How to write your PhD literature review WITHOUT using AI, part 2

[@TheRawTales]

I started my PhD this month. Coming across this video just now was the best part of my day. Thank you so much James!

[@jennylee1079]

Thank you James. I just LOVE the way you explain things, practical, thoughtful, concise. Thank you for making these videos. I am a mature student returning to academia… currently at the stage of developing the PhD proposal. Really look forward to learning more from you.

[@Goldpoint3295]

Thank you for coming to KZbin. You are the voice that I always wanted to hear❤

[@httv8677]

must watch after a long day of read and writing.always a refreshing thought.thank you James.

[@JohnnyBGood-lq2kq]

I am a first year phd student. Struggling in literature review, and going to resubmission. This video helps me a lot!!! thank you so much ♥

[@jordanbrown3887]

I just came back from the field to start writing my dissertation. Thank you SO much!!

[@simonclark5936]

I enjoyed the subtle Fight Club reference. Gotta amuse yourself where you can! Great video as always; thank you.

[@James_Hayton]

Glad somebody noticed! There was a Good Will Hunting reference a few weeks ago that nobody picked up on

[@saheedlawal4598]

Watching this for a bachelor degree research. Good stuff

[@studentbsb]

Wish I could give it 1000 likes, thank you James.

[@katcollins990]

This was so helpful. Thank you!

[@unchainedwarriortv]

Great Job! Thank you Sir!

[@efra_delawer]

Very useful. Greets from Mexico city!

[@ethanoyamawang]

Will you have any MSc dissertation thesis courses? Mahalo!

[@xiaonanz9411]

Hello Dr. Hayton, thank you for the video! When I write lit review, I always encounter a scenario where I search/read new articles while writing and try to incorporate them into my writing, which is very distracting and disrupt my writing flow. Is it common struggle? Any suggestions?

[@James_Hayton]

It's a common struggle! I think it's important to do the bulk of the reading before you start to write so you have an idea what you want to say about the literature. If you do extra reading as you're writing, don't try to incorporate each new paper as you read it--you need a reason to incorporate it. Does it serve as a good example of something? Does it provide an important insight? Does it contain useful data or evidence? If not, put it to one side and carry on writing (or search for a paper that better serves the needs of your review)

[@xiaonanz9411]

@@James_Hayton Thank you for your reply, Dr. Hayton! Do you have any recommendations for like softwares to organize articles?

[@James_Hayton]

I don't really do software recommendations as everyone has different needs and preferences (and i tend to focus on fundamental skills that don't change with software). Try a few and see what works best for you!

[@xiaonanz9411]

@@James_Hayton Thanks, Dr. Hayton! I've finally built up my courage to start working on it!

[@l-amcclean2048]

Please help me with honing in on a research topic! I am interdisciplinary (HCI/human factors… safe human-ai teaming) and there are so many things that I’m curious about and so many interesting conversations in the research. Trying to figure out what will captivate my interests for 4 years and link to my professional interests too (am back to academia after 25 years in industry). Given I’m far from my undergrad life - I’m not relying on academic background in a particular teaching program and it’s worrying me!

[@jemo1108]

This is very good advice. How can I get in touch with you. I'm considering starting my PhD, but still stuck.

[@James_Hayton]

phd.academy/contact

[@DRO-zr2zg]

But how to know that is the best paper/research to use?

[@James_Hayton]

I cover this a little in part 1, but there are a few different ways to judge depending on what you want to use the reference for. The easiest to identify are the most cited papers- you at least know that they've had a lot of influence on the field. If you're looking for literature on a very specific topic (or for the most recent literature), then you may not be able use citations as a metric and you have to make your own judgement. This relies on a good understanding of research and analytical techniques to be able to assess the design and execution of the study. To some extent you can also judge from the quality and clarity of the writing. Do they clearly explain what they've done? Or do they hide details or contradict themselves? It does take time to learn how to distinguish between good research and bad, but one way you could practice is by starting a journal club where you get together with other PhD students and discuss a paper in detail.

[@chrisandbriantrotman]

Hey James I'm trying to subscribe to your newsletter and join the writing course but the website fields won't allow me to submit. I've tried different email addresses and devices without any luck. Do you have any suggestions?

[@James_Hayton]

Thanks for letting me know! I'll look into it and get it fixed.

[@James_Hayton]

I've fixed the issue so it should work now

[@chrisandbriantrotman]

Thanks for fixing James - all good now!

[@Acclaim216]

I am about to start my PhD program. Can you help me through this journey 🙏🏽

[@abubakarjabo6808]

Is systematic review more scientific than traditional review? Most people shift their attention to a systematic review

[@James_Hayton]

Most people? I'm not sure about that. Systematic reviews aren't always necessary

[@abubakarjabo6808]

@@James_Hayton Thank you.

[@maiajintcharadze7485]

May I ask you why you are a former or recovering physicist? :)

[@James_Hayton]

After my PhD i did 2 postdocs, then I went freelance coaching PhD students.

[@sirius_scorpion]

Nice! AI has its uses but let's not become overly dependent on it. Go against the grain!

[@rbpompeu1]

This is a must-watch video. AI is making people lazy and lenient to mistakes.

[@adityapatel8156]

Can we use AI tool get main idea or to understant the context of paper ? Can we use keywords of thesis title or manuscript title to search a releveant paper ? Otherwise understanding these question becomes difficult and time consuming.please suggest!

[@James_Hayton]

I personally wouldn’t use AI. you need to build your own knowledge of the field (as I explain in part 1). If you want quick and easy then you can use AI, but you won’t understand anything. it takes time and effort to get to know the literature

[@adityapatel8156]

@@James_Hayton Actually english is your first language but it's my second so can you give any tips to retrieve main idea from relevant paper and understood at same time

[@James_Hayton]

Have you watched part 1? It's not just about understanding the points of an individual paper- first you need to know the general trends in the field, common terminology and techniques, as well as some of the key influential papers. You need this foundational knowledge before you start trying to retrieve ideas from individual papers. Regarding language, if you know English is an issue, invest time in improving it (read a lot, not just academic text, in English, maybe hire a tutor). If you rely on AI too much then you'll never improve this crucial skill

[@giuf175]

@@adityapatel8156 If you cant do that you have no business doing a phd.

[@James_Hayton]

That's a bit harsh. It's a skill you have to learn (I certainly didn't know how to do it when I started). A PhD is about developing skills, not showing how good you already are.