This article is for anyone who is thinking about pursuing a PhD but is still feeling unsure why they’re choosing this path or what will be expected of them. We discuss five key aspects of doctoral research that all applicants should consider carefully before embarking on a PhD.

If you are thinking of doing a PhD or just about to start one, you may be wondering how different doctoral study will be from your previous degrees and how to prepare for it. To help you get a step ahead, in this article, we’ll outline some of the key differences between a PhD and postgraduate taught programmes.

Generally speaking, to determine which journals in your field are considered top journals, you should look at the distribution of scores for all journals in the field (whether by impact factor, h-index, or some other metric). This will give you an idea of how the journals within a field compare to one another.

There are several different types of scholarly publications, which vary by discipline. Not all journals publish every type of scholarly article. Understanding how different types of papers are written and how they are reviewed will help you decide which type of paper you can publish.

Intellectual property (IP) includes patents, copyright, database rights and trademarks. As a researcher who works as part of an institution, and as such is financially supported by the institution, there are typically policies that govern who owns the IP related to your research. It is important to know these policies.

Researchers aim to publish in top-tier and high-ranking journals. So it is important for them to know how a journal is classified and ranked. This helps them when choosing a journal to which they will submit their work.

There are many popular but untrue myths floating around the academic community about what the PhD experience actually entails. In this article, we’ll visit and redress four common misconceptions about doing a PhD.

A supervisor can make or break someone’s PhD experience. Therefore, finding the right supervisor is perhaps one of the most important factors for ensuring that you have a good, healthy, enjoyable and successful PhD experience.

When you apply for a PhD, it is likely that you will need to include a research proposal with your application. This article highlights our top tips for putting together a research proposal and offers you some key points to consider as you prepare your plan. 

Starting a PhD is a very big deal. Having to also travel and settle into another country can make the process that much more daunting for new researchers. But doing a PhD as an international student does not just have to be a stressful experience – it can also be a very fulfilling and enjoyable one. We share here some of the key factors to bear in mind as you embark on your international PhD.

As a PhD student, you are under a lot of pressure. You’ve got a lot to do, but you don’t always have the support you need. It’s no surprise that anxiety and depression are common among PhD students. While there’s no magic bullet, there are things you can do to help look after your mental health.

The image of a PhD student can be someone working in a narrow field, gaining knowledge and learning techniques with limited application. But this isn’t true. As specific as your research questions may be, you are inevitably developing skills which are valued in the workplace, in or out of academia. And your time at university offers opportunities to gain additional experience and skills.

Career opportunities in academia are highly sought after, positions are limited and competition is tough. Unless you are very determined to remain within academia, it is worth considering other career options in non-academic sectors and industries. This article suggests key points to bear in mind as you think about pursuing alternative career paths.

There’s a wealth of software out there, and yet many of us only ever use the same few programmes. Even within that limited range of software, are you getting the most out of it? Most popular software has a range of features which most users never look at and, while some of it won’t be of any use to you right now, there are almost certainly some features that could save you time, or open up new possibilities.

PubMed is one of the most frequently used search engines among researchers in biomedical fields and is considered one of the most powerful. As with any search engine, spend some time exploring all of the features of PubMed before beginning your search. Spending time exploring the search engine will result in more productive and efficient searches.

As scholarship has moved online and Open Access has gathered momentum, there is growing consensus that alternative metrics are needed. A variety of research metrics are currently used, and the number of different metrics is growing every day.

Scopus is an abstract and citation database of research and covers health, life, physical and social sciences. The Scopus database contains more than 75 million records, 24,600 titles and 5,000 publishers. Scopus includes a number of different tools that allow researchers to search for documents, track citations over time and analyse search results.

Blog posts are short, easy reads usually intended for non-specialist audiences. Because of their short format, it can be a challenge to distil the main essence of a large topic into only a few hundred words, so here are some tips on how to break down this task and what to look out for.

Writing about complex science can be challenging, especially when you’re used to speaking to other professionals in your field every day, where a common understanding of the language you use is taken for granted. Here, we discuss some helpful tips around what to do, and what not to do.

Commercialisation of innovative ideas and technologies is an often-necessary step to having real impact, but can be a daunting prospect, especially as an academic researcher. Here, we discuss how to present research to industry, whether it’s to establish collaborative partnerships or seek investment.