Hello in my applications to a couple of universities I was invited to both face-to-face interviews, but more commonly to phone interviews (actual phone not even Skype...this was 2 years ago). My suggestion is that if you have a telephone interview and get accepted, do try an visit the university for a day or 2 before you actually start. I actually did this and I found it to be good practice as I knew what I was getting into, and it was also looked favourably by my supervisors.

Hello...I am just writing up a couple of chapters now, and am interested in the other end of the spectrum. What about having quite short chapters?

I am doing a science PhD and as things stand I seem to be having 3000-5000 word chapters (apart from my lit review chapter: 10000words). My structure is of a 'lit review', methods chapter and then a series of results & discussion chapters (4 at the moment), a 'discussion of common themes chapter' and then a conclusion.

Is the chapter length too short? Or would that be OK? The thesis limit is of 90000, but it states that science theses are commonly shorter.

Thank you

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Good luck for this. I think that you should definitely enter, apart from just the potential of winning I find poster sessions a good way to talk to people and get opinions (do go ahead and talk to people who stop at your poster, and ask if they would like you to describe what is on the poster-I find that these discussions have helped me focus on my research and understand what questions people are asking about my research, which in oral presentations often cannot happen because a person has one question). This blog:

http://betterposters.blogspot.com/ -

has a couple of good tips. I enjoy it when they criticise and improve an actual poster as you can see what the changes mean.

PS...definitely get your graphic designer friend involved...and ask their opinions, but keep in mind that this is a scientific poster competition not a graphic design competition. Sometimes I have seen posters where the emphasis is all on the graphic design and what looks good, and this might not make the science easy to understand.

But (up).

Good luck :) DO you have a kind mother/sister/brother/partner/friend who can read your thesis? I give mine to my (very patient) mum, who has not a clue about my research but she can see if things make sense, the flow of the sentence, missing words (and many extra commas in my case). Perhaps if you only give them a chapter each they will not be so overwhelmed. I personally find it extremely hard to proofread my own work. BDW well done on the 'good thesis' remark from your supervisors.

Thank you to all your comments. I am hoping to select a 'hard' internal examiner for my transfer viva, and therefore am hoping that I will get a push to the right direction there. Hopefully that will be done in the coming months so then I could plan ahead. I like the idea of talking to other people at conferences etc, and I will definitely try that out. Thanks again

Thank you very much for your support. I think hearing that other people are in the same boat really helped, and that we take the same approach. I am grateful to have a sister who did the same undergrad as me (though she has now gone on to a completely different area, but she has just finished her PhD last year) so she generally now ends up going through my work and giving me comments, which although not directly related to the area can improve my writing, since my supervisors do not. I am also trying to go down the publishing route, so that at least I get comments from reviewers. But that takes time and they will not see the whole thesis. But hoping for the best, and thank you to all.

Thank you very much. I am glad to find someone who understands. I still cannot understand if they are just not interested in my project or what. Thank you for showing that it can be done and get your PhD, because I am seriously doubting myself sometimes.

If you have access to somewhere to host it I have used limesurvey and I really found it good.

Hello, I have a strange problem for most of you I think. My supervisors think I am doing OK, and they feel that they do not need to help me out a lot. That means I need to come up with everything myself and when I ask them for comments they give me something saying ... oh you are OK. Some might ask why this is a problem, but I feel as if I am not being pushed. Also, for example now I have started writing (we need to write a mini-thesis for our Transfer and have a viva...where we go from the PhD Track to phD), whilst other students get to send them chapter by chapter of their thesis they told me. Oh you will be great. Just send us everything together. I feel as if I will be getting second rate comments, and they do not make much of an effort with me. Is anyone in this situation, and how did you deal with it?

Thank you

If I were you I would try and visit the University, meet with the people in the groups and see which group I would see myself working in. This is a major factor in a PhD

As part of my PhD I have done a questionnaire and am now obtaining the data etc. Now I am starting to write the methodology etc I would like to ask if anyone knows of any good books/papers in this regards.

In particular I am interested in ways to 'justify' my way of giving out the questionnaires, namely online through mailing lists and social networking. I know this has a number of drawbacks (I should have perhaps looked at before, but I am a scientist and when I asked the lecturer from the business faculty who has worked in developing questionnaires etc on how to give it out, he said, Facebook and mailing lists, so I assumed that there are other examples on when they used such an approach). But now I am not managing to find any articles etc which are using this method to justify my choice. Is anyone aware of such circumstances where social networking has been used to give out questionnaires?

Thank you

Thank you. Will do yours and repost as well. Good luck!

Hello. Does anyone by any chance have access to the following paper?

Rapid and precise δ13C measurement of dissolved inorganic carbon in natural waters using liquid chromatography coupled to an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer
Brandes, J.A.
2009
Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 7 (NOV) , pp. 730-739

Thank you

Thank you very much to all who have filled it in. :)

Hello. As part of my PhD research I have set up a short survey on the 'Use and Disposal of Medication'. It should take around 5 minutes, and your help would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.

http://ceciliasurvey.carobcrest.com/index.php?sid=99123&lang=en