How to be a winner - advice for students starting into research workhttp:/www.seas.upenn.edu/andre/general/student_research_advice.html Dont get hung up trying to understand everything at the outset The biggest challenge you face at the onset of any new project is that there is a huge (seemingly overwhelming) amount of stuff you need to know to tackle your problem properly. While this phenomenon is true in the small for the beginning researcher, it is also true in the large for any research project. So learning how to cope with this challenge is an important skill to to master to become a good researcher. In contrast, blocking your action and progress while waiting for complete knowledge is the road to failure. Coping mechanisms employed by winners include:prioritizing (what do I need to know most)read (everything made available to you, and seek out more; but dont put months of reading between you and getting started doing things.)multithreading (when blocked on one item or path, is there another I can productively pursue?)pursuing multiple, possible solution techniques (maybe some have easier/less blocks paths than others)wishful thinking (ok, lets assume this subproblem is solved, does that allow me to go on and solve other problems?)pester people who might have some of the information you need (you might think they should know what you need to know, but often they dont have a clear idea of what you do and dont know; start by getting them to give you pointers to things you can use to help yourself. Show respect for their time and always follow up on the resources youve been given before asking for a personal explanation.)propose working models - maybe they are wrong or different from others, but they give you something to work with and something concrete to discuss and compare with others. You will refine your models continually, but its good to have something concrete in mind to work with.Losers will stop the first time they run into something they dont know, cannot solve a problem, or encounter trouble slightly out of what they consider their part of the problem and then offer excuses for why they cannot make any progress. Winners consider the whole problem theirs and look for paths around every hangup. Losers make sure there is someone or something to blame for their lack of progress. Winners find ways to make progress despite complications. Losers know all the reasons it cannot be done Winners find a way to do it.Communicate and Synchronize OftenOf course, when you do have to build your own models, solve unexpected problems, make assumptions, etc. do make sure to communicate and synchronize with your fellow researchers. Do they have different models from yours? What can you learn from each others models and assumptions? Let them know what youre thinking, where youre stuck, and how youre trying to get around your problems.DecomposeThe whole problem often seems overwhelming. Decompose it into manageable pieces (preferably, with each piece a stable intermediate). Tackle the pieces one at a time. Divide and conquer. This may sound obvious, but it works. Ive turned numerous problems which appeared frightening in scope into many 1-day or 2-day tasks, and then tackled each nice, contained 1-2 day task as I came to it. As I understood more, new problems and tasks arose, but they could all be broken back down to bite sized pieces which would be tackled one at a time.Be OrganizedIn computer systems especially, the biggest limitation to our ability to conquer problems is complexity. You need to work continually to structure the problem and your understanding of it to tackle the inherent complexity. Keep careful track of what you have done and what you need to do. Make lists; write it down; dont rely on your memory (or worse, yet, your supervisors memory) to hold all the things you need to do and all the intermediate issues you need to address.PrioritizeMake priorities in your efforts and check your priorities with your supervisor. A common occurrence is for your supervisor to ask you to do A, forget about it, and then ask you to do B before you could possibly have finished A. If you are uncertain on whether B should take priority over A, definitely ask. Sometimes it will, but often it wont, and your supervisor will be glad that you reminded him you were busy solving A. Keep track of B, and when you finish A, see if B still makes sense to pursue.Realize that your supervisor is busyYour professor or graduate student supervisor is busy. He hired you to help him get more accomplished than he could have on his own. Your biggest benefit to him is when you can be self moving and motivating. Do not expect your supervisor to solve all your problems. Find out what he has thought about and suggests for a stating point and work from there. But, realize there may become a time when you have put more quality thought into something than he has (an