I've known lots of people who have used incentives to get people to complete questionnaires/participate in studies (for example, questionnaires are all put into a raffle, and first drawn wins an MP3 player, 2nd prize wins x - etc, etc, etc ... or substitute the gadgets for cash prizes).

Remember ... if you look at most published studies they've also probably used some type of incentive to get people to participate, so if they can do it, than it shouldn't be a problem for 'mere' PhD students.

Busy at the mo but ... you might find this link of interest:

http://www.artlab.org.uk/

Aha - I've just seen another thread and noticed you are based in Germany.

So is your fieldwork limited to working in Holland and Germany?

Hi Rick,

Your research sounds fascinating (and very worthwhile!).

Right, this is tricky. My gut instinct is ... would a questionnaire lead to 'stifled' responses (i.e. not allow medical practitioners to express their opinions freely)?

Also, are you going to be travelling to conduct this fieldwork, or are you going to be based in the UK and correspond with participants via email (if so, I can understand why you are going to be limited in what method you can use)?

Maybe I'm being stupid, but would it help if you let us know what the 'abstract concept' you want to research is? I'm a qual researcher and this would obviously impact on what method you used/what type of feedback we could give.

Hi All,

These comments have been really helpful/reassuring ... thank you everyone!

:)

Hi Kronkodile (and anyone else who has been through the viva process),

One thing that I'd like to know is ... is it just the external examiner who outlines any amendments to be made, or does the internal have a say in this to (i.e. who writes the report of revisions to be made?)?

Hi Vic777,

I think the general consensus here is ... there is no 'typical' PhD schedule. As long as you accept the fact that it's going to be a lot of hard work (and as someone pointed out, most people take more than 3 years to complete), once you start the PhD you will should a system of working that suits you.

If you are ill, I would give serious consideration to what a PhD involves before embarking on one. However, having said that, it's difficult to give advice about doing a PhD because the only time you understand what it's like is when you are doing one.

Hope that is of some help.

Hi

I agree with Fluffy ... I don't see the problem in sending the email on to your sups. You shouldn't be afraid of letting them know what you're up to/where you're at/general progress (... and if the paper isn't accepted, they should be chuffed that you are making an attempt to submit papers in the first instance).

Fingers crossed it all goes well for you!

Hi

I agree with SexKitten - try your uni (and other uni's) temp banks. They won't discriminate against you on the basis of you having a PhD, and will probably understand the predicament you are in (I know lots of people who have completed and had to temp at uni's).

As for finding a 'proper' job - be patient, keep putting in applications, and it will happen! You've got the PhD under your belt (that's the hard part) ... so don't undervalue yourself! Something will come up at some point, it's just having to play the horrible 'waiting game'. It will happen though if you keep positive and proactive.

Hi Dr Fluffy/KitKat

I've taken your comments on board, and they've (genuinely) really helped ... so here's a big THANK YOU!

Cheers :)

Hello (to all social science students - and anyone else who might be able to help) ...

I'm trying to write my conclusion chapter and am, well, stuck (I've spent all day looking at notes and have managed big fat '0'). Part of my thesis consists of two 'interview analysis' chapters and I'm not sure how to approach these in my conclusion. Do I just summarise the main findings (of my entire thesis) in my conclusion ... or am I supposed to 'add' new stuff into the equation to?

I'm really confused (my supervisor is away at the moment, so am trying to get something constructive done so I don't spend lots of days doing nothing!!!).

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Danny,

I don't know anything about financial maths, but my advice would be ...

Ignore the league tables. You should be looking at the department (you can have good departments in 'bad' uni's), and also checking out potential supervisors (i.e. their publication record/how many students have they seen through to PhD completion).

Hope that helps.

Hi All,

Just a query ...

Is it unprofessional to withdraw a job application once it is submitted? In a nutshell ... someone I know has just applied for a lecturing post but they are not suitably qualified for this position (haven't completed PhD and have no publication record). So, rather than being associated with a 'weak' application (i.e. I know how small academia is, and people remember names!), is it better to withdraw now and apply for posts again once they are in a stronger position (i.e. have the PhD in the bag and a reasonable amount of publications under their belt)???

This journal is available at the British Library - I've just found it on their website (by doing a simple search). At my uni (and I'm assuming it would be the same for you), I complete an interlibrary loan slip and give it to the relevant library assistant. If you are only requesting specific articles (i.e. don't need the entire journal), you can request for these to be sent to you via an electronic copy which - once your library receive them - are then emailed to you directly. The longest I have had to wait for an electronic request is 3 days (they usually come through in 2)!