• Question: do you work on your own or in a group?

    Asked by jess to Rebecca, Laura, Francesca, Andrew, Matthew on 7 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by BeckyJadeR, chloemorris, ellencole.
    • Photo: Rebecca Ingle

      Rebecca Ingle answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      I have quite a big research group but like most PhD students, I do most of my work on my own. I have one experiment that I’m completely responsible for but I’ll work with other people on different experiments from time to time. All my computational chemistry I do by myself as well.

      I think it’s a lot more exciting to be working on my own ideas, though having a research group is really nice because it means there’s loads of people to go to for advice. However, sometimes it’s frustrating when I don’t know how to fix my own experiment as there isn’t really anyone else who knows how to do it either!

    • Photo: Francesca Palombo

      Francesca Palombo answered on 8 Nov 2014:

      I work in a research group of around 10 people – it makes a great difference when we can support each other

    • Photo: Laura Schofield

      Laura Schofield answered on 8 Nov 2014:

      I, like Rebecca, work mainly on my own. I’m in a lab with 3 other people and a research group of 18 but my research is my own and no one in the Uni works on anything that close. It means that any achievements are my own but it does get tough when no one else can help me work out what I’ve done wrong sometimes!

    • Photo: Andrew McKinley

      Andrew McKinley answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      There are aspects of my work which I do on my own (teaching a tutorial class of undergraduates), but much is done as a group – discussing findings, outcomes, what we want to achieve, and how we are going to do it.

    • Photo: Matthew Camilleri

      Matthew Camilleri answered on 20 Nov 2014:

      My project is an individual project but I do work in lab where other people are working on their own projects. There are times when different projects overlap, and therefore you tend to work together in order not to waste any time.

      There are other times where your work actually disproves a theory put forward by one of your lab mates, and that is actually really awkward and useful at the same time, cos you would not want any of your friends to publish data that is not correct.

Comments