The scope of this account is to help you the reader decide if a research degree is want you really want and need. This account provides you with the basic tools to ensure that the ride is as smooth as possible and that you enjoy it as well!

Before reading this brief account bear in mind that it refers to my experience (i.e. a part-time distance PhD with The Open University and Politecnico di Milano in Italy) although there are several commonalities that are independent on who you are and what and where you want to research.
Remember that learning is a life long goal, or so it should be, so perhaps R.L. Stevenson in Familiar Studies of Man and Books sums it up better when he wrote:

The Fundamental Question
Take as long as you need to answer this question as it is THE question.

The answer to this question is so important that without a clear and sincere response it will inevitably lead to much and unnecessary suffering. So take your time….you will only have yourself to blame if you get it wrong!.

My Answer
When I was asked THE question I answered: "This is my opportunity to show to myself and others that both my knowledge, experience and personalilty can be used to add significant knowledge (to science)".
It served me in good stead during three years of hard work, and above all, it helped me through some very dark moments.
There were of course other reasons why I started my PhD, here is just a glimpse:

• I eventually want to teach and a PhD is an excellent credential. In some cases, such as at university, a PhD is usually indispensable and considered an entrance qualification. It is also a very useful way of 'oiling the academic machine'.
• I wanted some extra insurance for my future. In other words I realised that somewhere down the road my CV would be both more attractive and complete with this extra title.
• To prove to myself and others that it could be done.
• To push a frontier of science further and therefore add new knowledge.
• To do independent research.
• To publish work of my own.
• To obtain a universally accepted academic qualification

Some Interesting Facts from the OU
Numbers and statistics are one way of illustrating just why a research degree is unique and in what context you will carry out your research:

This data does not show any trends but it is encouraging to know that research degrees are steadily increasing and that the OU is increasing its efforts to make sure that its research arm is provided with the necessary attention.
In fact rsearch is fast becoming the main flagship of OU quality.

How do I Start?
You start by contacting the OU (free phone 800-790457 from Italy) and asking for a copy of "Prospectus for Research Degrees" alternatively you can look up: http://www3.open.ac.uk/brouchure
After reading the prospectus and are still interested ask the OU to send you the application form for research degree students as this will need to be completed as soon as you have your plan and planning ready.
I seriously recommend you buy a book covering research and research degrees (an example is given later): there are now a wide selection of books to read.
Once you're looked up the subject of research the next step is to prepare a plan and lay down the planning.
Take your time doing this for there is no real rush and make sure that you have as much background information as possible.
For example, it is worth at least looking up science journals of your field of interest, surfing the net and contacting the local university.
Most universities not only have their own websites but professors and researchers usually publish their latest findings there as well. This means you can see if someone else has already done or touched your topic and if there are local centres of excellence or people who are already working in the same field.
The OU library website is: http://oulib1.open.ac.uk

Choosing your Field
There are two sides to this story i.e. you either choose something that no one has ever researched or do something that has already had attention.
In the first case the potential for success, especially for a PhD, is high but beware you are out on your own and experts will be very thin on the ground.
On the other hand adding knowledge is evidently easier here and when you get results to shout about you will be looked upon as the "reference" or expert. The main problem is that you start from scratch and much of the ground work will have to be done by you in person. Some of the work will lead to a dead end! and (good) bibliographic references are more difficult to come across.

In the second case the risk of doing something that has already been done is higher but at least you start off from a known base. That is to say most of the donkey work has been done and bibliographic references will be in abundance, although not necessarily reliable. Also your research will probably focus on one particular aspect of a topic that has already been tackled by others..

Whether you choose case 1 or 2, you will need to weigh up the pros and cons before starting and the decision to do one or the other should be made clear in the plan.
Whatever course you take remember these words by Emerson in Essays (Heroism):

Choosing Your Research Topic
Take your time and above all, be as accurate as you possibly can. Don't be conditioned by your tutors, the company you work for and friends but do listen carefully to their advice and comments. Remember also that your tutors have probably gone though the same experience and are only to willing to give you advice and keep you away from trouble!.
Summarising, I would list the following criteria for choosing a research topic:

1. Choose something that you are naturally inclined to do and that has always interested you.
2. Choose a field and topic where there is ample space for improvement and opportunity to add knowledge.
3. Choose something that is practically feasible and facilitates your research. For example if you need to carry out experimental work or need to consult ancient manuscripts having direct assess and facilities near where you live are not only better but probably essential.
4. Plan all or as many activities in advance as possible and establish the things that will require special attention e.g. sponsorship, library facilities etc.

Remember that to be good at research implies acquiring a weird knack of seeing the invisible, doing the unthinkable and deliberately testing not just your own ideas but also those of others, including your supervisors.
Quoting Bacon (Essays ):

Choosing your Internal and External Supervisor
You will need an internal supervisor (i.e. a tutor at MK) and external supervisor (i.e. local tutor near you). In my case I chose Dr. W. Kennedy in MK and Prof. Menduni at the Politecnico di Milano.
The OU expects you to find these people on your own although contacts at the OU and the local university are generally straightforward once you know the ropes. You find profiles, contacts etc on most university websites, so this is an ideal way to start the treasure hunt. Remember also that most universities (for example Politecnico di Milano) actually publish annual reports about the research they do and have done in the past.
But beware! searching for your supervisors without a plan is like asking for a lift with your trousers down. So once you have found your potential supervisors make sure you present yourself with basic documentation that explains what you want to do. Organise a face-to-face meeting with your potential supervisors (and their assistants) when you contact your supervisors the first time.
In general selecting supervisors is a thorny subject because both supervisors will not only have to get on well with you but will also have to share a common understanding. Hence choose your supervisors carefully and not just on their academic background or technical merit. If you're in doubt ask one of their students or assiatnts what they think of your prospective supervisor, you'll be surprised just how helpful and open people can be.
I would suggest you set-up some criteria before choosing your supervisor such as:

1. Has he or she supervised students like you before.
2. Is he or she reliable, open minded and naturally interested in your research.
3. How do other colleagues see him or her, look out for rivalry and conflict within the faculty.
4. Is he or she an expert in your field of research?
5. Look-up their latest publications.
6. Speak with their students, assistants and secretary.

Propriety Rights
If your company is sponsoring your research you will have to deal with propriety knowledge and rights. In general the company should realise that your research is public domain and the only real thing that can be done is to establish just how much and when information can be divulged to thirds, this includes the thesis. Contact the OU if in doubt and put the university requirements in writing before your company, as this saves a lot time and anguish later on.
In the event of inventions or discoveries ensure that your company and you, the student, are the owners.
Always agree on publication contents with the company legal department.

Plan and Planning
 You will need two essential pieces of documentation before starting your research:

1.  A plan that specifies the research field, the topic, the reason why this topic interests you (and others) and the players involved. Add as much detail as possible because this is one tool that can be used to get both sponsorship and academic interest.
2. A macro planning is all that is needed at the beginning but this needs to be expanded as time goes by. That is to say each task or activity will require further detail. My personal opinion and according to my experience the main items of the macro planning should remain more or less untouched for the duration of the research while the tasks may vary time in time. Some of the original tasks will be cancelled, others will be adapted and exchanged with new ones.

The Probation Period
The OU uses a so called probabtion period to assess your research abilities.
In general the probation period lasts about 12 to 18months and is also there to assess not just your chosen research topic, but also your strengths and weaknesses and the context in which you will need to complete your research. Your tutors will do the same and they will supply the university with their recommendations. This could be anything from 'the candidate is not suitable for research' to 'the student is prepared and ready for further research in his or her chosen field'.
The goal of the P.P. is to get you the student in a position to assess your work done so far and establish exactly what needs to be done to complete the research.
The more accurate and detailed the outcome of the probation period the easier it will be for you to complete your work. It is important that you do not kid yourself that everything is going fine when you know deep down that there are issues to be solved.
After the P.P. the university will ask you and your supervisors to hand-in an annual report covering your findings and progress.

B.Phil. M.Phil or PhD?
When you start your research the OU will not assign a specific academic standard for you to reach since the OU expects you to use the probation period to assess the topic you are researching and the context you will have to work in to complete the research degree. Once this is clear to you and your tutor(s) you can then decide to work to a B.Phil, M.Phil or PhD.
A PhD implies not only demonstrating being able to conduct research efficiently, effectively and autonomously but adding knowledge to your field of research.
Moreover the essential differences between these three titles is essentially depth of assessment and length (duration) of your research. This can be summarised for part-time students as follows:

One of the best things about the OU research degree is that you may upgrade o downgrade to a higher or lower research standard during your research. For example, you may wish to go for a M.Phil rather than a PhD at the end of the probation period or you may discover something during your B.Phil that is worth a PhD.
This means that in the event of personal difficulties you will always have something to fall back on: this is unique to the OU research degree system. May I also say that it pays credit to the OU as being a reliable and quality driven institute of education.

Research vs. Social Life
The order of this heading is deliberate as you will find that there are moments when your social life comes last. You will need a strong and supportive family and you must reserve time just to simply to do nothing i.e. sit back and relax. I would suggest planning and doing short bursts of intense work rather than maintain a long, low key, approach.
This short burst approach will free-up time and help you dedicate chunks of time to your family, yourself and provide more time for secondary work such as library visits . It also means that you will see the progress and achievements easier and this helps build your confidence.
Remember that the most important customer in your life is You and Your Family.

Set backs
There will be set backs during your research going from anything to just delaying a report because of work commitments to much more serious things like illness or death in the family.
In my particular case I had several set backs, for example:

1. I lost my sister at the beginning of my degree.
2. My mother was taken seriously ill and nearly died.
3. My wife went into hospital for major surgery.
4. My youngest son had a delicate eye operation.
5. My tutor left the university 3 months before my viva.
6. I changed boss three times and went through three office re-organisations.

Work load
There is no real comparison available but if you are doing OU undegraduate studies right now the work load of a research degree is more or less like doing a TMA every 2 to 3 weeks for the whole duration of the research. In all cases the work load will be heavy at times and you often wonder if it can be done, especially if there is a deadline, such as when preparing a report or a paper for a conference.

Henceforth the work load is impressive, daunting, at times massive but extremely satisfying when it is done, at whatever stage of the research it is done. Even a 3 page report can take a lot of effort.
But it can give you a real boost, especially if it is published or shown by your tutor at meetings and conferences.
As mentioned previously you will become incredibly sensitive to time management and at times this will make you ruthless and selfish.

Reporting
Reports can be anything from 3 to 300pagers in length. Reports can come in many forms, for example a monthly report, an experimental results report, publications, papers etc.
Proposing papers, even short ones, can take a tremendous amount of effort but the return on investment is enormous, especially if accepted and published in an international acclaimed journal
Remember that your supervisors may not read your report immediately or worse, have very little time to examine it in-depth so make sure your report starts with a summary.
Possibly the main advantage of reporting is that when it comes to handing over an annual report or even starting your thesis the information will already be there.
This not only saves you time but allows you to concentrate on other, more important, parts of your research.
You'll learn not only to be clear and concise but to be effective in your communication.
As Bacon once wrote in Essays:

Publications and Conferences
There are two sides to this story of publications, the most obvious is the personal satisfaction that publishing provides you and your tutor. The downside is that you may realise that fellow academics or the paper reviewers disagree with your paper e.g. the findings and ideas your paper includes. Clearly the sooner you know this the better.
Presenting research work at conferences is an excellent platform for delivering speeches and results and the atmosphere is very similar to your final exam i.e. viva.
I would highly recommend that at least one publication be attempted and preferably through an international journal.

Costs
The annual fee for a research degree through the OU is about 430GB£ plus expenses. For 430GB£ you get very little (but vital nonetheless) and fee is essentially to cover clerical costs and provide you the absolute minimum support, this also includes a mentor and a handbook.
Also part of the fee is given to your local supervisor or tutor for his or her compensation in assisting you the student during your research. Payment of fees is every quarter although a lump sum payment is also perfectly accepted.
Expenses vary a great deal depending on how often and long you you meet your tutors, and you will need assess to at least a fax machine. Other essentials include email, internet assess and at least one library source.
I would estimate that you will meet your tutor at MK at least twice a year so this will cost you more or less another 1000GB£/year (flight, travel and accommodation). A quick yearly expenses estimation is therefore 1500-2000GB£ and thus around 6000GB£ minimum will be needed to complete a PhD.
This may seem expensive but other GB universities may charge 3-5 times or more for the same service, so the OU is a real bargain in this respect.

Sponsorship (in Italy)
Italy is not the best place to get sponsorship but most companies and universities have some form of sponsorship in place, even if it just reimbursement for lunch!. Make enquiries as soon as possible because the paper work may take quite a while before you see the money.
Agreements between companies and Italian univesrities usually take about 4 months to be ratified and are renewed annually, usually in October. All company-university contracts are scrutinised at department level and voted upon by the department Profs and Lecturers.

How long will it Take? Full time vs. Part-time
Table 2 already answers this question but the OU has also established a maximum period of study as shown in table 3 below:

Tables 2 and 3 therefore indicate, for example, that a part-time PhD will take between 3 to 8 years. For full time students the reduction is about 30 to 40% e.g. 2 to 5 years.

Recommended Readings
Over the last 10-20 years ago there has been a flood of books and papers concerning research degrees. Basically because there is a trend for people to either extend their university studies or go back later.
Universities are also becoming more open to mature students and post-graduates as it provides not only extra cash but improves both their image and status of the University.
A good thorough internet search will reveal many readings on how to do research. I would recommend you start with the book below:

Estelle M. Phillips and D. S. Pugh (two OU lecturers), "How to get a PhD", (Paperback, Taylor & Francis, 1994).

.............It is well worth reading, more references can be obtained through the OU library and research degree Handbook.

My PhD Story in a Nutshell
So here I am three half years down the road and with two new letters to my name, Dr. David Ward, although I'm still Dave to all who know me.
It has been a long hard journey, cram packed with uncertainty, difficulty and bloody hard work. You don't get 'nout-for-out' said one of my viva examiners and, although this is nothing new, it reflects exactly what a PhD is all about, at least for me.
It takes a strange combination of perseverance, stamina, stubbornness, belief, hard work, luck blended with an immense amount of learning. But it can be done and when it is, the reward is enormous, like winning the lottery, twice and two weeks on the trot.
Doing academic research is not just about becoming a leader in your field of research but learning to be an academic. Now I know just why academics are so different, sometimes aloof, so concentrated on their work.
I'm now aware why certain things such as literature reviews, papers and publications, need to be done in a certain manner and why being sufficiently "positively sceptical" is good and essential for research. Over time you acquire a weird knack of seeing the invisible, doing the unthinkable and deliberately testing not just your own ideas but also those of others, including close friends and those of your supervisors.
So how did it all start?, well, I have also wanted to do research, in fact my undergraduate study with the OU (from 93 to 97) didn't really fire me although I enjoyed it, because my goal was always to do "my" research and establish new ground. In fact for me to be able to stand up in front of fellow academics and see them listen to me and what I had to say was an enormous driver.
For those of you who are just starting or finishing their undergraduate studies and would love to do research then follow this advice: A). make sure its not a fad or fancy thing but you are genuinely interested in doing research: force yourself to ask why you want to do research; B). ensure you know what you are naturally inclined at doing and doing well; C). don't worry about not being "good" at something for the true engine behind research is the will to understand, experiment and succeed, D). consider the OU, it is fast becoming an internationally renowned research institution with excellent facilities and staff!.
Remember also that you will come across hard times (and hard people) especially if you do it part-time as I did and with company backing always dangling on a string and fading away as time went by.
But the prize is unique and well worth the effort. You come out of a PhD completely re-generated and you will be surprised just how good you are at coping with almost impossible situations.
So if you are still listening, then jot this little rule down in your notebook as it will stand you in good stead:
…………………………….."Think big, Do small and Act quickly".