Try searching for 'virtual learning environment' or 'blended learning'. I think Blackboard is just one brand of VLE so there might not be much literature specifically about Blackboard.

I also think it would be better in Survey Monkey. I can't understand how I'm supposed to circle the numbers or make any change to indicate my responses.

I'm a part-time student so I've rarely had to commute into uni 5 days a week. I live in a London suburb and commute into the centre once or twice a week. Commuting by train can be very expensive if you have travel at peak time. It can also be hell if you can't get a seat and the train is very crowded. I either leave very early or wait till after 9.30am to miss the worst of the crowds. I have noise cancelling headphones (which don't leak sound and annoy other people) to block out other people's music and phone conversations, and I find that I can really concentrate on reading academic books and articles, so commuting time is quite productive. I agree with Tree of Life that the further you live from uni, the less likely you are to participate in social activities and evening seminars etc. It's not so much a problem in London but it might be where trains are less frequent and the last train leaves relatively early in the evening.

I hope it's okay. I also have one chapter of around 20000 words. Waiting to see what my supervisor says.

I can send it to you if you let me have your email address.

I changed supervisors with two years to go on what has turned out to be a 7-year part-time PhD. I think I was very lucky that the new supervisor was willing to take me on and has turned out to be a thousand times easier to work with than the old one. I went to talk in confidence to the person responsible for PhD students in crisis at my institution. She suggested some potential supervisors and made sure that the new sup and I were both happy with the arrangement before she told the old one I was changing. It might be worth exploring the possibilities - it may be easier to change than you think and probably easier to give your full attention to your PhD if you're not distracted by all those emotions.

Hi Breanna,

If your research involves people then you need to say how you will ensure confidentiality (using pseudonyms, not including identifying details, storing data securely etc), how you protect them from harm (if your methods pose any risk to participants) and minimise any negative impacts on them. For example , in my ethics section I said it was possible that my interview questions might make participants anxious about things they hadn't even thought about before, and my informed consent form includes info about who participants can contact if they do want to discuss any issues arising from the interview. Also, informed consent - you will ensure they understand what the project is about, what their role is, and that they have the right to withdraw at any time without any negative consequences.

Hi,

I will try to answer your questions:

1. You absolutely don't need a findings or discussion section. You need a literature review which demonstrates your knowledge of the topic, and shows that there is a gap in knowledge, or an area which needs more research or a problem that needs to be solved. Then you need to show how you will contribute to filling the gap or solving the problem by stating the aim of your study and how you will carry it out (methods). It's probably a good idea to include things like ethical considerations. A lot will probably change before you actually start collecting data so you just need to demonstrate your ability to design an interesting and feasible study.

2. I'm afraid I have no idea about the length - it's a long time since I wrote my proposal - but 8 - 10 pages sounds reasonable. Or master's students at my institution have to write around 3,500 words for their dissertation proposal so maybe it should be a bit more than that since it's for a PhD.

3. Yes, you need to include references.

4. I think you should put your current institution.

Hope that helps.

I think most people in this forum are in the UK. You might have better luck finding an answer to your question in a US-based forum.

Could you perhaps phone the university's disability service and ask for their advice? I guess that if you are able to register as disabled when you start the PhD then you should be able to classify yourself as disabled on the application form. Is there no space on the form to explain what your disability is? This website contains a definition of disability under the Equality Act plus a link to more detailed guidance:


https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

Hi Rochelle,

As Eds says, you probably have a good chance of being accepted onto a taught masters programme. It might be a good idea, if you can afford it, to do a masters before progressing to a PhD. It would help you adjust to the UK system and get a good grounding in whatever field you want to pursue a PhD.

Having said that, you might get accepted straight onto a PhD programme if you write a good research proposal and application, possibly not at a top university though. It's a good idea to identify potential supervisors and contact them with a brief outline of your ideas for a research project to see if they would be willing to take you before you apply formally. As long as the area you are applying for is vaguely related to your previous studies, you should be fine. I mean you probably wouldn't get a place to study microbiology but if it's in the social sciences and you show in your proposal that you are familiar with relevant literature there shouldn't be a problem.

If by veteran you mean ex-military, it won't get you any advantages in the UK.

Lang (2010) 'How to write, publish, and present in the Health Sciences' explains the difference between narrative and systematic reviews on page 16. It's available via Google Scholar.

Thanks for your replies everyone. It's good to know others are facing the same issues. I'm coming to the end of my PhD and revising the lit review in the light of my findings. So far I have only seen points to add not points to take away, and like Caro's supervisor, mine tells me to add something every time she looks at it. I am going to go through it very carefully to try to find areas where it can be cut down. I am fully aware that quantity doesn't equal quality but I don't think I've been particularly wordy in dealing with individual points. I've just covered a lot of ground because it's a complex interdisciplinary topic. Somehow I will at least get it below 20,000 words though.

As it stands, my lit review is going to end up somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 words. The word limit for the thesis is 80,000 but I can apply for an extension to 100,000 and I've been told that such applications aren't generally refused as long as the supervisor supports them. I'm in the social sciences. Should I try to cut my lit review or can I get away with that many words?