Oh, we’re halfway there — how the second year of my PhD went
By: Tilly Potter
Tags: Work From Home, Year In Review, PhD, Covid 19, Academia

Living on a prayer (trying) to do human research in times of Covid

The start of the second year of my PhD is now a distant memory, as it began back in October 2019, when it was still possible to do things like have my parents come up to visit for the weekend (oh, how we took things for granted…). Suffice to say, a LOT has changed since then, so it’s worth unpacking what a crazy year and a bit it has been. For those who don’t know, I am doing a PhD in nutrition (but with statistics and health psychology elements) in Aberdeen (UK).

The calm before the storm (taken on Balmedie beach, Oct ‘19)

In October 2019, my human nutrition study was starting to take shape, but I was still ironing out creases in its design, what intervention we would use and the methods we would undertake. It turns out that designing your own human nutrition study from scratch, particularly one with a more “unusual” design, takes a lot more time than you think (a common problem for most aspects of a PhD, really!). Not only do you have to find the right colleagues to help with each element, but you also have to produce a mound of paperwork that has to be checked by all your supervisors!

I had given myself a deadline for submitting my study protocol and associated paperwork to ethics, as I’d found out that from early December (2019), I would be taking 3 months out of my PhD for a Scottish Government-funded internship with Foods Standards Scotland in Aberdeen. I was looking forward to getting some work experience with a government body, and was also relieved that it shifted my PhD back 3 months, rather than taking time out of it (other internships/placements can be less generous) — hence why I am only finishing my 2nd year now, in December 2020. Knowing that my study would take time to be processed through various ethics committees, submitting it by December 2019 would essentially buy me extra PhD time upon my return. Of course, things are never this smooth. Although I did meet this deadline (thereabouts), I had comments to address just a couple of weeks into my internship before resubmitting, so I ended up balancing internship and PhD work — something the funders advise against, but it’s easier said than done “stopping” your PhD partway through!

So in December 2019, I left the confines of the Rowett Institute and had a new commute to the other side of Aberdeen (thankfully, my partner had recently bought a car). I admit, I went through ups and downs with the internship. One of the things I found difficult, as someone who likes to work flexibly, was how I was expected to keep a timesheet and work a set number of hours (and minutes!) each day. Thankfully, my supervisors didn’t mind me sometimes working from home or cafes with the laptop I was provided, particularly as the office was quiet and my main supervisor worked from a different office. I was actually glad that I had some PhD work ticking along in the background, as it provided some variety to my new routine. But it wasn’t all bad. I did learn about a new area, and it was good to take a “breather” from certain aspects of my PhD. Towards the end of my placement I got to visit the offices in Edinburgh which provided a nice excuse to see a bit of the city too, and my presentations that I gave on both my PhD and the work I did during the internship received good feedback from my colleagues. However, I wasn’t able to deliver the presentation on my final day to my main supervisor in person, as there were the first rumblings of concern regarding the big issue of this year!

When I got back to my usual desk at the institute in early March, awaiting to hear news of my study being approved, I didn’t think that rumours of coronavirus and the university shutting would come to much. I started making preparations for starting my study, and received ethical approval the next day. Things seemed to be going to plan!

Of course, it was all too good to be true. The penny finally dropped when on Monday 16th March, sitting at my desk, I watched the news conference where we were told to start working from home. I gathered up my things that evening and went home in disbelief. People were saying the university could be closed for 3–4 months, and I couldn’t believe it (haha! How naive). Rather than launching recruitment as planned, I was receiving emails saying that all human studies were on hold indefinitely.

Fortunately(!), I still had a large portion of data analysis to do related to the other side of my project, so I was able to keep myself busy while suddenly working from home. I know that everyone responded differently at the start of the pandemic, but for me I was able to be quite productive at the start, as it seemed a bit of a ‘novelty’ working from home to begin with, but as time wore on, it became more of a drag. Optimistically, I planned how we could edit my study design if it were allowed to be conducted remotely ASAP. We were allowed back to work briefly to grab some materials, and I was very glad to collect a second screen, and eventually, my desk chair (only after my back suffered, though). However, spending all day doing data analysis, particularly when I’d been looking forward to launching my study, got increasingly difficult as time went on. I ended up writing a review to mix things up a bit, which is probably the best decision I made, as it is now in press, and provided respite from continual data analysis.

I was finally able to take some leave and return home when restrictions lifted in July, but a question mark was still hanging over when my study would be permitted to run. When Aberdeen went into a local lockdown in August it was probably the most difficult time, where it felt like everything was moving backwards once more. I’d calculated that I’d need to start participants by January 2021 at the very latest, meaning I needed to be approved for recruitment before then, if I were to have enough time to get my study done. Unsurprisingly, I learned there were extra difficulties to overcome — amending the study, resubmitting, and getting special approval to start and be allowed back in the building. This included undertaking PPE training and abiding by a number of new Covid-secure SOPs. Finally, I received approval to start recruitment at the end of October — hurrah!

As is typical with a PhD, not only did things start happening regarding my human study, but other aspects of my project got busy at the same time too — I had to do amendments for my review, submit an abstract and poster, and finish off analysis so I could write two reports. Although I like being busy, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. It was nice to be back at work, but I hadn’t realised how much time study-related organisation would take, and how tiring it would be! I therefore had a chat with my supervisor about pushing back a couple of deadlines, which fortunately she was really nice about. It means I have work to do over Christmas, but I feel better now things have been spaced out. Knowing that many people struggle and stress over a PhD, I knew I didn’t want to feel that way and that if you don’t ask, you won’t get!

I am entering the new year with my first few participants started on my study and admittedly with work still to do that I had hoped would be done by now, but I am overall pleased with my progress in what has been a tumultuous year. I have certainly learned to be a lot less optimistic and a lot more realistic about PhD timescales, though it is also important to celebrate the wins you do get. It hasn’t been a write-off year — I feel I’ve learned a lot, not just about my PhD, but about what matters in life too — and that health and wellbeing should be top of this list. In the last month I have been doing a running challenge, which although has made me even busier, has helped give me a focus outside of work and lowered my stress levels. I know that I will be able to cope with whatever 2021 throws at me, with the aim that I’ll continue to make steady progress over the next year.

Thanks to anyone who reads this and let me know how your 2020 has been (whether you’re a PhD student or not)!