ABSTRACT
The student’s first step towards a research degree is to find himself a place - a process that is like the search for an undergraduate place in that the student may again be applying to a number of universities but also differs from it in a number of ways. Students in science and technology need to persuade the right person to order their equipment, and also to establish friendly relations with the chief technician, in order to get jobs done in the workshop. The student is going to try to extend human knowledge a little and perhaps be the main expert in one small field, and so the choice of his research topic is a most important decision, possibly deciding his field of work for many years to come. The techniques needed for research were best learnt while doing it, the student being given specialist help and advice by his supervisor, librarians, laboratory technicians and others as the need arose.
