來源丨科研大匠?圖源veer“博士難畢”是全球博士都面臨的頭疼問題。在美國，每年都有70%以上的博士不能按時畢業(yè)。在我國，這個比例在2012年時，約為40%，到了今年，已經(jīng)有超過65%的博士無法按時畢業(yè)。以后比例恐將更高。今年以來，降低論文復制比，碩博被大規(guī)模清退的新聞是一個接一個，由此可窺見一斑。我們知道，Nature一向很關(guān)注博士的成長，不僅每兩年就有一次全球博士大調(diào)查，雖然調(diào)查結(jié)果被吐槽為“”，但同時，Nature也會經(jīng)常推出幫助博士們更好成長的具體建議。?今天就為大家分享一篇來自Nature的教你如何拿到博士學位的六個項目管理技巧“Six project-management tips for your PhD”。這些tips可以很大程度上降低不確定性，已經(jīng)被證實確實可以增加成功幾率。目前已經(jīng)成功“出圈”，影響到學術(shù)圈以外，經(jīng)常被一些企業(yè)拿來使用。文章作者是一名來自喬治亞理工學院（與麻省理工，加州理工并稱為美國三大理工學院）的生物工程專業(yè)（全美前3）的準博士Angel Santiago-Lopez（即將拿到學位）。作者在讀博期間，自己總結(jié)了這套項目管理技能，并親身實踐驗證，很快就要順利拿下博士學位了，相信對你也會很有幫助，分享給大家。六個策略建議都有一個核心：定義未定義。define the undefined佐治亞理工學院（Georgia Institute of Technology），簡稱Georgia Tech，也被簡稱為Gatech或GT，建校于1885年，是坐落于美國東南部第一大城市亞特蘭大的世界頂尖研究型大學。它與麻省理工學院和加州理工學院并稱為美國三大理工學院。在2020年《USNews》排名中其工程院下各系均位列全美前五，工業(yè)工程第1，生物醫(yī)學工程第3，計算機工程第5等。
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想清楚要干嘛，明確你的時間表Define your timeline新學期一開始，就要想清楚你這學期是要干嘛，Define it，明確出來，你在這學期結(jié)束時要完成哪些任務，達到什么程度？時刻牢記在心。接著制定出你這個學期的研究項目（比如完成一篇paper綜述的初稿）和你的研究生課程（比如進行博士論文答辯）的主要目標和關(guān)鍵時間節(jié)點，以此來開始每個學期的研究生涯。把要達到的目標進行分解，細化到每個措施。對此，你要評估好你完成任務所需的時間和項目本身規(guī)定的deadline。然后對每個項目進行優(yōu)先級排序，以便具有可操作性。Start the academic semester with the end in mind. What would you like to accomplish by then? Begin each academic term by defining major milestones associated with your research project (for example, completing the first draft of a review article) and your graduate programme (for example, conducting a PhD-proposal defence).Break down what actions you need to take to achieve each goal. At this point, you can assess the time commitment required, as well as existing hard deadlines, then prioritize each action item to fit within the time available for the semester.
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隨時準備被”打臉”
計劃中斷，隨時調(diào)整，備好Plan B
?Prepare to be ‘punched in the mouth’美國拳擊手邁克·泰森（Mike Tyson）曾經(jīng)說過：“每個人都有一個計劃，直到他們被打臉?！?很多不可控的突發(fā)事件（比如實驗室中的管道破裂或領(lǐng)導變更截止日期）都會打亂你的計劃。最重要的是，你要記住，計劃永遠趕不上變化，隨時準備調(diào)整！考慮到研究項目的動態(tài)變化，我在學期中進行了一次修訂，來重新評估總體進度并確定優(yōu)先項。做計劃時，最好提前預留足夠的騰挪空間：制定任務時間表時多預留點時間以備后患，防止突發(fā)事件影響到項目的整體推進節(jié)奏。American boxer Mike Tyson once said “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. Unforeseeable events (such as a broken pipe in your laboratory or a change in deadlines from your supervisor) will affect your timeline. It is important to keep in mind that the projected path for your semester will need continuous readjustment. To account for the dynamic nature of a research project, I perform a mid-semester revision to assess overall progress and decide which aspects to prioritize. It is good practice to build margins into your schedule: overestimate the time required to complete a specific task. Margins will serve as a protective cushion against unpredictable events that threaten to thwart your progress.
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制定明確的項目計劃列表Define your project scope你的項目計劃首先應該明確闡明你的總體目標，然后列出你預期在項目中要完成的具體事項的列表。這部分可以簡化成一個“主要待辦事項列表”，一旦全部勾選完畢，就表示項目已經(jīng)完成。Your project scope should start with a clear statement of overall goals, followed by a list of specific things that you expect to deliver in the course of your project. This part can be simplified as a ‘master to-do list’ that, once all checked off, will indicate project completion.
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增加價值，而不是實驗Add value, not experiments?為了使項目價值（或影響）最大化，哪些是絕對的、必須要做的？在制定你的主任務清單時，哪些是能給你的項目帶來最大價值的，這個一定要多思考，想清楚！一旦明確下來，拼盡全力，完成它們！作為一個研究生，我們常常迷失于學術(shù)自由和科學好奇心不能自拔。但要切記，偶爾開個小差沒關(guān)系，千萬不要以你的“好奇心”為借口，來證明你在項目范圍之外的“釣魚”是合理的。作為一名研究生，你的時間有限，通常，你的資源也很有限。What is absolutely needed to maximize the value (or impact) of your project? When creating your master to-do list, reflect on what would bring the most value to your project. Once these elements have been identified, devote all your efforts to completing them to the best of your ability. As graduate students, we are sensitive to the double-edged sword of academic freedom and scientific curiosity. You should let your curiosity take the driver’s seat in some cases, but do not use scientific curiosity to justify fishing expeditions outside your project scope. As a graduate student, you have limited time and, often, limited resources.
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定“好”指標，最好細化明確?Define metrics of success指標定的好可以帶來節(jié)節(jié)勝利。你的主任務列表上的每個項目成功的標準是什么？如何評判？盡量明確出來，有了這些評判標準，將有助于確定你是否在朝著正確的方向前進。理想情況下，達成每個指標應該都可以讓你對研究項目最終結(jié)果的認識向前推進一步。我認為達成每一個指標都是一次小小的勝利，都能增強我們繼續(xù)前進的信心。Well-defined metrics of success lead to small victories. What does success look like for each item on your master to-do list? Having these metrics in place helps to address whether you are moving in the right direction. Ideally, reaching each metric should provide a glimpse of the final product of your research project. I consider reaching each metric a small victory, and each provides a boost of confidence to keep moving forward.
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通過前期的失敗來取得進步?Make progress by failing early
失敗是每個搞研究的必經(jīng)過程。對失敗的恐懼會讓你患上“分析癱瘓”癥，最終嚴重影響你的產(chǎn)出效率。而這通常都是由于你過度思考要達到目標所要做的事情導致的。以我的經(jīng)驗，當你面臨很多風險或事關(guān)重大時，這種分析癱瘓很難克服。為了避免這種情況，設(shè)計實驗時應該先設(shè)計解決總體研究問題中的一小部分，并預留足夠的前期失敗的騰挪空間-如果你對項目設(shè)計中的關(guān)鍵假設(shè)有誤，那越早知道越好。早期失敗是成功的失敗，因為它可以讓你重新校準并快速搞定項目的存在的問題。Failure is inherent to the research process, and fear of failure can damage your productivity by inducing what is known as analysis paralysis — the inaction that comes from overthinking what needs to be done to achieve one’s goals. In my experience, analysis paralysis is hard to overcome when there is a lot at stake. To avoid this, design experiments that address small portions of your overarching research question and give you space to fail early — if you’re wrong about a key assumption in your project design, you’ll want to know as soon as possible. An early failure is a successful failure because it allows you to recalibrate and quickly address the shortcomings of your project.
