1. Managing your PhD for applied health research students
Dr Lindsay Pennington

2. Applied health research
Complex questions
prevalence, severity and impact of disease
acceptability and effectiveness of interventions
cost effectiveness, efficiency
Aim to inform policy makers, healthcare providers, patients and public

3. Multiple methods
Mixed methods, synthesis of evidence
Multiple supervisors:
Topic expert
Quantitative expert
Qualitative expert

4. Planning Objectives determine plan
3 months to develop project proposal (signed off by Christmas break)
Your training
Project plan
Gantt chart

6. Managing your project Aims Objectives Methods Design
Timing – prioritisation, duration
Resources – cost, personnel
Project management session 16 November

7. Managing others Supervisors
Identification and recruitment of participants
Clinicians
Voluntary sector
Local authority
Participants
To make your project successful you will be managing others as well as your project
Your project may succeed or fail on this – you may have a great idea, be able to write fantastic literature review and appraise extant evidence relative to your subject and analyse your data but unless you can persuade others to work with you you won’t have any data!

8. Understand their priorities
Get to know them
Understand their priorities
Work with them – give them something in return
Agree timescales
Keep them invested
Agree methods of communication
Update them
Everybody will have multiple call son their time, not just you. Your project will be interesting but not necessarily import or urgent for them
PPI session 24 May 2017
Social media session 7 November 2016
Communication and presentation skills session 15 May 2017

9. Research governance Ethics approval University? NHS?
NHS Trust approval – research sites, governance
NHS ethics and research gov takes at least 3 months

10. Lab books Issue Decisions Justification
Evidence from previous research
Actions
Results
Personnel involved
Property of the University
Already mentioned by Alison Tyson Capper on Tuesday 4 Oct
Very important
all info in one place
record of the project
can check back on decisions and their justification
can be checked after project completion

11. Data collection You may be out of the University for some time
Risk assessment
Regular communication with supervisors:
Deal with issues as they arise
Use time wisely:
Write methods section whilst involved in ‘doing it’
Make notes for Discussion – strengths and limitations, impact of methods and design
Risk assessment form – session in I.H.S and others

12. Writing Start now! Learned skill, takes practice
Figures and tables can be slotted into thesis
Agree the papers that will come from the thesis
Agree when papers will be written and submitted
Also advised by Alison
It’s never too early
More you write better you’ll be

13. Disseminating your work
Start now!
Learned skill, takes practice
Who do you want to influence?
Best medium?
When?
Internal seminars, Conferences, External meetings
Travel fund
Training for presenting
Public speaking 2 and 3 November 2016
Find out what the societies are that you should join
Find out when their meetings are
What types of presentations do they accept
When is it best for you to present
Write these into the Gantt chart and project plan
Add to your e-portfolio training

14. Challenges Complex methods, complex projects
NHS Trust approval – research sites, governance
Project management essential
Juggling
Networking
Negotiation
Loneliness
3 years for project to be planned, executed and written up FT PhD
6 years PT PhD
These soft skills are key to project completion
Skills that are highly describable in academia, research and industry
Loneliness – you aren’t alone, peer support groups Eg IHS group, PANIC, PRISM; RAs, supervisors. Work with others, make the most of break out times eg coffee times, get to know staff as well as other students. Join in!

15. Support for students GOOD LUCK! Supervisors
PGR team – PGRSC and administrators
Assessors
Grad School Research Student Development Programme
GOOD LUCK!
Formal support
You can do it
Supervisors will support you to do it – they want to help you
University will support you – APR, PGRSC
Make the most of the opportunities
Be savvy
Good luck!