Noooooo. she is being unfaithful I thought that  I was the only one PRINCESS had eyes for.....

Seriously though, my better half already thinks I am keeping a mistress in the spare room where I spend far too much time and which I insist is not tidied (it may look a mess but it is MY filing system). Could easily keep someone hidden under the piles of papers. So having alluring invites from seamstresses in my inbox could cause significant domestic disharmony.

I am a mature student which may change things. My relationship is as mentor mentee (?sp), first name terms and very informal on emails.

At our induction we were told that the nature of the relationship should change towards being collegues as the process goes on.

I have been taught that in my field of medical science it is good practice to include your prior work if it was an original piece of research but not if it was a review of others work such as a literature review or systematic review.

Anna10 - fear not I was in exactly the same position a month ago. I have since had a poster accepted based on an abstract from a literature review. My supervisor was great in helping with the abstract and has given me several examples of posters which have clarified in my mind what is required.
I spoke to the conference organiser on the phone as well who was also very helpful.

I think that part of the progression towards earning a PHd is to take responsibility for your own actions - all be it within a framework of supervision/course requirements. If you feel you can do more than 10 hrs per week then do it.

Ten hours a week sounds on the low side to me even compared to some of the previous discussions amongst part timers (like me) on this forum.

Reading a recent post by Mat about backing up computer data got me wondering just how much data on out computers we could not do without. Ie if we had to start on a new computer how big would the files be that we could not replace.

For me my folder labelled research is 2.7GB. This does not include any software like Endnote or SPSS but does have all the data and my PDF library. This is a good size as it still fits onto a DVD for backup. How about anyone else - how big is your vital data folder?

Hi Mat - I'm a little late to the party for this post but here is my two pennies worth.

I have had good experience a laCie USB 2 drive as my main back up - as an Apple computer user this backs up automatically the whole system every hour.

My 'important' files ie all PHd, Endnote etc I also synchronise up to a cloud disk daily (I use mobileme but others such as the Windows Live SkyDisk are out there). Finally each month I put these important files onto a DVD so I have a sequential back up incase one gets a virus or something equally nasty necessitating using an older version.

My system has been tested twice when I survived failure of a hard drive and then a corrupted system file forcing me to reinstall from a blank disk and have not lost anything so I am happy that this is a robust process.

I had a good mauling in a recent peer review process that ended in the editors bringing in a third reviewer to break a deadlock. To make it more frustrating the reviewer who took particular issue with everything I had written (or so it felt) was one I had suggested!

However 8 mths later after much reworking and defending, the paper is out there, and is on reflection much better for the process. It has been accessed 2500 times and is something I am thoroughly proud of.

Listen to the reviewers comments, think about them and make changes that feel right to you. Where you feel sure what you are saying is important to either your data or in moving the topic forwards don't be afraid to defend robustly. Atnthe end of the day you can always submit elsewhere.

Good luck and remember to try and enjoy the process as it is actualy quite fun..

Putting aside any consideration of the character of the instigator of this thread based upon their post.

I would strongly suspect that not all (or many) institutions would respond to this type of tactic by students positively.

I believe we have, at least in the UK, to submit an electronic copy of the thesis so there is a reasonable chance that it will be checked for plagiarism.

I hope that the majority us reading this forum believe in academic integrity - if we cannot believe each others work what is the point in a literature search, or indeed in science at all!

I was interested to see in an earlier post 'Paper rejection reversed', Phdee saying that his work done prior to registering on the PHd was excluded from the Thesis.

I wonder if this varies by institution. I have been 'playing' with researching questions that appeared significant to me during my (clinical) day job. An early paper was well received and I was advised to consider taking it forwards using a PHd to boost my research skills. However, due to lack of confidence in my ability (intelligence and 'sticking power') I opted to do a MSc where I could look at the same area.

My dissertation demonstrated that identification of early changes in some clinical markers was possible. Subsequently I have followed this up with a published study showing that this change was significant in predicting who would and would not get better. During the process I have found that I thoroughly enjoy doing research in a structured way and so took up the offer of progressing to a PHd.

My PHd is rerunning the post MSc study with a larger sample and controlling for more potential confounding factors. A follow on qualitative study is planned to see if we can describe why the change occurs early in some patients but not others.

So for me, my post-MSc paper is setting the foundation for the PHd. I had planned to include it in the Thesis a preliminary study, and was given to understand from my supervisor that this would be OK as long as the study had not been part of any award bearing course.

Does anyone else out there in 'PHd Forum land' have any experience of this?

This is an issue that keeps reoccurring and so I think your experience is not uncommon. My experience concurs with the general opinion that unless you can learn to pace yourself your passage through this journey may be rocky. Of course we do more some days than others but try and get into a routine and keep it sustainable.

Seven weeks of full on work can feel like a nightmare, however you have another 149 to go (assuming you are completing in 3 years).

You may like to kick back for a bit but I would suggest you still do an hour or so a day on your study and get something written each day so there is something to show for your work.

Bonnie, I am dong a PHd to further my research aspirations (I am a mature student with some publications in my area of interest). I am loving it and it is giving me the skills, confidence and contacts to do more meaningful work in the future. I have hopes that it may help access research funding however I am singularly unsucsessful in this regard so far...

Like you I don't aspire to formal academia. So if you want to increase your ability to do research then a PHd should be very helpful.

However I don't know if one will be important in your area in order to gain employment or would doing a shorter MSc and then getting work experience enable you to get going more quickly.

I use EndNote extensively (on a Mac with Pages) and I find it fantastic for maintaining my refrences. I love that I can use Harvard whilst making notes so I can see who I am talking about and then flick to a numbered system for grammar checking.
Like so much with IT you do need to put the effort in to get the results out. Many Uni's have training courses in EndNote and if you are going to be publishing over the years ahead it is worth taking the time to learn.
Everything you have had trouble with is resolvable once you know what to do - although maintaining your database of references on two computers can take some discipline. I am more than happy for you to contact me by email ([email protected]) if you have any specific questions as it is a bit involved for this forum..

Luloli79 check the fees at the university as my experience, doing a part time, self funding PHd is that fees are much lower than for undergraduate or MSc courses. I guess we take up less of their resources being largely self directed in our endeavours.