How do doctoral students

 If I had to redo a fellow graduate student
Sen Wang Pan (Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan)
I like this subject because the subject, the number of people have a real help. The next time I have to stage speech, I think this topic can also be played once or twice. I graduated from National Taiwan Institute of History, so my master's degree at National Taiwan University Institute of History, my PhD at Princeton University in the United States made . I want all of you are masters, doctorate, so I based on these two stages, to present to you my experience.
I never think I am an accomplished scholar, I must tell you Frankly, I do this in order to lecture the United States in the years just finished, he returned to meet my colleagues, because they just left the stage of doctoral students, more than some of their own peculiar ideas, I asked him: If you talk about this issue, ready to contribute to what? does not mean I am a successful graduate student, because there are other aspects I still always muddle. My master's thesis was published by Times Publishing Company twenty years ago, my doctoral thesis was published by Cambridge University. you have a special right? I can not talk nonsense. Today, I just integrated some experience to provide your reference.
one, the difference between graduate students and students with you
first explain the difference between graduate students and college students. Students Basic knowledge is to accept, receive knowledge, but whether it is time for the master's or doctoral studies in terms of time, should be ready to start creating new knowledge, we get doctorate in the United States do not understand when graduation will receive certificate, in a chance, I asked a man to understand Latin, the above contents? he told me: innovative local or not because you do not vary, so the first we have to very carefully, very deep thinking, undergraduate and graduate students are different.
(a) to choose their own problem orientation, learning innovation < br> Once you have a graduate student, you have entered a new phase, not only to fully enjoy it, but also to accept a variety of interesting knowledge, knowledge into the manufacturing stage, meaning that your paper should be innovative. by the acceptance of knowledge to the creation of knowledge, is the most prominent feature being a graduate student, not only that, but also realize that he was no longer a container, waiting for the teacher to some of the things down in a teacup, but gradually developed and developing themselves. As students no longer accept all classes for a variety of novelty, but should pay attention to the problem-oriented arrangements, that is, inside the master's or doctoral stage, all the energy, all taught and read the book which are There should be a focus of concern, and not be as aimless as the University. Students age because you have to try to create their own to accept anything, but to master's and doctoral students, there is a ultimate goal is to finish her dissertation that paper is your personal collection of all the martial arts of the total, so this time there must be a problem-oriented learning.
(b) try to cross-disciplinary research, active learning
raised an important issue, an important crossing areas, will determine your future success or failure. I also teach Taiwan and Japan for over ten years Tsinghua class, I often tell my students about the election and the election of a field to a problem is the key to success, and you must be with themselves the problem of learning to explore the infinite world of college because you no longer classified as flood nothing. So this time, you must select a subject of interest and concern as a starting point to explore this knowledge, the cycle of organic produce . because you are on the spontaneous curiosity and interest in this issue, so your attitude and undergraduate students is totally different, you slowly turned from passive recipients is an active explorer, and learn 悠游 in This academic areas.
me give you an example of the Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tse us, got the Nobel Prize. He has written several articles in the Academia Sinica's weekly articles, which set in his remarks, perhaps you can see, he repeatedly mentioned his story. He is due to read a textbook called Professor Ma Heng University of California at Berkeley to study away, go after it found that the teachers only give him a check, with He said you have to spend money with you as far as possible, but never taught him anything. but next to the professor, taught a lot, but students are studying with a teacher every day. just like the teacher he once complained: do not teach me something? He said that in fact these two teachings are useful, but what he did not teach him this, he only asked him if he ever met, deeper aspects of their inherent truth, not the so-called good or bad, but the best way to combine these two methods. Why do I tell this story? is to emphasize at this stage, learning is a and is under the guidance of the teacher to learn mind to explore this area.
But another important stage in students is Learn how to learn, not just learn it, but to learn how to learn, is no longer going to buy a very nice clothes, but to Learning picked up in that needle, learn to embroider a beautiful dress, and slowly learning the target on a standard, which is a standard that you will have to complete the master's or doctoral dissertation. If you go to first-class universities in the West reading, you will feel my thesis may be a problem and the world who do the same comparison. I think that even in Taiwan should have felt like this, not just your standard only on a few people next to nothing, The area should be placed inside the common people. Your article should have something new, be considered the standards, but also is consistent with that we just talked about the doctoral certificate in Latin goes speakers above, and has contributions and innovations.
Second, how a teacher training graduate students
second, how would you as a teacher training graduate students. I think that the humanities and social science training, even training in natural science, to graduate should be more like apprenticeship, so from individuals and teachers, individuals and close interaction with peers and learning is very important, sitting there alone with the undergraduate lectures, listening to walk away is not the same, compared should be under your life and your pursuit of knowledge combined with the answers, and your life back, and this exploration should be more or less relevant.
(a) the use of partnerships with teachers, continually Research
I always say the word in English is very interesting research, search is to find, but research is to look for, so each person must research, constantly looking over and over again, and thus leaving your life and learn to become one . Master of Military Science in Modern China Jiang Baili military school in his book said: to illustrate graduate from this life, your living conditions and the conditions to be consistent with your battle, your life is to follow the growth of teachers and students together, which you hear every word, may give you lots of inspiration .
remember when I was a graduate student studying in the United States live as long as casually met in any one of the stairs, and he has a way to help answer your difficult language, whether English, Latin, German, Greek hh and so on. they are able to help solve the problem is not just your teacher, but all the students and the learning organization. your life together with learning. When I see a student show passive or slacking off, I would with Mao's I personally think there is only two roads, one of which is to make them stop studying, stop reporting, this is a strange area into the fastest and most convenient way, in the end the students will know this unconsciously What areas of our school, it is often in the non-stop indulging in the details may be unable to extricate themselves, and then lost panoramic, leading to see the forest for the trees, or is it trapped a few in English, and forget the whole talking about. by reports of students, teachers talk about the content, or to clarify the essence of which, by the teachers to mention a few points, it will're putting more slowly, and gradually develop a self-learning ability, but also what can be seen that the problem encountered things. like I'm studying in the USA, I took some I have no background knowledge of the country's history, so I keep studying, keep forcing yourself to absorb, while the teachers just keep open bibliography, the use of training in this way slowly, one day I will not study it when I find myself still have self-made production and storage capacity, because I knew this knowledge about what kind of profile, but also have the ability to encounter problems to query relevant information. So try to make their own learning spontaneously scalability is very important.
(c) step by step essay writing practice to master's or doctoral
the most important thing is the completion of a articles, dissertations, and both master's or doctoral thesis on a scale much less than you has suffered from primary education, to write things that even much longer, although I do not know the situation of education in how the paper, but History papers should write two or three hundred thousand words, or is more than ten million words. to write such a large space, how can an orderly, well organized, and to read the whole structure of organized smooth? First of all, must start with a thousands of words, five thousand words, a million words progressive training, start with less and more slowly written, but also in a very short period of time training to be from a million words written thousands of words. so no one large paper written out, the problem is well written, because such a large-scale writing, there are so many footnotes, but also pay attention to both dates matched, so that discusses forming one, and not scattered on the ground of the coins; is an auditorium, and Segmentation is not a small attic. in order to complete a large, complete, organic architecture model, the length must be small-scale exercises slowly, this is one of the most effective way.
by computer because of the impact of I found that many students write capabilities are substantially reduced. very important when writing a thesis is that writing must be clear, not fancy, not pretty, continuity of thought produce consistent. I often speak with students do not have to write fancy, do not show your prose can be, because this is academic, so the key is to be written very clearly, if there is good writing, of course better, but It may be luck, the text color the same as the individual lives, the English called the style, style themselves as individuals born with a little bit different. So the most important thing is to clear the contents of statements, from one million words of things to the last of thousands of words , to be orderly structure, clear exposition, clear writing.
when I was studying, there is a history of Europe, the British master of the history of Lawrence Stone, he has now passed away, there was a book visit ten of the greatest historians home, I remember he said something in the interview is very interesting to note, he said his written English is quite good, so back over his life has not been issued. so clear writing, or writing good articles will be accepted for the degree of a pivotal position. the content is very important, there is a good vehicle for expression and the role of extra points, but this is not particular about the beautiful style, but clearly discussed.
three students how to train yourself to
(a) Try to accept the challenge, the courage to overcome the
students how to train yourself? is a daily, weekly or monthly to give yourself a challenge to give yourself a challenge from time to time, challenge the one you can not do the things you does not necessarily require their own to overcome the challenges of successfully every time, but to try to try. I was in my school career, but nothing hit into too many smart people, because they are easily trapped in their own barriers which, for example, Princeton University, I met a very wise man, he is unable to overcome the challenge he gave himself, he would always look east to see the West, although I also have this wrong, but I will a challenge to myself on a regular basis, for example: I will tell myself in a certain period of time, in any case to get to get rid of three lines, or must take this week finished a draft of this, although I still often write endless, but the challenge now is not the same without this challenge, because I always complete a three challenges to complete once is enough, said enough to overcome its own, if they feel the challenges every week, the feasibility of low , can be extended to one month's challenge, to challenge the original you may not be able to do. But also remember, Master is beginning to enter this area of the novice, if at first the problem is too small, or is a problem too large to control, will cause difficulties in future research.
(b) training of thesis writing is a process, not demanding complete classics for
you to remember my old teacher that sentence: Dr. MA with a training course, master with a Ph.D. is not the process of writing classic. because he wrote it as a classic in the process, despite the fact that many works of a person's life is the best master's thesis or doctoral dissertation, very difficult because of the time after three years or six years, immersed in a repeated theme in the work, the time when you are a professor, like I was the Chief ridden today, you no longer have the luxury of time to properly explore the issue, in particular, but also guide students to become professors in class, so very busy, so his life and most concentrated essence of time, of course, is what he wrote, Dr., or when the master's thesis, and which became his life the most important work was also a little weird.
but not necessarily to deliberately force, This is a training process to have faith, it should be well aware of where to start, but also know where to let go, do not chase down the infinite. Of course I am not denying the importance of this process, only to adjust their attitude, the paper completion as a goal, not a psychological disorder or a psychological burden. there are too many examples of this, I'm studying at Princeton University when the other side of the old book stalls have a very learned in the old bookstore owner, I often remarkable to him: of course, always I will never finish. If it can be written classic that is the best, like a beautiful new realm of the movie actor, like John Nash, and his greatest contribution was more than twenty-page doctoral thesis that, but remember not to put that as is the goal, because it is naturally formed, should be firmly told myself to be accomplished is a structured, clear and write with substance discussed in the paper, do not begin to expect it to be classic. If You expect it to be a classic, you could become who I saw the owner of the old book stalls, as to why I know he has so much knowledge, because then I'm looking for a book, but it did not In the old bookshop, but he told me: a book, but he was never completed his dissertation fantastic, because he did not know where to let go, all this only to become empty talk.
(c) formal writing paper
1. Learning a choice to write the paper
time should be able to be able to take care, because now the information explosion, you can read too many books, so be sure to build a tree of knowledge of their own, first of all, have a knowledge of their own tree, the tree can be hung in the related things, but do not continue to hang things not related, and linked to slowly lay down some of the things do not go up again with your question as areas of concern, so that tree tree trunk and branches of knowledge. But how to form the tree of knowledge tree? The first step you have areas of concern, useful books or data is very familiar with the.
2. form your knowledge tree
I Academician Yu-sheng yesterday to ask, and he has seventy year old, and I told him I come today to deliver a speech, and asked him: important five or six books to read quite a few times. sentence is reasonable, although you can not read the book that several important, but that five or six books you will gradually form the backbone of the tree of knowledge, the next thing to be hung, you can refer to this framework, then temporarily put aside what irrelevant. Students also have limited, known also knows no boundaries, you can not read all the books all over the world, so the choice to study, understand their own interest not to see over all the books, but looking around, and a All are interested in the book, you'll probably end up at Princeton in the street the old bookstore owner who generally, because many are not reading their own knowledge in the area of concern, it is only one place for you, the bulk of money .
3.
at this stage to grasp tools necessary to master the language and the right tools. have a foreign language can be very fluent in reading, there must be at least one other language can understand the title, to learn more Of course more is better, but at least one language, whether English, Japanese, French hh so on, must have a very smooth language can read books, which is the minimum prerequisite. Once this tool does not, your would therefore severely restricted field of vision, because the language is like a sunroof, you do not have the sunroof closed the room to live. Why do you want to can read the title? important because it will not have an article and you do not know, If you have not read even the title, you do not know how to get someone to help you or your own search-related data. other tools, regardless of any statistical or other tools, you must be more to master, because you then will not have time to learn this tool.
4.
break the boundaries between disciplines must be interdisciplinary learning as it is a very important matter, but something related to interdisciplinary must be on tree of knowledge tree of your help, we must learn to other areas to steal a few shots a little to the uptake of some of the concepts to other areas, for their concerns have a different inspiration, but do not spread nothing to return. Why To steal a few guns to fight it? recent decades, it was discovered that either science or the humanities, the most innovative part is the subject intersection in place. Why so? because we are now most of all disciplines in the West the formation of the nineteenth century, and China then it lent over. the formation of the nineteenth century by the knowledge disciplines, many are now thinking of that time with the academic background, for example, is the expertise of the Academia Sinica's Premier Lee physical chemistry, is his reason he win the Nobel Prize in physics and chemistry at the junction of the work done. Like the Nobel economics prize, awarded by these two decades the award, if the economics prize in the traditional view is that the aisle side door, classical economics, how could these things, even the Nobel economic prize psychologists, and even the mathematician John Nash the Nobel economics prize was, and why? because they are in the junction of subjects, subject with the subject, the platform the junction with the platform to achieve a breakthrough. in the platform itself, the core of the discipline where the original search too many times already, so not necessarily a great innovation, so why interdisciplinary study is a very important thing .
often a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation the most important and most critical is that the concept of a unifying and important, but often can not find you in this discipline inside, because you have inside the bubble for too long in this subject , and you're holding a small flashlight inside the warehouse according to the according to according to long and forget there is something else you can better explain the phenomena of these materials, but these things can be met without resort. John Nash This is why a mathematician, Nobel Prize for mathematics? Why game theory in his doctoral thesis in a few years after the Nobel economics prize? because he was in college introductory economics class on, so he that mathematics can be used to think in economic terms, but this thing in the beginning, he did not think there will be so useful. He is a mathematics and economics at the junction of the knowledge to do a breakthrough. Sometimes, this one in economics Part no major relationships in this part of mathematics is no big relationship, but the two together, sparks will jump out.
5. Topic scalability
have a master or doctoral students to said that if the wrong title, is the failure, the election of the topic, there are seventy percent chance of victory. It's worth a study, one of the students think carefully about Bo. Your first year is actually spent on this above, you have to keep looking for a meaningful discussion with the teacher, there are scalability problems, and not too hard. I had been a human NSC Director, when I left, there are seven thousand applications each case, there is fourteen thousand bags, it is necessary to give fourteen thousand professors for review. I certainly can not see that much, but I have an important task is to look at complaints. Some complainants said: research project well and I work well, so I'll appeal. take a look. There are several out often most impressed by the discussion that the subject need not to do, no development of the subject itself, so make sure I choose a more meaningful and scalability, control, can be the subject of management is very important.
my students often choose a very difficult subject, I say you do not like, because no one will see you carefully study the difficulty of the difficult subject for you to spend more time reading historical materials, to get a little something; to squeeze a lot of things in order to filter out a little bit of content, so you'd better choose a subject of moderate difficulty.
I've written several books, I think I on each effort spent on a book are the same, although I write anything I'm not satisfied, but the brains in the process I want him to write. Many people think so far the best book I have is my second teens arrived in History and Philology, the book written that year. I spend time in that book is not long, most of the manuscript of that book is my teacher, and Xu Tianming barracks while serving in the military written inside, but also with the old notes I had written. the mainland many years, publishers, repeated requests to publish my previous book, particularly this one, I said: previous study notes, I am afraid there is typo citation, because at any time in the army barracks which have Chucao, at any time should the collection, and no book at hand, how could good to check it? And if I have to recalibrate it again, but also because the reference Too many books, there is no effort to correct.
Why give this example? I was think about the reason why the book is better, probably because of the large subject of scalability, the possibility that the subject of big ups and downs . Many people think that I should be the best book out of which the University of Cambridge, but I think I must be the best book written in Chinese, because I can grasp the language, English was superb, I can not grasp . read, write in any language you must practice to take one-third of casual, then you can say about this complete understanding and mastery of a language, if you can not reach one-third of the free, it means you are still fumbling .
back I just talked about, in fact, every book, every paper I could not want it written. but some things can not write, and why? since the beginning of the topic chosen is not good enough. So Only selected questions after the training with all of your efforts worthwhile. I'm here to suggest that you, the topics of the work should be done as soon as possible, the selected topics to be addressed is best to focus on the material, do not be too scattered, because the master Students may only three years, doctoral students may be only five years, if you too focused on the material, reading or watching the data may have to spend most of your time so you do not have spare capacity to think. and this topic to the aptitudes for you If you do not hate statistics or numbers, but it all depends on selection of a statistical study, it is impossible to do well.
6. develop a habit of writing in accordance with scholarly another most
basic training, is usually whether you write a million words, thirty thousand words, fifty thousand words should develop the habit of compliance with academic norms, to make his natural, that the footnote in your paper, format, at the beginning stages of entering graduate to train to become a part of your life, and if this habit did not develop, people will think this paper is not rigorous, then changes have to spend a lot of time, because your paper is large, probably several hundred pages, if a Start a mistake, then change over again to the end, must be very time-consuming, and therefore a habit at the outset, because we are writing a paper instead of writing essays, which should be a comma where, which Where the title number, which use local quotes, which should be any punctuation, have certain requirements, written in Chinese Fortunately, there are a lot of English short. in the 1960s, when Taiwan's knowledge is still closed, there is a individuals come from the United States said: ibid. The so-called ibid was the same before the author, the word evolved from Latin, and Latin have a lot of short, like et. al. is the common series of two. the English have a The Chicago Manual of Style is specifically to illustrate this Some writing specifications. you want to learn Chinese and English writing as soon as possible norms, practice slowly, and finally with the nature of write, you can write compliant article.
7. the use of library should be a graduate
Library The most important place, not required reading each book, but you know what book. I remember when I was a student, the book will be New on the library wall, and as students of the most important thing is to look at the title. In some extent, the skin is enough to know the book, but this is still and playing the computer is not the same, you have to actually familiarize yourself with the book, touch, look at the directory. I know now from computer can be found in the title, but I still cherish this book regularly to browse the new arrivals feel, or related fields to see what the book grow. Academia Sinica academicians have a professor at Harvard School of Information, he Tell me when the peak of his creativity, every week of their information systems book room, read the important information journals. Therefore, as a graduate student in the library should be the people most familiar places. but do not remember unimportant take the time to go, you live in the era of information overload, with my poor growth in the information age is different, so the growth of an era in which you, to be able to make a choice. I used to watch some of my students refer to the three streams paper, but it attracted great interest, I felt sorry for him, because I stressed the need to read a useful and valuable things.
8. leave time, refined their thinking
also remember to keep some time to think. paper can not superb, can not be attractive, it is important for the phenomenon on conceptual thinking, but I am not saying that theory must follow the route, but to remind you again to raise the general level of two or three steps , conceptualize what you see. clear to understand, you see things? overall significance? What is the outline of the whole? Do not be overwhelmed minor, though minor is your most important start, but you The total time of the day should leave some good thinking, slowly settling. conceptualize is a very difficult thing to teach, I remember my school, he pledged that a teacher has to open a course, teaching students how to conceptualize, but had never opening into, because it is very difficult to teach. I have to remind that, in many materials and minor inundation by the time out to be timely to think about, see what things mean? In this sense there is no link to the more extensive large level value of knowledge.
Mr. Fu came to Taiwan, the same time as the director of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University's president. NTU has a twenty-Fu Zhong hour bell rang, twenty-first knock. In the past, a man wrote a book called Welcome to the twenty-first ring is the ring of the twenty-first head of state gun salute. Not long ago I found that each of National Taiwan University, an important monument in the erection of a bronze medal the following, I take a closer look under the interpretation of Fu Zhong, come to realize is that when the Taiwan Fu The Vice-Chancellor of the time, had said a word: hours may be too much, because graduate students are very busy, but leave at least thirty minutes a day, an hour thinking, think about what you see? learn to jump more than what you see a little higher level to think.
9.
to find a model of learning I came to study in America, every time the scalp to re-write the report's amazing, because our English report thirty or forty pages, a four semester course, then there is one hundred and sixty, but you learn from scratch with a footnote. Later, I found a good way, that is, every time I write when putting one of my favorite papers on the side, although he has written Title no relationship with my writing, but every time I see him how to write, look at his footnotes, read a few lines, and then I started writing. as the most famous tenor Pavarotti will sing and play upon her one time handkerchief, as he said: