PhD

A working-in-progress list of resources on how/why to do a PhD.

Contents

• On why (or why not)
• On how
  • Overall
  • Admission
  • Reading a paper
  • On writing
    • Proposal writing
    • Thesis writing
    • Research paper writing
    • Grant proposal writing
    • General writing
    • Writing research questions
  • Presentations
  • Getting an academic job
    • Cover letters and CVs
  • Paper reviewing
• English
  • Collocation
  • Dictionary
  • Thesaurus
• Books
  • Science
  • Writing Science
  • Statistics
• Nice Wikipedia pages
• Similar lists

On why (or why not) to pursue a Ph.D.

• The Ph.D Experience by Mihir Bellare
  • http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~mihir/phd.html
• Should I get a Ph.D.? by Tim Hopper
  • http://shouldigetaphd.com/
• Notes On The PhD Degree
  • https://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.phd.html
• Tough love: An insensitive guide to thriving in your PhD by Chris Chambers
  • http://neurochambers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/tough-love-insensitive-guide-to.html
• The single most practical reason for pursuing a Ph.D. that I can think of (and I've thought a lot about this topic!) by Philip Guo
  • http://pgbovine.net/practical-reason-to-pursue-PhD.htm
• Realistic expectations keep you on the path to a PhD
  • https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/realistic-expectations-keep-you-on-the-path-to-a-phd/2015739.article
• “So long, and thanks for the Ph.D.!” a.k.a. Everything I wanted to know about C.S. graduate school at the beginning but didn’t learn until later. by Ronald T. Azuma
  • https://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html

On how

Overall

• A Survival Guide to a PhD by Andrej Karpathy
  • http://karpathy.github.io/2016/09/07/phd/
• How to Be a Good Graduate Student by Marie desJardins
  • http://www.cs.indiana.edu/how.2b/how.2b.html
• Ten Lessons I wish I had been Taught by Gian-Carlo Rota
  • http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~cahn/life/gian-carlo-rota-10-lessons.html
• Making Key Research Decisions (excerpt from 500 Tips for Research Students) by Sally Brown, Liz McDowell and Phil Race
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/decisions.txt
• What Am I Doing Here? A Guide to the Unwritten Rules of Grad School in the Sciences by Cory Kerens
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/clk.html
• Working with Norman Ramsey: a Guide for Research Students by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/guide.pdf
• Advice for new Ph.D. students by Philip Guo
  • http://pgbovine.net/early-stage-PhD-advice.htm
• Some Modest Advice for Graduate Students by Stephen C. Stearn
  • http://stearnslab.yale.edu/some-modest-advice-graduate-students
• Advice for students and junior researchers by Markus Jakobsson
  • http://www.markus-jakobsson.com/advice-for-students-and-junior-researchers
• 10 easy ways to fail a Ph.D. by Matt Might
  • http://matt.might.net/articles/ways-to-fail-a-phd/

Admission

• How to get admitted to a PhD program by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/admit.html
• CS Grad School Part 1: Deciding to Apply by Jean Yang
  • http://jxyzabc.blogspot.my/2008/08/cs-grad-school-part-1-deciding-to-apply.html
• Choosing the Right Grad School by Danah Boyd
  • http://www.danah.org/GradSchoolAdvice.html
• FAQ: Applying to Graduate School for Computer Science by Jean Yang
  • http://jxyzabc.blogspot.my/2012/10/faq-applying-to-graduate-school-for.html
• Some notes on picking grad schools/advisors by Jean Yang
  • http://jxyzabc.blogspot.my/2009/02/some-notes-on-picking-grad.html

Reading a paper

• How to read a research paper by Spencer Rugaber
  • http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Spencer.Rugaber/txt/research_paper.txt
• Thoughts on Reading Research Papers by Jeff Offutt
  • http://cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/classes/phd/Hints-Read.html
• How to read a research paper by Michael Mitzenmacher
  • http://www.imsc.res.in/~meena/mitzenmacher-ReadPaper.pdf
• How to (seriously) read a scientific paper by Elisabeth Pain
  • http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2016/03/how-seriously-read-scientific-paper
• Infographic: How to read a scientific paper by Natalia Rodriguez
  • https://www.elsevier.com/connect/infographic-how-to-read-a-scientific-paper
• How to Read an Engineering Research Paper by William G. Griswold
  • https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~wgg/CSE210/howtoread.html
• How to Read a Paper by S. Keshav
  • http://ccr.sigcomm.org/online/files/p83-keshavA.pdf
• How to read a research paper by Tiffany Barnes
  • http://webpages.uncc.edu/tbarnes2/SeriousGames/papers/ReadingResearchPaper.pdf
• Reading Scientific Papers by Robert Siegel
  • http://web.stanford.edu/~siegelr/readingsci.htm
• How to Read a Scientific Article by Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt
  • http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/courses/HowToReadSciArticle.pdf
• Strategic Reading, Ontologies, and the Future of Scientific Publishing by Allen H. Renear and Carole L. Palmer
  • http://science.sciencemag.org/content/325/5942/828
• How to Read a Book by Paul N. Edwards
  • http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtoread.pdf

On Writing

Proposal writing

• On Ph.D. thesis proposals in computing science by H. C. Lauer
  • http://www.mi.fu-berlin.de/wiki/pub/Mi/PromotionsVerfahren/Lauer75.pdf

Thesis writing

• How to write a good PhD thesis and survive the viva by Stefan Rüger
  • http://people.kmi.open.ac.uk/stefan/thesis-writing.pdf
• How to Write a PhD Thesis by Joe Wolfe
  • http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html
• How To Write a Good (no, Great) PhD Dissertation by Priya Narasimhan
  • https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~priya/ICSOC-PhDSymp-2006-dist.pdf
• How to write a Ph.D. thesis by Reinhard Jahn
  • https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/document/download/5fb4239f7b0c852ff840df93f2d0fca9-en.pdf/ThesisguidelinesGGNB201604.pdf
• A Structured Approach to Presenting Thesis by ChadPerry
  • http://www.aral.com.au/resources/cperry.pdf
• Dissertation Advice by Olin Shivers
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/shivers-thesis.html
• How To Write A Dissertation or Bedtime Reading For People Who Do Not Have Time To Sleep by Doug Comer
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/dec/essay.dissertation.html
• Margo's Tips on Writing a Thesis by Margo
  • http://mis-misinformation.blogspot.com/2012/03/margos-tips-on-writing-thesis.html
• Design:The Key to Writing (and Advising) a One-Draft Ph.D Dissertation by John V. Carlis
  • http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~carlis/one-draft.pdf
• A GUIDE TO WRITING YOUR MASTERS DISSERTATION
  • http://www2.hw.ac.uk/sml/postgraduate/downloads/dissertations/dissertationguide.pdf
• GUIDELINES FOR FORMAT AND CONTENT OF THE DISSERTATION
  • http://semo.edu/education/images/EduLead_DissertGuide_2007.pdf
• Mastering Your Ph.D.: Writing Your Doctoral Thesis With Style By Patricia Gosling, Bart Noordam
  • http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2007/12/mastering-your-phd-writing-your-doctoral-thesis-style

Research paper writing

• 11 steps to structuring a science paper editors will take seriously by Angel Borja
  • https://www.elsevier.com/connect/11-steps-to-structuring-a-science-paper-editors-will-take-seriously
• How to write a great research paper by Simon Peyton Jones
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/academic-program/write-great-research-paper/
• How to Write Your First Paper by Steven G. Krantz
  • http://www.ams.org/notices/200711/tx071101507p.pdf
• HOW TO WRITE A GREAT ABSTRACT by Jari Saramäki
  • https://jarisaramaki.fi/2017/05/04/how-to-write-a-great-abstract/
• Computer Science Writing Advice by Renée J. Miller
  • http://dblab.cs.toronto.edu/~miller/index.php?p=resources
• Common Bugs in Writing by Henning Schulzrinne
  • http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-bugs.html
• Writing Technical Articles by Henning Schulzrinne
  • http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-style.html

Grant proposal writing

• How to write a great research proposal by Simon Peyton Jones and Alan Bundy
  • https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/academic-program/how-to-write-a-great-research-proposal/

General writing

• Norman Ramsey's Resources for Writers by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/writing.html
• Learning Technical Writing Using the Engineering Method by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/pubs/learn.pdf
• Writing Tips for Ph. D. Students by John H. Cochrane
  • https://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/papers/phd_paper_writing.pdf

Writing research questions

• Types of quantitative research question
  • http://dissertation.laerd.com/types-of-quantitative-research-question.php
• Developing Research Questions by Dissertation Recipes
  • http://dissertationrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Developing-Research-Questions.pdf
• Writing a Good Research Question by Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching
  • https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/tutorials/question
• Narrowing a Topic and Developing a Research Question
  • https://libraries.indiana.edu/sites/default/files/Develop_a_Research_Question.pdf
• Research Questions and Hypotheses
  • https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/22782_Chapter_7.pdf

Presentations

• How to give a great research talk by Simon Peyton Jones
  • https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/academic-program/give-great-research-talk/
• How to give a technical presentation (how to give a scientific talk) by Michael Ernst
  • http://homes.cs.washington.edu/~mernst/advice/giving-talk.html
• Communication in Computer Science: Reviews, Papers, and Talks by Olivier Danvy
  • http://users-cs.au.dk/danvy/tips-and-tricks.html
• Oral Presentation Advice by Mark D. Hill
  • http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~markhill/conference-talk.html
• Giving Technical Talks by Scot Drysdale
  • http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~scot/givingTalks/
• Giving a Good Research Talk by Nicholas Nethercote
  • http://njn.valgrind.org/good-talk.html
• Giving a Talk by Frank R. Kschischang
  • http://www.comm.utoronto.ca/frank/guide/guide0.html
• The Short Talk by Charles Van Loan
  • http://www.cs.cornell.edu/cv/ShortTalk.htm
• How to give a talk by Bruce Randall Donald
  • http://www.cs.duke.edu/brd/Teaching/Giving-a-talk/giving-a-talk.html
• How to Give an Academic Talk by Paul N. Edwards
  • http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtotalk.pdf
• Tips and Tricks for Giving Talks by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/talks.html
• Maxims for Malfeasant Speakers by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/misc/badtalks.html
• How to Present a Paper in Theoretical Computer Science: A Speaker’s Guide for Students by Ian Parberry
  • https://larc.unt.edu/ian/pubs/speaker.pdf
• How to Present a Paper:A Speaker’s Guide by Bob Spillman and Ian Parberry https://www.sfu.ca/~jeffpell/Ling480/ParberryMembrane.pdf

Academic job

• Getting an academic job by Michael Ernst
  • http://homes.cs.washington.edu/~mernst/advice/academic-job.html
• Tips for PhD students looking for faculty positions by Norman Ramsey
  • https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/job.html
• Applying for a postdoc job? Here are 18 tips for a successful application
  • https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/feb/01/applying-for-a-postdoc-job-here-are-18-tips-for-a-successful-application
• A foot in the door by Kendall Powell
  • https://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7281-696a
• How Do I Apply for a Postdoc Position?
  • https://med.emory.edu/postdoc/documents/How%20do%20I%20apply%20for%20a%20Postdoc%20Position.pdf

Cover letters and CVs

• How to write a killer cover letter for a postdoctoral application by Bill Sullivan
  • http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=48927
• CVs and Cover Letters by Office of Career Services - Harvard University
  • https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/files/ocs/files/gsas-cvs-and-cover-letters.pdf
• Writing a winning cover letter by John K. Borchardt
  • http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2014/08/writing-winning-cover-letter
• CV Guide for PhD and Postdoctoral Researchers: Tailoring your CV for the Role.
  • https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/support/careers/nelie/postdoccvguide/CVGuideforPhDandPostdoctoralResearchers.pdf
• How to Write an Academic Cover Letter With Examples by Alison Doyle
  • https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-write-an-academic-cover-letter-2060155
• Stanford PhD & Postdoc Career Guide
  • https://beam.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/stanfordphd_cg15-161.pdf
• Documents for the Job Search: Put Your Qualifications in Writing
  • http://postdocs.cornell.edu/documents-job-search
• Cover Letters for Academic Positions
  • http://www.grad.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/academiccoverletters.pdf
• 10 Tips to Help You Write a Better Cover Letter
  • http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/10-tips-for-better-cover-letter.html
• How to Write a Cover Letter: 31 Tips You Need to Know
  • https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-write-a-cover-letter-31-tips-you-need-to-know
• *How to write a cover letter people will actually read*
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/business/how-to-write-a-cover-letter-that-stands-out.html
• 10 Tips for a Better Cover Letter
  • https://www.jobscan.co/blog/how-to-write-a-cover-letter/
• How to Write a Cover Letter by Amy Gallo
  • https://hbr.org/2014/02/how-to-write-a-cover-letter
• Writing a Successful Cover Letter
  • http://www.columbia.edu/cu/tat/pdfs/cover%20letter.pdf

Paper reviewing

• Accepting an invitation to review
  • https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/authorandreviewertutorials/howtopeerreview/accepting-an-invitation-to-review/10286396
• So you’ve been asked to review a manuscript? – Tips for the novice reviewer by Chris Parsons*
  • http://www.southernfriedscience.com/so-youve-been-asked-to-review-a-manuscript-tips-for-the-novice-reviewer/
• How, when and why to say no to a review request by Andrew Moore
  • https://hub.wiley.com/community/exchanges/discover/blog/2015/03/12/how-when-and-why-to-say-no-to-a-review-request
• Tips for first time peer reviewers: Accepting a peer review invitation by Kakoli Majumde
  • http://www.editage.com/insights/tips-for-first-time-peer-reviewers-accepting-a-peer-review-invitation

English

• http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html

Collocation

• https://prowritingaid.com/en/Collocation/Dictionary?word=search
• http://www.just-the-word.com/
• http://www.freecollocation.com/

Dictionary

• http://www.wordhippo.com/
• http://www.roget.org/

Thesaurus

• http://www.thesaurus.com/
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Books

Science

• Chalmers, Alan F. What is this thing called science?. Hackett Publishing, 2013.
• Okasha, Samir. Philosophy of Science: Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2016.
• Feynman, Richard P. The meaning of it all: Thoughts of a citizen-scientist. Addison-Wesley, 1998.

Writing Science

• Schimiel, J. (2011). Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded. Oxford University Press.
• Silvia, P. J. (2007) How to write a lot: A practical guide to productive academic writing. American Psychological Association.
• White, E. B., and Strunk, W. (2014) The elements of style. Pearson Education Limited.

Statistics

• DeGroot, M. H., & Schervish, M. J. (2012). Probability and Statistics (4th ed.). Addison-Wesley.

Nice Wikipedia pages

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMRAD

Similar lists

• https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/students/
• http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/~yuanxie/Advice.html