As I write, The USA has one more sleep till election day – and the world will breathe out. It’s been rough watching Donald and Hillary duke it out. Just to be clear US based readers – I am not judging you by the level of discourse amongst your politicians. Australia had an election in …continue reading.

Advice is plentiful at the start of any big life journey: marraige, pregnancy… and starting your PhD. Friends and family have no hesitation in offering it and this blog is now but one amongst many offering stories and ideas about the start of the PhD journey. What advice should you listen to and what should …continue reading.

This post is by Dr Catherine Ayres, who completed her PhD in the School of Sociology at the ANU in 2016. She’s worked as a research training nerd at the ANU Research Skills and Training unit. This post was written at a bit of a low point. Cathy wants you to know that she is …continue reading.

I’m constantly surprised (although I don’t know why) at the ability of a PhD program to trigger a full blown existential crisis. While most of the time the feelings will pass, sometimes the crisis is a good thing – it’s your subconcious speaking and you’d be advised to listen. Last week an ANU student, let’s …continue reading.

This post is by Dr Samantha Hall After completing my PhD last year I was set on putting all the recommendations I had made into place. I wanted this research to make a real difference. And out into the world I went. I co-founded a business during my PhD that I started to grow, and …continue reading.

This post is by my twin sister Anitra Nottingham. It will not surprise you that Anitra is an academic too and supervises people doing masters of fine art in communication. In the past she has told us how her thesis was a cupcake, not a dragon and about her experiences learning Derrida. In this post …continue reading.

This post is by Belinda Lawton who is doing a PhD in the Crawford School at the Australian National University Struggling with balance isn’t new for me; I’ve always been a full-throttle, grab-life-by-the-shoulders-and-shake kind of person. So when it came to starting my PhD, saying yes to opportunities to learn and stretch myself alongside the …continue reading.

One of the joys of Whispering is the letters I receive from PhD candidates from all over the world, thanking me and asking for advice. The Whisperer runs on love – and I am grateful everytime someone takes the time to write me and tell me that it was useful. Some of these letters make …continue reading.

This post is by Lara Skelly, who graduated about a year ago now I graduated with a doctorate in April this year. “It must feel fantastic”, people say, “you must feel so free”, and “what’s next?” Here’s the thing though: it doesn’t, and I have no idea what to do next. I’ve had a different …continue reading.

A couple of weeks ago, the Guardian article “I’m a serious academic, not a professional instagrammer” caused a bit of a stir in my online community. The basic thrust of the piece was that those who engage in social media are just showing off. Tseen Khoo on the Research Whisperer correctly identified the humble bragging …continue reading.