Select courses that coincide with your research interests and
qualifying exam topics. In my opinion, don't take courses unless they
are directly relevant to your research (or are required), but
do enroll in courses that are relevant.
- Course listing...
- Qualifying exam info:
Experimenting
Once you've designed an experiment, you need to implement it and
analyze the results.
- Learn to program E-Prime on the PC's.
- Learn the administrative procedures for running human
participants in experiments, for both "subject pool"
participants and paid participants.
- Learn how to write and print Instructions to Experimenters using
LaTeX.
- Learn to use SPSS.
Modeling
Explanatory principles are buttressed when their formal expressions
fit the data.
- Learn to program in C++.
- Learn good programming style: Explicit logical flow, clear
and profuse comments, no undefined arbitrary constants,
mnemonic variable names, etc.
- Learn about the relation of parameter adjustment programs
and the model-fit programs they call.
- Learn about statistical measures of fit such as G^2,
chi^2, and RMSD. A good source is T. D. Wickens (1989),
Multiway contingency tables analysis for the social
sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
- Learn about Kruschke's philosophy of modeling - its role
in explanation, etc. See, e.g., Section 4 of Explanatory
Principles in ALCOVE.
Writing and Presenting
Even the best research is worthless (and won't get published) if
you can't communicate it clearly.
- Learn to use LaTeX and BibTeX.
- Learn to use a good graphing program.
- Learn to use a good drawing program
(for diagrams and illustrations).
- Use a spelling checker. Use a thesaurus.
- Get a copy of the APA Publication
Manual, 4th Edition, and use it.
- Edit and re-edit your writing mercilessly. There's almost
always a better way to say anything. (I could have said that
better, too.) Have others critique
your papers before submitting them for publication.
- Give talks (e.g., cognitive lunch, Hoosier Mental Life,
etc.), and give practice talks before giving your talks.
Keeping it together
Graduate school (and the rest of life) places a lot of demands on
your time. Never give up!
- Get a daily schedule book and use it. Carry it with
you. (I tend to avoid computerized schedule books because they
can't be carried with you.)
- Keep a regular schedule. Try not to "pull all nighters."
- It's your life. Every moment is a moment of choice.
Choose what's important.
- There's no substitute for sheer number of hours at work.
There aren't any shortcuts, but there are ways to use time as
efficiently and effectively as possible. For example, The
Student Academic Center offers courses in study skills,
including time management, reading and note-taking, library
use, etc. There are courses for credit, personal counselors,
and computer tutorials. They are located at 316 N. Jordan, and
their phone number is 855-7313.
- Physical and emotional fitness are important!
IU has resources for
physical and emotional health
and for
physical fitness (but I guess not for emotional fitness).
- DESIDERATA.
Becoming a scientist and professor
Across disciplines, fewer than 50% of people who achieve a Ph.D. go
on to careers in academia. So be open to multiple possible career
paths.
You don't get into academia for the money (there isn't much,
compared to other careers that require comparable education and hours
at work). You do it because you feel it's where you are best suited to
make your personal best contribution to culture and society. Even William James thought so.
Being a scientist is like having one's own business
Intellectual considerations
Practical considerations
- Learn how to teach effectively
- Learn about and participate in administrative and service roles
- Learn about the process of getting a job: Cultivate
letters of recommendation, prepare for interviews, etc.
- Have a professional Web page. Learn html:
- Be aware of professional organizations and mailing lists:
- Tipping. (humor)
Excellence, Research, and Teaching