Hi all,
I’m currently working on a small piece of exploratory research as part of my PhD, and I’ve noticed that the existing literature on this particular niche feels quite fragmented, there are bits and pieces, but not much that brings it together in a coherent way.
That got me genuinely interested, and I would to work on it as maybe a small side project. I would continue the work in my own time and eventually write something like a blog post or an essay. This would be completely outside my PhD scope, more of a “passion project” in the evenings/weekends.
At the same time, I’m trying to think about how realistic this would be, and I have a few concerns:
- I’m not sure if this is considered a sensible use of time in academia, or if it’s unusual or even a bit naïve
- I worry it might indirectly take up other people’s time, which I want to avoid
- I’m not really sure how to shape something like this
- I don’t know how to bring this up with my supervisors
- I don’t want it to come across as if I’m asking them for extra time or effort on something outside my PhD, but they might find it interesting too.
- Part of me worries this might sound like a “dumb” idea within academia, but I’m also genuinely enthusiastic and interested, so I wanted to ask about your experiences.
My intention would be to keep it small, clearly bounded, and (mostly) independent.
So I’m curious: have others done something similar during their PhD? How did you approach it, or should I just forget about it?
For context, I have a good relationship with my supervisors and speak to them regularly. They seem to have a good impression of me, and I want to keep it that way, so I'm a bit insecure about sharing bold ideas with them.