You might not think that form filling is an integral part of a PhD. However, it definitely is, and is very important at that. Why? Because there are always forms to fill, from forms to apply for courses, to grant application, as well as registration forms for attending conferences, together with abstract writing. Before breaking up for the Easter holidays I wanted to finish off all the applications I have pending, so the last few days have seen me doing quite a lot of form filling.
I realise however that form filling is definitely not my forte. Maybe I think that people should give me what I am asking for – because I said so? I also realise that I am not always too good at expressing myself and targetting the audience I am addressing. Take today’s case in point:
One of the forms I was filling was an abstract template for a conference next year (yes – that’s right – September 2011). The first problem I ran into was that I wasn’t exactly sure who my audience is. At first I assumed that the audience was a scientific audience. However, unfortunately, this is often not the case in my field. In fact the audience I should have planned was actually more for heritage professionals such as conservators. This meant that the aim of the abstract had to be turned on its head: from focussing on the nitty gritty of the scientific aspects of my work I needed to focus more on the usability and relevance of my work.
The second problem I ran into, and which my supervisor very helpfully pointed out as well, was that I needed to give more information about why my work is important and how it is so novel in the field. Since I still don’t have the results I aim to present (remember that the conference is around a year and a half down the line!), and what I was writing was mainly projections of what I hope to achieve, I was being very tentative in what I wrote. However, my supervisor sort of lambasted me for that and told me to get on with the job of writing a good abstract.
Before I finished my work for the day I sent off the abstract to my supervisor. Waiting for his response now. Hope I did a good (or at least better!) job!
Form Filling
Filed under: Rants, Complaints and General Malaise, Research Process, abstract writing, abstracts, application forms, applications, audience, conferences, form filling, forms, grant applications, PhD, registrations, targetting the audience
My Path Through Research 
Has he replied about your abstract? Mine in the other hand left for holiday and never gave me my feedback! Because the deadline was 31 March I had to submit it trusting in myself… I hope I will get accepted to my conference..
No reply yet. The deadline is mid-April, so still two weeks to go (and it is the Easter holidays). So will wait and see. I’m am sure he wouldn’t be too happy if I didn’t consider his comments though ;).
Good luck for your conference though!
Oh I know all about the forms! The problems I’m having lately are finding out that I didn’t fill out the right forms (because I didn’t know the existed).
“Hrmm, I see you went overseas for four months last year – you were supposed to fill out form X to go to person Y.”
Or…
“Ahh you changed your supervisory team TWO YEARS ago, I need you to fill out this form so we can okay the change.”
It’s really ridiculous…
Hehe – I would expect changing a supervisor would require some paperwork ;).
So far I have not been told I have not filled it some form i should have…but I’m sure it will come up!
Well sure, a change in supervisor is a big thing. Except that the initial supervisor had left the university within the first six months of my PhD. Plus I had no idea such a form existed. Surely someone could have pointed it out to me sometime in the last two years! Just another example of the slack nature of our admin here.
Hmm – coming to think of it my second supervisor left in the first week I was here…I never filled in a form for that either…oh well – will see what happens 🙂