-motivated, it becomes much easier for him to deal with the pressure. His interest in the work and enthusiasm would go a long way to making him successful.

Hunger to know more- research is all about knowing more and more about the subject that you are studying. So, the research candidate must have curiosity as a behavioral trait and the habit of analyzing facts in detail will lead him a long way.

Positive attitude- when a research candidate has a positive attitude, he sets the tone for people around them. Such a research candidate would create a healthy working environment.

Ability to adapt- research candidates must adjust to the given conditions very quickly. They should know that it is a challenging work and must be up for it.

Good communicator- it is of prime importance that a research candidate is a good listener and plans the research work in advance. He must have the ability to meet deadlines.

Flexible- any research candidate will know how challenging the timings of work can be. However, one should be flexible to all the timings that he is asked to work in.

Consistent- Consistency in research is something that can make the career of a candidate. Therefore, the candidate must have a good track record of being consistent with his findings.

Good work ethics- research needs hard work and the candidate should be able to work at any given point. The work ethics of a research candidate shows how well he will do in future.

Good listener- apart from being a good communicator, it is of equal importance that the research candidate is a good listener. He should listen carefully and then judge and decide what points he is going to present that would help his research course.

Dependable- as a research candidate, he should be the one on whom you can depend. Irresponsible students will not be able to pursue PhD as it requires one to have determined and goal oriented approach.

We are not superhuman so as do our supervisors. We can get brilliant writing guidance, but are unsuccessful when we reveal that we are depressed. Our supervisors can become our best friends, but sometimes fails to motivate us to put great words on the paper.

Most of the time, we felt fortunate to have a great PhD supervisor. We saw them as dutiful, expansive and exceptionally helpful. Nonetheless, supervisors are often as stressed as their students; sometimes they are disengaged and plagued by their own work. And to my surprise, worst-case scenario tells that a supervisor sometimes detests and weakens a student.

Where can we find support, if our supervisor can’t help?

Colleagues are an alternative, but online communities are doing a great job, blogs and forums are progressively more popular sources of advice. A student can take advantage from online resource that might be missing from the supervisor-student relationship.

What a blog or forums have for a PhD student?

1) Limitless realistic advice

We can find number of students/supervisors to guide us on related topics. There is endless time and unparalleled knowledge. They are always available; they are understanding and always supportive. Reason: we can find many of them and can seek help from one and another.

2) Unlimited Emotional support

Since, on an online blog or forum the number of student or supervisors is very high, so there is no lack of emotional support. Again, we can find help from one and the other. Time has no conditions. We can login any time and get supported.

3) Sincere discussion

Online communities are open for any kind of discussion which sometimes cannot be spoken in face to face with pupil or supervisors. Nobody hesitate or feel jealous describing things. No one has to do anything with another; in person. We as a student can explore beyond academia and that’s without hesitation.

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Top 10 qualities of an ideal research candidate

Blogs and forum- helping hands for PhD students