Research postgrad orientation - online

So you’ve missed orientation, and the next session isn’t for another three months. Have a skim through our orientation page for research postgraduates to find out what you need to know, with links to more information on each topic.

• Facilities and services

• The research journey

Facilities and services

Parking

Before you even set foot on campus, yes, you do need to purchase a parking permit to park on any of the campuses during the semesters and yes, you will get fined if you don’t have one. If your research commitments entail attending more than one campus, you can apply for a cross campus parking permit.

Study space

Let’s start with the basics, that is, a place to work. Hopefully you have been accommodated in your department. However if not, (or if you are a Distance Education postgraduate and visiting a campus), you’ll need to know about central postgraduate study space.

IT

There are special IT services for research postgraduates, which provide for services such as additional network drive space and extended computer account access. Some of these services are activated by your Faculty IT unit on request.

Access to a range of software is provided.

Library

If you haven’t been in a library for a while, you’ll definitely need some help familiarising yourself with the search systems, resources and library services available to research postgraduates today.

Attend one of the library's introduction classes and workshops or make an appointment with your subject librarian, who can help you to find and use discipline-specific information. Research postgraduates can borrow up to 40 items at a time, and can make use of the docdel service (document delivery service) which can locate and deliver material that is only available from external libraries. Obtain a CAVAL card, which allows you to borrow from other university libraries.

International student orientation

Student advisers run personalised one-hour sessions for international research students covering such topics as overseas health cover; regulations and visas; work rights; money matters and tax file numbers.

Seminars

Make sure you book into some of the postgraduate-specific seminars run on topics such as thesis writing; interviewing and fieldwork; academic writing; time management; statistics; endnote, and many more. Some Expert seminars are available online as podcasts and the MPA also produces a number of interviews as podcasts - see our Comapss Online podcast collection.

Seminars are run on all six Victorian campuses and at off-campus locations - you are welcome to attend any seminar on any campus. If you are on one of the smaller campuses you should know about the free shuttle bus that runs between the metropolitan campuses.

Social events and staying informed

After all that intellectual stimulation you’ll need to debrief and share experiences with other postgraduates at the Monash Postgraduate Association (MPA) social events such as free lunches and fortnightly coffee clubs. The best way to keep abreast of seminars and social events is to subscribe to the MPA Email News which is sent out fortnightly. To keep up with the latest information about scholarships, conferences, seminars and research opportunities, subscribe to the MRGS News. For informal, online chats with other postgraduates, join our online postgrad forum, Postgrad to Postgrad.

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The research journey

Scholarships

It’s hard enough to live on a scholarship income but it’s even harder to live without one at all. If you’ve missed out on a scholarship you can always apply in the next round.

Statistics/ethics

Be aware that if your research involves using biohazards or human or animal participants, you will need to seek ethics approval before you start connecting electrodes to brains or even conducting surveys or interviews. This is also a good time to make an appointment with one of the statistical consultants, who can ensure that the statistical analysis you have in mind is a good fit with your planned research.

Learning skills help

Stuck for words? The library has some great online resources about planning and writing a thesis that are worth a look, and also offer appointments with learning skills advisors. Some faculties employ their own Learning Skills staff to work with research postgraduates to improve academic writing skills.

Referencing

It’s important to properly reference and cite
other people’s work used in your thesis. Plagiarism, even when unintended, is taken very seriously and the consequences can be severe.

Supervision

Aaah supervision! What can we say? It’s the making or breaking of a PhD. At Monash there is a Code of Conduct that sets out what you can expect from your supervisor and department, and what they will expect from you.

You need to make sure you keep your supervisor relationship healthy and happy. Whatever you do, don’t let the situation deteriorate without acting. Things can sometimes look bad, but there’s almost always a solution. If you do find yourself in need of some confidential advice, make an appointment with the MPA Advocate.

Intellectual property

Just a brief word about intellectual property. If your research requires you to sign a deed of assignment or any other document that affects or restricts the ownership or use of your work, you should seek advice from the MPA Advocate before signing.

Travel grants

Don’t forget to apply for a travel grant if you’re planning to present at a conference or undertake fieldwork. Every little bit helps.

Confirmation of canditature

All first year PhD candidates need to work towards the formal confirmation of candidature that will take place around the nine month/one year mark. Talk to your supervisor about what this involves so that you are properly prepared when the big day arrives.

Annual report

There is also an annual report you will be required to fill in to keep everyone informed of your progress. There is a section for you to comment, and a section for your supervisor to comment. Make sure you have good, open communication lines with your supervisor and there won’t be any nasty surprises on either side when the annual report is due.

Authorship

We know you’ve only just started but if you’re the next Einstein your supervisor might get you working on a paper for publication. This will usually be a joint publication with your supervisor and possibly other staff and postgraduates. Have a chat with your supervisor at the beginning of the process to find out how the authorship will work. It’s good for everyone to have an agreed position on this from the outset.

MRGS

The Monash Research Graduate School (MRGS) is the administrative arm that sits over all research training and deals with enrolments, scholarships and candidature-related processes like intermissions, extensions and examinations. Contact the MRGS staff if you have any questions about how it all works.

Advice & advocacy

Finally, if you need some advice or advocacy, drop into one of the MPA offices to speak with the MPA staff or make an appointment to see the MPA Advocate to help get you back on track. You can also check out our advice & advocacy pages and our "Dear Abby" archive of frequently asked questions.

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