Reading for a PhD

Postgraduate students often ask How much reading they should be doing. There is no one answer but this brief audio recording offers a few ideas as to what is a suitable length. Importantly, it argues that you cannot make a contribution through your research if you don’t know about the current debates in the literature.

This audio and transcript offer a means of assessing how much reading is enough for postgraduate studies. It looks at the hours that should be spent reading and the purpose of reading. The transcript also offers links to a number of other resources.

Developed by Sioux McKenna, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Rhodes University. Download the transcript here.

Explore these additional resources

• I strongly recommend watching the video on how to keep reading journal to help you with this process.
• Writing resources book – see especially the section on keeping a reading map
• Two minute tips – these short videos outline how your relationship to the literature changes at postgraduate level:
  • https://postgradenvironments.com/2018/08/06/2-minute-tip-1-joining-the-conversation/
  • https://postgradenvironments.com/2018/08/06/2-minute-tip-2-relationship-to-texts/
  • https://postgradenvironments.com/2018/08/06/2-minute-tip-3-direct-and-indirect-quotes/
• Just Write video – this video shows the indivisible link between reading and writing at postgraduate level (Remember the mantra: “For every reading there must be a writing.”)