Yikes, work load!

[voyeurofthemind]

I just started my doc program and as I expected it is a massive amount of reading. I am making it through it all but some of this reading is extremely dense, wordy etc. I am using the study skills I have and trying to pull key concepts but I am concerned about retention. Professors seem to be able to just regurgitate all this info off the top of their heads (granted they've been in the field for 20+) years but I can barely hold onto what I read from one reading to the next. I guess I am starting to reflect on the importance of the material and the need to actually retain this as I will need this information to be a competent professional in about 5 years. Just wanted to get some shared experience. Is this lack of rention/ difficulty with the level of material normal ? Any strategies for long term retention or does it just come in time? I don't want to just get by, I want to retain and be excellent in my field.

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[cara susanna]

Yes, this is entirely normal and is in fact a common criticism of the reading load in graduate courses. The important thing is to grasp the overall concept that each reading is pointing to (usually there will be a common theme or take-home message that you can integrate from all of the articles/chapters).

 

[Ollie123]

One thing I've learned: Retention of details actually matters very, very little in this field. In 98% of situations, if you need to know it you can go back and look it up. Build your resources and get the major concepts down, and you'll learn to "figure it out" when you encounter problems by turning to your resources, the literature, etc. Grad school is about learning to think, not memorizing. Some of it is unavoidable, but if that becomes a focus you are going about things the wrong way.

The awe at the knowledge of faculty will go away pretty quickly. I occasionally have to remind our faculty what the results were of papers they wrote. That's not to say they aren't very intelligent, but I've met and worked with a lot of "big names" and have yet to meet anyone with psychology super-powers. They sat down and figured out the syntax for the analysis by plugging in random crap until it worked, they cited the papers that popped up in the lit search first and didn't read everything cover to cover, and they spent 3 days pondering how to interpret that result before pulling something out of their butt, saying "Good enough" and sending it off to reviewers just like you will. Only difference is they did this all 20 years ago. Now they've got that syntax they eventually got lucky and figured out to reuse over and over again, learned which papers they need to read and when they can just skim, and have gotten lots of practice at pulling explanations for things out of thin air.

Relax

 

[AcronymAllergy]

One thing I've learned: Retention of details actually matters very, very little in this field. In 98% of situations, if you need to know it you can go back and look it up. Build your resources and get the major concepts down, and you'll learn to "figure it out" when you encounter problems by turning to your resources, the literature, etc. Grad school is about learning to think, not memorizing. Some of it is unavoidable, but if that becomes a focus you are going about things the wrong way.

The awe at the knowledge of faculty will go away pretty quickly. I occasionally have to remind our faculty what the results were of papers they wrote. That's not to say they aren't very intelligent, but I've met and worked with a lot of "big names" and have yet to meet anyone with psychology super-powers. They sat down and figured out the syntax for the analysis by plugging in random crap until it worked, they cited the papers that popped up in the lit search first and didn't read everything cover to cover, and they spent 3 days pondering how to interpret that result before pulling something out of their butt, saying "Good enough" and sending it off to reviewers just like you will. Only difference is they did this all 20 years ago. Now they've got that syntax they eventually got lucky and figured out to reuse over and over again, learned which papers they need to read and when they can just skim, and have gotten lots of practice at pulling explanations for things out of thin air.

Relax

Very true; even the most intelligent and well-read of professors will mix facts up without realizing, or will recall rules of thumb that have since been questioned or altered. It seems like a lot of information to remember because at this point nearly everything is new to you. In three or four years, the important points will be filed away, and will be providing a theoretical/factual scaffolding on which you can then build your understanding of the field.

All in all, as the others said, don't worry too much about your seeming lack of retention. Quiz yourself to be sure you remember key points (especially if a test is coming up), but beyond that, don't be too strict. The very important stuff will continually come up, so it'll be drilled in by the time you're done. Also, as Ollie mentioned, it's often more important (and more realistic) to know or remember where/how to find the information than it is to remember the exact information itself.

Finally, realize that it's very near impossible for you to personally read EVERYTHING you'll be assigned throughout grad school. Thus, in many programs, students will form study groups and divide the papers amongst themselves. You can then provide each other with one- or two-page synopses (the writing of which will aid in retention). One of our professors actually worked this into his assignments in class by providing everyone with a list of all readings, but assigning said readings to different students, who then spent five minutes presenting each article; it generally works great.