Personal agenda

Often it is personal motivations that inspire people to investigate a specific topic or gives them the desire to take on the job of giving voice to marginalised groups, or in some way they want to set the record straight against tides of stereotypes and misinformation that can spuriously inform our understanding of the world. Personal insights or close contact with certain groups, lifestyles or experiences are familiar reasons for pursuing further studies in the social sciences and humanities. Below, Sonali Shah reflects on how her own experiences as an Asian woman living with a physical
impairment led her to study for a PhD:

I applied for a journalism course, passed the entrance exam and was also given abursary. However, I was not given a place because the employers thought that my disability would prevent me from achieving and coping with the work required. This was seen as a significant turning point in my future professional orientation. It was this and previous experiences of disability discrimination, coupled with the Asian achievement-oriented culture within which I was brought up, that influenced my decision to pursue academic research to investigate what makes a disabled high-flyer.

No doubt you will meet people with interesting personal connections to their PhD
topic and fieldwork site. This can often be an inspirational motivation to take

Motivation to Do Phd

Career development

Lack of job satisfaction

Personal agenda

Research as politics

Drifting In